A little family time

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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!

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

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

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

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!

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.