DOUBLE POST

So... last post was my recent thoughts on life, and this post is actually about my DC adventures.

This is what the past weekend was like. Anyone following this is probably facebook friends with me so they can view the album I just created. Those are the best friends I have here so far, that I hang out with on a regular basis. This weekend we went out on Friday and had an absolute BLAST at Fado's Irish pub/bar after a bit of Thai drinks (two continents in 3 hours!), dancing the night away. More fun than I've had outside of Chi Phi since skiing at Steamboat, and the most fun I've had in a bar since Ireland. Almost got one of the group to ask a random guy if she could play his drum set, but no go, even with money at stake. Also got to see a drunk guy climb a tree right outside of Fado's, bouncer watching and all. he did remarkably well. Saturday was less eventful party-wise, but I did get to go to the Newseum, which was INCREDIBLE. Extremely moving exhibits on Hurricane Katrina and the aftermath, and on 9/11. The video they put together was stunning... to see the attacks again on film from start to finish is just plain chilling, now that we know the implications. But the best part by far was the historical part. News articles abound with huge historical significance, like the first article about "base ball," and Kennedy's assassination (both), MLK's I Have a Dream speech, and more. And that's the end of the double blog to make up for a missing one in the past.

40,000 Leagues Under the Philosophea.

hmmmmm so obviously the title indicates there will be no list this week. However, I have been contemplating the meaning of life lately off and on, and discovered that contemplating the meaning of life really isn't worth it, because all the time spent contemplating the meaning of life is time you could spend finding the meaning of life by accident.

Anyway, this past week was AWESOME. Work went really well. I helped with designing USA Rice's promo brochure and had a huge influence on the layout and pictures chosen, which was really neat. I'm also working on some other conservation related stuff, and some things that will help growers grow more rice with less resources. I like it.

Materialism is great. Like, awesome. Got a new camera, new briefcase, and new Birkenstocks over the course of the week. So. The shallow piece of the blog is out of the way...

Now for the meaning of life. The current meaning of life was discovered by accident over the weekend... that meaning is making new friends and dancing so wildly with them at an Irish bar/pub that the management has to tell you to calm down, all the while enjoying your work too. Because if you don't enjoy your work your life will be hell. Really. However, when making new friends, take the advice of one our founding fathers: "Be courteous to all and intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before they gain your confidence." People will come and go, some faster than others. So let those who reject or walk out on you go. Let those who you are happy around, can laugh with, spend hours with on end, those who you can dance wildly with, who can pick you up intentionally or unintentionally when you are down, let those people in.

And that is how life should be.

Hey all. This week features potential awkward situations in DC.

1. Have a cop blow his sirens at you for jaywalking, then pull over a van, then let that van go and wave you on too. WTF!?!?!!

2. Be in a subway car where there are 3 strollers, all with their wheels locked, that have to get off at the same stop.

3. Go to a girl's apartment to hang out and have a guy from the first floor answer the door and say she doesn't live there, when she definitely does. VERY awkward.

4. making eye contact a little too long with your office's front desk secretary. That one was pretty bad.

Ok. So now that you have seen the awkward highlights of the week, know that happy hours are greatness. But those of you over 21 already knew that. But they are much better when BEN OWEN, a member of your fraternity, happens to be waiting tables at your watering hole of choice. So yeah, Delaney moved in and hasn't broken anything yet, or made too much noise, or do anything like what she used to do at Chi Phi. haha.

Memorial Day weekend was pretty interesting. Saw lots of memorials, both physical and musical. The memorial day's eve service on Capitol Hill took pomp and circumstance of memorials to new levels. But it was neat seeing Colin Powell speak live. Paid my respects at the WWII memorial and the Vietnam Wall, then headed to the Lincoln Memorial. Climbed trees on the lawn of the Washington Monument and played frisbee with some random people, which was LEGENDARY (just the tree climbing really). So yeah, things are going great. But since only two people follow this, I suppose I'll have to tell everyone about DC over and over again.

PS: I found a Trader Joe's a ways away from where I live, but it was well worth it. Returning again this weekend with more people to get some other interesting commodities :)

You know you're legen...DARY when:

Today's post will consist of a list, and maybe some other stuff.

You know you're Legen...DARY when:

1. You're tired because your dinner with the head of the Cosmos Club, the deputy director of the Fish and Wildlife Service, the President of the Forest Service, among other greats ran late.
2. You walk past the U.S. Supreme Court on your way to work every day
3. You can walk roughly 50 yards from your house and see the Capitol Building dome.
4. You're an intern, but have already been bought and made lunch, attended a conference call and have one scheduled for Friday morning, and will likely be sitting in on a US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) meeting in a couple weeks.
5. You attend a course orientation on the top floor of a tall shiny building with a great view of the Capitol Building across the street.
6. You find yourself wondering where you are and then realize you're on the same street the White House is on.
7. Seriously, do I need to keep going?

So. That list pretty much sums up what I've been up to. The internship is going really well. I've been started on a page-long list of tasks and involved in two projects having to do with rice and sustainability, and learned way more about the rice industry than I ever thought I would. It's pretty neat.

Also, you know how people say politicians always have something to say about everything? Yeah. It's true.

First few days

Hello. this is entry one of (hopefully) bi-weekly reports of my goings on in Washington, D.C. this summer, something a few of you back at OWU suggested. We'll see how it goes.

The first few days here have been really interesting. Arriving early with a parent was a good call... free food going out to eat and free beer/cocktails too! DC is awesome, way better than I thought it would be. Oh and the crab cakes are INCREDIBLE. Found a pretty legit Irish pub tonight with Guinness, Guinness Extra Stout, and Kilkenny's Ale on tap, so my life here is complete. Went over to where I'm going to work and it's really nice. Lots of glass and shiny things and there's a Mexican restaurant downstairs... margaritas anyone?. My place of living (in the photo) is next to Capitol Hill, which is pretty incredible because it means the supreme court is right around the corner and one of the main senate office buildings is just up the street. It's also within walking distance of the Smithsonian, which is super cool. So yeah it's late now and I have some exploring to do tomorrow, so see y'all later