On Monday The Washington Center scheduled a meeting with White House Press Secretary Dana Perino in the Eisenhower Executive Building of the White House. She spoke a bit about her job and how she got where she is now, and then she did a Q&A with us. This was a very cool event that I'm glad I got to go to.
Tuesday I go an e-mail that Congressman Boozman may not be coming back to DC until January so I probably won't get to go out to lunch with him unless a "lame duck" session of Congress is called.
Class on Wednesday was interesting. We discussed how the media is conforming more to the government's wishes instead of challenging it as much nowadays. I've decided to write my term paper on equine violence (as approved by my professor) and next week we are going to be discussing animal violence, so it should be interesting for me.
I'm going to try and get tickets to the White House tree lighting in December. The tickets are free, but they are only given out in certain locations starting this Saturday, so I'm trying to figure out how to get one.
I think I'm going to go hit up a couple of the amazing tack shops in the NoVA area this weekend. I love how horsey some of the areas here are-- another reason to move here!
Blitz is almost all better from his abscess and I'm told he has an insatiable appetite. Mark is the same as always.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Major activities of the past week
I finished filling out my election ballot yesterday and it will be going out into the mail tomorrow.
The programming on Monday was horrible! The president of the Ford company was supposed to come and speak, but since his company is currently disastrous, he sent this crazy lady to talk about "networking" to us. I put the quotes around networking, because she did not help at all with educating us on how to network, but rather we were tortured for a couple hours by meaningless stuff.
On Wednesday, instead of normal class, we met in the morning at the American University campus and were given a talk by a man who spent 14 years on death row, was 15 hours from being electrocuted, and was found to be innocent of his crimes. He walked us through how he spent his days locked up without human contact and how he kept sane through it all. I was very impressed by the talk and was glad I got to go to it.
Friday night I met up with some horse people I know in the area to see the Washington International Horse Show. We got to see terrier racing, a Combined Driving exhibition (which was VERY cool), and the puissance event (high jump competition). In the puissance event there were only five riders entered, but all of them were very impressive. The winner jumped 7'1" and then made an attempt to break the current record at 7'8" unsuccessfully, his horse fell down after he hit the jump hard and dislodged the rider. I still very much enjoyed it.
I went back to WIHS on Saturday night to watch the Equitation finals and the Grand Prix. I purchased a pair of Polartec riding gloves for $12, and was very excited by getting cheap but high quality winter riding gloves to keep my fingers warm. Surprisingly, I was only impressed by a few of the top ten riders in the Equitation finals instead of the majority of them. The Grand Prix was stuffed in a very small arena with lots of tight turns. It wasn't anything I would have ever done on Blitz since I think I would be dragged around the course, missing turns and hitting rails. Mark, on the other hand, may have a future as a WIHS GP horse (which is a qualifier for the World Cup Jumping Competition) if he has a powerful and high jump and is fast to react. The horse that won, McLain Ward's Sapphire (on the Gold Medal USA Olympic Showjumping team this year), was the beefiest horse out of the bunch, built quite a bit like I expect Mark to end up.
Poor Blitz has an abscess on his coronary band that's made him ouchie walking around for the past couple days. It's a very treatable thing, but can be especially painful when it pops at the coronary band. Luckily, I've been told he's doing much better, but I still miss him.
The programming on Monday was horrible! The president of the Ford company was supposed to come and speak, but since his company is currently disastrous, he sent this crazy lady to talk about "networking" to us. I put the quotes around networking, because she did not help at all with educating us on how to network, but rather we were tortured for a couple hours by meaningless stuff.
On Wednesday, instead of normal class, we met in the morning at the American University campus and were given a talk by a man who spent 14 years on death row, was 15 hours from being electrocuted, and was found to be innocent of his crimes. He walked us through how he spent his days locked up without human contact and how he kept sane through it all. I was very impressed by the talk and was glad I got to go to it.
Friday night I met up with some horse people I know in the area to see the Washington International Horse Show. We got to see terrier racing, a Combined Driving exhibition (which was VERY cool), and the puissance event (high jump competition). In the puissance event there were only five riders entered, but all of them were very impressive. The winner jumped 7'1" and then made an attempt to break the current record at 7'8" unsuccessfully, his horse fell down after he hit the jump hard and dislodged the rider. I still very much enjoyed it.
I went back to WIHS on Saturday night to watch the Equitation finals and the Grand Prix. I purchased a pair of Polartec riding gloves for $12, and was very excited by getting cheap but high quality winter riding gloves to keep my fingers warm. Surprisingly, I was only impressed by a few of the top ten riders in the Equitation finals instead of the majority of them. The Grand Prix was stuffed in a very small arena with lots of tight turns. It wasn't anything I would have ever done on Blitz since I think I would be dragged around the course, missing turns and hitting rails. Mark, on the other hand, may have a future as a WIHS GP horse (which is a qualifier for the World Cup Jumping Competition) if he has a powerful and high jump and is fast to react. The horse that won, McLain Ward's Sapphire (on the Gold Medal USA Olympic Showjumping team this year), was the beefiest horse out of the bunch, built quite a bit like I expect Mark to end up.
Poor Blitz has an abscess on his coronary band that's made him ouchie walking around for the past couple days. It's a very treatable thing, but can be especially painful when it pops at the coronary band. Luckily, I've been told he's doing much better, but I still miss him.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Reflections on my election ballot, volunteering, and McCain rally
I received my absentee ballot in the mail on Friday and have been trying to fill it out. I think I need a translator for the proposed constitutional amendments since they don't seem to be written in layman's English. I'm a third party supporter, but I've nearly lost faith in the Green Party for their crazy presidential candidate nomination (google Cynthia McKinney if you don't know what I'm talking about). I still haven't made a decision of who I'm going to vote for President yet.
I think it would be incredibly easy to run for office in an Arkansas general election looking at the immense number of unopposed candidates on the ballot. There are only four positions besides President (Senate, Congress, County Judge, and District Court Judge) that have multiple nominations-- and by multiple I mean TWO people competing against each other for office. UNBELIEVABLE!!! Maybe I should run for an office in the future :).
Yesterday morning I volunteered for CANTER by travelling to a horse racing track and finding horses people were trying to get rid of. Since it was such a busy racing day (state breeder's cup), we only found two horses on the track to get photos and descriptions of.
I then drove down to Woodbridge, VA to attend a rally in support of John McCain. I found out about this through work and thought it would be fun to see a presidential candidate speak in person. Despite the long periods of waiting around, it was a super fun event. There were media people going down the line looking for people to interview. I was asked to do an interview with an Australian radio show because I was a college student, and since I support McCain more than Obama (yet I will probably end up voting for neither of the two), I decided it would be fun to do it. I also got to meet with the Virginia Governor (now running for Congress) for a few minutes while waiting to get through the security.
I ended up getting a very good spot in front right by the rail to the pathway McCain exited on. There was a ton of energy from the crowd supporting the Republican candidates for office. McCain was running pretty late, so he added at least half an hour to the waiting period. His speech was nothing people hadn't heard before (though he talked about more recent events), but everyone in the crowd still loved it.
I have pictures from the rally I'll try to get up later!
I think it would be incredibly easy to run for office in an Arkansas general election looking at the immense number of unopposed candidates on the ballot. There are only four positions besides President (Senate, Congress, County Judge, and District Court Judge) that have multiple nominations-- and by multiple I mean TWO people competing against each other for office. UNBELIEVABLE!!! Maybe I should run for an office in the future :).
Yesterday morning I volunteered for CANTER by travelling to a horse racing track and finding horses people were trying to get rid of. Since it was such a busy racing day (state breeder's cup), we only found two horses on the track to get photos and descriptions of.
I then drove down to Woodbridge, VA to attend a rally in support of John McCain. I found out about this through work and thought it would be fun to see a presidential candidate speak in person. Despite the long periods of waiting around, it was a super fun event. There were media people going down the line looking for people to interview. I was asked to do an interview with an Australian radio show because I was a college student, and since I support McCain more than Obama (yet I will probably end up voting for neither of the two), I decided it would be fun to do it. I also got to meet with the Virginia Governor (now running for Congress) for a few minutes while waiting to get through the security.
I ended up getting a very good spot in front right by the rail to the pathway McCain exited on. There was a ton of energy from the crowd supporting the Republican candidates for office. McCain was running pretty late, so he added at least half an hour to the waiting period. His speech was nothing people hadn't heard before (though he talked about more recent events), but everyone in the crowd still loved it.
I have pictures from the rally I'll try to get up later!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
I'm going to be on TV!
Set your TiVo up to record C-SPAN 2's "Close-Up" on Friday (10/17 and 10-31) at 6pm C/7pm EST. I'm going to be in both episodes of the TV show. We recorded at the Newseum today and I had a great time. After the recording, I was able to walk around the Newsuem exhibits (I got in free for the filming) and see some really awesome stuff. This is a must-see for anyone visiting DC. There were newspapers and books on display dating back to the 1400s along with a printing press. The Pulitzer Prize photo section was very moving. Some of the photos nearly brought tears to my eyes. I wanted to buy the book with all the photos in it, but I wasn't willing to spend the chunk of money needed. While there, I went with a couple other interns to see the 4-D short movie on the history of journalism and it was pretty interesting. 4-D means that you see the movie on all sides of you in 3-d, the seats move, and you also get water and air squirted at you.
My weekend was very non-eventful. If I got bored of my apartment, I spent time working out in the fitness facility. I didn't go to work on Monday or Today. Yesterday Dr. Green from TCU did a visit to my workplace and then took me out to dinner at Old Ebbitt's Grille (where presidents have eaten out for a long time) where I attempted to eat back my tuition payment on TCU's budget. Needless to say, I hardly made a dent in eating back the amount of money I've spent on my college tuition, but at least I got all the good food I wanted!
I went to a TWC debate watching party after class tonight. I got some great free food and a leftover pizza and snacks to bring home and eat the rest of the week. The debate was probably the most interesting Presidential one I've seen so far. I got to see Bob Schieffer as the moderator for the debate. If you remember, I got to go to a small honorary luncheon with him and authoritative figures from my school a couple weeks ago. It was so amazing that he took time to meet with me and I see him do such a great thing a couple weeks later.
I was thinking today how amazing it would be to tell my (possible future) children that I was IN Washington DC when the Stock Market crash and economic crisis bill took place and also when (either a black man President or a woman VP) made history in being elected into the White House.
My weekend was very non-eventful. If I got bored of my apartment, I spent time working out in the fitness facility. I didn't go to work on Monday or Today. Yesterday Dr. Green from TCU did a visit to my workplace and then took me out to dinner at Old Ebbitt's Grille (where presidents have eaten out for a long time) where I attempted to eat back my tuition payment on TCU's budget. Needless to say, I hardly made a dent in eating back the amount of money I've spent on my college tuition, but at least I got all the good food I wanted!
I went to a TWC debate watching party after class tonight. I got some great free food and a leftover pizza and snacks to bring home and eat the rest of the week. The debate was probably the most interesting Presidential one I've seen so far. I got to see Bob Schieffer as the moderator for the debate. If you remember, I got to go to a small honorary luncheon with him and authoritative figures from my school a couple weeks ago. It was so amazing that he took time to meet with me and I see him do such a great thing a couple weeks later.
I was thinking today how amazing it would be to tell my (possible future) children that I was IN Washington DC when the Stock Market crash and economic crisis bill took place and also when (either a black man President or a woman VP) made history in being elected into the White House.
Friday, October 10, 2008
This past week
The timber races and NA Field Hunter Championship were so much fun. Out of the top 7 fieldhunters, I think three of them were purebred Irish Draughts and at least one was part-bred Irish. I got my fill of Irish Draughts from both the championships and the IDHSNA inspection I went to on Tuesday.
On Monday, Majority Whip James Clyburn came to speak to TWC interns. He was a very inspirational speaker in speaking about determination in following dreams and obtaining goals. I also went to a tour of the Capitol building on Monday with a group of TWC Political Leadership interns.
At class on Wednesday night we had a "free" man come in to speak about himself and play us music. When he got sick and tired of being a businessman, he sold his business and left town. For the past 13 years, he's given up all materialistic possessions to live on the streets in order to promote his spirit. He has travelled all across the country with just a bike, a guitar, and whatever other instruments he makes along the way. He never puts his hat out to beg for money, though people sometimes give him money or necessities when they see or hear him playing music. He is very involved with the Rainbow Family and attends all the gatherings (including national ones) that he can to pray for peace. Through Steve is spiritual, he doesn't believe in the conformity of religion so he isn't involved with a certain church. He writes and plays spiritual music instead, living with minimal material possessions, not even a watch.
The past three days (including today) I've gotten off work early. Today we had a small birthday celebration for the office secretary since we won't be working on Monday when her real birthday is. My boss was funny today when he was talking about the movie Office Space and as he was walking off we heard him say "I want to be a gangster." That gave us all a good laugh. He also has a wall of framed cartoons with lobbyist themes that he found another one in a newspaper and added to today.
I don't have any real plans for the three-day weekend yet. I'm planning on getting together with some friends tonight, but I'm not sure what we'll be doing though.
On Monday, Majority Whip James Clyburn came to speak to TWC interns. He was a very inspirational speaker in speaking about determination in following dreams and obtaining goals. I also went to a tour of the Capitol building on Monday with a group of TWC Political Leadership interns.
At class on Wednesday night we had a "free" man come in to speak about himself and play us music. When he got sick and tired of being a businessman, he sold his business and left town. For the past 13 years, he's given up all materialistic possessions to live on the streets in order to promote his spirit. He has travelled all across the country with just a bike, a guitar, and whatever other instruments he makes along the way. He never puts his hat out to beg for money, though people sometimes give him money or necessities when they see or hear him playing music. He is very involved with the Rainbow Family and attends all the gatherings (including national ones) that he can to pray for peace. Through Steve is spiritual, he doesn't believe in the conformity of religion so he isn't involved with a certain church. He writes and plays spiritual music instead, living with minimal material possessions, not even a watch.
The past three days (including today) I've gotten off work early. Today we had a small birthday celebration for the office secretary since we won't be working on Monday when her real birthday is. My boss was funny today when he was talking about the movie Office Space and as he was walking off we heard him say "I want to be a gangster." That gave us all a good laugh. He also has a wall of framed cartoons with lobbyist themes that he found another one in a newspaper and added to today.
I don't have any real plans for the three-day weekend yet. I'm planning on getting together with some friends tonight, but I'm not sure what we'll be doing though.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Another Couple Firsts!
I thoroughly enjoyed watching the VP debate Thursday night. There were quite a few instances at which Katie and I laughed at. She pointed out that Palin made eye contact with the camera while talking, something not many debaters do, that made the millions watching on TV feel as if she was talking directly with them instead of down to them.
Class on Wednesday night was great. We had a very long and fruitful discussion on the death penalty. Not everyone agreed on everything, but we did agree that the entire criminal justice system needed to be modified greatly.
HR 5714, The Army Commemorative Coin bill we've been working on since the beginning of my internship was passed in the house on Friday morning. This is the first bill I've been apart of that has been passed. It had a record number of 348 Cosponsors for being a commemorative coin bill. I feel great knowing I had a big impact on the number of Cosponsors obtained for this bill. There were 83 Cosponsors in the Senate (Its titled S 2579 there), so it was passed there as well. Now it's on its way to get the President's signature. When the coins are minted in 2011 to fund the National Museum of the US Army, I may have to get my hands on a couple.
Friday night I went to see the Professional World Hunter Championship Rider Finals and enjoyed it quite a bit. It's a very prestigious event, yet the stands were not even half full at the arena (and it's free!). It was being shown live on the Internet so many people could see it, but I was only 20 minutes away and decided to see it live. When I was in the checkout line for my souvenirs (a poster and sale T shirt), the woman in front of me was talking to the cashier and I heard her say that she fox hunted. Well, since I'm from an area where hunters are very rare, I decided to start a conversation with her. One thing led to another and soon I was in a group of people part of a hunt club located in Upper Marlboro, MD being invited to go hunting with them. I was nearly jumping up and down when we exchanged phone numbers and I was told that they should be able to find a horse for me. They are cubbing right now and I was invited out for tomorrow, but I already have plans...
Tomorrow, Katie and I are going to the Virginia Fall Races in Middleburg. The North American Field Hunter Championship will also be held on the racing grounds tomorrow, so I'm expecting to have a lot of fun. The races are timber races (like steeplechasing) with Thoroughbreds racing over fences. It's going to be like a fancy tailgating party with racing and vendors (<--my parents can't that). I'm expecting tons of fun!!!!
I may just stay in this area forever! There are so many horse things nearby that I feel like I'm in a dreamland. I don't want to go back to non-horsey areas.
Class on Wednesday night was great. We had a very long and fruitful discussion on the death penalty. Not everyone agreed on everything, but we did agree that the entire criminal justice system needed to be modified greatly.
HR 5714, The Army Commemorative Coin bill we've been working on since the beginning of my internship was passed in the house on Friday morning. This is the first bill I've been apart of that has been passed. It had a record number of 348 Cosponsors for being a commemorative coin bill. I feel great knowing I had a big impact on the number of Cosponsors obtained for this bill. There were 83 Cosponsors in the Senate (Its titled S 2579 there), so it was passed there as well. Now it's on its way to get the President's signature. When the coins are minted in 2011 to fund the National Museum of the US Army, I may have to get my hands on a couple.
Friday night I went to see the Professional World Hunter Championship Rider Finals and enjoyed it quite a bit. It's a very prestigious event, yet the stands were not even half full at the arena (and it's free!). It was being shown live on the Internet so many people could see it, but I was only 20 minutes away and decided to see it live. When I was in the checkout line for my souvenirs (a poster and sale T shirt), the woman in front of me was talking to the cashier and I heard her say that she fox hunted. Well, since I'm from an area where hunters are very rare, I decided to start a conversation with her. One thing led to another and soon I was in a group of people part of a hunt club located in Upper Marlboro, MD being invited to go hunting with them. I was nearly jumping up and down when we exchanged phone numbers and I was told that they should be able to find a horse for me. They are cubbing right now and I was invited out for tomorrow, but I already have plans...
Tomorrow, Katie and I are going to the Virginia Fall Races in Middleburg. The North American Field Hunter Championship will also be held on the racing grounds tomorrow, so I'm expecting to have a lot of fun. The races are timber races (like steeplechasing) with Thoroughbreds racing over fences. It's going to be like a fancy tailgating party with racing and vendors (<--my parents can't that). I'm expecting tons of fun!!!!
I may just stay in this area forever! There are so many horse things nearby that I feel like I'm in a dreamland. I don't want to go back to non-horsey areas.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Sorry for not posting in awhile
On Saturday I went to an orientation so that I could volunteer helping refugees accustom to life in America. Sunday, since the weather was questionable, Instead of going to Mount Vernon, I went to one building of the National Art Gallery and saw famous artwork. I was surprised how much I remembered from my High School AP Art History course, as I was able to identify quite a few works by looking at them. I’m hoping to see the other half of the National Art Gallery’s collection. After the art museum, I went to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History and it was packed full! I browsed through the sections and saw as much as I could without waiting in crowds, but I wasn’t able to see the new Ocean exhibit that opened this weekend. It’s free to go to the Smithsonians, so I guess I’ll just have to go another time.
The Monday programming wasn’t the most interesting I’ve been to. There was a person representing Democracy Now speaking to us about the program (I haven’t decided how I feel about it yet). Then a speaker from Greater DC Cares came to talk to us about volunteer opportunities in the area. I have already chosen an agency to volunteer with, but it might be interesting to do this program since each volunteer opportunity is a one time commitment. After the speakers, my team that won the scavenger hunt at the beginning of the program got our pizza party prize. I love free food!
Work is pretty much the same, but the work load is a bit less than before-- I’ve just been working on the projects given to me.
I started a new workout plan and healthy diet today since I was appalled at how out of shape I’ve gotten. I really need to go to the store to get food since I don’t want to live on the spaghetti, pancakes, and almonds left in my food stash. I’ll probably get some stuff at Costco and my other stuff at Shoppers grocery store. Dad’s Christmas present is probably going to be some Costco coffee since he can’t get that in Arkansas.
I have class tonight. I’ve been brainstorming topics to write my term paper over and so far have a couple ideas, but I’m not set on any one yet. Speaking of class, I think it would be a lot of fun engaging in a protest or rally while I’m here. I know there are some going on at Congress currently, but I don’t think I can get off work to join them.
The Monday programming wasn’t the most interesting I’ve been to. There was a person representing Democracy Now speaking to us about the program (I haven’t decided how I feel about it yet). Then a speaker from Greater DC Cares came to talk to us about volunteer opportunities in the area. I have already chosen an agency to volunteer with, but it might be interesting to do this program since each volunteer opportunity is a one time commitment. After the speakers, my team that won the scavenger hunt at the beginning of the program got our pizza party prize. I love free food!
Work is pretty much the same, but the work load is a bit less than before-- I’ve just been working on the projects given to me.
I started a new workout plan and healthy diet today since I was appalled at how out of shape I’ve gotten. I really need to go to the store to get food since I don’t want to live on the spaghetti, pancakes, and almonds left in my food stash. I’ll probably get some stuff at Costco and my other stuff at Shoppers grocery store. Dad’s Christmas present is probably going to be some Costco coffee since he can’t get that in Arkansas.
I have class tonight. I’ve been brainstorming topics to write my term paper over and so far have a couple ideas, but I’m not set on any one yet. Speaking of class, I think it would be a lot of fun engaging in a protest or rally while I’m here. I know there are some going on at Congress currently, but I don’t think I can get off work to join them.
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