Hello bloggerworld... It's been a while! Also, I really need something to cover up that awfully embarrassing networking story. But, ya know, I am only human, and maybe a hopeless romantic human... but I can't help it sometimes!
Onward -- I'm on my last week here in DC and I'm not really sure what to reflect on here because I've done so much reflecting in the past two weeks completing TWC assignments that I'm almost OVER reflecting. We had to do a huge portfolio project that included work samples and papers reflecting on every aspect of our experience here... semi-exhausting.
I had my last Peaceful Solutions class tonight... and successfully got a hug from Professor McCarthy! :) That class really changed my life and my outlook, I'll look forward to carrying what I've learned with me in the future... I still have some projects at my internship to finish up. Part of me is going to miss the strange office life I've fallen into... but I'm also looking forward to a more active summer.
I think all I really have to say is that I am pretty content right now. I'm already getting a bit nostalgic of my time here in DC -- I've grown quite fond of this odd and tiny city, and the more I think about it, the more I realize I'm going to have quite a "culture shock" coming back to the crazy New Yorkers... and the commute into NYC won't compare to my lovely times on the DC metro. I'm thinking it is possible I'll wind up back in DC someday...
I'm going to try and spend as much time with my new friends here this week as I can, and then this weekend I'm headed to Dickinson for graduation. And then it's back to Long Island .. I'm looking forward to getting back to two of my "homes" and seeing my friends and family.
Well this was a very boring post, and for that I apologize. I don't know if my blogging career will continue over the summer, but to everyone who has been reading, I thank you for making it this far and for any encouragement you sent my way to help increase my ego ;-)
Who am I kidding, I'll be back next week.... so until I decide to blog next.... sending love your way!
Monday, May 11, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Networking Mistakes: He Doesn't Want to Date You
Alright people, so as I near the end of my internship, I realize I have learned quite a bit and it's time to share some of my wise and unwise wisdom with the world, and any future interns who are interested.
Networking can be a funny and tricky thing, but it is encouraged as the KEY to success in Washington, DC. It often turns out that it isn't WHAT you know, but WHO you know. A wise, wise man I had an informational interview gave me advice along the lines of, "speak nicely of the people you like, and even nicer of the people you don't like" because the circles here are SMALL (especially in any circle even close to Hill involvement) and you never know who knows who, or when you'll run into people again.
Some quick suggestions:
1. Try to act confident, even when you don't feel completely sure of yourself. Push yourself to introduce yourself to as many people as you can!
2. Make sure you are cordial and polite with everyone upon meeting them for the first time
3. SMILE :) -- and a firm handshake also makes a statement, but I never quite got that down.
4. Don't be afraid to ask people for their business cards to keep in touch, and make sure to FOLLOW UP.
5. The majority of working people in Washington, DC will seem to be your age: try to eliminate people you meet in professional situations as dating material...
Some of this I have done successfully and some I have not... As the story I'm about to tell will show. I personally have felt uneasy at times because I feel that being an intern is enough of an "in-between" state to feel awkward at times. I'm definitely not a working professional, and I'm still technically a college student. But, I would encourage people to try and act more professional than you feel at all times.
So an EPIC networking fail to guarantee you a laugh: Waiting on line to get into a hearing a few weeks ago, I wound up chatting with a pretty attractive guy. When we got into the hearing, he gestured (what I thought was only to me) to exchange business cards. Mortified to give him my own card that SCREAMS intern, I mumbled something about being an intern under my breath and started talking to a friend next to me, we'll call her Amy. So this is the hearing where I met Secretary of Edu, Arne Duncan. In an attempt to befriend this cute guy, I decided to do a follow up email and tell him that he missed out on the excitement of meeting Arne when he left the hearing early. Unfortunately, the email bounced back due to "security reasons,"-- OK wasn't meant to be. Hah. A week later, I get an email from HIM, saying it was nice to meet me and he hopes our "paths cross again soon." As a precaution I get in touch with Amy who was at the hearing with me and also got his card -- apparently he had only emailed me -- so that is an offer if I've ever seen one. WRONG. I respond quickly saying that I'd love to meet up sometime, maybe over dinner? Well, he never responds. A few days later I'm at an education networking breakfast of sorts... talking to Amy... and who should walk in? But the mysterious cute boy from the hearing. "Oh by the way!" Amy says, "He DID wind up emailing me, too!" And to make my luck worse, I actually get stuck sitting RIGHT next to him. FML. After attempting to ignore him most of the time, he actually winds up talking to me at one point, apparently he is well into his 30's and keeps making references to how old he is and bla bla. Ok, I get it. In truth, he is a very nice guy, and he parted with a "let me know if you ever need anything" (aka questions about policy, jobs, etc). Moral of the story: older and attractive men may be charming and friendly, but he does not want to date you. So learn from my mistakes friends, and it's back to the brutal reality that dating is a b*tch.
Laugh it up, we all know I deserve it. More stories to come soon.
Networking can be a funny and tricky thing, but it is encouraged as the KEY to success in Washington, DC. It often turns out that it isn't WHAT you know, but WHO you know. A wise, wise man I had an informational interview gave me advice along the lines of, "speak nicely of the people you like, and even nicer of the people you don't like" because the circles here are SMALL (especially in any circle even close to Hill involvement) and you never know who knows who, or when you'll run into people again.
Some quick suggestions:
1. Try to act confident, even when you don't feel completely sure of yourself. Push yourself to introduce yourself to as many people as you can!
2. Make sure you are cordial and polite with everyone upon meeting them for the first time
3. SMILE :) -- and a firm handshake also makes a statement, but I never quite got that down.
4. Don't be afraid to ask people for their business cards to keep in touch, and make sure to FOLLOW UP.
5. The majority of working people in Washington, DC will seem to be your age: try to eliminate people you meet in professional situations as dating material...
Some of this I have done successfully and some I have not... As the story I'm about to tell will show. I personally have felt uneasy at times because I feel that being an intern is enough of an "in-between" state to feel awkward at times. I'm definitely not a working professional, and I'm still technically a college student. But, I would encourage people to try and act more professional than you feel at all times.
So an EPIC networking fail to guarantee you a laugh: Waiting on line to get into a hearing a few weeks ago, I wound up chatting with a pretty attractive guy. When we got into the hearing, he gestured (what I thought was only to me) to exchange business cards. Mortified to give him my own card that SCREAMS intern, I mumbled something about being an intern under my breath and started talking to a friend next to me, we'll call her Amy. So this is the hearing where I met Secretary of Edu, Arne Duncan. In an attempt to befriend this cute guy, I decided to do a follow up email and tell him that he missed out on the excitement of meeting Arne when he left the hearing early. Unfortunately, the email bounced back due to "security reasons,"-- OK wasn't meant to be. Hah. A week later, I get an email from HIM, saying it was nice to meet me and he hopes our "paths cross again soon." As a precaution I get in touch with Amy who was at the hearing with me and also got his card -- apparently he had only emailed me -- so that is an offer if I've ever seen one. WRONG. I respond quickly saying that I'd love to meet up sometime, maybe over dinner? Well, he never responds. A few days later I'm at an education networking breakfast of sorts... talking to Amy... and who should walk in? But the mysterious cute boy from the hearing. "Oh by the way!" Amy says, "He DID wind up emailing me, too!" And to make my luck worse, I actually get stuck sitting RIGHT next to him. FML. After attempting to ignore him most of the time, he actually winds up talking to me at one point, apparently he is well into his 30's and keeps making references to how old he is and bla bla. Ok, I get it. In truth, he is a very nice guy, and he parted with a "let me know if you ever need anything" (aka questions about policy, jobs, etc). Moral of the story: older and attractive men may be charming and friendly, but he does not want to date you. So learn from my mistakes friends, and it's back to the brutal reality that dating is a b*tch.
Laugh it up, we all know I deserve it. More stories to come soon.
Monday, April 20, 2009
You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one...
Hello my friends... how is everyone doing? I went through an intern burn-out/"I'm not supposed to be in America right now" phase last week, and in an attempt to inspire rather than depress my audience, I decided not to blog. No one is perfect, we all have bad days, sometimes more than one in a row, and there is nothing wrong with that! Sometimes you just gotta take Grandma Shirley's advice, "take it one day at a time" ...I do know for a fact she got that from her Over-Eaters Anonymous program, but whatever works, right? :)
Weekend highlight: I got to see the Flaming Lips yesterday for a FREE concert on the National Mall. That concert is crazy entertaining, the lead singer puts himself in an inflatable bubble and crowd surfs. He also has these weird trippy things on stage with him-- like an inflatable smiling sun, and some strange caterpillar/butterfly thing. My roomie and I enjoyed rocking out to our favorite, "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots," though I am pretty convinced none of those songs make any sense.
In the spirit of my blog name, I'm going to give you some American Studies "word vomit." So, the concert was part of a bigger festival for Earth Day. Obviously an event like this attracts all sorts of hippies, but have you ever noticed that there are different 'cultures' of hippies? I suspect this maybe has something to do with class differences, but even if that isn't always the case, it is kindof interesting. For example, (sticking to men here) there are the 'dirty' hippies that grow their hair long, put it back in silly clips and hair ties, they dress kindof ragged and generally don't match. Then there is the more "manufactured" hippy -- they have the camelback backpacks and a clean, but "down to earth" looking waterproof jackets. They generally have shaggy hair, that looks longer than the traditionally accepted length for boys, but it still looks cleanly trimmed. Just an observation...
Tonight in class we had two homeless people come speak to us. One was named Steve, he has chosen to live in voluntary poverty, as in he left life as a businessman to come live in DC with no home, no car, no phone, no money, no bed... and according to him, no worries. He spends the majority of his time hanging out in a park by American University making flutes out of bamboo sticks. He gives the flutes to people he meets, and claims that when he gives a child a flute in a park that it becomes a source of attention and community. I believe him, but I guess what struck me the most is that he has the ability and access to resources to be more productive, to do good at a larger scale, and he is choosing not to. Taking a step back, that is obviously what makes him happy... and with the wise words of Coleman McCarthy, "We aren't called on to do great things, we are asked to do small things in a great way." I think that the idea of choosing to live THAT simply is interesting at the least. The other woman who came to speak to us was really awesome, her name was Ellen, you should check out her website: http://prop1.org/. She is really trying to make a grassroots advocacy effort, pretty inspiring -- especially since I have been contemplating the effectiveness of our government during my time here. She seems to still believe in it.
Moving right along... people have been calling me naive and idealistic, even "innocent," left and right since I've started talking about this peace studies stuff. And when I went home for the weekend, 5 seconds outside of the DC bubble convinced me that these ideas are definitely not well-accepted. I made the mistake of pulling a McCarthy line at my Passover seder. A younger family friend was being questioned about what he wants to do when he 'grows up,' I put in my two cents, "do what you love and the money will follow" only to be attacked right away and basically called an idiot. Cool. I'm not denying that there are a lot of issues I am ignorant to, many systems I don't quite understand, or that I'm not completely on my own and able to understand what it is like to live without an income. But we live in a society that is too money obsessed, and I'm not a fan. All I'm saying is that we can try. We can try talking about these issues and explore ways to incorporate them into our lives. We can try to hold ourselves repsonsible for doing our tiny part, and maybe we will get some good out of it. At the least, you'll influnce one more person, and even that is an accomplishment. So I'm trying to do my tiny part, trying to start dialogue, trying to go greenER, trying to be kinder... adding more love to the world never hurt anyone, but as Coleman says, "If love were easy, we'd all be good at it." Well love is something I usually have to give. Any takers? ;-) (Not that you really have a choice anyway...)
Some peaceful quotes for you to nibble on:
"He who has experienced good in his life must feel the obligation to dedicate some of his own life in order to alleviate suffering" Albert Schweitzer
Weekend highlight: I got to see the Flaming Lips yesterday for a FREE concert on the National Mall. That concert is crazy entertaining, the lead singer puts himself in an inflatable bubble and crowd surfs. He also has these weird trippy things on stage with him-- like an inflatable smiling sun, and some strange caterpillar/butterfly thing. My roomie and I enjoyed rocking out to our favorite, "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots," though I am pretty convinced none of those songs make any sense.
In the spirit of my blog name, I'm going to give you some American Studies "word vomit." So, the concert was part of a bigger festival for Earth Day. Obviously an event like this attracts all sorts of hippies, but have you ever noticed that there are different 'cultures' of hippies? I suspect this maybe has something to do with class differences, but even if that isn't always the case, it is kindof interesting. For example, (sticking to men here) there are the 'dirty' hippies that grow their hair long, put it back in silly clips and hair ties, they dress kindof ragged and generally don't match. Then there is the more "manufactured" hippy -- they have the camelback backpacks and a clean, but "down to earth" looking waterproof jackets. They generally have shaggy hair, that looks longer than the traditionally accepted length for boys, but it still looks cleanly trimmed. Just an observation...
Tonight in class we had two homeless people come speak to us. One was named Steve, he has chosen to live in voluntary poverty, as in he left life as a businessman to come live in DC with no home, no car, no phone, no money, no bed... and according to him, no worries. He spends the majority of his time hanging out in a park by American University making flutes out of bamboo sticks. He gives the flutes to people he meets, and claims that when he gives a child a flute in a park that it becomes a source of attention and community. I believe him, but I guess what struck me the most is that he has the ability and access to resources to be more productive, to do good at a larger scale, and he is choosing not to. Taking a step back, that is obviously what makes him happy... and with the wise words of Coleman McCarthy, "We aren't called on to do great things, we are asked to do small things in a great way." I think that the idea of choosing to live THAT simply is interesting at the least. The other woman who came to speak to us was really awesome, her name was Ellen, you should check out her website: http://prop1.org/. She is really trying to make a grassroots advocacy effort, pretty inspiring -- especially since I have been contemplating the effectiveness of our government during my time here. She seems to still believe in it.
Moving right along... people have been calling me naive and idealistic, even "innocent," left and right since I've started talking about this peace studies stuff. And when I went home for the weekend, 5 seconds outside of the DC bubble convinced me that these ideas are definitely not well-accepted. I made the mistake of pulling a McCarthy line at my Passover seder. A younger family friend was being questioned about what he wants to do when he 'grows up,' I put in my two cents, "do what you love and the money will follow" only to be attacked right away and basically called an idiot. Cool. I'm not denying that there are a lot of issues I am ignorant to, many systems I don't quite understand, or that I'm not completely on my own and able to understand what it is like to live without an income. But we live in a society that is too money obsessed, and I'm not a fan. All I'm saying is that we can try. We can try talking about these issues and explore ways to incorporate them into our lives. We can try to hold ourselves repsonsible for doing our tiny part, and maybe we will get some good out of it. At the least, you'll influnce one more person, and even that is an accomplishment. So I'm trying to do my tiny part, trying to start dialogue, trying to go greenER, trying to be kinder... adding more love to the world never hurt anyone, but as Coleman says, "If love were easy, we'd all be good at it." Well love is something I usually have to give. Any takers? ;-) (Not that you really have a choice anyway...)
Some peaceful quotes for you to nibble on:
"He who has experienced good in his life must feel the obligation to dedicate some of his own life in order to alleviate suffering" Albert Schweitzer
"People are unreasonable, illogical, and self centered.
Love them anyway.
If you do good, people may accuse you of selfish motives.
Do good anyway.
If you are successful, you may win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.
Honesty and transparency make you vulnerable.
Be honest and transparent anyway.
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.
People who really want help may attack you if you help them.
Help them anyway.
Give the world the best you have and you may get hurt.
Give the world your best anyway."
--Mother Teresa
Love them anyway.
If you do good, people may accuse you of selfish motives.
Do good anyway.
If you are successful, you may win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.
Honesty and transparency make you vulnerable.
Be honest and transparent anyway.
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.
People who really want help may attack you if you help them.
Help them anyway.
Give the world the best you have and you may get hurt.
Give the world your best anyway."
--Mother Teresa
Monday, April 6, 2009
All Over the Place
I'll start this blog post off with my typical rant of random tragic/actually not so tragic observations of my life... my beloved "click click" shoes have officially stretched out and are showing their Payless shoe worth, causing me to spend the majority of my Monday tripping and falling on multiple occasions. And I nearly caused a traffic jam this morning right in front of the escalator (BIG rush hour no-no). And the vegetarian thing lasted three days before I accidentally ate tacos. And then chicken... soo I'm still exploring that...ish.
I had a very nice weekend. Saturday mom came to visit... we got to see some cherry blossoms, got to go to lunch with cousin Ian and his girlfriend (so nice to see them!) and then mom and I headed to one of my favorites, the National Portrait Gallery. After mom left, I headed over to what I thought was a park, but it was this strange bus-waiting area in the middle of a parking lot... I did a lot of people watching, and then my good friend Jen came to meet me and we talked and sat in the sun. Once we assembled some more interns we headed over to the Marvin Gaye Park Festival that Andrea (my roomie)'s internship, Washington, Parks, and People, was putting on in the community where I volunteer. We got there right in time for some live music... one of the Temptations was singing, it was pretty sweet.
Mommy and Me!
Oh hey mom... (It was windy) ...don't tell her this is up here ;)
Live Music at Marvin Gaye Festival:
What else... Sunday John, Andrea, and I headed over to the National Mall and parked ourselves down for a little picnic. I departed to head over to a new favorite, Bus Boys and Poets, for a discussion on race and a book called "The State of Black America in 2009." Two friends, Nick and Keith, met me at the discussion. Nick also enjoys discussing race, but this resulted in standing on a street corner debating after the talk was over (and we're both really loud). We definitely got some strange looks, but I managed to persuade him to go to a restaurant, where we wound up befriending the bartender and getting almost everyone in the place invested in our conversation. U-Street is my new favorite DC area! We will be back!
My DC fam at our picnic :)
One (good) thing I have noticed is that even though I am spending the semester only 2 hours away from Dickinson -- I have still found ways to explore the issues that I care about and most importantly, to get myself out of my comfort zone. It was sort of interesting to witness the dynamic of bringing a group of fellow white interns into a predominantly black DC neighborhood for the festival... and we should acknowledge music as powerful in bringing people together. A speaker I heard at the beginning of the semester said something along the lines of, "we need to acknowledge what we have in common before we can celebrate our differences." People are still so hesitant to talk about race... even at the discussion, I'll admit I was uncomfortable at times, and I definitely hesitated to go in the first place... but what I came to realize is that oftentimes it is important to push ourselves to do what isn't easy. It's easy to think and talk about what needs to be changed in our society, but taking the next step, to put ourselves into situations that are different and to try and understand another point of view... that is valuable experience.
And another thing, as I have officially been defeated emotionally and physically... I hope everyone is taking some time to relax, wherever they are. Because I thought I had a relaxing weekend, but my body thought otherwise. I don't think it is a secret that I don't actually know how to relax, but how do we give ourselves time to relax when there is so much going on? Meh. So you know when you sleep on your neck wrong? Well apparently I slept on my back wrong, and as the day went on my shoulders got tighter and tighter (anxiety much?) to the point I basically couldn't move. I had to skip my weekly volunteering today in an attempt to "take care of myself" ... aka having a good cry on my bed while paralyzed. I feel like I write about being overwhelmed a lot, and even when I am having an "easy" semester. Maybe I shouldn't be realizing this about myself on a public blog... but I'm only human. Moral of the story: I'll admit it, I am burnt out! I'm heading home for the weekend for Passover and Easter (the plus to being half jewish/half catholic..) I'm looking forward to a good hug from Grandma Shirley.
Anyway, we're watching slumdog millionaire... and my very attractive Indian friend just won, and they're about to make out, err wait-- just kidding-- it doesn't show them making out. Just some crazy bollywood dancing I need to learn ASAP. How do you not want to marry Dev Patel after this movie?
Sending love to wherever you are... :) Leave me some nice comments, I'd like to get some feedback on my craziness... thanks much.
I had a very nice weekend. Saturday mom came to visit... we got to see some cherry blossoms, got to go to lunch with cousin Ian and his girlfriend (so nice to see them!) and then mom and I headed to one of my favorites, the National Portrait Gallery. After mom left, I headed over to what I thought was a park, but it was this strange bus-waiting area in the middle of a parking lot... I did a lot of people watching, and then my good friend Jen came to meet me and we talked and sat in the sun. Once we assembled some more interns we headed over to the Marvin Gaye Park Festival that Andrea (my roomie)'s internship, Washington, Parks, and People, was putting on in the community where I volunteer. We got there right in time for some live music... one of the Temptations was singing, it was pretty sweet.
Mommy and Me!
Oh hey mom... (It was windy) ...don't tell her this is up here ;)Live Music at Marvin Gaye Festival:
My DC fam at our picnic :)One (good) thing I have noticed is that even though I am spending the semester only 2 hours away from Dickinson -- I have still found ways to explore the issues that I care about and most importantly, to get myself out of my comfort zone. It was sort of interesting to witness the dynamic of bringing a group of fellow white interns into a predominantly black DC neighborhood for the festival... and we should acknowledge music as powerful in bringing people together. A speaker I heard at the beginning of the semester said something along the lines of, "we need to acknowledge what we have in common before we can celebrate our differences." People are still so hesitant to talk about race... even at the discussion, I'll admit I was uncomfortable at times, and I definitely hesitated to go in the first place... but what I came to realize is that oftentimes it is important to push ourselves to do what isn't easy. It's easy to think and talk about what needs to be changed in our society, but taking the next step, to put ourselves into situations that are different and to try and understand another point of view... that is valuable experience.
And another thing, as I have officially been defeated emotionally and physically... I hope everyone is taking some time to relax, wherever they are. Because I thought I had a relaxing weekend, but my body thought otherwise. I don't think it is a secret that I don't actually know how to relax, but how do we give ourselves time to relax when there is so much going on? Meh. So you know when you sleep on your neck wrong? Well apparently I slept on my back wrong, and as the day went on my shoulders got tighter and tighter (anxiety much?) to the point I basically couldn't move. I had to skip my weekly volunteering today in an attempt to "take care of myself" ... aka having a good cry on my bed while paralyzed. I feel like I write about being overwhelmed a lot, and even when I am having an "easy" semester. Maybe I shouldn't be realizing this about myself on a public blog... but I'm only human. Moral of the story: I'll admit it, I am burnt out! I'm heading home for the weekend for Passover and Easter (the plus to being half jewish/half catholic..) I'm looking forward to a good hug from Grandma Shirley.
Anyway, we're watching slumdog millionaire... and my very attractive Indian friend just won, and they're about to make out, err wait-- just kidding-- it doesn't show them making out. Just some crazy bollywood dancing I need to learn ASAP. How do you not want to marry Dev Patel after this movie?
Sending love to wherever you are... :) Leave me some nice comments, I'd like to get some feedback on my craziness... thanks much.
Last pic...Me attacking Jen by some blossoms Friday night:
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Time to Make Change
Back again... to say a few things. I started this post last night but it got a little late for my blogging taste. This week I've been feeling a little frazzled, a little "overwhelmed" as some of you who "love me most" like to tease... I found myself in a grumpy mood yesterday when I really had no reason for it. The sun was out and cherry blossoms have started blooming all over. The city seems to have transformed over night! Yet, even with finding my walk to the Hill enhanced with beautiful trees in bloom, I still found myself with a frown on my face and a the eye squint of a true grump! I tried to blame it on the blinding sun, but something was just off! I could see people passing looking at me with caution of my bad aura. What the heck was I so grumpy about? Lack of sleep? (I haven't been tired?), being dressed up and being on the Hill? I wasn't feeling the political scene yesterday. I had to run around to different Congressional offices basically all day getting our Impact Aid House Coalition letter signed (Congressmen/women sign on to our Impact Aid Coalition to show their support). Tony, my co-worker, and I had originally split up the list of a little over 40 offices to visit; but I wound up going back to the Hill in the afternoon to get his assigned list because he had a lot of work to do. I didn't mind at all except that I was kindof on a time constraint in the afternoon so I was running around trying to get all of these signatures in less than 2 hours. It was rough trying to find all of the offices! However, I did meet a potential future husband in one of the Arizona offices. Unfortunately for me, I looked like a wreck and managed to ask for the wrong staff contact... presenting myself as extremely put together and professional, I'm sure. And I spotted him on the metro this morning again? A sign? (I'm crazy and I know it...)
Anyway, I felt like every Hill office I went into was just uptight, and unfriendly, and fake, and too dressed up! and so not my style! I think what frustrates me about this is that I really see the value in making change from a government position, but it just doesn't seem genuine to me at times. Or very productive. I also can't seem to find my place here, either. Starting with pace: This city is so much slower than my NY mentality. In DC, you can stop right in front of the metro dispenser in the morning and no one tramples you, no one yells at you to move... But yesterday on the Hill, everything just seemed crazy and understaffed and boring and anxious. I can't quite explain it. It's like being unproductive and productive at the same time, mixed in with procastination. I guess I'm trying to put some emotion to that fact that DC is extremely reactive. Apparently no one has time to anticipate problems before they are right in your face. Part of me loves having a busy schedule, having to do important things all the time and feeling like I am getting things done, but I also can't deny that the slower pace of life in my own office and general lifestyle here has opened my eyes to the fact that life doesn't always have to be moving at 100 miles a minute, and maybe I'm happier that way? I could maybe see myself enjoying a political position... what I do know is that whatever I do, I want to be where the action is. I want to be part of something that makes a difference on a large scale. I would definitely be afraid though that I would lose myself in the political scene. Let's be honest, you have to have a certain look, a certain way of presenting yourself. I think often about how it would be really hard to not get caught up in it. There is a reason my program teaches us professional development, because there is a specific way to do it. I'm not saying there can't be variation, but what if you just aren't the type of person who has that strong handshake and happy face ready to go every day? Maybe I'm analyzing this too much, maybe being professional is as easy as being polite and kind. But I can't help but ask, where are all of the humans on Capitol Hill?
The discrepancies between the two "types" of Washington, D.C. that I see couldn't be more apparent on Tuesdays. Yesterday especially, I spent the whole day on the Hill (predominantly WHITE, and in my opinion, still very patriarchal), and then after work rushed over to one of the more disadvantaged parts of town to volunteer with a program called Girls on the Run. We work with inner-city pre-teen girls (8-13 years old) on emotional and physical empowerment. The first half an hour we talk about different values, for example yesterday we talked about gratitude and being thankful for things in our lives. We talked about the importance of reflection and meeting our goals. The second half we go on a run, in preparation for a race we have in early May (there will be pictures of that, guaranteed). It was adorable, I got to stand at the midway point of their laps and give them encouragement and high-fives as they ran past. I fell in love on the spot with a girl named Angel who told me she was reflecting on doing good things with her life and getting an education. She also held my hand and gave me hugs (!!), making up for the serious lack of hugs I receive here. I loved working with the younger girls because I can see how it is better to try to get to them earlier. Hence, why my summer in Philadelphia was such a struggle. By the time they are in high school it can be hard to get past that wall they have built up for so long... younger children are still so accepting of everyone. They don't only see everything as "white" and "black" just to make a blunt reference to my own comfort realizations.
But these Tuesday's always point out to me that the difference between black and white America and the segregation that still exists is A REAL THING. As we get closer to my metro stop on the ourskirts of the orange line, I'm almost always left as the only white person on the train. This is also the case as I get on the bus to take me over to the Riverside Community Center. It is not a safe area. I can't help but notice as the girls are running their laps that cop cars are wailing on the street behind us. I can't help but notice someone being arrested as I wait for the bus. I can't help but notice the bums selling drugs to eachother outside the liquor store next to the community center. And these girls, these little girls, they see this everyday. This is their reality. I find myself getting overwhelmed at how powerful this program is. How powerful the existence of the community center in itself is. I found out about this opportunity through my roommate, Andrea, who is interning with a non-profit called Washington, Parks, and People. Part of their mentality is that beautifying parks in bad areas and establishing community centers and programs can help to make a positive change in these communities. I think that is so beautiful. Riverside is right next to Marvin Gaye Park, and volunteers have been going to help with upkeep. There is still a ways to go, but already I just see so much potential for positive change.
Alright, I got a little ahead of myself there. But we all need to find our passions, we all need to get revved up about an issue and do something about it. What are you doing to make a difference in your community?
On a lighter note, I am apparently becoming a vegetarian. On Monday in peace studies we looked at "non-violent eating" and animal rights. After three of those movies about how your meat is prepared (you all know what I'm talking about) in a row, I was convinced. I all of a sudden see the value in not eating meat because it causes harm to animals (though wouldn't you think that is obvious?). That stuff never sticks, I figured I'd go home and eat a hamburger. But I have been trying to eat a turkey sandwich for the past two days now and I just can't bring myself to do it. And I'm going to Whole Foods after work today to stock up on tofu. How did this happen? Reading back it seems like I am changing so much, but I still feel like plain-old Ariel. Or maybe un-plain-old Ariel. Well, I'd rather be crazy and changing than the same and boring! I want to hear from everyone soon!! XOX.
Anyway, I felt like every Hill office I went into was just uptight, and unfriendly, and fake, and too dressed up! and so not my style! I think what frustrates me about this is that I really see the value in making change from a government position, but it just doesn't seem genuine to me at times. Or very productive. I also can't seem to find my place here, either. Starting with pace: This city is so much slower than my NY mentality. In DC, you can stop right in front of the metro dispenser in the morning and no one tramples you, no one yells at you to move... But yesterday on the Hill, everything just seemed crazy and understaffed and boring and anxious. I can't quite explain it. It's like being unproductive and productive at the same time, mixed in with procastination. I guess I'm trying to put some emotion to that fact that DC is extremely reactive. Apparently no one has time to anticipate problems before they are right in your face. Part of me loves having a busy schedule, having to do important things all the time and feeling like I am getting things done, but I also can't deny that the slower pace of life in my own office and general lifestyle here has opened my eyes to the fact that life doesn't always have to be moving at 100 miles a minute, and maybe I'm happier that way? I could maybe see myself enjoying a political position... what I do know is that whatever I do, I want to be where the action is. I want to be part of something that makes a difference on a large scale. I would definitely be afraid though that I would lose myself in the political scene. Let's be honest, you have to have a certain look, a certain way of presenting yourself. I think often about how it would be really hard to not get caught up in it. There is a reason my program teaches us professional development, because there is a specific way to do it. I'm not saying there can't be variation, but what if you just aren't the type of person who has that strong handshake and happy face ready to go every day? Maybe I'm analyzing this too much, maybe being professional is as easy as being polite and kind. But I can't help but ask, where are all of the humans on Capitol Hill?
The discrepancies between the two "types" of Washington, D.C. that I see couldn't be more apparent on Tuesdays. Yesterday especially, I spent the whole day on the Hill (predominantly WHITE, and in my opinion, still very patriarchal), and then after work rushed over to one of the more disadvantaged parts of town to volunteer with a program called Girls on the Run. We work with inner-city pre-teen girls (8-13 years old) on emotional and physical empowerment. The first half an hour we talk about different values, for example yesterday we talked about gratitude and being thankful for things in our lives. We talked about the importance of reflection and meeting our goals. The second half we go on a run, in preparation for a race we have in early May (there will be pictures of that, guaranteed). It was adorable, I got to stand at the midway point of their laps and give them encouragement and high-fives as they ran past. I fell in love on the spot with a girl named Angel who told me she was reflecting on doing good things with her life and getting an education. She also held my hand and gave me hugs (!!), making up for the serious lack of hugs I receive here. I loved working with the younger girls because I can see how it is better to try to get to them earlier. Hence, why my summer in Philadelphia was such a struggle. By the time they are in high school it can be hard to get past that wall they have built up for so long... younger children are still so accepting of everyone. They don't only see everything as "white" and "black" just to make a blunt reference to my own comfort realizations.
But these Tuesday's always point out to me that the difference between black and white America and the segregation that still exists is A REAL THING. As we get closer to my metro stop on the ourskirts of the orange line, I'm almost always left as the only white person on the train. This is also the case as I get on the bus to take me over to the Riverside Community Center. It is not a safe area. I can't help but notice as the girls are running their laps that cop cars are wailing on the street behind us. I can't help but notice someone being arrested as I wait for the bus. I can't help but notice the bums selling drugs to eachother outside the liquor store next to the community center. And these girls, these little girls, they see this everyday. This is their reality. I find myself getting overwhelmed at how powerful this program is. How powerful the existence of the community center in itself is. I found out about this opportunity through my roommate, Andrea, who is interning with a non-profit called Washington, Parks, and People. Part of their mentality is that beautifying parks in bad areas and establishing community centers and programs can help to make a positive change in these communities. I think that is so beautiful. Riverside is right next to Marvin Gaye Park, and volunteers have been going to help with upkeep. There is still a ways to go, but already I just see so much potential for positive change.
Alright, I got a little ahead of myself there. But we all need to find our passions, we all need to get revved up about an issue and do something about it. What are you doing to make a difference in your community?
On a lighter note, I am apparently becoming a vegetarian. On Monday in peace studies we looked at "non-violent eating" and animal rights. After three of those movies about how your meat is prepared (you all know what I'm talking about) in a row, I was convinced. I all of a sudden see the value in not eating meat because it causes harm to animals (though wouldn't you think that is obvious?). That stuff never sticks, I figured I'd go home and eat a hamburger. But I have been trying to eat a turkey sandwich for the past two days now and I just can't bring myself to do it. And I'm going to Whole Foods after work today to stock up on tofu. How did this happen? Reading back it seems like I am changing so much, but I still feel like plain-old Ariel. Or maybe un-plain-old Ariel. Well, I'd rather be crazy and changing than the same and boring! I want to hear from everyone soon!! XOX.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Stuck in an Elevator and Bathroom Gossip
Hello all! I realized there are some exciting things that have been happening, and I have been leaving you all un-updated! Not too many ridiculously tragic things have been happening to me lately, which is actually good for me, but unfortunate for you only because I don't have too many amusing stories to tell. But today there is one, of course. My Monday has to begin with actually getting an early start out the door, only to get STUCK in the elevator leaving my apartment. I actually didn't freak out as much as I thought I would, I was mostly just pissed off that I tried to be on time to work and now I was going to be late! But I wound up having to press that emergency button in the elevator, apparently resulting in the fire department showing up. My SAINT of a roommate also came to my rescue by getting maintenance after I called her... But we had a moment of banging on the wall back and forth to eachother trying to figure out what floor I was on. Anyway, I missed all the hoopla because they found a way to re-start the elevator and it went right down to the basement floor, and I was kindof afraid to risk taking it back up, so I pretty much just peaced out... but I'm going to try to write a thank you letter to the maintnence (I think I'm butchering this spelling -- sorry) staff or something. But that was a serious FML moment.
Gah I can't believe I haven't updated in this long -- a lot of things happened last week! Ok this post is going to be purely informational! Two main highlights of last week: I think it was Tuesday I went to the House Budget Committee hearing and two very exciting things happened to me... besides that I was at the hearing from 9:30am - 4pm... (and it was still going when I left) During the lunch break I went to fill up my water bottle and saw one of the NY reps in the hallway. We made eye contact and you all know my tendancy to be chatty... so I told him I was from NY and thanked him for all he does, and I'm going to break down this priceless conversation for you: he goes, "where in NY are you from?" (So he is probably just being friendly, right?)
"Long Island..."
"Where on Long Island?" (He's from NY, obviously familiar with the area, no biggie)
"Port Washington..."
"So you went to Schreiber high school?"
"Yup!"
"Do you know Maggie Spreitzer?"
"YES!"
"I'm her God father"
::me freaking out::
For those of you who don't know Maggie, she is one of my very close friends from high school, and considering my excitement I think I managed to control myself in front of the Congressman, but it can be such a small world, right?! His assistant gave me his card, and I'm in the process of getting in touch with him, but he offered to take me out to dinner and everything! How cool! I'll keep you posted.
So after this I'm on my networking high and I'm in the bathroom and I see another rep from the hearing fixing her make-up, etc... so I just say hi and ask her how shes liking the hearing so far... small talk somehow leads to a gossip session about Nancy Pelosi and her plastic surgery... wow. I won't say her name for "protection" purposes, but the Long Island girl in me got a kick out of that conversation... how many can say they gossiped with a representative in the bathroom? Hah!
Well I have other stories from last week, but they will have to wait because I've got to run to my internship programming that we have every Monday afternoon... it's usually a lecture of sorts. And then I've got class tonight! I hope everyone is doing well in their corner of the world, know that I am thinking of you and missing you... <3
Gah I can't believe I haven't updated in this long -- a lot of things happened last week! Ok this post is going to be purely informational! Two main highlights of last week: I think it was Tuesday I went to the House Budget Committee hearing and two very exciting things happened to me... besides that I was at the hearing from 9:30am - 4pm... (and it was still going when I left) During the lunch break I went to fill up my water bottle and saw one of the NY reps in the hallway. We made eye contact and you all know my tendancy to be chatty... so I told him I was from NY and thanked him for all he does, and I'm going to break down this priceless conversation for you: he goes, "where in NY are you from?" (So he is probably just being friendly, right?)
"Long Island..."
"Where on Long Island?" (He's from NY, obviously familiar with the area, no biggie)
"Port Washington..."
"So you went to Schreiber high school?"
"Yup!"
"Do you know Maggie Spreitzer?"
"YES!"
"I'm her God father"
::me freaking out::
For those of you who don't know Maggie, she is one of my very close friends from high school, and considering my excitement I think I managed to control myself in front of the Congressman, but it can be such a small world, right?! His assistant gave me his card, and I'm in the process of getting in touch with him, but he offered to take me out to dinner and everything! How cool! I'll keep you posted.
So after this I'm on my networking high and I'm in the bathroom and I see another rep from the hearing fixing her make-up, etc... so I just say hi and ask her how shes liking the hearing so far... small talk somehow leads to a gossip session about Nancy Pelosi and her plastic surgery... wow. I won't say her name for "protection" purposes, but the Long Island girl in me got a kick out of that conversation... how many can say they gossiped with a representative in the bathroom? Hah!
Well I have other stories from last week, but they will have to wait because I've got to run to my internship programming that we have every Monday afternoon... it's usually a lecture of sorts. And then I've got class tonight! I hope everyone is doing well in their corner of the world, know that I am thinking of you and missing you... <3
Thursday, March 19, 2009
I'm changing, but I'm still not Irish...
Wow.. so I haven't updated this in a while, which is a big deal for me, I seem quite attached to this blogger thing. I'm writing to you from the office (finally a lul in the work load), reading my "Education Week" newspaper, eating my bagel with cream cheese, and downing my coffee.. "professionally" dressed in my pencil skirt and pointy shoes that go "click click" when I walk on hard surfaces. Usually I eat oatmeal at the apartment before I get to work, but we have this problem with running out of plates and bowls because we only have so many and then the next challenge is to see who will step up and actually turn on the dish washer. Having that machine in the kitchen in the first place spoils us in general, I can't imagine what it would be like without it, the kitchen would be a much bigger disaster. Speaking of cleanliness, I think some of you will be happy to know I seem to have dropped some of my germaphobe qualities. For example, I am the last person to remember to wash my hands after going on the metro, and even if someone brings it up it doesn't even bother me. Weird? Definitely. Gross? Probably.
Also speaking of my "click click" shoes (as I will now call them).. there really seems to be a time and a place for them. I like wearing them to work because it makes me feel like I am actually dressed up and able to fit in with these working adults, but pretty much everywhere else I feel very silly wearing them.. giving me an excuse to debate whether or not this "professional office lifestyle" is something that suits me. For example, yesterday after work I tagged along with my roommate, Andrea, to a service she has been doing lately. We read letters from prisoners with book requests, sort through donated books to find a few they might like, and then write them a letter back and make a package for them. I know your first response is, "writing letters to PRISONERS?" but my hero, Coleman McCarthy, would be proud I believe because as I'm learning, our justice system is pretty flawed, and often prisoners are left in total isolation constantly. I don't really care who you are, that is rough. I can't imagine being alone for that long! And that isolation doesn't help you resolve whatever caused you to commit the crime, I feel like isolation in that sense makes you feel worthless to the point of dispair. I agree that some people definitely need to be in jail for committing crimes, but at the same time I think forgiveness and giving people a second chance is also something that is valuable to keep in mind. Or at least trying to understand the motives behind whatever happened and helping those imprisoned to help themselves. Disregard people with mental illness in this argument though, that is a whole different story. Anyway, the point of this prior to my rant, is that I felt so silly with my "click click" shoes when we were writing the letters. I just felt out of place and not myself because of how dressed up I was. I know it definitely was not a big deal, but it made me think that maybe something more down to earth is more my style... but either way it was really nice to FINALLY do some service and be able to take a step outside of what has become my regular office day grind.
To leave you, a life lesson learned on St. Patrick's Day. As some of you know, I was very close to going to Ireland this semester after India didn't work out. But I am here, in America, and therefore observing our own mysterious country from my little corner in Washington, DC. So for some reason, in America, we love any excuse to drink ourselves silly. Maybe I am being closed minded about this, but I just didn't see the need to go out and "celebrate". If you are in Europe, fine. If you are Irish, fine. Maybe it was because the night before I had a mini-break down because I can't figure out for the life of me what I want to do this summer... BUT I just had no interest in this holiday. Overrated. I told myself I wasn't going to plan anything, if someone called me then maybe I could be swayed. So no one calls, until 5:01 pm, as I am about to leave work, of course. It's my friend Nick and he won't take no for an answer. Long story short, after seeking out a few over-priced and over-crowded bars, and seeing a drunk man fall down the escalator, I was out. I felt bad leaving my friends, but at the same time I was proud of myself for figuring out what I wanted to do, and not just doing what I was apparently "supposed to be doing on St. Patrick's Day." I realized something that I love about living in a big city is that there are constantly people around living their own different (and sometimes similar) lives. Feeling liberated, I headed to Whole Foods for an emergency grocery store run. And guess what... there were other people there, just food shopping, going about their daily lives.. no crazy Irish party in the grocery store (but I did get to sample GREEN mashed potatoes.. kinda cool? hah). I left the grocery store feeling good about making my own decision and even if small, a victory towards being on my "own path." Apparently, going to Whole Foods was what I needed to do, and I quite frankly didn't care what anyone else was doing. I've just been debating the whole drinking scene in DC in general. Before I got here everyone raved about the "night life" and how it was something that would make my experience here. But I'm finding that the people I enjoy hanging out with, aren't the people who want or are able to go out to the bars on the weekends. I feel like the people I meet when I am out are probably not coherent enough to remember me, and aren't interested in getting to know me back. I am dumbfounded when I ask someone 5 questions about themselves and why they are in DC and if they are liking it and where they work, trying to get a sense of who they are, only for them to ask NO questions back. I think we all know I don't have a problem just talking about myself when I want to, but sometimes it is nice to have people be actually interested in asking. So as for this whole "DC night life/happy hour scene" I guess I am still figuring it out.
Interestingly enough, my hero "challenged" us on the first day of class to try not drinking for the semester. I considered it, but blew it off thinking it would be detrimental to my social life, and not to mention I thought had already "learned that lesson." But clearly there is a lot of value to seeing the role drinking plays in our lives. It is interesting to think about whether your drinking buddies your "real friends" or your "fun friends," and maybe it doesn't matter to you, but I realized that the strong drink and the hoppin' bar doesn't matter to me if I'm not with people I truly like. Truth and truth. Happy Thursday everyone!
Also speaking of my "click click" shoes (as I will now call them).. there really seems to be a time and a place for them. I like wearing them to work because it makes me feel like I am actually dressed up and able to fit in with these working adults, but pretty much everywhere else I feel very silly wearing them.. giving me an excuse to debate whether or not this "professional office lifestyle" is something that suits me. For example, yesterday after work I tagged along with my roommate, Andrea, to a service she has been doing lately. We read letters from prisoners with book requests, sort through donated books to find a few they might like, and then write them a letter back and make a package for them. I know your first response is, "writing letters to PRISONERS?" but my hero, Coleman McCarthy, would be proud I believe because as I'm learning, our justice system is pretty flawed, and often prisoners are left in total isolation constantly. I don't really care who you are, that is rough. I can't imagine being alone for that long! And that isolation doesn't help you resolve whatever caused you to commit the crime, I feel like isolation in that sense makes you feel worthless to the point of dispair. I agree that some people definitely need to be in jail for committing crimes, but at the same time I think forgiveness and giving people a second chance is also something that is valuable to keep in mind. Or at least trying to understand the motives behind whatever happened and helping those imprisoned to help themselves. Disregard people with mental illness in this argument though, that is a whole different story. Anyway, the point of this prior to my rant, is that I felt so silly with my "click click" shoes when we were writing the letters. I just felt out of place and not myself because of how dressed up I was. I know it definitely was not a big deal, but it made me think that maybe something more down to earth is more my style... but either way it was really nice to FINALLY do some service and be able to take a step outside of what has become my regular office day grind.
To leave you, a life lesson learned on St. Patrick's Day. As some of you know, I was very close to going to Ireland this semester after India didn't work out. But I am here, in America, and therefore observing our own mysterious country from my little corner in Washington, DC. So for some reason, in America, we love any excuse to drink ourselves silly. Maybe I am being closed minded about this, but I just didn't see the need to go out and "celebrate". If you are in Europe, fine. If you are Irish, fine. Maybe it was because the night before I had a mini-break down because I can't figure out for the life of me what I want to do this summer... BUT I just had no interest in this holiday. Overrated. I told myself I wasn't going to plan anything, if someone called me then maybe I could be swayed. So no one calls, until 5:01 pm, as I am about to leave work, of course. It's my friend Nick and he won't take no for an answer. Long story short, after seeking out a few over-priced and over-crowded bars, and seeing a drunk man fall down the escalator, I was out. I felt bad leaving my friends, but at the same time I was proud of myself for figuring out what I wanted to do, and not just doing what I was apparently "supposed to be doing on St. Patrick's Day." I realized something that I love about living in a big city is that there are constantly people around living their own different (and sometimes similar) lives. Feeling liberated, I headed to Whole Foods for an emergency grocery store run. And guess what... there were other people there, just food shopping, going about their daily lives.. no crazy Irish party in the grocery store (but I did get to sample GREEN mashed potatoes.. kinda cool? hah). I left the grocery store feeling good about making my own decision and even if small, a victory towards being on my "own path." Apparently, going to Whole Foods was what I needed to do, and I quite frankly didn't care what anyone else was doing. I've just been debating the whole drinking scene in DC in general. Before I got here everyone raved about the "night life" and how it was something that would make my experience here. But I'm finding that the people I enjoy hanging out with, aren't the people who want or are able to go out to the bars on the weekends. I feel like the people I meet when I am out are probably not coherent enough to remember me, and aren't interested in getting to know me back. I am dumbfounded when I ask someone 5 questions about themselves and why they are in DC and if they are liking it and where they work, trying to get a sense of who they are, only for them to ask NO questions back. I think we all know I don't have a problem just talking about myself when I want to, but sometimes it is nice to have people be actually interested in asking. So as for this whole "DC night life/happy hour scene" I guess I am still figuring it out.
Interestingly enough, my hero "challenged" us on the first day of class to try not drinking for the semester. I considered it, but blew it off thinking it would be detrimental to my social life, and not to mention I thought had already "learned that lesson." But clearly there is a lot of value to seeing the role drinking plays in our lives. It is interesting to think about whether your drinking buddies your "real friends" or your "fun friends," and maybe it doesn't matter to you, but I realized that the strong drink and the hoppin' bar doesn't matter to me if I'm not with people I truly like. Truth and truth. Happy Thursday everyone!
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