Big City Life

No one has clicked on the link I put up in my last post so I'm guessing no one has sent a letter to their congressmen... how dissapointing. I know you're reading this, so do it!

In other news... life in DC is going well. The miserably unbearable humidy has finally given way to rain and cloudyness, which is a good thing in my book, it was gross before. I had a fun weekend. Friday I went to the National Gallery after work. I was still wearing my work shoes (I usually keep them at work and wear flip flops, but I forgot) so I was kind of distracted by the pain in my big toes and didn't thouroughly enjoy it. I did, however, enjoy the gift shop where I bought several prints for my room. I bought Matice's "Open Window" as it seemed apropriate because I have no windows in my basement room.

Saturday I met Shannon and Mike at the American History Museum where we wanted to see the Jim Hansen Muppet exihbit. It was not so much an exihbit as a couple small displays, but it was fun anyway. That night we went to a Leg-Warmers concert, they are an 80s cover band and it was GREAT. Everyone (including me) was decked out in full 80s gear and singing at the top of their lungs and pony stepping their hearts out. It was fun :) Who doesn't love the 80s (in a haha, glad we aren't actually in them anymore kind of way)? My camera was unfortunately out of batteries... sorry. I am going to take DC pictures soon, I promise.

Sunday I went to mass at the Georgetown University Chapel. It was move in weekend for freshmen, which I thought might make me feel nostalgic, but it mostly made me really really glad I don't ever have to go through that again!

Work is going well. I'm starting to feel kind of like I know what I'm doing, or at least sounding like I do when I'm on the phone. Which is good, because the girl training me who I work with most closely is actually being promoted and leaving our department in a couple weeks. Her position (which is the same as my position) is open by the way, if anyone is interested in a very cool (if not very well paid) job in DC working with me everyday. I'll have some say in picking the next person, so you have an in! This means that I'm going to be training the next person, which is pretty funny since I'll have been here for about a month and a half at that point.

It's an interesting place to be working. Yesturday I got to meet a couple of University administrators from Moldovia. It was kind of a depressing meeting, since we can't really help them make the connections with American Universities that they are hoping to make, and I'm not sure if they are going to find schools who want to set up a program in Moldovia. And they talked about how little money they have, and how strict the governement is. But they were really nice and I really wanted to help them. I also am very glad to be an American citizen.


This is long and babbleing. Obviously I'm missing having good friends around to talk to every day. BUT Shannon will HOPEFULLY be moving here very soon (pressing my thumbs!) and I'm going to York, PA this weekend to see Caroline!! YAY! And next weekend I'm going to Richmond to meet Jackie and Emily! yay! (and weird, to be going back to Richmond). More on those trips (and pictures) later. Ciao.

Speak Up

If you have any interest in supporting international education and study abroad then go to this site to join the NAFSA advocacy group and mail a letter to your senators online.

and if you do happen to do all that, then let me know because I get brownie points at work for getting friends to sign up :)

Working Girl

Hello! Here I am, still alive and well and living it up in DC and still loving my life. I now have two full weeks of work under my belt and it's going swimmingly. I like the organization a lot and my co-workers are really nice and fun. The work I do is not the most thrilling, lots of answering phone calls, filling in spread sheets, etc, but I at least feel like it's for a greater good and I'm interacting with my co-workers a lot of the time, so it's not too tedious. And I do get to work on some interesting, challenging projects, writing some promotional stuff and things like that, so it will be good. I will definitely be very busy and learn a lot.

My living situation is likewise amazing. It took no time at all for me to fall in love with Georgetown, it's just too cute and perfect and there are a million little independant shops and resturants around I can walk to, and then M street a little further down if I want the hottest shopping street in the city. I love that I can walk places. I do have some parking issues because I need to get DC plates and license before I can get a permit to park on the street and before I can get that I need proof of residency and this and that and the other thing, it's a long horribly process with lots of documents and paper work that rivals even German beaurocracy. But I'll get it done.

I finally got my bed that I purshased two weeks ago (there were some miscomunication issues with the delivery people) and funished my room with a great desk from goodwill and shelf and dresser from a garage sale. I deserve a pat on the back for my thriftyness. If I weren't so tired and lazy I would get out of bed and take pictures. I'll do that soon. I've gotten some housemate bonding time in this weekend and the girls I live with are very fun and nice. I went out with them Friday night. Night life in DC is nuts. There are sooooo many young people, it's like... I don't even know what it's like. Everyone is just a few years out of college, working in the city at some kind of amazing world changing job, happy, and single. Adams morgan is totally insane, when the last bar we were in closed we went out and the streets and sidewalks were completely full of people hailing cabs and stumbling home. I've already run into a couple UR people randomly around town, and I expect that will continue. DC is obviously the place to be.

Thus far I don't find the people here to be overwhelmingly obsessed with politics or TOO self important. Although there is kind of this sense in the city that it is the center of the world and just being there somehow makes you more important. Luckily the people I work with are very down to earth, my closest coworker is even from MN! And my housemates are also pretty normal and laid back. So maybe I just haven't met all those typically DC people yet. We did have a couple young guys knock on our door working on a grassroots campaign for the Democratic National Party. One of them had the longest beard I've ever seen on a probably college aged guy. We invited them in and gave them probably the smallest donation the DNP will ever get, but it was about the support. What a horrible job though, that's dedication. I'm sure the ten minutes they spent chatting with us in our house were the best and most encouraging of their night.

So, in conclusion, I love my life. Setbacks thus far have been relatively minor, and I feel like a totally independant and with-it adult type person. It's a little frightening, but in a good way. Other things are bound to go wrong, but I think I'll be able to handle it.

I hope you are all eaqually excited about life right now, or at least enjoying reading about mine :) I'll try to keep this updated with less general rambling and more interesting DC anecdotes in the future. Until then, Ciao.

Chapter One: A room of her own

I got a room!!! In Georgetown!!! I'm living in Georgetown and working three blocks from the White House. My life is like a cheesy chick book. Minnesota girl starts her first real job in the big city... living in a Georgetown row house with three other young girls she's never met and working in the city... You'll laugh and cry as she stuggles to pull off looking put together in buisness suits, trys to act hip exploring the bar scene, meets wacky new politically crazed friends, and even bumps into the President (literally!). This is a heartfelt novel that everyone who's ever tried to make it on their own will identify with.

Ok, maybe I took that a little too far, but you get my point :-P I should totally write book jacket blurbs, by the way.

Don't worry...

I will keep blogging, I know you are all on the edge of your seats after my last abbreviated post... and I'm not really going to fill you in completely right now. I'm exahsted. I drove 20 some odd hours in the last two days in my un-air conditioned car (in case you didn't catch that, my car has NO AIR CONDITIONING!!). But, here I am, in DC, alive and well and ready to start my life as a real person with a real job-- or something to that effect. Cubicals, 9-5, buisness professional, dental plan, retirement fund, morning commute, the whole bit.

I think I couldn't write during the decision making process because I was afraid of over thinking it and making things hard on myself. This is a great oportunity, I can just stay for a year, it will be a great experience, it's in DC, it's an organization I'm interested in, and they're actually paying me. I didn't want to stop and think about the whole leaving home less than a month after getting back part of it. That hit me somewhere in Wisconsin :( But luckily I had several more states to recover and I'm over it for now and excited to be on a new adventure in a new city.

Tomorrow: apartment hunting, or room in group house hunting as the case may be. Wish me luck (or find me someone in DC to live with!)

I'll probably write more about the last couple weeks soon.