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.