Week 4

This week was my VIP week. Not that every week isn't a VIP week for a person such as myself, but this week was exceptionally VIP. I'm sure this week's blog will inspire admiration and jealousy from readers across the globe.

Another girl from my university, (who must also be a VIP) received four Diamond Club tickets to a Washington Nationals game through her very important boss. She extended the offer to accompany her to some other TCU students and we promptly RSVPed. Before going to the game, we heard rumors of a free buffet. Imagine our joy when we discovered it was not a rumor, but fact! Upon arriving at the game, we spent the first two innings gorging ourselves on hot dogs, salad, cookies and even crab cakes. After sufficiently overindulging, we wandered down from the Diamond Club to locate our front row seats. They were located in an ideal spot, and we enjoyed the personal attention of a ball park vendor who even wiped down the seats before we sat down. Besides the fact that I think baseball is boring, it was a satisfactory night.

Here's VIP Seth, VIP Gina, VIP Lauren & VIP Michelle, all in risk of getting hit in the head by a foul ball!

At work this week, I spent a solid 3 hours hand-delivering invitations to various members of Congress. Now, this is not necessarily a VIP assignment. I am only, as of yet, a VIP in my personal life. But rest assured that I will soon achieve occupational VIP status, as well. Barack Obama spoke in Washington on Tuesday, and as I delivered invitations Wednesday, I wildly fantasized about the possibility of riding in an elevator with him in the Senate office building. He would probably even speak to me! But alas, my dreams were not to be realized and I delivered my invitations uneventfully. Also at work this week, we received a visit from The Washington Center's very own Aaron Dahnke, illustrious Congressional Leadership Advisor. Aaron spoke with my supervisor and me in an "open dialogue." I must be doing alright at work because my supervisor didn't publicly denounce me!

Back in VIP news, the residents of my apartment building received an invitation to attend the White House's celebration in honor of 2006 NCAA Division I winners. And what a lovely coincidence that my best friend just so happens to be a 2006 NCAA Division I winner! My friend Jordan runs track for Arizona State, so I was thrilled not only with the opportunity to get to set foot on the White House lawn, but also to watch my amazing friend be recognized. It was bizarre to see President Bush speak in person, because I guess I forgot that he is a real, regular person.

Me walking all over George W. Bush's lawn

Jordan's teammates (who I got to meet finally!!), Jordan and me riding the Metro. It was their first time and they thought it would be scary and dirty. Maybe in New York, but Washington D.C. has high Metro standards!

Week 3

It is said that a picture's worth a thousand words.... so here is a 7,000+ word blog.

This weekend my high-spirited roommates and I set out to attend a "ball." One of my roommates had received an invitation through The Washington Center, and, delighted at the opportunity to play dress up, all the members of my apartment RSVPed. We prepped for the evening by trying on potential ensembles and grooming excessively. And although my attempts to curl my hair were later foiled by a list mist, I think, as a whole, our group looked quite captivating as we departed for the ball in our little black dresses. To our dismay, we arrived at the affair only to discover that no one else had taken the dress code nearly as seriously. As in, everyone else was wearing jeans. After a brief tour of the small gathering, we helped ourselves to the buffet of snacks and sashayed our over-dressed selves out the door and back home. Although the party turned out to be a bust, we had a good time looking fancy and riding the metro.


Saddling up the feline outside the National Geographic Building. I highly recommend accumulating some crazy people to accompany you on your escapades in Washington. They will increase your entertainment exponentially.






The next day, two of my roommates and I got up early (noon) to go participate in an act of civil disobedience--a march from the White House to the Capitol protesting the Iraq war. I was looking forward to an afternoon of Molotov cocktails and pepper spray, but alas, the march was largely peaceful. A Republican lobbyist in my office inquire as to my plans for the weekend, and when I mentioned the march he communicated to me his opinion that the march would be a worthless waste of my time. However, I beg to differ. The march was very stimulating. I have no idea whether those types of events have any impact upon the government's actions, but it's nice to feel like you're trying at least.

(Above) A free sign that the roommates and I got at the rally. We are charity case protesters.
(Below) Pictures from the march that I felt like sharing.

To round out my very liberal weekend, I attended the cinematic event "No End in Sight" on Sunday. It was depressing, because it's not just a movie. As I mentioned in the previous blog, I attended my roommate's class "Peaceful Solutions" last week. I read a book by her Professor that I really enjoyed, which was a main motivation for my attendance. The book was the Professor's journal from one school year, and he discussed a lot of the peace topics he was covering in class. The book was published in 2002, but when I sat in on the class last week, I discovered that the curriculum has changed very little since then. It is interesting and sad to me that there are so many developments in wars and aggression, but the syllabus for peace has not evolved much. There is a lot more material for violence.

Week Two

I love Washington D.C.!

There is so much going on, all you have to do is pick a stop on the metro and you will find a whole new set of attractions to entertain yourself. The free Daily Express is excellent because it lists off all the activities going on around town. There is a plethora of free activities to take part in... If I had extra money to spend I would probably be overwhelmed at the vast number of events I could attend. But since I am limiting myself to free & dirt cheap events, my selection is slightly narrower, although still abundant.

Last Friday night my roommates and I went out and wandered around Dupont Circle, where we ran into a fabulous jazz trombone band playing on the street.

My roommate Michelle and me busting a move to the trombone band

Saturday we visited the Kennedy Center, where there was a circus-type event going on. From there we went to the Washington Mall to watch Trey Songz and En Vogue, as part of the National Black Family Reunion.

Arriving at the Washington Mall to watch the concerts

We rounded out the day by going to a sports bar to watch the TCU/Texas game with the Washington DC TCU Alumni Group. Unfortunately, TCU lost. Death.

Me and my roommates Michelle & Amanda having school (GO FROGS) spirit before we got depressed that TCU fell apart in the second half

Sunday there was a TWC outing to the zoo, in which my roommates and I all participated. So there, now you know everything about my weekend. The point is that there are tons of things to do and i loooove it.

I went to my first class last night, which is titled Political Psychology. I think it is going to be very entertaining. Later this week I think I am also going to attend my roommate Michelle's class, Peaceful Solutions. She told me about it after her first class last week and it sounded intriguing. Their professor is a staunch pacifist and one of the class assignments is to improve yourself somehow and then write a paper about it. One of his suggestions was to become a vegetarian, which I thought about for awhile... I even ordered a dish with tofu for the first time, and it wasn't bad. But meat is just too convenient and I couldn't commit. I think instead I am going to try to stop overusing the word "like," try not to waste, and try to follow through on what I say I'm going to do. I will keep everyone updated on how my self improvement is coming along.

Week One

I have been in Washington for almost a full week now, and even though I have only had a couple required events to attend, I feel like I haven't had a chance to really sit still. Moving in couldn't have been any simpler. Our apartment came fully stocked-which I hadn't expected-with everything from a new DVD player to sheets on the bed, so relocating to D.C. was easy enough.

My mother was here Wednesday through Sunday to help me get settled, and she kept me busy visiting a lot of attractions. It was nice to see some of the sights and get a feel for the city before starting my internship. And it was also nice to know that I have another 15 weeks to check everything out, so I don't have to worry about seeing it all at once in a tourist crash course.

Here I am at the Capitol with the statue of Samuel Jordan Kirkwood, founder of the prestigious Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

And here I am trying to touch a squirrel by the Lincoln Memorial. I just thought it was a goofy picture.

One of the most interesting experiences touring with my mother came when we took a trip to the Iowa Representative's office. My mother had a complaint that she felt she needed to voice, related to medical treatment at a Veterans Affairs office. As we rode the metro to the Capitol with another TCU guy in the Washington Center (Seth), my mother told him about a few times she'd had success contacting Iowan governmental officials over the years to help her resolve her various problems. Seth said something along the lines of, "A lot of people don't understand how democracy works, but your experiences are a good example of how it is supposed to work if you just get involved." As an embarrassed daughter, I often fail to see the lessons in my mom's outspoken ways, but this struck me as a really nice observation.

So we went to speak to the Iowa Representative, and although he wasn't there to personally speak to my mother, she did leave a detailed message with the man at the front desk. He was very polite and sounded sincere and concerned, which pleased my mother very much. But she should have quit while she was ahead. On our way out of the building, she passed the office of another Representative who happened to have the title of M.D. on the plaque behind his name. Excited by her success in the Iowa office, she decided that this representative would, naturally, also be interested to hear her problem--it was related to medical treatment! Unfortunately, this was not the case. As my mom left the office, she commented to me, "He could have at least pretended to take a note on what I said." You can't win them all.

Here is Karen Kay Christensen Messamer, my mother, active United States' constituent.