AJ's Updates

The Ballet!

2010-01-31T14:50:00.002-05:00

Wow! That's really the only way to describe it. The ballet was absolutely fantastic :)

I attended the American Ballet Theatre's performance of Romeo and Juliet at the Kennedy Center yesterday afternoon. I was blown away by not only the ability of the dancers to portray so much without using one word, but also the costumes and sets that were used. I now fully understand why going to prestigious theater performances is so expensive. But I'd definitely say I got my money's worth and will likely be attending as many Kennedy Center performances that my budget will allow. I can't believe I've been holding out so long to attend my first show there. Maybe it was for the better when my finances were so tight, but the door is now wide open.

I have so much respect for all of the ballet dancers. They all showed so much passion for what they were doing and were in the best shape anyone could imagine. My mind couldn't help but wonder how many hours of the day they spend either practicing or performing. And then in those few hours of down time they might have, what is it they do? Surely not stay in watching redbox movies and eating ice cream like I did last night. Just some food for thought.

It snowed nearly all day yesterday. But it wasn't like a Midwest blizzard or anything. It was just a lovely (long) snowfall with bearable temperatures and little wind. I was amazed by the beautiful nature of each individual snowflake as it fell upon my coat and stuck in my hair. Often times it's so easy to be annoyed by such things without taking just a moment to reflect upon them. I was reminded of the individuality of snowflakes and awestruck that God could create such beauty in something that so many people never take the time to notice. Though many of you are probably reading this from the Midwest and thinking you've had quite a rough winter, I hope you are able to take a few minutes the next time it snows to enjoy the beauty of a snowflake. Maybe it will help you get through until Spring arrives, or at least through a week or two :)

National Compliment Day

2010-01-27T20:24:00.003-05:00

Upon reading the title of this blog, I'm sure you're wondering if "National Compliment Day" actually exists or if it's something I conjured up all on my own. Though I'd like to take credit for such an enlightening day, the origin of this "holiday" dates back to 1998 and was founded by two women from New Hampshire. You can learn all about it on the official website: http://www.complimentday.com/MediaPage.htm.

Ok, so maybe there isn't all that much to learn about it. However, I did my best to give a handful of compliments and incite a few others today...even though I was a few days late in celebrating the holiday. If nothing else, it initiated a few smiles from strangers and a laugh or two at work.

Today I also saw and extraordinary amount of people with red hair. And I'm not talking about the vixen salon red hair, but naturally orange-red. No, I'm not trying to be condescending of the holiday by making fun of those who were born with red hair. All I'm saying is that it is abnormal to see so many gingers (4 women and 1 man) in such a short amount of time (during my 30-min morning commute). Maybe I should have gone out of my way to compliment each of them on embracing their natural beauty. I don't know. All I know is that this observation stuck with me throughout the day.

And as if my observation weren't strange enough on its own, my daily email devotion told a story of a fiery red-headed little girl. Huh? What are the odds of that? And what could it mean? Is God trying to tell me something. If so, I'm afraid it's going to take me a while to figure this one out. In the meantime, I hope you were able to find some enjoyment out of my ironic day.

*Signing off so I can tune in to President Obama's first State of the Union*

A New Year

2010-01-24T20:56:00.002-05:00

Although we are already nearly a month into 2010, this is regrettably my first blog of the new year. My Christmas vacation in the Midwest was absolutely fantastic. I got to see nearly everyone I planned to spend time with, and I was even able to welcome my nephew Noah John into the world just before coming back to Washington. As usual, I loved all of the quality time I got to spend with friends and family, making it a bit difficult to come back home to DC.

The first few days back were rough for several reasons. I was exhausted after being on the go 24/7 while on "vacation," the electricity was out in my apartment and I had to stay in a hotel for two nights before being able to sleep in my own bed, and I inconveniently left my cell phone in Nebraska. Nonetheless, I made it through that first week back and spent most of the weekend recovering. But then I was really busy at work preparing for more than a handful of clients who were coming to Washington for a conference. My perfect schedule was ruined more than once, but we made it through last week seemingly unscathed. I even accompanied a group of Texas community development directors to their Senate appointments on Thursday - in my brand new suit! And I also dropped in my old Senate office to say hello to my former co-workers. We are hoping to all get together for a drink sometime this week...fingers crossed.

This weekend I was able to watch several of my kickball teammates in performances. Each were absolutely hysterical, and I can honestly say I laughed off a good number of my beer calories from Friday night. I also got to spend a significant amount of quality time with my friend Jessi and look forward to furthering our friendship in the upcoming months. With my roommate spending more and more time with her boyfriend, and my friend Michelle (who had been crashing with me for the last two months) moving to her own place this weekend, I am realizing that I need to make more of an effort to see other friends in order avoid spending time alone at home. With something to do and so many new people to meet, there simply is no reason for me to feel lonely. So I'm making a conscious effort to get out more.

During January, we've been doing a series at church on spiritual disciplines and my small group has been doing a Bible study on the book of James. The combination of these things, along with a new year's resolution to be in the Word more often, have led me to think and pray about what I'm giving back. About what kind of an impact I'm having in secular Washington. And about what I feel called me to move across the country after graduating college. I've not come anywhere close to answering these questions, but I am thoughtfully considering each of them. As I reflect on these subjects, I hope you will keep me in your prayers. And know that I am praying that each of you will take a few moments to reflect on how you're giving back.

"Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works." ~James 2:26

Christmas is Here!!!

2009-12-23T16:31:00.002-05:00

Last time I checked in was just after our first snow in DC. It was an exciting day, as we usually don't get snow in the area until late January or even February. As many of you likely saw on the news, we recently got hit with a historical blizzard. In Bethesda, we received the most snow in the entire state of Maryland with 24 inches in less than 24 hours. Yep, you read that correctly. TWO FEET of snow. Many people who live around here and are imports from other areas of the country haven't ever seen that much snow in one winter, let alone from one storm. Needless to say, the entire DC Metro area nearly shut down for several days to recover.

As there isn't much grass or unused space around here, there still seems to be snow everywhere even after a few days of melting. It will truly be a White Christmas in DC! That will excite many of those around here who've always called this area "home," but a large number of people (including myself) are keeping their fingers crossed that they make it back "home" for Christmas - white or otherwise.

A number of friends and family members have been telling me for days about some untimely winter weather conditions for when I'm expected to return this evening. I didn't think much of it then because the weather is so unpredictable, but I took the news to heart when a friend currently residing in Tulsa warned me of the snow. When people in states other than where you currently are and other than where you are traveling begin to send warnings your way, I'd say there is good reason to be concerned!

My flight is just a few hours away now and is currently scheduled to depart on time, so keep your fingers crossed. I'll be back in the Midwest through January 3, 2010. I hope to see many of you during my holiday vacation...maybe even including my nephew :)

Christmas is Coming

2009-12-06T16:33:00.002-05:00

With such nice weather in DC for most of the year, it's hard to tell when winter begins around here. Sure we've had our fair handful of chilly days, but the sunshine and warmer temperatures always seem to make their way back. Yesterday was the first real sign that it was definitely winter...our first snow!

Now for all of you who were born/currently live in the Midwest, the first snow is usually a sign of many more days of snow to follow...and ice and freezing temperatures. Well here in DC that is not the case. Snow is quite rare here, especially before January. We probably only got about half an inch, but it was absolutely beautiful. Huge snowflakes and mild enough temperatures to make it enjoyable. Things are starting to feel a lot more like Christmas is around the corner!

Along with yesterday's snow to prepare me for Christmas, I also got the opportunity to attend the Lighting of the National Christmas Tree last week. I personally really enjoyed the experience but was a bit distraught by those around me complaining that they couldn't see well enough or that their ears hurt because of the cold. It didn't take me long to realize that I needed to forget about everyone else around me in order to get the most of the situation.

Performers included Sheryl Crow, Jordin Sparks, Celtic Woman and a few others, Secretary Salazar and President Obama both spoke, the entire Obama family pressed the button to light the national tree, and Michelle read The Night Before Christmas to a handful of adorable children. It was a fun event all around.

I'm beginning to thing about how to make the most of my time while in IA/NE over Christmas and New Year's Eve, so please let me know if you'd like to claim any specific time with me. Also, I'd appreciate hearing if anyone is still reading this blog when I write. I'm thinking about making a New Year's resolution to keep it update more often to keep more people informed of what's going on out here. That way when I call to chat with you, I will be able to do more listening. And yes, I do know how!

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-11-28T16:34:00.002-05:00

After my plans for celebrating Thanksgiving with my friend Anne fell through just four days before the holiday, I feared that I would be preparing a feast for one. However, things worked themselves out and I ended up hosting a gathering in my apartment. Three of the girls in my small group came over to watch the Macy's parade and enjoy a potluck meal. We cheated on a few items (pre-made mashed potatoes, stuffing from a box, and gravy from a jar), but still enjoyed a full spread.

We decided to see a matinee showing of The Blind Side. It was a terrific movie based on a true story and was an extremely fitting movie for the holiday. I highly recommend it.

As usual, it was hard being away from family for the holiday, but I enjoyed spending time with my church family (well, part of it at least). The four of us also attended/crashed a gathering last night to kick off the Christmas season. It was a "classic" party where we dressed to the nines and watched a classic Christmas movie (Holiday Affair with Robert Mitchum). I absolutely love getting dressed up and meeting new people, so this event screamed AJ. It was a lot fun, and I hope to see some of those new faces again. Spending time with people from church is a refreshing change from hanging out with kickball acquaintances.

This week I have tickets to see the lighting of the National Christmas Tree. I won "the lottery" in order to get tickets to this event, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that nothing comes up at work while I'm holding the office myself...otherwise, I won't be able to attend. We may not be able to see the stage with performers, but I'm excited for the opportunity to witness this occasion.

I've started counting down the days to my trip back to the Midwest for Christmas. I'm hoping to see all of you then!

xoxo,

~amyjo

Approaching Holiday Season

2009-11-15T23:45:00.002-05:00

I am proud to say that I have, in fact, purchased a few Christmas gifts already. With Christmas Day still well over one month away, this is quite an accomplishment for me. I like to live one step at a time, so I'm still on a timeline to be gearing up for Thanksgiving.

This Thanksgiving, I fear, will be a tough holiday. Last year I spent Thanksgiving with the people who had become part of my DC family. Included in that group was my current roommate Cat, "former roommate" Jenny, and Jenny's mom Laurie. We borrowed a friend's home for the day and made a traditional Thanksgiving feast for 40, though there were only 6 of us around the table. It was a truly memorable occasion. I am so thankful for the beautiful pictures we have from that day.

As many of you may already know, my dear friend Jenny went home to the Lord after a long battle with cancer. She was a wonderful person who will be missed by many during this holiday season. Cooking was always something Jenny found joy in and we had so much fun last November. It was great recalling that memory with a handful of people at Jenny's funeral services. Apparently she had already shared that story with those dear to her. I'm honored to know that she cherished that day as much I do.

Cat will be traveling to Colorado to celebrate Thanksgiving with her immediate family. Father Abraham (as I like to call him) paid for half of her flight home so she was able to fly back on some of the most expensive flight days of the year. I did a quick search today to see what a ticket to Omaha would be...the cheapest was $610 with 1 stop each way, while a non-stop ticket was $1,500. Yep. That's right! One thousand five hundred dollars for the long-weekend, round-trip fare. I could hardly believe it myself. I'm sure you can understand why I won't be making a cameo appearance in the Midwest for some turkey and mashed potatoes.

I'm still uncertain as to where I will be spending the holiday, but I am hopeful that my plans will work themselves out before the big day arrives.

Promotions

2009-11-03T23:45:00.003-05:00

I apologize in advance for the obscure connection I've made and will share with you below. Yesterday after receiving sad news about a dear friend and wanting to journal about it here, I realized that I had not yet blogged about the review at work I had almost two weeks ago.

Subject 1: The Good

My review at work was a delayed one-year review. My boss was full of positive feedback and said she felt like I've learned and grown a lot while working for her. I was a bit taken back by what she was saying as I've been feeling busy, yet overwhelmingly unchallenged at work as of late. Luckily for me, my boss agreed that my time has come for more substantial responsibilities in the office. She said we would work together on coming up with a few issues that would be just mine and that she would begin delegating more of her responsibilities (but just a little at a time!) to my co-worker and me.

Because she felt I've done well with everything that's been given to me and is expecting bigger and better things to come, I also received a substantial pay increase. Hooray for a raise!!! But in all seriousness, I am equally excited about more challenging work and a bigger paycheck. Although my official title remains the same, I consider this to be a promotion. For that, I am very thankful.

Subject 2: The Bad

Yesterday's sad news is about my friend Jenny who has been battling her second fight against cancer since the beginning of this year. Although she's had surgery and endured countless variations of chemotherapy, the disease has gotten the best of an amazing girl. Her dad called us last night to let us know that Jenny had been admitted to the hospital after having trouble breathing. Testing results revealed that her right lung is no longer functioning and it would only be a matter of time before she would be unable to continue breathing on her own. Jenny's made it very clear that she does not want to placed on any means of life support, so she's currently on hospice care until our Father calls her to heaven.

My thoughts and prayers continue to go out to Jenny, her family, and all of the people who hold her dear in their hearts. We all know that's she fought the good fight and will understand when it's her time to be released from this world of constant battle. Jenny deserves her promotion to a better life, and we will celebrate all of the blessings she's provided in our lives.

Although you may struggle with the connection I've made between these two subjects, please understand that it makes sense to me. This week's message at my church was to remember to keep the big picture in mind - to not let Satan draw your attention away from God's purpose for you. Jenny has fulfilled her purpose and is being called home, but I'm still seeking where to join God's work. Until his plan is revealed for me, I will continue to focus on my blessings. And I challenge each one of you to stay focused on the big picture and remember to count your blessings.

New Laptop

2009-10-13T22:33:00.002-04:00

I am proudly writing you this post from my brand new MacBook Pro. Yes, I've been talking about getting a new laptop for quite some time now, but I finally did it! I was finally able to overcome the *expensive* hurdle by rationalizing the expense with money saved by not going to Vegas with my kickball team over the long weekend. So as some of you were taking a leisurely federal holiday off and others were hard at work, I spent several hours of my Columbus Day in the Apple store securing my newest possession. She's beautiful! (See: http://www.apple.com/macbookpro) I spent a little time adjusting settings and so forth, but then I decided to watch the most recent episode of Gossip Girl :)

Most of you know me well enough to know that I've never been the most tech savvy child. Although I am extremely excited about my Mac, I have a lot of learning to do. More to come on how that's going at a later date. For now, I'm simply enjoying the glossy shine of my new computer!

Work has been quite hectic for the past month or so. We had a number of clients in Washington throughout the month of September and my bosses have been/will be traveling portions of 3 weeks this month. Scheduling (for clients and bosses) is one of my responsibilities, so I've been busy making sure all of the logistics are in order. Although I haven't had much influence or even been fully clued in to the business matters being discussed, I do see my role as an important piece to the puzzle. Hopefully all of my meticulous planning will pay off whenever my boss and I have a chance to sit down for my one-year review, which is approximately 2 months overdue now.

I don't recall all of my extra-curriculars since I last blogged, so sorry if you haven't had the chance to speak with me over the past month. I will let you all know that I experienced my first indoor wine festival last weekend. Considering I can count the number of wine festivals I've attended on one hand, it seems snobbish to say that I hated it, but I really didn't love it. Outdoor festivals are a million times better. You're welcome for the insider knowledge ;) Moral of that story: Most of the wines I liked at this weekend's event were ones that I had already sampled at previous tastings. I walked out with two bottles of red wine and a business card of a man who plans to tell me about his favorite wine festival. Maybe that event will be worth it!

My co-worker Ralph stayed home last Friday because he was feeling ill. He received his seasonal flu shot several weeks ago before traveling season began, so he self-diagnosed the cause as H1N1. It's very likely that he carried it back with him from Texas. We all panicked a bit in the office last week, but none of us are showing signs of the virus. Fingers crossed that my boss Barbara is not infected while in Texas this week and that none of you contract the virus this flu season.

Blog Recap: MacBook Pro = 2 thumbs up

H1N1 = 2 thumbs down

Season Change

2009-09-06T13:58:00.002-04:00

The start of a new month was also the start of a new season. Cooler temperatures and sunny skies in DC have made for some lovely Fall September days. I've been doing my best to enjoy the outdoors. Yesterday I laid by the pool for a few hours, and on Friday evening I went to an outdoor movie. Hopefully the weather stays like this for a while, because I'm thoroughly loving it!

I attempted my Taming of the Shrew outing, but it turns out everyone and their mother also knew about the free performance. The tickets had all been given out by the time I made it to the theatre. Bummer. Maybe I'll need to justify spending some money to get a little culture in my life...

My friend Michelle is coming back tonight after a two-month summer hiatus. She was digging up bones in Poland and spent some time with her father in Germany. I'm sure she'll have some good stories to tell us judging from the pictures she's already posted. Another friend of mine traveled to Costa Rica last week. He had some pretty amazing photos to share as well. I can't wait until I have enough money to get to travel to places like these. Some day...

My boss returned from her extended vacation and came back to work on Thursday. As it turns out, I overlooked one of my projects to complete while she was out of the office. That didn't go over so well. It's one of those things that has been ongoing for a few months now, and I just keep getting stuck. I'm not sure how many times I've thrown my hands up and cried mercy, but I'm hoping to complete the task well in order to redeem myself with my boss. I should be having my one year review with her in the near future, and I don't want this to jeopardize anything. I'm sure that I'm probably making this out to be more than it really is, but I definitely don't like not pulling my weight. With Congress back this week from summer recess, I'm sure things will be back to busy Washington in no time at all. But then again, that's why I love it here :)

Quality Recess

2009-08-27T22:36:00.003-04:00

As August is coming to a close very quickly, I just wanted to say that this summer recess treated me very well. Some of my co-workers were giving me a hard time today about never coming into work on Fridays in August. They are happy that I'm "gracing them" with my presence tomorrow. Meanwhile, my boss is still out on vacation through the first few days of September...

My trip back to the Midwest was absolutely fabulous. I don't think I took more than maybe 10 seconds to relax just so I could fit everyone/everything into a few short days, but that's just how I roll these days. I still wasn't able to meet up with a few important people, so I'm already making promises for when I'm back at Christmastime. My tickets are already booked! Start getting excited now :)

Last weekend at Smith Mountain Lake was an enjoyable way to celebrate my 24th birthday. The 5 hour drive each way wasn't ideal, but I survived. My friends and I went to a wine tasting event at the marina. We were by far the youngest crew there, but we all had a good time. Maybe we'll be hitting up a few more of Virginia's wineries in the future.

I concluded my week long birthday celebrations with my kickball team last night. Some of the guys like to joke that woman have an expiration date at 25 years-old, and they warned me that I was dangerously close now. I don't feel any older than I did at the beginning of the month, but I guess that's how it always is. We won our first game and everyone loved my birthday brownies, so it was a successful evening.

Even though August is coming to a close, it appears as though my "fun" schedule won't be coming to an end. Here's what I have in store for September...

*Opera in the Outfield (http://tiny.cc/yKz77)

*Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew (http://www.shakespearetheatre.org)

*Walking with the Dinosaurs (www.dinosaurlive.com)

*Weekend fall retreat through church

*Kickball on Wednesdays

Wardrobe at Work

2009-08-12T16:59:00.003-04:00

While walking into my roommate's bedroom last week to show off my mid-week Macy's shopping spree purchases, Cat immediately said, "That looks like an AJ dress!" before I even got to showing her the dress I wore to work yesterday.

Background info: I like to wear things that are unique. Not everyone would wear or could pull off some of the things that I choose, but that's the point. My pre-DC work wardrobe was a bit drab, and I've been trying to liven it up.

So I came to work yesterday wearing my "AJ dress" and got mixed reactions. Carolyn thought the dress was really fun but admitted she could never pull it off. My boss Barbara , however, asked me if I had made the dress. When I replied no, she asked if I had painted the fabric of the dress to make it "look like that." I didn't know whether to be flattered or offended. (Sidenote: Carolyn & Barbara are both in their 60s.)

Fast forward to today...I decided to wear my flower headband that I purchased for Gold Cup. It's good-sized and purple, so it definitely makes a statement. Again, Carolyn said she was a fan and Barbara threw out another crazy comment. She said, "What is that in your hair? You look like you could be a Vegas showgirl." Flattered or offended? I'm going with offended this time, especially after two comments of this nature two days in a row.

The upside: I guess I succeeded in spicing up my wardrobe!

Summer Update

2009-08-11T23:49:00.002-04:00

It's been quite some time since you all last heard from me, so I thought I'd do a quick summer recap...

I spent the Fourth of July in Jamestown and Colonial Williamsburg learning the history of how our nation came about. Very fitting for the holiday! The original Jamestown settlement was very historic and I loved all the fun facts. Weird I know, but that's just me! And our fireworks show in Williamsburg had FOUR finales, which made for an awesome end to the day. Then I spent the night in a hotel in Richmond with my church small group girls. It was our first official overnight extravaganza together. Everything went smoothly minus the faulty air conditioner in our room that kept Michele awake and the rain the next morning that prevented us from having any fun in Richmond. Over the weekend journey, I learned that I get car fatigue after only about 2 hours in a car. I've become a creature of public transit. It's my life now.

For most of the remainder of July, I hung out around home (with the exception of a serious kickball tournament, a sprained thumb from playing catch with a football, and several Cubs/Nats games) while many of my friends went on numerous vacations. It was a little disheartening at times, especially when I spent several Friday nights alone in my apartment. Alone time is good for everyone, but I can only handle it in small portions. So I am happy to report that August was/is/will be quite a busy time for me.

I attended a housewarming party for friends the first Saturday of the month, and also met another one of my roommate's college friends. Still haven't met one that I didn't like!

Last weekend I went on my first coastal beach vacation. It was our second small group getaway, but this was on a much grander scale. We stayed in one of the girls' grandfather's beach house that was literally a five minute walk from the ocean. The weather was perfect the entire time we were there (including hot enough to make us want to drive home yesterday). I happily have no intense sunburn to report :) My favorite part of the weekend was watching the sunrise over the ocean and seeing a whole slew of dolphins. It was well worth waking up in the 5 o'clock hour!

This coming weekend I will be traveling to Omaha/the farm/Des Moines to celebrate birthdays (my niece Lexi's, mine, and my mom's) and see friends. As always, I can hardly wait to spend time with loved ones that are a thousand miles away from DC. And, I can't wait to use my new carry-on bag...it's extremely adorable :)

And next weekend, a few of my friends and I rented a lake house in Virginia somewhere (4 hours away, I'm told) to celebrate my birthday and get away from the city. We may do some boating, hiking in waterfalls, and/or visiting wineries. All sound intriguing to me, so I'm hoping for a great birthday weekend.

Finally, kickball will be starting up again at the end of the month. I'm excited to get back together with the whole team again, as it's been hard to round everyone up during the summer. And I am still deciding on whether or not I'll be going to Vegas over Columbus Day weekend for the big tournament we qualified for last season. Although I've never been, and I feel like this would be a fun group to go with, I'm a little nervous about the money situation. If only it weren't so expensive to fly...

Metro Matters

2009-06-28T23:49:00.002-04:00

As many of you are already aware, there was a tragic Metro accident last Monday. Nine people lose their lives and many were taken to hospitals and treated for injuries. The accident occurred around 5pm on the red line. Yes, I do take the red line to and from work each day, but the accident site was on the other end of the line. As the week went on and more and more details regarding the accident were reported in the news, I felt compelled to read the articles and review the pictures. Each time after doing so, I asked myself, "Why are you doing this?" It was disheartening and quite unsettling to know that this could have happened anywhere on the Metro and at any time. Scary to think, but I really do live or die by the public transportation system in the DC Metro area. I am thankful to say that I'm still currently living by it, but my prayers are with those who lost their lives and those whom they left behind.

The unfortunate accident caused major delays on the red line all week. Such delays make everyone using the Metro irritable. Time is such a precious commodity, and many commuters lack the patience to behave politely throughout the less than positive circumstances. Just like the others, I had to forcefully get on the Metro each morning and evening, as I would have been left standing on the platform for hours if I politely allowed the pushy ones to get the best of me. I didn't appreciate the amount of touching and sweating (the train cars were all at least 80 degrees or warmer) in the beyond full capacity trains, but I reminded myself often that things could be worse. Others forgot that simple thought and chose to be rude all week long. It was quite trying on my patience, and it put me in a less than desirable mood for starting the work day. Thankfully I made it through the week relatively unscathed and am thinking optimistically for the week ahead.

My roommate has been gone on a college reunion adventure since last Wednesday evening, and I'm more than ready to have her back home. I've had sufficient enough alone time and cleaning time, and I would really appreciate sharing my weekend tales with someone. Living alone definitely isn't for me!

I'm excited about the Fourth, even though I do not yet have plans. It's such a great holiday! Let's just hope the rain stays away in DC this year :)

All alone

2009-06-21T15:43:00.002-04:00

It's hard not to miss my dad today, as I've been home alone and entertaining myself by reading on Facebook how my friends and family are celebrating Father's Day. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that so many people get to spend the day honoring their loved ones and having fun. I hope my family is doing the same.

Eleven years. That's a lot of life my dad wasn't able to share with me. I'm sure he's been keeping his on me from heaven, but I wish he were here to experience what my life is like as an adult. I doubt he would share in my thrills of the city and the political realm I'm surrounded by, but I know he would be happy to see that this is what makes me happy.

One of the bosses in my office recently experienced the death of her second mother. This was a woman who gave her her first job and believed that she would one day become a very successful lobbyist. This boss had a conversation with the woman's actual daughter while at work this week and she totally broke down. I was unsure of how to react or respond, but I just offered her a hug and let her say whatever she needed to. Death of loved ones is always tough. It's helpful to rely on those around you to keep you going, but unfortunately I don't have anyone to offer me that hug now. I'm looking forward to church later, because this being alone stuff is not good today.

I've also been thinking a lot about my friend Jenny this past week. We learned that her tumors are growing and her doctors are telling her that we have to look at her cancer as a treatable disease rather than a curable one. We briefly heard this statement before she changed her chemo drugs, but dismissed the thoughts because we still had alternative treatment plans. Those plans are running low and those words are not as ignorable any more. Jenny may seek a second opinion from a doctor in NYC, but she's already seen some of the best doctors in the country. We continue to keep her in our prayers and hope for a miraculous recovery, but the reality of the situation is extremely trying. My roommate shared many more experiences with Jenny while in college together and living in Bethesda together for a few months, so she's taking this even harder than me. It's difficult providing any sort of comfort when I struggle with handling the reality of it all myself. If only we could make it disappear. Please keep Jenny in your thoughts and prayers for me, as she needs them now more than ever.

Sorry for such a serious blog on what is meant to be a joyous day with family. Appreciate all of your blessings, as you never know what lies ahead tomorrow.

Missed May

2009-05-30T15:40:00.002-04:00

May simply flew by, much like every other month of 2009. I can't believe June will be here next week, but I am very excited for summer. Nicer weather always brings many more opportunities to have fun and stay busy. All the rain this month left me desiring more, and I definitely had a few low points. Most troublesome being, my wallet was stolen last week and I've been struggling to replace everything inside. I haven't had adequate access to my money, nor have I been able to enjoy going out with friends for lack of adequate ID. I also missed out on a big family gathering in Iowa on Mother's Day weekend, which brought on some very strong feelings of missing my family. That's definitely the hardest part about "living the dream" in DC. A brief visit from Aunt Marla and Uncle Mike helped out some. Thankfully, I am also in the position to take a few days off from work and will be flying back for a long weekend to attend a friend's wedding and spend time with family. I will also finally be able to replace my driver's license. I can't wait for next Friday!

My roommate Cat continues to have an abundance of visitors. I love meeting all of her friends and seem to get along with most of them very well. However, I have definitely realized that I don't like unstructured visits. So often, we spend so much time talking about things we can do and thinking about making a plan that we waste a lot of time that we could have been actually doing things/going places. If, and when, my friends are able to come visit, I will be sure to have at least a few things planned in order to avoid wasting such precious time with weekend guests.

Along with these visitors, we have been reminded of exactly how small this city can be. Rachel (Cat's friend) actually interned with someone I met at Union Pub and someone else who went to college with several people on my kickball team. Okay, that doesn't sound extremely exciting, but it makes more sense if you had any idea of the people involved. I continue to be amazed by how everyone is connected through just a few people.

Work continues to be a bit challenging with my boss, but things have definitely improved. A friend of mine started grad school this past week and my co-worker Elizabeth is taking the GRE next weekend. This sparked my thinking in what is next for me, but I haven't gotten past just posing the question. I didn't think my "dream job" right out of college would turn into just a job so quickly. The Recovery Act (aka stimulus bill) has been our best friend and our biggest nightmare all at the same time. If I didn't need to keep such close tabs on that bundle of funding, I'm not positive what I would be doing each day at my job. Better to be busy, but it's definitely trying on our attitudes.

Last night I went to my first outdoor movie this year. Unfortunately, Screen on the Green lost its sponsor and will likely not be happening, but there are plenty of other outdoor movie locations. Elizabeth and I went to Rosslyn last night. We enjoyed some delicious burgers at Ray's while it rained, purchased two beach chairs at CVS on our way to the movie (so we weren't forced to sit on the wet ground), and laughed our way through The Blues Brothers. We'll definitely be going back to the I Love the 80s movie series several more Friday nights, because we had a lot of fun. But next time, we'll dress warmer!

I hope May treated all of you well. I look forward to seeing some of you very soon and hope to speak to the rest of you in due time as well. Please feel free to call anytime!

Kickball Season!

2009-04-23T21:04:00.003-04:00

That's right, kickball is back! The season got off to a rough start after we were rained out the first week, but our first game was last night. Tough loss 6-5, but I had a great time. Our team doubled in size since last season. So we have a lot of new faces = a lot of new friends! It should be a good season :)

Work hasn't been the most enjoyable place for me the past week and half. My boss returned from her Easter vacation in Cali a different person than when she left. I thought her brain just wasn't turned on the end of last week, but this week has continued to be rough. We are having some communication troubles. I'm definitely not used to this being an issue with anyone, so it doesn't go over too well when I spend 8+ hours with her struggling to make it through the day. I couldn't be more excited that tomorrow is the end of the work week. Let's just hope we get back on track next Monday.

I have a busy weekend ahead. My roommate is turning 23 on Sunday, but we are celebrating the occasion tomorrow evening. We have another friend's surprise birthday party on Saturday night. By Sunday, I'm sure all I'll want to do is veg on the couch until church. I'm excited, as this is the first weekend in a really long time that Cat hasn't had to work at least one night, so we'll have lots of quality time together.

My Easter date guy turned out to be a bust, but I didn't lose much sleep over that. It's crazy how many of the girls in my small group have had new guys come into the picture, because nearly all of us were single the first time we met. This definitely wasn't the right fit for me, but I'm happy that my girls are enjoying their new relationships. It's always exciting to share our news each Monday night. Hopefully as the weather continues to be nice, we will all get the chance to hang out in more social situations together. I can't wait for Screen on the Green and other outdoor movies!

I hope all of you are well, and I'll be back with another update soon :)

Easter #2 in DC

2009-04-16T13:15:00.002-04:00

Surprise! I'm back.

Many things have occurred over the past month that I have yet again failed to keep you all informed of. My apologies. Here are a few highlights...

*My co-worker and I watched the motorcade travel down our street. We stood apart from the crowds on the corners and waved at Barack like adoring fans at a concert. Unlike my motorcade story from Inauguration weekend, eye contact was made and he even shot us a big grin. After a moment of shock, Elizabeth and I both screamed (adoring fan style) on the steps. This led to the amusement of secret service agents in the vehicles behind Barack's car. We didn't really care! Then we went back inside for a routine day of work in the office down the street from the White House.

*I led my small group a few weeks ago. Only about half of us were there, so it was a little less intimidating. It went well and I continue to enjoy getting together with the girls both on Monday nights and outside of our normal small group meetings. It's good to have a few more good girl friends out here who I know I can lean on if need be. Several of us enjoyed some Cherry Blossom festivities together...mainly the parade and a few live performances on the stage near the Tidal Basin.

*I went to a Cherry Blossom reception on the Hill. Met a few interesting people, including a guy. We hung out several times last week and attended Easter mass at the Basilica together. There were SO many people...I'd say several hundred were standing in the aisles and near the exits. We got extremely lucky and found seats in the second pew from the front, one section over from Newt Gingrich who was proudly sitting front row center. Nathan was a lot more excited about seeing the former Speaker of the House than I was, and he even made me go over and take his picture with Newt. I shook Newt's hand and wished him a Happy Easter, and then we were on our way. Only in DC!

*I made "Easter dinner" for my roommate and I when she got home from Orlando. We decided to go see the movie Hannah Montana after eating. It was definitely a guilty pleasure movie experience, but we laughed about it while there and are still laughing about it whenever we tell our friends that we saw this tween/teen sensation flick. Several of them are secretly jealous they didn't get to come with us. This makes Easter number two for me in DC! Crazy to think that I've been here over a year now, but I continue to enjoy everything this city has to offer. Although I would have loved to spend the holiday with family, my Easter was still a success.

*I met up with a friend from college who's been interning in DC this semester. We went to Union Pub and randomly met two people that attended Iowa State. We exchanged information and are now Facebook friends. Maybe we'll run into each other again, as I am continually reminded exactly how small of a place this city is.

*Yesterday, Elizabeth and I strolled down to Lafayette Park (directly across from the White House & Treasury Building) to check out the DC Tea Party. There were a lot of crazies present, despite the cold and rainy conditions. We couldn't get close enough to hear what was being said over the rain, so we came back to the office and watched the live coverage on CNN. Highlights included a woman referring to the IRS as the Internal Redistribution Service over and over again and a conservative talk radio personality wearing an "America" rain jacket.

*Yesterday was also supposed to be the first day of the new kickball season. The heavy rains prevented us from playing on the Mall, but I did get a chance to meet some of my new teammates last night. They all seem like nice guys, but we'll see where that leads us in the weeks to come. I'll try my best to keep you posted.

xoxo,
~amyjo

My March Madness Continues

2009-03-07T08:33:00.002-05:00

I didn't think it was possible, but this week was even more stressful than last. However, it did include some fun times...

1) I went to a Caps game on Tuesday. Although they are amidst a slump, it was a good reason to leave work on time and hang out with friends.

2) I can finally see the end of filling out appropriation forms, and I look forward to telling you when they are all complete.

3) I found out that I will get the opportunity to meet some clients while they are in town for a conference beginning next weekend.

This afternoon, I'm attending a St. Patrick's Day parade. A little early I'd say, but it should be a good time. And tonight I'm helping kickball friends celebrate their 30th birthdays. Crazy to think that I have friends that are turning 30, but I'm sure crazier things have happened!

Snowfall in March

2009-03-01T11:09:00.002-05:00

I woke up this morning to a beautiful sight out my 10th floor window of large snowflakes falling the from sky. To most of my readers, this would come as no surprise. However, several factors make this an odd occurrence.

1) My co-workers commented earlier this week that we've had such a hard winter. (The irony...I can count the number of times it's snowed on two hands.)

2) It was so warm on Friday that we built a bonfire and roasted marshmallows for smores at midnight.

3) I've been in DC long enough that I felt no shame using my umbrella while walking to church in the snow...normal behavior for average people walking the streets.

My week was ridiculously busy. The only day I left work before 6:30 or 7 was in order to attend Ash Wednesday mass. When I left the office at 7:15pm on Friday, I couldn't have been more excited to breathe fresh air. The good news about all of this is that last week was by far one of our busiest to date. The not so good news...we continue to have more deadlines to meet and more clients in town for the next several weeks. Again, I say to you, I enjoy contributing to the success of our work for the cities we represent. But when I finish something less than to the best of my ability, things are just too busy.

For Lent, I've decided to attend mass on a regular basis. On Wednesday, I went to mass at my old Catholic church on The Hill. Father Burn (my favorite priest at St. Peter's) was presiding, but I left wanting more after hearing the same sermon I heard last year for Ash Wednesday. After attending Our Lady of Lourdes down the street this morning, I was also left wanting more. It doesn't make sense to me that nobody speaks or sings to worship loud enough for their neighbor to hear. I need more than that. I need to feel that those around me are passionate enough for the Lord to put some effort into praising Him. I'm keeping all those of faith who don't outwardly show their inner fire for Christ in my prayers, and I'm hoping to grow closer to the Lord this Lenten season.

May all of you have a blessed Lent!

Bumps Understood

2009-02-25T00:28:00.002-05:00

I made a realization today about the annoying raised path near the edge of every Metro platform. It's important for me to note that I've complained aloud and grumbled to myself time and time again that this large bumpy strip hurts my feet when I speed walk across it in an attempt to breeze by those "tourist-pace" people between me and the exit. I never took the time to figure out why this pathway wasn't smooth like the rest of the platform, nor did it ever cross my mind that it served an important purpose.

Today after work, I witnessed a blind man navigating the Metro. While walking along the platform, he tapped and dragged his cane in rhythm to and from the smooth surface and the bumpy surface. Those annoying bumps to me were a matter of life and death to him. If they weren't there for his safety, he could very easily walk right off the platform and into the path of a moving train.

From this experience, I'm taking away two very important lessons:

1) My convenience isn't always the most important. Take a deep breath and slow your life down once in a while.

2) Cherish the gifts you have (such as sight), rather than dwelling on those you don't or those things that bring you down. Your joy in life relies on it.

Scheduler

2009-02-22T12:37:00.002-05:00

This past week at work was quite intense. President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law, FY 2010 appropriation request deadlines have been looming, and we have a handful of clients coming to Washington next week. I feel as though my job title may well have been "Scheduler" the past few weeks, as I've spent a great deal of time and energy making sure our clients get in to see everyone. But as hectic as things have been in my office, I still do my best to be as polite as possible whenever communicating with people outside my office. I'm continually shocked by the number of people who do not make an effort to do the same.

The poor attitudes I've experienced are most likely caused by people working in a job that they don't enjoy, and this is something I constantly struggle with. After meeting up with my old senate gang for happy hour this week, I was reminded of the number of people that I know personally who are in the same boat. But with the current economy, job security is crucial. It definitely isn't the time to be quitting a job to find something you better enjoy; however, I think this is even more reason for everyone to make the best of their current jobs. I just wish people were a bit more optimistic, that's all.

With that said, my optimism continues to be tested. This week, my good friend Jenny made the decision to be admitted to the hospital. Symptoms from her first week of chemo proved to be too difficult to manage at home, and she felt like the hospital was the best place for her. It's hard for us to show Jenny support from so many miles away, but we do the best we can with what we have. Continue to keep her in your prayers, as her treatment road ahead may be long and hard considering how rough it has begun.

In such trying times, I am very thankful for the friends I have made out here and the church family I working on building. The girls in my small group all seem like great people, and I'm excited to get to know them better and have deeper discussions with them. More to follow on that later.

......I can't wait until spring/warm weather!!

Love & Loss

2009-02-16T12:53:00.002-05:00

To say work last week was crazy would be an understatement. By the time Friday afternoon rolled around, we all felt like we'd run a marathon. Not only was I trying to keep up with the ever-changing news on the stimulus, but I was also busy spending time with a friend who was visiting DC for a dental conference. This led to very little sleep and added stress to an already busy week. I couldn't have been more excited to leave the office and head to HH with Elizabeth.

We were in for a big surprise upon meeting her friends at a pool hall we'd never stepped foot in, and purposefully so. This place must have formerly been a truck stop. It was complete with men in cut-off shirts and a cigarette machine--do any of you readers know if this is still legal?--and I was completely out of place in my work attire. Nonetheless, Elizabeth and I made the best of the situation and enjoyed playing some pool, but I proved myself wrong in feeling even more excitement walking out of the pool hall than I felt leaving work.

Now for some love...Valentine's Day. I woke up and made heart-shaped chocolate chip pancakes for myself and my roommate. It was cute and a fun way to start off our day. Cat and I then took off for Friendship Heights in a quest to find the perfect dress for her first official Valentine date. We spent hours searching and trying on dresses. I compared the experience to helping my sister find the perfect wedding dress, but actually found shopping for my 5 foot gf a whole new kind of challenging. Everything I would normally run from on a rack was exactly what she needed. Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful in finding her a new dress. As a last minute thought, I suggested we take a quick look at the shoes. I was immediately drawn to a purple pair of Jessica Simpson pumps that I insisted Cat buy to wear with a dress she had at home and our all-day shopping experience was validated with a five minute splurge shoe purchase.

I was forced to turn over my Valentine to her evening date, but I recruited a few guy friends to take Elizabeth and I out for dinner last minute. It would have been a shame to stay in on a Saturday evening just because nobody had asked to be my Valentine. The four of us had a great casual outing and then had Cat and Brock meet us for a few games of pool (a lot for one weekend, I know). Although my friends were much more competitive than Elizabeth's when it came to shooting pool, there was still a lot of love shared on Valentine's Day.

And now on loss...

I received a phone call from my sister last night. She had news that someone we both knew fairly well died while in labor with her third child. The baby also did not survive. This news was very saddening and difficult to wrap my mind around. I can't imagine how this father is to deal with the loss of an expected baby, the death of his lifelong mate, and the newness of being a single parent all at once. My heart breaks for him and those closest to their family, as I know their struggles are more than ten-fold of those I am feeling. This situation, along with the recurrence of my great friend Jenny's cancer, really makes me ask why such good people are forced to handle such difficult situations. Although I've witnessed the effects of everything happening for a reason, it doesn't make it any easier to digest.

Tonight I am attending a small group gathering of females in their mid-twenties from my church out here. I'm excited to meet some new people and to attempt growing in my personal relationship with the Lord. Fingers crossed this will be a good fit for me!

Movie Date + Church Date = Dating Expert

2009-02-09T19:46:00.002-05:00

My Sunday began with making pancakes for breakfast after a fun night of bowling on Saturday night. Let's just say, the Bethesda bowling alley put Iowa bowling alleys to shame.

Then Cat and I met Elizabeth in Arlington to see "He's Just Not That Into You." Although we had heard the movie wasn't getting the best reviews, we decided to go anyway. The film critics may have taken issue with the fact that the movie didn't fully develop the characters or that stereotypes ran the show, but I felt like the movie offered a little bit of truth for everyone in the audience (which was about 98% female). The only issue I take with the film is that those women in the audience with significant others are left doubting whether their man really is into them. The last thing women need is another reason to question our relationships, because we are all guilty of analyzing (and even over analyzing) them until we are blue in the face. Currently, I do not have a relationship to do just that over, but Cat and Elizabeth are worried enough for all three of us. I'm doing the best damage control possible!

After the movie, the three of us grabbed a bite to eat before heading to church. Last week, John (one of the younger members of the staff) started a two week series on dating. The first message was meant to be all about finding the right person. Although John had a number of valuable things to share, the main thing I took from that message was you need to make yourself the best person you can be in order to prepare yourself for meeting that right person. Ok, I've heard this once or twice before. This week's message was focused on how to go about the actual dating after you find that potential someone. John's words this week were, hands down, one of the best sermons I have ever heard.

The key phrase Todd shared was this...The holier you are, the happier you'll be. He said this phrase holds true with respect to more than just dating, but discussed it specifically with respect to dating. And then he said the one thing you need to establish to have a good dating relationship is "clarity." As with many religious themes, there were three parts to this clarity: clarity in communication, clarity in boundaries, and clarity in community. I'll leave my summary at that, but I strongly encourage you to visit http://www.frontlinedc.com/pages/page.asp?page_id=712 and listed to John's message. Hopefully you will benefit from his words even half as much I have, because I know it will be well worth your time.

Still Alive and Kicking

2009-02-07T10:15:00.002-05:00

Hello, hello!

As it's nearly been three months since my last entry, I apologize for my extended hiatus. I'm sure my faithful readers are wondering what I've been up to since November. I'll do my best to get you up-to-date in this entry.

Thanksgiving was spent with my "DC Family." One of my friend's mom's came out to visit and helped us prepare a full Thanksgiving feast for 25, even though there were only 6 of us. Although it was difficult to be away from my immediate family for the holiday, I knew I would get to spend quality time with them over Christmas.

Much to my dismay, I had the opportunity to see my family much sooner than planned. The day after Thanksgiving, one of my cousins got in a terrible car accident. He was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident, was miraculously revived, but then died in the hospital over the weekend. This news was very shocking, and I had a difficult time handling it out here alone. Doug's funeral was planned for two weekends after the accident, giving us all the opportunity to take off work and book our tickets to Denver. Although death of a loved one is the last possible situation you would want to bring your family together for, I did enjoy seeing nearly all of my extended family and felt extremely fortunate to be able to be there for Doug's immediate family, especially his daughter Hannah. We all struggled to understand why it was his time to join the Lord in heaven, but I know from personal experience that the loss of a father at such a young age is life-changing. My family in Colorado remains in my prayers, and I hope they are continuing to feel a little better each day.

The weekend after my Denver trip was the beginning of my Christmas adventures in the Midwest. When I woke up the morning of my flight, I had a bad feeling that something was going to go wrong. I had Ben (a close friend, at the time) take me to the airport early, but everything went smoothly until Omaha. My luggage did not make it to my second airplane, leaving me to manage with clothing still in my room at the farm for the next several days, as I went straight to Des Moines later that evening to spend time with friends from college. I couldn't have been more excited to go to Amanda and Miranda's new apartment for a Christmas gathering with a group of my closest friends, but unfortunately lost luggage wasn't the cause of that feeling I'd had in the morning.

About 20 minutes from my destination, I was forced to stop on the Interstate for an unknown reason over the next hill. About 20 minutes after being stopped I realized there must have been a serious accident as a several police cars and three ambulances passed by me on the shoulder. An hour after stopping, I assumed the accident was nearly cleared from the road and I'd be moving shortly. If only. Four and half hours and two cries later, I finally got to continue on my way. I drove past a semi-trailer still on fire and detached from it's cab and another semi-trailer with damage to it's back door. For my first time behind the wheel in 6 months, this experience was traumatizing enough to make me never want to drive again.

I got past that feeling and drove the final few miles to see my friends, who were all of course asleep by the time I arrived. Fortunately, I was able to get a smaller group of people together for lunch the following day and got to spend a few quality days with my Rach. Although we both wanted that time to be a few weeks instead of a few hours, we had a great time together as always.

This brings us to Dec. 23, when I had the opportunity to pick up a friend from the KC airport with another one of my college friends. All of this drive time was a bit nerve-wracking after my first driving experience, but everything went smoothly and I made it back to the farm late that evening in time to begin Christmas celebrations with my family. I was back and forth between Harlan and Omaha for the remainder of my visit, seeing great friends from high school and friends from my internship program out here. Although spending time with everyone I love so dearly was great, I headed to the airport anticipating a move upon returning back to DC.

I ran into more trouble as my flight was delayed and overbooked, forcing me to reschedule my flight for the following day, New Year's Eve. I flew through Dallas to DCA and arrived in Bethesda at 3pm. My new roommate (details on this later) Cat helped me pack up my apartment and we made it to her place with a full carload by 6pm, just in time to get ready for the night's festivities and head out. We spent the evening with kickball friends, but were a little distracted because our friend Jenny was unable to make it back to DC.

Sadness, take 2. Our good friend Jenny found out that her bone cancer had come back after over 6 years in remission, and she had immediate surgery to remove the greater part of one of her ribs. The surgery went well, but the road to follow will be long and hard. Jenny was able to return to DC the night before the Inauguration to enjoy that with us. She had several consultations out here and made the decision to go forward with a 6 month chemo treatment back home in St. Louis. She packed up her room and left Tuesday morning this week. My housing troubles apparently were for this reason, as I am now living with Cat in Jenny's old room. We are hopeful that Jenny's treatment will go well the next few months and she will be able to come back *home* to us soon and finish her treatment out here. Please keep her in your prayers for me.

***INAUGURAL TIME***

I couldn't have been more excited to be in the nation's capital for one of the most historic Presidential Inaugurations. Everyone here thought the time would never come, but we were all thrilled when it finally got here! Cat and I joined several thousand of our closest friends on The Mall for the "We Are One" concert the Sunday before Inauguration. On our way to the concert, we just so happened to run into the Obama's outside the Blair House. Michelle waved to Cat and I from the motorcade!!! This was definitely the highlight of our experience, as not too many people are able to say this happened to them. We continued on to The Mall and got to see handfuls of famous musicians and Hollywood personalities. This day will be the memory of a lifetime, and I look forward to sharing it with people as I get older. I loved being with so many people and getting excited with them about the new direction our nation will embark upon.

Inauguration day was absolutely freezing, and we decided that it would be in all of our best interests to watch the swearing in and parade from the comfort and warmth of a coffee shop just outside of were the millions of people lined The Mall and the streets. We cheered and laughed with a large group of people and then enjoyed several hours of an all you can drink Mimosas and Bloody Marys at a bar down the street. There were people EVERYWHERE, but our day turned out to be amazing. Several of my close friends had the opportunity to attend Inaugural Balls, but they turned out to be a bit over-rated. All in all, it was a fabulous experience :)

Finally, a little about work. The stimulus bill has been a HUGE topic of interest for us, as there is a lot of money at stake for our cities. We have been having a handful of client visits/appointments on the Hill. I was fortunate enough to meet one of our new mayors and someone I speak to on the phone on a regular basis. It's good to put a face with the name, and I look forward to doing the same with more of our clients in the future. Appropriation time is also upon us, and I have been busy filling out those forms for a few of our cities. I feel like the contributions I have been making to our office are significant, and I look forward to continuing my work. Although I don't always appreciate staying at work up to an hour late, I do enjoy keeping busy.

I am now off to unpack my things and get settled in here. Hopefully you won't have to wait too long to hear from me again!

All my love,

amyjo

Once a singer, always a singer

2008-11-16T22:58:00.002-05:00

I attended my first choral concert in the DC area last night. A friend of mine from the Senate is in the Congressional Chorus, and she was performing in her first major concert with this group. The concert was entitled Rediscovering Treasures and the chorus was scheduled to be singing American choral works from the Library of Congress (only in DC, right?), so I was extremely excited to attend.

A carload of us ventured to McLean, VA to see Christie perform. Luckily we left extremely early, because we detoured not once, not twice, but three times on our way to the venue, nearly died trying to get on the interstate, ran into the G-20 summit motorcade, and almost got stuck in someone's private drive. The 12-mile *road trip* proved to be our main excitement for Saturday night, as the concert itself was a slight let down.

Okay, it sounds mean of me to say, but I had really high expectations. From the information on the Congressional Chorus website about try-outs, annual fees and repertoire, I assumed this group was quite a professional chorus. And for $25 per person, I don't think expecting a fabulous performance was too far fetched. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I went to support Christie and hear the group. However, I realized that my voice training (amateur as it may be) has led me to a different style of singing. With a Luther alumnus as my initial voice coach/high school director and singing at a college known for its opera program, I'm used to a full, rich, well-tuned sound. Although I may never have been the strongest singer in these groups, I'm not used to hearing anything other than what I now realize to be great music. This concert took me back to my high school freshman year women's choir days.

Though I'm sure many of the individual members of the Congressional Chorus are fine singers, as a whole, they have room for improvement. If you aren't a singer yourself, please ignore my jargon for a moment...but the consonent placement was all over the place, the audible gasps for breath support were horrendous at times, and a handful of members were overly animated at all times. I tried to keep my cringes at a minimum, and at one point, I was tearing up while trying to hold back my laughter (reacting to the animation of a baritone in the front row). If I were a member in this group, I definitely would not have wanted to see myself sitting in the audience. Apparently I am a stuck-up choral critic, and I had absolutely no idea! And when my friend, Christie, asked me about the performance, I just couldn't lie. She didn't seem offended by what I was saying, as she genuinely wanted to know what I thought, but I do feel somewhat guilty for being disappointed.

In thinking about my strong reaction to this concert, in addition to my frustration of singing hymns from a few centuries ago at mass, I realize that I miss the music exposure I had while at Simpson. Even after my days of Chorale, I still had Immersion with Bridget and/or Rach by my side each week. Although I know that time has come and gone, I am doing my best to find new such things that bring me joy. Last week I attended Frontline with Elizabeth, and I was ecstatic to find out that it was so similar to Immersion. We sang familiar contemporary Christian songs and the message was delivered in the same manner, all that was missing was communion and a few sending songs. So I look forward to attending this service with Elizabeth in the future, and I hope it provides my music fix!

Post-Election DC

2008-11-11T22:37:00.002-05:00

The 2008 Presidential Election was highly anticipated and extremely long awaited. The Iowa caucuses seem like ages ago, and I didn't think Election Day would ever come. Living in a "tri-state" area, with one of the most crucial swing states (VA) included, led for crazy amounts of campaigning. While consuming one poll result after another, I didn't know it was possible to reanalyze a political race so many different ways or so often. This was a truly historic election, and I am very fortunate to have taken most of it in while in the nation's capital.

My co-workers and I all made educated guesses on the election outcomes. We each guessed how many electoral votes the president-elect would receive, as well as the number of Democratic gains in both the Senate and the House. I guessed conservatively, in hopes that all of the talk about Dems sweeping were over exaggerated. I am a firm believer that overly partisan politics is harmful to our nation, and as long as the "us versus them" mentality rules, I'd like to keep the number of Rs and Ds relatively equal.

In order to avoid getting too political (as I know not all of you are big followers), I'll finish by telling you how I took in the results on election night. I met up with friends at a bar on The Hill a little after 6pm, and we were standing shoulder to shoulder in the line of traffic. People were decked out in their suit and ties adorned with "I voted" stickers. I felt a bit left out being stickerless after absentee voting in Iowa, but I was extremely glad to take in the results in the political center of the country. The constant pushing was annoying at first, but I realized that it was all just part of the experience of being on The Hill on Election Day. With that attitude, I loved every minute of being at Cap Lounge.

My friends, however, weren't enjoying the atmosphere nearly as much as I was, so we headed off to another bar. The line to get in at Cap Lounge was at least 35 people long, and the guys at the front of the line cheered as we walked out the door and counted how many of us there were as we walked by to determine how many of them could now get in. It was a little crazy, but I would have been equally excited to go inside if I had been standing outside in the rain too.

We ended up going to my old stomping ground (Union Pub) to watch more results come in. Unlike Cap Lounge which was full of Dems, Union Pub had a great mix of supporters. No matter what the results coming in were, some people were cheering with excitement. I enjoyed the atmosphere at Union Pub equally as much as Cap Lounge on Election Day for this reason. Throughout the night I was thoroughly engaged with all of the results, and I was even coloring in my own map for the presidential race and keeping a tally of Senate races. This behavior could only ever be fully accepted in DC, and I absolutely loved it! However, my friends weren't nearly as engaged and all wanted to leave when they started getting tired. I was unfortunately en route to Bethesda when Barack Obama had secured enough electoral votes to claim victory as the first African American president-elect, but I did make it home just in time to hear both John McCain and Barack Obama speak. Each of their speeches were equally impressive and I'm glad I did not miss either of them!

If I thought for more than a second that once Election Day was over things would settle down, I was crazy. Talk of the transition team, possible Cabinet appointees, and inaugural plans have filled each day since the election. I'm not quite sure how everything will play out in the coming months, but I'm excited to be here! I was upset after seeing the crowds in front of the White House on election night, because I didn't even think to stroll by there. I did walk past the next day with Elizabeth over our lunch hour and construction of the inauguration stages was already well under way. The bike policeman patrolling the area informed me that it's tradition to start preparation the day after the election, and that they won't be finished until January 19. I can't wait to see how everything looks by then, and I'm hoping to take in as many inaugural activities as possible. I'll keep you informed!

I've got a few other experiences to share, but I find myself extremely tired even after having the day off. I hope to blog about them sometime very soon.

6 Foot Dorothy

2008-11-03T22:49:00.002-05:00

This year marked my first Halloween as an "adult," as well as my first Halloween not in the Midwest. Because I lacked a houseful of odds and ends and personal transportation to the nearest Goodwill (apparently downtown Bethesda is too classy!), I was forced to order my first mass-produced Halloween costume. Due to my roots, and an intense love of my patten red shoes, I decided to go as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz.

I ordered what I thought to be a happy median between "Grandma Dorothy" and "Slutty Dorothy"...but was extremely disappointed upon trying the costume on and realizing once again that I am way too tall to be wearing generic-sized costumes. (Next year, I'm thinking of Fionna...the female ogre in Shrek.) The problem was remedied with a borrowed tennis skirt, but let's just say that "6 Foot Dorothy" didn't go by unnoticed.

In fact, I wasn't the only "6 Foot Dorothy" to make an appearance in the area. The Tuesday before Halloween, Dupont Circle holds an annual drag queen high heel race. Yes, that's right, a large number of (generally gay) men dressed in Halloween drag and high heels parade up and down the street for several hours strutting their stuff before sprinting a four block strip in high heels. The other "6 Foot Dorothy" (wearing the exact same costume as mine) was joined by a few friends to portray the entire Oz cast. Other highlighted costumes entailed about 20 Sarah Palin's (this is DC friends) and a handful of Victoria's Secret Angels (with bikini's and 8 foot wings). I love how confident men in drag are, and I was secretly jealous of a few of them for having better legs than me :) A few of you might have been completely appalled had you attended High Heel Race, but I am definitely considering it my most favorite Halloween tradition.

With Halloween falling on Friday this year, planning to celebrate wasn't a walk in the park. I decided Thursday night around midnight that I was going to get ready at my co-worker Elizabeth's in Arlington, as that's where a bunch of my kickball acquaintances were gathering. This meant packing up all of the necessities for my costume and taking them to work. Not such a big task for me, as I have become accustomed to loading up my bag and shipping out of Bethesda for 24-36 hour adventures, but the planning wasn't quite as simple for everyone else.

Several of my friends had nothing planned in the way of costumes, which required us to drive to the nearest shopping center and visit a Halloween party store (NEVER a good idea on Halloween night) and Target after work (driving in rush hour traffic). As you can imagine, this took a considerable amount of time. I'm usually a very patient person (and yes, I know you've read this before if you've been following my blog throughout my internship stage), but I was extremely antsy by the time everyone was finally ready. We arrived at the party around 9pm, 2 hours after its start time. Did we still have a good time? Of course. The night just could have gotten off to a better start (and ended better for several of my friends).

All in all, it was a sucessful first Halloween away from the Midwest. While my DC friends were busy dressing up as Joe six-pack and hockey moms, I rocked the quintessential Midwestern girl costume. I love being out here, but I still haven't forgotten my roots!

Greatest Weekend!!!

2008-10-19T18:43:00.004-04:00

Fasten your seat beats, friends, because you are in for a ride with this blog!

We'll start out slowly, but anticipate the high excitement to come.

FRIDAY
Work was busy, as my bosses were preparing for their trip to Denton/Dallas, Texas. We stayed a little late, but nothing too crazy. While on the Metro to Bethesda (where I ran into Alec from my kickball team), I decided to make pickle roll-ups and pepperoni bread for the Navy homecoming tailgate. So I stopped by Safeway to pick up the necessary ingredients, but failed to realize exactly how much time goes into making both of these items. The bread was a bit disastrous for several reasons...
1) I clearly didn't have time to let the frozen bread dough thaw in the fridge over night
2) We do not have a rolling pin
3) We do not have a slicer for cutting cheese
4) One cookie sheet is insufficient for baking three loaves of bread
5) I didn't have a recipe letting me know how long to bake the bread, and consequently undercooked one loaf

After that fiasco, it was on to the roll-ups where I didn't have much better luck.
1) There was no dried beef at my tiny Safeway
2) The ham I got instead was sliced too thin and kept breaking, leading me to use two slices for each pickle, causing cutting issues later
3) I didn't have a tupperware large enough to fit the finished product in

Needless to say, I was preparing this food all night long and didn't make it to bed until around 1am. This wasn't great news either, as I knew I had a long Saturday ahead of me. Here's how yesterday went...

SATURDAY
Our (Anne, Jenny, and I) commute to Annapolis started at 10:30 from Bethesda. We had long wait times for the Metro, but luckily Jay was there to pick us up at the end of the line when we got there. Upon arriving in Annapolis, we met up with David to help him finishing sewing bean bags for the cornhole game he and Jimmy made earlier in the week. Crazy, I know. That took quite some time, but it allowed Cat and Kristin to catch up with us. We were a huge hit when we showed up to the tailgate because nobody else had brought food. Although we had all had troubles with our food items, it was an easy crowd to please.

March on was fantastic, again. It was like an entirely different event with the Mids in their winter uniforms now. We forgot the candy to throw at them, but it was still very enjoyable. The game was oversold by a few thousand extra general admission spots on the hill, so we had nowhere to sit and watch the game. Jay led us into the student section with all the Mids in uniform next to us. Because it was homecoming, nobody seemed to care. We avoided being scolded by the guys in red, which was a step up from last game. It got really cold, but we toughed out the entire game even though we were getting stopped by Pitt.

The post-game '69 tailgate was great. My burger was delicious, and the retired Navy guy tending the bar made me excellent vodka crans. I saved the cup! We would have stayed longer, but everyone was freezing. We all went home to Jay's for a bit before hitting up a few bars on the water. Nobody seemed too upset after the loss.

SUNDAY
Our commute home was interesting. We got a ride from Andrew in his jeep with no front passenger window and practically everything he owns in the back. There was just enough room to fit everyone. Then we Metroed in on the orange line to Smithsonian, were Cat and Kristin were monument walking. We did that whole bit so Kaitlin could take massive amounts of photos on her fancy camera. After walking to the "backside" of the White House, we ran into a lady handing out tickets to tour the rose garden!!!

Apparently this happens only twice a year, but it's open to everyone. The people at the gate handing out programs said "Welcome to the White House," and we all freaked. Then this little boy summed up the prestigiousness of the situation best with..."(to a secret service agent) So, THIS is the White House? (to his father) I'm not dreaming, this is the White House, Dad!"

The Navy traveling band was playing music next to the fountain, there were signs of former presidents and first ladies all over the lawn, and plenty of secret service people to answer all of our questions...including the guy I talked to about hating his job when I toured the East Wing earlier this year. It was SO MUCH FUN! I mean really, who would have guessed that everyone could just tour the White House lawn on a Sunday afternoon? Somehow, some way, we were in the right place at the right time and got to experience that. I'm thinking the big guy upstairs was looking out for us today.

Nothing could really top that, but the day did go on. Anne, Jenny, and I decided to walk to the National Portrait Gallery for a special exhibit on Georgia O'Keeffe and Ansel Adams, of which we made it just in time to grab a quick beverage in the cafe (with a talking trash can that said "thank you") and hop on the 4pm once daily tour. Perfect timing yet again. It was a great exhibit, and so was the women's photography exhibit upstairs. Great idea to go there, but we were straight up exhausted by the time we finished. I made it home around an hour ago, a day and half and a million memories after leaving yesterday morning.

*ONLY IN DC*

October Already

2008-10-07T21:46:00.003-04:00

After keeping you waiting for over a month now, I promise to stop promising that I will blog more often. It turns out life in the city keeps me quite busy. The month of September simply flew by!

I continue to learn new things at work each day. I've been keeping busy planning trips for my bosses to our client cities both before and after the election, as well as researching major issues of interest that we will lobby for/against when the new administration takes office. I'm currently watching the second debate between Senators Obama and McCain, and I'm not happy about the fact that the campaigning has gotten dirty so quickly. Now that election day is just a month away, I'm sure everyone will eat, breathe, and sleep political ads. Smear tactics don't help anyone make an informed decision at the voting booth, and I will be happy when November 5 rolls around. Whatever the outcome of this significant election may be, I'm sure DC will be an exciting place to be in the months ahead.

The weather has been quite wonderful here. It was rather cold for a few days, and rainy for a few more, but has been very nice for the most part. My friends and I have tried to take advantage of this by attending outdoor art festivals, fairs, and concerts. I apologize for not keeping you up to date on all of my social endeavors, because they have all been great. Here are a few highlights of my activities over the past month...

Tailgating/attending the Navy vs. Rutgers football game (including standing with the Mids in the student section...with a Navy alum friend of mine, but still definitely not allowed)
Debate party for first presidential debate
Crafty Bastard Festival (outdoor crafts festival)
Drag Queen Brunch (lip syncing performances by men dressed in sequence)
Trivia night with the girls at Fado (Irish bar)
Birthday parties of new kickball friends (karaoke, pub golf, etc.)
Taste of Bethesda (Food festival with the many, many restaurants in Bethesda)
Classy house party on the Hill with kickball friends
Redskins game (in full) at a sports bar with die hard fans
Duke Ellington Jazz Festival

I'm sure I left a few things out, but you get the picture. There's always something going on, and I enjoy experiencing it all. Unfortunately, my on-the-go lifestyle has hindered the healing process of my mysteriously swollen right foot. The most likely cause of this *injury* is kickball three weeks ago, but I didn't think much of it until my foot continuously swelled for the past several weeks. Because I do a considerable amount of walking each day, my foot will never get the rest it likely needs to heal quickly. But I've decided that I would rather live with that than sit around my apartment and miss out on the fun.

Now that you are all caught up on my life, please take a few minutes to fill me in on yours. Comment on my blog or shoot me an email at amyjo.jacobsen@gmail.com
I'd love to hear from you!

HOME

2008-09-01T11:18:00.003-04:00

Today marks exactly two months since my return to DC, and everything has finally fallen into place. I've officially completed two weeks at my dream job, and I can't wait until Barbara (my main boss) returns to the office this week. I've gotten a good handle on a number of things, but I'm ready to be exposed to it all. Although I'm a bit nervous that I'll be overwhelmed when she comes back and once Congress reconvenes, I am up for the challenge.

This week proved to be quite busy outside of the office. I had my very first visitors from back home since the beginning of my time in DC seven months ago. Crazy, I know! Much to their dismay, Mom and Jay were one day late to obtain *first visitor* status. The Steenhusen family came into DC from Delaware on Thursday, and I met up with them for lunch. They weren't the most prepared tourists (no maps, no umbrellas, no definite plans), but it was great seeing them. I think they had a good time when all was said and done.

Mom and Jay detoured from their NYC vacation into DC for the weekend. It was fun showing them my old house on The Hill and a few of my favorite spots along the Mall. The best part, however, was having them visit me at my office in downtown DC and getting to take them to my new apartment. That's right, I finally found a place to call home! I responded to a Craigslist posting last weekend, visited the place and met my potential roommate (plus her current roommate, who will be moving in with her boyfriend not too far away) on Monday night, and confirmed the deal after work on Wednesday. I'm quite positive it was meant to be, because they had someone else lined up that had to bow out at the last minute and it really was crunch time for me to lock in a residence. In order to get my first paycheck, I needed to fill out tax information including my address. As paydays are the 1st and 15th of each month, you could say I waited until the last possible minute. It's not like I wasn't trying, but I think holding out for the right place with the right roommate will pay off in the end.

As today is Labor Day, and everyone is enjoying an extra day off from work, I'm capitalizing on the perfect opportunity to move. My dear co-worker Elizabeth graciously offered her assistance and will be driving myself and my belongings to Bethesda this afternoon. Anne (whom I've been saying with for nearly a month now) is also helping me get settled in to the new apartment, and will likely be my most frequent visitor. It's weird thinking about not seeing her every single day, as I've grown very accustomed to doing so, but I couldn't be more excited about finally having my own place to call home!

Here's my new address...
4887 Battery Lane
Apartment #31
Bethesda, MD 20814

I hope you all had an enjoyable long weekend. After I get settled into my new apartment, I hope to do a better job at blogging more frequently. And if you haven't talked to me in what seems like forever, please don't hesitate to give me a call. My cell number is (712) 579-2528, and I'd love to hear from you :)

Working Girl

2008-08-25T19:11:00.002-04:00

I deeply apologize for my two week hiatus from the blogosphere.

Last week I started my new job with Barbara T. McCall Associates (aka Capital Edge), and I am happy to report that things have been going well thus far. However, I must place a disclaimer on this statement, as the office has been slow due to summer Congressional recess. During times of recess, members of the staff generally take personal vacations or made needed client visits. So, I have yet to work a day in the office with everyone there, and I will not get the chance to do so until late next week.

Many of you know that I came to DC looking for my *dream job* in the political sector, and I thought that this job was only missing one component--co-workers my age. Much to my surprise, on my first real day of work I met Elizabeth. She has essentially the same position as me with Chaney & Associates, our sister company and the other half of Capital Edge. Elizabeth is also a recent college grad who relocated to DC after doing a semester internship on The Hill. We are so similar in so many ways that it's unreal. I have a feeling we are going to become great friends, and quickly. With Elizabeth in the mix, my new job really does have all of the components I was looking for in my dream job. It's crazy to think that I really did it. I really found exactly what I was looking for...in six weeks time. Though it seemed like an eternity for me, especially while living a secluded life in Hyattsville, that's really quite an accomplishment for such a short time. No, I'm not trying to brag, but I'm still just in shock that this is really my life now. Living the dream in DC!

Last week was extremely hectic for me with starting my job, making birthday plans, winning our second kickball game, and celebrating my birthday. Thank you to all of you who called, texted, or facebooked birthday wishes, and special thanks to those who sent cards. I thought my first DC birthday had the potential to be a bust, but it really went well. Once I find somewhere to live, everything will be on track for settling in to my new life in the nation's capital city. And speaking of, I must get on my way to go visit an apartment in Bethesda. Keep your fingers crossed that this is the one!

The Search is Complete!

2008-08-11T11:46:00.002-04:00

I am very happy to report that I am the newest employee of Capital Edge!!!

For my faithful readers who were keeping their fingers crossed over Interview 4, it payed off. I received the call on Friday morning and was offered the job on the spot, even though my boss has yet to speak with my references. My acceptance was less than formal to say the least. I believe my exact response to her saying that she would like to offer me the position was *All right!!!*...of which she took as a yes. Thoughts of negotiating any part of the offer were non-existent because I was so excited, but fortunately my offer did not require negotiations.

I'm not positive on the protocol for discussing job contracts, but as the only people who stumble upon this blog are friends and family, I'll just spell it all out! My official title is Legislative/Project Assistant. My hours are said to be 9 to 5 (37.5 hour work week), but I'm not positive that's how they will remain. We'll just wait and see on that one. I will be doing a variety of tasks because we are such a small office, including, but not limited to: researching grants and legislation, writing memos to clients and articles for a (monthly?) report, attending Congressional hearings (or watching online), collecting important press clips from client cities, assisting by bosses with anything and everything possible, and doing general administrative tasks like answering the phone, making copies, etc. Pretty much exactly what I wanted...current dream job status achieved!

As for my compensation, it is a salary position ($30k) with some awesome benefits...health insurance paid in full, $100 monthly Metro check, 10 days paid sick leave, 10 days paid personal leave, Christmas Eve through New Year's Day automatic paid vacation, and 75% of a gym membership paid. For my first real job in the work force, I'd say that's not bad!

My current/temporary roommates and I had a wonderful celebratory weekend. We hit up a few bars on Friday night, laid out by the pool Saturday afternoon, went to a movie and a housewarming party on Saturday night, walked around the Chevy Chase shopping district Sunday afternoon, and attended an acoustic concert (see Chris Seefried, Jay Nash & Meiko if interested in hearing some new music) in Vienna Sunday night. Busy, but a lot fun :)

In random news: We met a family from Carroll, IA (wearing Tennessee shirts - where roommate Megan is from) on the Metro on our way to the concert and had quite a lengthy conversation (due to track work delays) with a handful of guys in our Metro car on the way home from the concert. Talking to strangers seemed to be a good idea yesterday!

Peace Out Hyattsville

2008-08-07T16:36:00.002-04:00

To the delight of many, I will be moving out of my Hyattsville apartment this evening. You should all be happy to know that I will be leaving this diverse community unscathed, and none too soon. Earlier this week, gun shots were fired and a man was killed after a lengthy police standoff less than a mile down the street from me. Although I heard quite a number of sirens and woke up several times throughout the night feeling a little off, I didn't expect a story like this one (http://www.examiner.com/a-1523334~Hyattsville_man_fatally_shot_after_standoff_with_police.html) was behind it. Just remember, I'm only sharing this with you because you can find comfort in knowing that I will no longer be living in the area.

Because I have been so focused on my job search, I let the ball drop on finding somewhere new to live once my sublease was up. So, for now, I will be staying on Anne and Megan's couch. Although I feel a little guilty for not knowing how long I will need to crash there, I am excited to have roommates that will enjoy engaging in conversation with me!

As always, I will keep you posted if I find a new place to live. And I will let you know when I hear from my future employers next week that I got the job from Interview 4 (see previous post) earlier this week!

Interview recap

2008-08-05T17:22:00.002-04:00

Three interviews in two days was quite an experience! Here's the quick recap...

Interview 1
Wednesday morning I interviewed at Burness Communication for the "Project Coordinator" position on a four person policy team. They work mainly with health issues, and my main responsibilities would be event/meeting preparation and planning (i.e. organizing schedules, making travel arrangements, etc.). The office seemed very laid back - fittingly so, as it is located in Bethesda, away from the hustle and bustle of downtown or The Hill. It would be a great job to utilize my communications degree more so than my political science degree, which I'm probably okay with. However, they are in no rush to fill the position, so I'm not sure when I will hear back from them.

Interview 2
Wednesday afternoon I had a second interview at Morgan Meguire for their "Legislative/Administrative Assistant" position. The interview went very well, but they informed me I was competing with four other candidates with similar qualifications and it would be a tough decision for them to make. Fortunately, they were going to make the decision soon, so I didn't have to sit and stew over whether or not I got that position. Friday morning I received the call -- they chose someone else. Disappointing, but I'm focusing on the success of making it past their first cut and interviewing to the best of my ability. They told me that they were very impressed with me, and they couldn't think of anything I could have done better when interviewing (or for future interviews), so I'd say that's positive as well!

Interview 3
Thursday morning I interviewed for "Staff Assistant" at The Livingston Group - a big name lobbying firm on The Hill. Of all three interviews, this was the least comfortable. There was an awkward tension between the two of us the entire time, and I didn't feel great when I walked out the door. The position itself seems great, but once again, they are not in a rush to fill this position. They will make their first cuts in a few weeks though, as they are hoping to hire someone before September. Although I haven't closed the door on that opportunity just yet, I'm not extremely confident in how the interview went. But sometimes those are the people who surprise you in the end (or so I'm told), so we'll wait and see.

Amidst all of those interviews, I managed to schedule two more for this week...

Interview 4
This morning I interviewed for another "Legislative/Administrative Assistant" position with a firm much like Morgan Meguire (interview 2). They are a small government relations firm that represents cities. I would be working mainly with two people, so I would get the opportunity to learn a lot and do a lot of things I would never get the chance to in a big firm. So that is especially appealing to me! This job seems ideal, and I am very pleased with how the interview went. We all communicated well with one another, and I felt like I was saying a lot of things they wanted to hear about my experience on The Hill. A lot of the types of projects I did in my internship would allow me to transition into this position quite well, so I'm hoping I have a few up on the other possible candidates this time! I also had to proofread a memo and write a hypothetical memo for them to get a grasp on my abilities, which I think went well...but you can never really tell on those types of things. The best part is, they are making their decision next week sometime, so I won't have to stew over this position either. Please keep your fingers crossed for me on this one!!!

And interview five is scheduled for tomorrow morning. It's actually just a meeting with someone at a temporary staffing agency. If I don't lock down a job in the next week or so, I'm going to start doing temp work to make some money and network. So I'm just getting a jump start on that process this week with another agency, as my current agencies have been less than brilliant thus far.

I'm on my way to cheer on some friends playing softball on the Mall, but I hope to have great news to report soon!

I'm getting so close!

2008-07-29T22:37:00.002-04:00

Last week proved to be very challenging, and I was nearly ready to just throw in the towel. The pressure of finding a job before the end of July (my original goal) combined with the stress of looking for somewhere new to live really started to get to me. Although I had my first full-on interview (no thanks necessary for any of my many staffing agencies) last Monday, it was extremely overshadowed. Applying for that position was a long shot, and I wasn't extremely confident in my qualifications for the job to begin with. I did the best I could at the interview, but I thought it could have gone better. When they didn't call by the end of the week, like they said they would, I thought that opportunity had passed. In the spirit of getting that dream job of mine, I called them this Monday to see if they had filled the position. Much to my surprise, they were just taking a few extra days to decide who to call back for second interviews.

So, my week was off to a good start, and I had the motivation to keep trudging through the job search. After another 6 or 7 follow-up "Happy Monday" emails, I received a phone call for an interview with a government relations firm on The Hill. If I knew a few crazy antics would help me break through the clutter of other job applicants, I would have used them long ago! In any case, I scheduled my second, self-earned interview yesterday. Things were definitely looking better, but today added even more hope to getting that job...and soon!

I received a call from the lobbying firm I interviewed with last week. They wanted to schedule a second interview with me! Apparently the first interview went better than I thought, and now I need to impress the CEO with my personality (as I'm competing with several other people with similar qualifications). If it comes down to a positive attitude and a go-getter personality, you better believe I'm in the running! And as if two interviews in two days wasn't promising enough, I also received a call from the public policy division of a PR firm I had applied to two weeks ago. They wanted to schedule an interview with me this week, too! So...I will be engaging in three interviews in two days, all of which I found/earned on my own. My persistence paid off, and I really think that one of these will result in a job :)

With my job situation looking up, now I am trying to get a handle on finding somewhere to live. I have just over a week to find something. I've spent many hours on the Metro meeting potential roommates. Although the last house I visited had everything I could want (including friendly housemates), it is all the way out in Fairfax, VA and would require me traveling to the end of the orange line and taking a 15 minute bus ride to get home. Depending on where I work, my commute would likely be an hour or even more. Plus, I would need to rely on two separate forms of public transportation. That's a scary thought. So, my housing search continues, but it's definitely crunch time.

As for my social calendar...I attended a special event at an art museum last week, went out with the girls to the Clarendon Ballroom this weekend, and enjoyed Screen on the Green (an outdoor movie on The Mall with the Capitol in the background!) last night. And tomorrow night, I am attending a book signing at the Sewall-Belmont House with several big name women politicians to be in attendance. All great stuff, really!

If you spoke with me last week, thanks for your support. I was struggling, and I am happy to report that I'm finally getting close to finding that job. And if you haven't gotten the chance to talk to me on the phone recently, I hope to be calling you soon with good news!

meeting versus interview

2008-07-13T22:54:00.002-04:00

As you may or may not be aware, I've been forced to make a distinction between the types of interviews I am engaging in throughout my job search. Up to this point, I've only been having *meetings* with recruiters at staffing agencies. However, I am hopefully on track to have two actual *interviews* this week. Neither of them is officially scheduled yet, so I am a bit uneasy about that, but I'm continuing to have positive thoughts about the whole situation.

The past few days I have been feeling guilty about the amount of money I'm spending while currently not bringing any in. It's difficult to look the part for the job interview that occurs well before I'm actually on the payroll. It turns out even with a big ONE DAY SALE at Macy's, that originally priced $280 suit still doesn't quite fit into my budget. I may or may not have a shed a few tears in the dressing room, but I later found comfort in a few bargains at JCPenney's. They may not be dry clean only, but they'll help me give the illusion of looking the part. I'm okay with that.

After feeling guilty about shopping and eating fast food at the plaza, my big thrill event for Friday night included a visit to the gym. Very cool, I know. But yesterday I finally got to meet up with one of my former fellow interns in the Senate. It was great catching up with her! Our night out included dinner with a very crabby server, live music with a cover band and some people around twice my age, and a dance club where I was networking with people to help me find a job. All very interesting, and all done with Anne's cousin (named David--adding yet another to my fetish) who just graduated from the Naval Academy (and his friend) who just so happened to be a junior high friend of one of my really close friends in college. Crazy how small the world is, huh?

Keep me in your thoughts and prayers as I begin my interviews!

The Fourth...thru the 8th!

2008-07-08T22:48:00.002-04:00

If you happened to catch any of Huey Lewis or Taylor Hick live in concert or the fireworks show on The Mall on the Fourth and asked yourself, I wonder if Amy Jo is there right now? Well, I sure was!

I went into DC on Thursday night and met up with the girls still at 510 C, but not without visiting Lance and Carlos at Union Pub on the way (of course!). Along with Chelsey and Sarah, I hung out with the newest residents of my old house and we went out near Eastern Market. The gang and I decided to start singing a patriotic hymn at midnight to begin our celebration of independence, but people in the bar were not impressed that we were "Proud to be an American"...oh well!

So I spent the night (in 2rnc...weird) with them and then hit up the Fourth of July parade on Constitution Ave in the morning. We had hoped for some famous politicians, but all we saw were countless marching bands, several big balloons (Macy's style), and George Washington & Abe Lincoln impersonators on a float. A bit of a let down, but at least we didn't get there hours in advance like hundreds of others just to get a good spot.

After the parade, I joined in the 510 BBQ. What started out as just the housemates plus a few fellow interns from one office soon multiplied into quite the gathering. The backyard has likely never seen as much action as it did that afternoon, but it seems fitting for Capitol Hill on the day we celebrate freedom.

When all was said and done, I had met around 20 new people in 24 hours. Unfortunately for me, nearly all of them will be returning to their respective homes within the next month or so. My new, permanent friends are still out there, I just need to find them! Although the small talk with my roommates has been improving over the last several days, I just don't think I'll stay in touch with these girls when my sublet is up.

Fast forward through Saturday (on the phone most of the day), Sunday (church and grocery shopping), and Monday (job searching and Bachelorette finale for 3 hours)...and we are ready for today. I met with another staffing/recruiting agency, but this one will hopefully lead to my first *real interview* for a job. Due to the nature of these places, I don't have the details just yet. However, I am waiting to receive information regarding the job description and the actual employer. It should be coming sometime tomorrow, and I will likely interview next week. Although it may sound extremely questionable, this is my biggest success in the job hunt to date. So I am happy :)

Upon being in the area for an entire week now, I'm feeling as settled as possible given the circumstances. If you haven't spoken to me yet since I left the Midwest, you can expect a call sometime soon!

*all my love*

Back in Business

2008-07-03T14:58:00.000-04:00

Hello gang! I'm sure you've all been getting anxious for my first post from DC. You're in luck, because here it is...and in less than 48 hours after my arrival :)

Traveling here on Tuesday was quite exhausting, especially after I had stayed up so late packing my belongings. So although I made it to my apartment around 6pm, I didn't have time or energy to do a whole lot. I went to Target (which is literally across the street) to purchase a few necessities and unpacked about half of my stuff. The other half is still in my bags, unfortunately, because I had to get some sleep before my interviews on Wednesday.

I slept longer than I had wanted to, so I was rushed to get out the door in time to make the commute into the city. The problem with that was I had not gotten my Internet up and running, so I did not know where my nearest Metro station was, nor did I know exactly where I was going for my morning interview. You'd think I would have a been a tad more prepared, huh? Well, no need to worry, because it all worked out in the end. My first interview was quite a lengthy process. I had to do a written spelling and proofreading test (quite difficult, maybe even for you, Mom), followed by a computer assessment in Word and a 5-minute typing test (only 60 wpm...boo), and then I finally got to meet with my recruiter. She was extremely nice, and I would assume things went well. After we finished, she took my information back to the other recruiters to see if anyone had something for me. I met with another woman who asked me a bunch more interviewish questions before she told me about the job she had available. It was for an assistant office manager position in a law firm, which sounded like a lot of budget work and not a lot of legal exposure. After expressing my hesitation about that, I guess I had said no to the job without fully realizing it. They will keep me posted if anything else comes up...

My second interview turned out to be a block away from where I was, so I grabbed some lunch and walked down the street in hopes of getting in early to go through the whole thing again. Much to my surprise, this agency had a much more simple process. The only thing I had to do before meeting with my recruiter was take an extremely easy spelling and grammar test, of which I'm not sure how you could have missed any of the questions. My meeting with Justin went really well, and it sounds like his agency works with the types of places I am hoping to find a job in...trade associations, legislative agencies, and legal non-profits. However, he only had one position that might be available next week. So, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for that and hoping he has a few more jobs come in soon!

While I was in the District, I decided to visit the Senate office and see some familiar faces. I didn't really feel like I was back *home* until I got off the Metro at Union Station and walked the streets of The Hill. It was great seeing the surprised looks on everyone's faces when I was back in the office, and I felt much better about being here after talking to some friends. And that will only get better after I make my return to 510 C tonight to see the girls!

I'm very, very excited about celebrating the Fourth in DC. I'll be enjoying the amazing fireworks show on the Mall that thousands (or maybe millions?) are watching on TV!!!

*love you all*

My Grand Return!

2008-06-18T00:01:00.000-04:00

Exciting news...today I booked a one-way ticket back to DC! Yes, that's right, I'm returning to life in the nation's capitol. When? Very soon, as in July 1.

All of the other details are still a work in progress, but I can't wait to go back. Each day I wake up in the Midwest, I long to be in the fast-paced environment that DC has to offer. Although everyone else misses it too, I know that I need to pursue a career outside of the Midwest and DC seems to be calling my name.

After booking my airline reservations this afternoon, I was extremely anxious. My heart was in my throat, and that's no joke. I'm nervous, but it's one of those excited nervous feelings. I'm following my heart and praying that everything will work itself out. I'm ready for the adventures and the obstacles that lie ahead, and I hope I have the support of all of you in my journey ahead.

Back in the Midwest

2008-05-19T18:04:00.000-04:00

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...

2008-05-04T17:47:00.000-04:00

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*

A little family time

2008-04-27T23:49:00.000-04:00

Kristine's family is currently visiting DC. What they didn't know was that Amy Jo is part of the whole DC experience, so I've been spending some quality family time with them. For as close as Kristine and I have gotten, and considering Luke refers to us as *the twins,* this shouldn't have come as a complete surprise.

We toured the Kennedy Center on Saturday morning. It was extremely large! The chandeliers were all gorgeous, and the gifts from other nations were very unique. I was surprised there were so many performance venues in just one building. Hopefully we can get tickets to see the ballet company perform Cinderella before we leave...keep your fingers crossed :)

Today we (Kristine's family, Mercedes & Abby) rented a van from the airport and went on a day trip to Annapolis. It was completely opposite of Friday's day trip to Philadelphia. We all had a very relaxing time, even though it was a bit rainy and cold. The Navy base was really cool. Everything seemed very prestigious! And let's just say, we didn't mind running into the Midshipman downtown in their formal summer uniforms ;)

We were able to walk everywhere in about 10 minutes, which is really quite short compared to what we're used to in DC. After eating lunch at Chick and Ruth's (the cutest diner with a ton of politician influenced menu options and photographs lining the walls), we toured the base and took a trolley tour of the city. Then we hit up a few of the small shops on Main Street before eating dinner at Buddy's (known for it's seafood).

Highlights of today included Mercedes shooting a piece of her crab leg across the table at me, buying a very cute pair of shoes, and hearing one of the largest pipe organs ever made played in the Navy chapel. Oh yeah...and seeing the uniformed students of the academy!

(And as an aside, I really hope those I gave tours to in the Capitol thought I did a better job than I thought my tour guides at the Kennedy Center and the Naval Academy did this weekend. If not, I formally apologize to all of those people here and now.)

It was great getting out of the city Friday and today, but I'm starting to dread leaving DC. I only have a few weeks left, and I don't have any definite plans post-graduation. I'm trying not to stress over the matter, but it's still an unsettling feeling. Keep your fingers crossed that everything will fall into place for me sooner rather than later.

Thanks, and I love you all!!!

15 Passenger Van

2008-04-26T02:07:00.000-04:00

Joe's last day was bittersweet, for both of us. I will surely miss sharing the tiny cubicle and chatting about whatever seems fitting at the moment. I'm sure I'll struggle through a few afternoons during my last few weeks, because I won't have my partner in crime. However, grabbing a drink with the people who have been giving us all of our work for the past 3 months was a good experience...especially since Joe was the one being put on the spot.

Let's back up a bit to the work day--I asked permission to sit in on the Judiciary Committee hearing with the Delta and Northwest CEOs, and I was granted permission to go. The line to get in the room was wrapped around two hallways, so I had to act like I was someone really important in order to sit behind the dais. I really had no idea what I was doing, and I had to be rescued from sitting on the wrong side of the bench, but it all worked out in the end. The hearing was quite interesting for me, especially since I had met the CEOs on Wednesday. Although the hearing lasted two hours, nothing was really resolved. I'm not positive on how the hearing will effect decisions regarding this merger, but it was a great experience nonetheless. (Minus being the only person on the dais not constantly checking the blackberry.)

Fast forward to after farewell drinks with Joe--I walked home and was chatting with Luke on the steps when Pat and Mike came over to the house with two extra tickets for the Wizards playoff game, which just so happened to be starting in 22 minutes. I had just enough time to throw on jeans and run with the guys to make for tip off. Everyone in the crowd got towels and free t-shirts for the *white-out* game. It was really exciting watching the game from the box seats, through the first half at least! The Wizards stole the show after that, and we ended up leaving a few minutes before the game ended. I'm glad I rashly decided to join the guys though. However, going straight to Union Pub after the game probably was not the best decision. Not eating anything after lunch caught up to me, and this morning was a little rough.

Our FOUR HOUR van ride to Philly didn't exactly make me feel better either, especially the first hour where 14 of us were crammed into a 12 passenger van. Commute aside, our day trip was well worth it. We got to see the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall (where the Constitution and Declaration were both signed), and the first Capitol building. After doing all of that in about an hour and half, we walked to one of the most famous cheese steak diners for dinner. The sandwich was delicious, but extremely filling. I have no idea how nearly everyone else had room for DQ on the way home!

The commute back wasn't much better than our ride there. Doug only drove us as far as the Greenbelt Metro stop, so we had an hour Metro experience tacked on to our 3 hours of driving in the van. Although I really enjoyed the 3 hours of tourist time in Philly, the 8 hours of commuting took away from the experience as a whole. I'm so glad I got to continue living history (as well as National Treasure), and I will remember sitting in the House of Representatives chamber for the rest of my life, but I'm currently still a bit overwhelmed.

Little City, Important People

2008-04-24T02:44:00.000-04:00

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 ;)

Rainy days

2008-04-22T02:12:00.000-04:00

The plans (or lack thereof, really) completely fell through for David's birthday celebration on Saturday. I spent a good portion of the night upset and in tears. Moral of that story is, as much as making plans might suck, they do come in handy when in a relatively unfamiliar city.

As if the frustrations of that situation weren't enough, the rain came in huge amounts on Sunday and Monday. My "new" rain boots somehow got slices in them, so my feet still got a little wet and even my sweet paisley umbrella had troubles keeping me dry. I was also amazed at how dark the main halls of Hart are when the sun isn't shining through the enormous windows. It just made for another dreary start to my week.

I was once again forced to do homework at work on Monday afternoon. However, I was a bit more interested in this weeks task at hand. We are currently looking into DC's issue regarding "taxation without representation"...their lack of a real presence in Congress. It's quite a controversial issue. For the first time in the history of class on Monday night (including last semester's classes with Jane), I didn't leave class in a horrible mood.

AND, to top it all off...this week of The Hills was full of excitement as well. So, for now, things are looking up.

Mt. Vernon

2008-04-19T11:23:00.001-04:00

After having class together this morning (side note: I'm glad we've had two separate classes this semester), we traveled to Mt. Vernon via an extremely long Metro ride and 25 minutes on a bus. The commute time proved to be well worth it. George Washington's estate, especially the mansion itself and the view of the Potomac, was absolutely breathtaking. I'm so glad it was a gorgeous day (sunny and 80 degrees), because that made the experience even better.

We spent several hours roaming the grounds and walking through the museum, which by the way, was also really entertaining. On our way home, a few of the girls and I stopped to eat at Gordon Biersch. We all had really great food, and it felt good to just roam around DC and stop at a random restaurant. Although we've been here for several months already, we really haven't fully explored the District. Now that the weather is really nice, we hope to do more of that before we have to leave.

Today's plans entail a little shopping (Friday was pay day!) and walking. We are supposed to be celebrating David's 21st tonight in Adam's Morgan, but plans are still up in the air. If nothing else, we are going to be sure to try the pizza slices that are said to be larger than our heads!

...still rough

2008-04-18T02:49:00.000-04:00

Wednesday morning I overslept, big time! I didn't make it to work until 9:30. Fortunately, it went by unnoticed because everyone was dealing with traffic congestion surrounding the Pope's visit to DC. A few of the girls got to go see him at the Basilica Wednesday afternoon, but it was shear madness from what I heard. We watched live footage on our computers throughout the day, and on Thursday as well.

I have been keeping busy at work, but I haven't done anything of extreme merit that's worth mentioning. I guess I've already experienced so many things for the first time that there isn't all too much left. However, we did find out this week that we are going to hear Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, speak to a group of Iowans on Tuesday. This is a big deal, as he very rarely gives public addresses. And we also found out that we will have an opportunity to shadow the Senator one afternoon before our internships are up.

As Joe is done with his internship next week, he gets to shadow this coming Tuesday. I'm sure I'll get to hear all about it the next day. Hopefully I will be even more excited about my chance to do the same after hearing about his experience.

Date night got postponed from Tuesday to Thursday this week. I haven't really had the chance to spend much time with David the past few weeks, so I was excited to go out to Silver Spring. My Coldstone was delicious, even though I had to eat it really fast in order to make it to the movie on time. 21 was better than I thought it was going to be, but it did get a bit long. David seemed to really enjoy it. However, neither of us enjoyed the argument that came after the movie.

I'm getting stressed about how much time I have left in DC. One of my roommates recently posted a countdown until our last day, and I got really upset about it. Here's why: I have a lot of scholarly work to finish, I still have a number of touristy things I want to do before I leave, and I don't have any idea of what I will be doing after graduation. All this in mind, the last thing I want to be doing is wasting some of my last few weeks fighting with David.

Rough Start

2008-04-16T01:32:00.000-04:00

Although Monday's are rough for a majority of people who have had the past few days off from work, I had a rough start this week for sure. I spent the entire morning doing data entry, and then I lost the most important page of a letter that needed to go out soon. It all worked out, but boy I was glad when it was lunchtime!

Much to my dismay, I was forced to leave real work on my desk in order to complete some homework for class. This was upsetting, because I feel as though my class stuff is interfering with my DC experience as of late. Going home to yet another horrible, drawn-out *class* didn't make things any better.

So, rough Monday. Ok. Tuesday's a new day. Well...it wasn't so hot either. I spent most of the morning at a committee hearing on tax reform. Although I was glad to have experienced it, I had to excuse myself before the hearing concluded because I wasn't smart enough to follow the testifiers' answers to the committee's questions.

Upon returning to the office, I tried to rush through a stack of filing before lunch. This resulted in me losing my grandmother's engagement ring, of which I was unable to find until just after 5 pm. I'm so fortunate to have found it, but it was unfortunately only after having been a total wreck the entire afternoon. Needless to say, Tuesday was no better than Monday. Let's hope Hump Day treats me well!

College!

2008-04-13T16:46:00.000-04:00

Friday was designated college night. We invited several of our co-workers and neighbors over for some friendly interaction. It was fun meeting new people, but I don't think I personally would have invited half of the people who were here. Let's just say, a few of them were *extremely different* than me, and we'll leave it at that.

Nobody woke up early enough to go watch the Cherry Blossom parade, but I did get to see a big chunk of it on tv before we left for the Newseum. In case you're a bit confused, the Newseum is an enormous museum devoted to the press. It constantly changes, as it has the front page of big newspapers from every state and from several other countries around the world. We spent over 3 hours in there, and we rushed through. My favorite parts were the 4-D movie and the Freedoms Wall.

The Newseum would definitely have been worth the $20 ticket, but enjoyed spending that money having a drink at The Willard Hotel's Round Robin Bar. Kristine and I enjoyed waiting in the lobby for Mercedes and Sean, as it is the lobby where Ulysses S. Grant coined the term *lobbyist*. It was absolutely gorgeous, and we enjoyed living history once again. After our cocktail, we ate at Old Ebbit Grill - a favorite of Presidents Grant, Cleveland, Harding and Theodore Roosevelt and still a popular meeting spot for political insiders, journalists, celebrities and theater-goers. The food was delicious!

After dinner, we went with Sean to his aunt and uncle's in Georgetown. It was great seeing a *normal house* where a real family would live out here. We had some great conversation and discussed what it would be like starting a family out here. Although there are definitely some downsides, I don't think it's as bad as everyone makes it sound.

My plans for this afternoon entail getting started on the plethora of papers I need to write in the next few weeks. The semester was a lot of fun when class work was minimal, but it's now time to get down to business so we can have fun in the end.

I apologize if you haven't heard from me in a while, but I hope you are all still enjoying reading my blog :)

No homework at work!

2008-04-11T22:16:00.000-04:00

This morning we had to give oral book reports for Doug. I was happy to have completed my book on time, as I had several issues with getting my hands on a copy of my assigned book. After some troubles with Amazon, I finally had a colleague of mine request the book from the Library of Congress for me. Because I didn't get the book until Tuesday afternoon, I had to get through it pretty quickly. However, my attempts to read it at work on Wednesday and Thursday were quite unsuccessful. As soon as anyone sees that I just might not be doing real work, they find a *fun job* for me to do. It's nice to have things to stay busy with, just not when I have homework that I'm a tad behind on!

Everything worked out very well. So, no worries. After class this morning, we all went to speak with a vice president of APCO Worldwide about lobbying. It was an extremely well-spent hour. He was very knowledgeable and personable. I think everyone was able to take something good away from the discussion. I especially appreciated his insight on how to impress possible employers in an interview.

Then a few of the girls tried getting in to the Newseum for free (because it was opening day), but they were at maximum capacity for the day. So, we stood in line and got free tickets for Saturday. The $20 we saved by standing in line will be put to good use soon, I'm sure!

Friend of the princess

2008-04-09T00:36:00.000-04:00

This week marks the official celebration of the Cherry Blossom Festival. One of my fellow CHIPmates is Nebraska's princess, and a friend of mine from Simpson is Iowa's princess. So yesterday and today, I attended receptions for each of them. Although the whole thing seems a little cheesy (especially the requirement about wearing pastels all week), they are getting to do some really exciting things. I'm happy for them.

Monday's work entailed reading several excerpts from the Federalist Papers for a member of our judiciary staff. Each one of my co-workers who walked by my desk commented about having to take a class on the Federalist Papers. Ironic, because I had only ever encountered two or three of the excerpts in passing. I'm not sure I was the best person for the job, but I did feel a lot smarter after reading (and understanding, for the most part) the book.

Our mock press conferences in class Monday night went a lot better than I had expected. I was extremely comfortable representing Senator G., as opposed to one of the presidential candidates, and I actually enjoyed learning about H-1B visas. Some of my classmates still got quite nervous when they had to speak in front of the whole class (mind you, there are only 9 of us), which was almost unheard of for me. I guess I truly am ready to graduate from college.

This morning I interviewed our chief of staff for a class project we have. We enhanced our chummy relationship, and I learned a little along the way. This afternoon, I worked on writing a memo for the Senator regarding industrial loan companies (ILCs)...I was so lost, and told myself several times that I wished I were smart enough to understand what I was reading. Luckily, I was able to comprehend things well enough to complete my task, but I had a strenuous afternoon. However, I am very grateful that the people I work under have enough confidence in me to give me work of this nature.

Weather just like home

2008-04-06T20:56:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was arguably one of the nicest days outside since I've been in DC. Kristine and I took advantage of the beautiful weather by walking down The Mall and over to the TJ Memorial. Although the cherry blossoms are past their peak, they were still blooming all around the Tidal Basin. For all the hype behind this festival, I would have thought the sight to be even more amazing that it actually was. Don't get me wrong, it was cool; it just wasn't anything too spectacular. I suppose all of the other cherry blossom trees that are scattered about the city spoiled it for me. Oh well, at least I can say I've had the experience!

Once we returned home, Kristine and I took it upon ourselves to majorly clean our apartment (yet again). It looks about a million times better, and I feel much more at home. We also saw KU's big victory over UNC. David was so thrilled with the win that he decided to come surprise me before heading back to MD. It was really sweet, and Kristine was extremely jealous.

Today, on the other hand, is miserable. It's cold, and it has been raining for a greater part of the day. Such a dramatic change in weather reminds me of being back in Iowa. However, when you walk the streets as much as we do here, you notice the weather conditions a lot more than you would while driving everywhere you go in the Midwest.

Bad weather aside, Kristine and I went to mass at The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception this morning. The Basilica was absolutely GORGEOUS...and extremely huge! It was great to hear the choir singing along with the massive pipe organ. Although it was much larger in scale, it reminded me of a classic Lessons and Carols at good old Simpson College. Kristine seemed less than impressed, but I loved it :)

Friday the Fourth

2008-04-05T22:11:00.000-04:00

Class this morning was a bit overwhelming. Doug told us of about a million papers and projects we need to do during the last several weeks we are out here. Half of them I don't think I had ever even heard about, and the other half I have been procrastinating. No good.

Friday afternoon, only a handful of us went on the field trip to Arlington Cemetery. It was a lot larger than I had imagined. The changing of the guards ceremony was worth the trip out to Virginia.

Kristine was really excited about going to a free performance of this Army Show at the National Theater, but it turns out she had the dates mixed up. So we were about three days early. We still had a few memorable times, like stalking a woman in a blue sequined dress and speaking to some foreigners using their passports for photo identification. Once again, this would only happen to the two of us!

Back in Session!

2008-04-03T22:02:00.000-04:00

Although nothing really happened on the floor until Wednesday, it was good having the Senator's all back in town. I spent a majority of the week working hard on appropriations requests with Kathy. When I had to take time away from that in order to give a tour, things got a little rough. Details aren't important, but I don't think I will be giving any more tours any time soon.

A bunch of our requests were due at the end of the week, so Kathy and I were rushing in order to get everything in on time. Because I was so busy with that stuff, Joe was busy doing all of the other projects people had for us, including getting tons of signatures. I wasn't too disappointed that I didn't have to travel the Senate buildings numerous times getting sigs, especially since I spent the entire week fighting a cold.

I did something of merit each weeknight...
Monday--Class
Tuesday--Date night with David in MD
Wednesday--Sen. Chuck Hagel speaking about his book at Politics & Prose
Thursday--Dinner and Drinks with Lance at Union Pub

And for the record, I cannot believe that April is already upon us. March just flew by! I had to take care of a few graduation details this week, and I'm starting to get nervous about not having post-graduation plans yet. I've been looking at some available jobs back in the Midwest, but accepting the reality of life outside of being a college student is proving to be quite a difficult task.

NYC!!!

2008-03-30T21:09:00.000-04:00

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.

Recess: Week 2

2008-03-27T20:59:00.000-04:00

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...

Easter Weekend

2008-03-23T20:29:00.000-04:00

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.

West Wing, Baby!

2008-03-21T12:25:00.000-04:00

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 :)

A Week Recap

2008-03-21T01:05:00.000-04:00

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?!?

Longest days EVER!

2008-03-12T22:52:00.000-04:00

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*

Only two more months?

2008-03-11T03:52:00.000-04:00

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 :)

A David Fetish...

2008-03-10T01:38:00.000-04:00

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!*

The end of another week in the Senate

2008-03-07T19:36:00.000-05:00

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.***

Another VIRUS!

2008-03-04T04:14:00.000-05:00

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*

another weekend passed

2008-03-02T21:33:00.000-05:00

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.

Pour House

2008-02-29T02:32:00.000-05:00

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.

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 :)

Midweek

2008-02-28T02:53:00.000-05:00

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.

***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.

4 cups of java!!!

2008-02-26T02:55:00.000-05:00

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 :)

A Brilliant Weekend

2008-02-25T02:15:00.000-05:00

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!

No jeans during recess for me

2008-02-21T22:09:00.000-05:00

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.

Ethics Training...

2008-02-19T23:17:00.000-05:00

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!

President's Day!

2008-02-18T22:05:00.000-05:00

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.

Long weekend continues

2008-02-18T10:11:00.000-05:00

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!

Friday after the holiday

2008-02-18T00:36:00.001-05:00

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.

**edited version**

V-DAY

2008-02-18T00:17:00.000-05:00

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.

Reverse, reverse!

2008-02-13T23:48:00.000-05:00

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 :)

Hump Day

2008-02-13T21:44:00.000-05:00

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!

How was your weekend?

2008-02-12T23:55:00.001-05:00

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.

"TREE...TREE"

2008-02-10T21:53:00.000-05:00

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 :)

Monument Time!

2008-02-09T11:04:00.000-05:00

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!

Week One Recap

2008-02-09T10:29:00.001-05:00

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!

The First Day

2008-02-05T22:02:00.000-05:00

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!

The First Weekend

2008-02-03T23:30:00.000-05:00

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

I MADE IT!

2008-02-01T09:10:00.000-05:00

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!

Time to Pack

2008-01-29T15:19:00.000-05:00

I've been waiting for today for quite some time now. I told myself that I couldn't start packing until two days before my flight, because I knew I would get too excited about leaving if I started any earlier. Now that it's actually time to pack, the task is a bit daunting. I thought packing for a three week stay at my sister's was challenging, and now I'm packing for three and a half months! Wish me luck...

Saying goodbye to immediate family members this weekend was a lot harder than I thought, especially since Lexi wanted nothing to do with giving kisses or leaving on a happy note. She's been sick, much like everyone else, so I can't blame her.

In order to keep myself from getting sick before heading out, a friend of mine told me to pour a cap full of hydrogen peroxide in my ear. Although I was extremely hesitant to try this (side note: the warning on the bottle says: FOR EXTERNAL USE ONLY), my friend said he wouldn't tell me to do it if he hadn't already tried it himself. I'm sure it wouldn't have been a lot less scary had I not been by myself, but I decided to do it anyway. It bubbled like crazy, as it was supposed to, and I the worst part was when I tilted my head over and the remaining peroxide glugged out of my ear.

My mom stayed home sick from work today, so I decided to share this home remedy with her. She was even more nervous about doing this than I had been, so she made me pour it in her ear and hold her hand while the peroxide was doing it's job.

I decided to research this remedy a bit. You'll be happy to know that my 84-year-old (?) grandma said she's used this trick since she first became a mom. And if that isn't testimony enough, please take a look at this website for further information.

Departure = t - 40 hours!

Absentmindedness

2008-01-25T14:31:00.000-05:00

I have been suffering from a heavy case of absentmindedness for the past several days, and I've decided the cause is my inability to concentrate on anything unrelated to DC. Though this may be a bit far-fetched, it's the best reason I've been able to come up with.

The specific symptoms of my absentmindedness are irrelevant, but they have caused me to be without my cell phone for the past two days, to go out on Thursday night wearing my work attire, to get ready for work in the bathroom at work, and to resort to watching reality tv at work (a law firm, for those of you who might not know) to pass the time. If you think you're glad it's Friday, I think I'm bringing a whole new meaning to the acronym TGIF.

This weekend I will be shopping for a few last minute items, having a going away dinner with family, and starting to pack...FINALLY!

Departure: t - 5 days, 17 hours, and 10 minutes!

Waiting With Eager Anticipation

2008-01-22T16:25:00.000-05:00

EDITED VERSION

With my departure less than 9 days away, it's hard to think about anything other than leaving for DC. I had a great time with my friends during my farewell frenzy at Simpson last weekend, and now I'm ready to go! Although I have enjoyed spending a lot of quality time with my family at the farm and in Omaha, it's time.

A fellow CHIPmate recently posted pics of our living space. To be honest, I'm nervous about having less space than I've ever had at Simpson, especially knowing I will be living with total strangers. I'm optimistic that everything will go well, but I've got to be nervous about something!

I've been in communication with one of the girls interning in my office, and she said she's been enjoying herself so far. I'm taking that as a positive sign that I will also enjoy my time in the office. Only time will tell.

Finally, I wore my red, power tie to work (in Omaha) today. A few of the attorneys shot some interesting looks at me this morning, and only one of their assistants said anything about it. I'm just trying to practice dressing for success on The Hill, but I guess I caught a few people off guard. Let's keep our fingers crossed that my seniors in DC have a more positive response...