Thursday

This will likely be a short post (with no recipe at the end). I remembered today that I forgot to write about two exciting things that happened yesterday.

1. I saw a motorcade on my way to work. Lights, police, very nice cars, the works. Very exciting.

2. On my way into the metro station on the way home, this homeless guy was singing "All Along the Watchtower" and playing his guitar. It was one of those serendipitous moments when the diegetic music matches your mood exactly and it feels like your life is a movie. Perhaps that is a dorky and sentimental notion, but that is the best way to describe my experience yesterday.

Exciting things that happened today:

1. I was worried I would be late to work because I left a couple minutes later than I normally do (so I was a tiny bit frantic), but then two metro trains had mechanical difficulties right before and right after Foggy Bottom station, so I was detained but it wasn't my fault! I was able to call my boss (who was very understanding of my transportation travails) and I arrived at work only 20 minutes late.

2. I got an email alert from Capitol Police today saying that they were responding to a protest on the front Capitol steps and that staff should avoid the area. Five minutes later, the protesters had apparently moved into the rotunda (not sure how they got there. The little old man guarding the escalator last time asked me a lot of questions about my whereabouts despite my powerful badge), so we weren't supposed to go there either. I guess the police solved the problem, eventually arresting the miscreants. Apparently they were protesting Guantanamo Bay by going on a liquid-only fast and carrying signs at the Capitol. I personally think there are more reasonable ways to get your message out in the open, but I digress...

3. I had to go find the Senate Curator today to donate a gift received from a foreign dignitary. It's located on the fourth floor, which you can only get to by getting off the at the third floor and going through a maze of passages up to a tiny staircase semi-creepily illuminated with carriage lights. I thought I was pretty familiar with the Capitol, but I was wrong. My attempt to find the office led me to the press room (which you have to actually walk through to get to the fourth floor), this random warehouse, and a secret door that I think might have been very close to the Senate floor.

4. I met the Senator again. I went to a judiciary markup today and left after about an hour. When I got back to the office, he was talking to someone right in the doorway! He greeted me as I came in, then came back to intern row and talked to me for a few minutes about my schooling and how the internship is going so far. All the other interns were either in hearings or on a tour, so I felt pretty privileged. He really seems like a good guy.

The rest of the day was pretty low-key. I'm looking forward to getting some new projects next week. Overall, the internship has been a great learning experience so far.

Jason had an awesome day at work also. He put together some research materials for one of his co-workers and the co-worker was VERY impressed. I'm probably telling the story wrong, but he can correct this if he wants. He is also working on some brochures for the foundation about projects with environmental impact. Yesterday, he informed me that people in government (not in his office) insist on politically correct terminology: it's "asset-deprived," not "poor." I laughed.

Wow, this ended up being a lot longer than I expected. Jason is doing the laundry right now because he is a wonderful spouse, and then I think we will watch an episode of The West Wing...or perhaps two.