So on Friday I got to sit in on a press conference with Nancy Pelosi announcing that the stimulus bill had passed in the house (basically celebrating the democrat vote winning). It was a completely exciting and overwhelming experience... It was all very motivational and positive! Some may be rolling their eyes at this, but I was really proud in that moment to be a democrat, or at least to feel like there were people in our government who are trying to make a change that I believe in. Pelosi emphasized how amazing it is that Obama is passing this bill in such a short amount of time. Hearing some of the leaders of our country take such a positive spin at a major transition time in US history was just priceless to me. There was a little bit of tension when questions were asked about her feelings on the fact that no republicans supported the bill, but the politics of it weren't important to me. Tony told me I'm an "idealist" because I said it shouldn't matter what party they are, if they want to vote a certain way they should (when discussing the three republicans who are voting with the democrats in the senate). Apparently I still don't understand the significance of this whole party rivalry... but "idealist" doesn't sound bad to me...

But really people, you should have seen me, I was a mess of excitement (aka overwhelmed with positive energy): I was tearing up, I was drooling, I was grinning so wide my face hurt, but all the while trying to make sure I sat up straight in case the cameras were on me!! (there were a lot of cameras) I went up to Tony (my co-worker who brought me) as we walked out of the room, practically brushing shoulders with one of the congressmen who spoke, "I not even kidding I think I'm going to fall over" Of course he had no idea how to respond, but I figured you would all find that amusing. This is a video of the event, it sucks, but it was the only one I could find for now. I was sitting in the front row, on the left side... in a bright blue sweater if you happen to catch it at some point haha.

And after when we went back to the office, I got to eat cake that my boss had. It was pretty sweet. I've pretty much just accepted that the office has a way slower productivity than I'm used to. This city in general is much slower than my NY mentality, but like I said before, this can only be good for me. Not that I was able to concentrate on work anyway... I was a mess of emotions the entire day. There was an announcement that morning that another Dickinson student passed away. I'll admit I hadn't been in recent contact with Catherine, but I did enjoy hanging out with her and she always had a great sense of humor. She will definitely be missed. I'd prefer not to comment on it too much, but I do want to emphasize that it really puts in perspective how much we need to appreciate every moment we are given; RIP Catherine.

Some weekend highlights:
1. Well, Friday night I was grumpy...
2. Three day weekend -- I forgot how Dickinson robs us of these "National holiday" things.
3. National Portrait Gallery (amazing, I went twice!) They also had a special event where they had made a portrait of Lincoln and Obama out of CUPCAKES, and we got to eat them. SO cool.
4. Free art show on Valentines Day; with free wine and I even got a kiss "for peace" that night... hehe
5. Seeing the Oscar nominated short films tonight with two of my new and amazing friends Kevin and Jen! (Kevin is going to teach me how to meditate, he has peace studies with me and has really awesome views on life -- Jen is a women's studies major from TCNJ and we were both technically supposed to be in other countries right now -- she was going to go to Africa -- but besides that we just had immediate chemistry and she is awesome hehe)

These are cupcakes!!!


Alright friends, well I'm looking forward to a brand new week :) I hope that this finds everyone with a smile on their face and know that I am missing you...