Final Post :(

well, to all of my (well, ok, to my at least 4 or 5) regular followers, thanks for reading my ramblings. i'm heading home to louisville in about 24 hours, and im spending my time until then just packing and saying my goodbyes.

its been an incredible 2 months that i can't believe are over! I'll be back at vandy in 16 days. time flies!

LAST DAY!

last day at work.

writing postcards to friends

scheming ways to avoid the massive thunderstorm outside

excited for the Vandy DC Summer Send-off party tonight

dreading the thought of packing.

thanking myself for the greatest thing ever that has SAVED me this summer in [the ridiculously hot and humid] DC.

Things I've Done Today

Today is my second to last day at work. It's been a busy one! I should be plenty busy today and tomorrow tying up a lot of loose ends and finishing up things at work.

Lilly, the program director from Vanderbilt, is in DC this week visiting all of the organizations that VIEW interns are working at (20 different ones apprx.). She came to visit today at met with Evlyn to discuss me (gulp) and what they look for in an intern for the future. I'm meeting with Lilly tomorrow to discuss my program experience. That'll be a nice opportunity to have.

Monday night- Chop't, Urban Outfitters, and FroZenyo with the roommates were all wonderful. Last night I got dinner with my friend Andrew, who is a counselor at an International Policy camp at AU. It was a bunch of Vandy people and we had a great time. We ate at Good Stuff Eatery, which is a very popular restaurant run by Spike (Former Top Chef contestant!) that is frequented by Hill Staffers.

Tonight is our VIEW send-off dinner, that is actually located next door to Good Stuff. Spike, the head chef/owner, opened up a new restaurant next door- just this Monday! It's receiving a lot of hype and is called We The Pizza. (His other place is burgers/fries/shakes) I can't wait to try it!

Today has been all over the place. I received some really sad news about a friend from school and now have another person to keep in my prayers. I also am in contact with a man who hosts a radio show on public radio in Nashville that discusses sports once a week- he's looking for a co-host and I might be able to get the job! I'm also applying for an internship with Senator Bob Corker in Nashville- but that not might be until the Spring. I already have my job at the Commons Center, have been talking with a friend about getting a PR job with Vandy instead, and now am exploring even more options. Wow, I am exhausted!

Louisville in 4 days!

Week 7

It was hot this weekend.

Liz Furman and I at Jazz in the Garden

Matthew Taylor, Katelyn and I at Jazz in the Garden

Well, another has week gone by!

On Monday, my mentor cancelled on me to get coffee after work (2 times in a row now!) so i went home after work. I invested in frozenyo instead and headed home.

tuesday after work was really exciting- I got to go to a FREE concert at the Kennedy Center, which is a truly beautiful concert hall (sorta similar to the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts but mostly just in sharing their function). They were having a 3 part series of concerts to raise awareness and support for keeping arts education programs in schools. it was truly wonderful- the show included that National Symphony Orchestra, John Mayer, Smokey Robinson, Harolyn Blackwell [famed opera singer], local choirs and saxophonist, Branford Marsalis. It was a fun show and great to see all of those artists live (even if they dont make too much sense together!) that night i barely made it home in time for pretty little liars (which was awesome!) and then the premiere of Teen Mom. Gheremey and i watch most of the same TV shows so he always accompanies me in the watching of really bad summer programming!

Wednesday after work we had a VIEW speaker, Perry Wallace. He was a Vanderbilt student who graduated with an engineering degree and was the first black SEC athlete. He shared stories of how being black affected his Vandy experience and of all of the adversity he faced on campus and on the court. He has since become a lawyer and teaches at GW law school. Very impressive man and it was great to hear him speak to us.

Thursday after work I took the metro to Tenlytown and got dinner at a mexican place called Guapos. I wasn't a huge fan of the restaurant itself, but it was a great group of people! Liz, Maria, Michael Kariya, and Mary Beth, Liz's friend who i've met before, were all there and it was nice after a particularly bad day at work. Afterwords we wandered around the Bethesda area and stopped by Georgetown Cupcake (they have multiple locations) before heading home.

Friday went by a bit faster at work, and after work i met up with Liz, Maria, Katelyn, Jill and Matthew at the National Gallery Sculpture Garden for Jazz in the Garden, which is a free jazz concert they host every friday in the summer. While it was squelching hot (100 degrees, felt like 107+) we brought plenty to drink and big blankets and found some shade near a big sculpture. Nothing like good music, art and friends to wind down after a long work week. We ate at home afterwards and hung out with friends for an overall low-key night.

Saturday, Katelyn, Jill and I went to the Hirshhorn Modern/Contemporary [yes, they're entirely different] Art Gallery & Sculpture Garden and looked through their collection. It was really interesting and they had a phenomenal exhibit on Yves Klein. We then ran across the mall to the National Gallery of Art to visit their massive gift shop and get stationary, so we can all write thank you notes to our offices.

Then we went to China Town and got Chop't as a late lunch/early dinner which is one of our favorite places to eat. I wish they had it in nashville! after a yummy salad, we went home, showered from being in the oppressive heat for so long, and then met up with zack and gheremey and went to see Inception. It was a PHENOMENAL movie. I havent seen a movie that stimulated that much thought, questioning, and analysis in recent memory. I would highly recommend the film to anyone who wants an thrilling, thought-provoking film. In addition, Leonardo Dicaprio is yummy.

Sunday we tanned and swam on the rooftop pool and took it easy. Then we had a suite dinner once katie woke up from her nap and had grilled chicken, potatoes, broccoli and applesauce (homemmade applesauce from katelyn's grandma!) Afterwards Gheremey and Zack came over and watched True Blood. All in all, a busy and fun week and weekend.

Only a few days left at work. Tonight the roomies are meeting at Chop't for dinner then shopping across the street at Urban Outfitters. Tomorrow the office is taking me out to lunch since it's my last week. Wednesday, Lilly, our Vanderbilt program director, is coming to meet with Evlyn (she's in town this week and meeting with someone at every internship) Thursday is my last day at work! I'll pack Friday and say my goodbyes, and I'll be home late on Saturday night.

Wow, the time flies! Home to Louisville in 5 days and moving into Vandy in 20 days!

Updated Blog gadgets!

I added a twitter feed on the blog, as well as a few other gadgets.

Below each post now there are buttons you can click to easily email, twitter, or facebook any post you want to share.

also, i added hyperlinks to most of my posts so anything i mention you can click to be linked to more information about it! Also, there is a better search bar so you can find things within my posts.

Happy reading!

Week #6!

Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery

Daniel Givens and I

"Improvisation 31 (Sea Battle)", Wassily Kandinsky

"Woman With A Parasol (Madame Monet & Child)", Claude Monet

Hard to believe I only have 2 weeks left here in DC! Bittersweet for certain, as I really really love being here.

This past week was great and a lot went on! I definitely dont waste much time here in the city.

Monday after work I took my Mac into the Apple store to get looked at, as it's had problems since November and now since i'm forced to have 2 accounts it is literally out of space (minor problem!!). Basically, i have to wipe out my entire computer and start over again- thankfully i have a backup harddrive and will do this as soon as i get home. im just glad to have an answer as to how to fix it after many an hour spent in the Apple store. i LOVE my mac but have been issue ridden with it for awhile.

Wednesday i met Maria and her big Kelley in Bethesda for dinner. We went to a really wonderful Malaysian restaurant called Penang and i had a really yummy dish that i didnt really know what i was eating- but that was ok because it was really tasty! After that we wandered around Bethesda for a bit and then went home- it takes about an hour on the metro to get to pentagon city from bethesda so i had to get home.

Thursday was amazing- I got to leave work at 1 and go to CNN for a tour with the VIEW group. It. was. so. cool. i think the tour would have been great regardless, since a really prominent CNN producer {Vandy Alum} gave us the tour. However, we got lucky and were there the day that the news broke about the oil spill potentially being capped. Therefore, the whole place was buzzing and scrambling to change their entire evening programming. Not only did we get to sit in on both main control rooms, we got to stand on set next to Wolf Blitzer while he was live on air for The Situation Room. We were introduced to Wolf, the two experts (former congress members) on the show and many other prominent people. it was truly amazing and made me want to reconsider going into media for a career. I have missed being in a fast paced environment!

After the tour we went to a bar/pub for dinner with the group and then went home. Friday I was 'sick' to work (hey, i'm unpaid after all and had a legitimate excuse) and went with Jill, Katelyn, Gheremey, Rohan, and Courtney to the Arlington Federal Court House. It's easily the nicest courthouse in the country and we got to go because Jill & Gheremey's mentor is amazing. He's a lawyer and really cares about us having a great DC experience, so we got to sit in on 3 actual trials that were really fascinating. He then took us all out to lunch and disccues grad school with us, amongst many other things. It was a really fun morning. In the afternoon, Katelyn, Rohan and I went to Arlington National Cemetery. I remembered it really well from the last time I visited but it was still so impressive. We saw the Kennedy grave site (now with the addition of Ted Kennedy), the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (and we saw the changing of the guard!), and Robert E. Lee's house. The view from the top of the hill where Lee's house is is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. We got to tour the whole house and it was a really great afternoon- if not meltingly hot.

That night we went to the grocery and then Katelyn, Jill, Matthew, Rohan and I went to Urban Thai and had Thai food (after my food poisoning incident some weeks ago i was just ready to have it again) which was yummy, and then we came back to our place and baked cookies and watched Wedding Crashers. I was definitely exhausted after a long day but it was a lot of fun and definitely worth it.

Saturday we were supposed to have a VIEW service project but that turned into a bit of a debacle...but that's an entirely different story. katelyn was with her mom for the day and Jill and I went to the rooftop pool and laid out for awhile. I got a lot of my book read (currently reading The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand) and got to talk to Laura on the phone!! Then Jill and I watched The Hangover and hung out for a bit. That night, Daniel Givens came over (he was in town for the weekend) as did Maria, and we all went to Hawk & Dove, which is a really popular bar/club near the Captiol for interns and people our age. It was a fun night and it was great to see Daniel and Maria.

Yesterday I spent about 6 hours in the National Gallery of Art and i have to say i cant remember when i've been happier. I went to a (free!) lecture entitled, "Kindred Spirits: Rothko & Kandinsky" on Abstract Expressionist Mark Rothko and the much earlier Kandinsky. It was really fascinating and so cool that it was free and so available to the public. The gallery was nothing short of incredible and i could easily spend DAYS there. I was basically blissfully happy. Then i went back and the 3 girls (katie was out of town for a wedding this weekend) cooked burgers, green beans, fries and corn on the cob and had gheremey over for dinner. it was a really nice time and then we all watched True Blood together- our favorite show!

Now, time for week 7 at work. hard to believe its all almost over!

Weekend with Meghan!!!

Georgetown Cupcake! They have a show on TLC now!

AOII girls reunite for dinner in U-Street Corridor

Meghan and I at the Lincoln Memorial

WWII Memorial

Wow, what a great and busy weekend! I was so busy that i never really got a chance to relax, but that's ok because it was so much fun. Friday after work I met up with Jill, Katleyn, Liz, Matthew and other Vandy students at a bar for a Happy Hour Ivy League Mixer. I met some nice people and it was fun to mingle with other interns. The funniest part was that the bar where we were at , The Reserve, was being boycotted! The workers were outside picketing the bar/restaurant for unpaid wages. I've never had to cross a picket line before- but i did! It was really funny and very unusual at the same time.

Friday night the suite girls went to 930 club in the U Street Corridor, where they had a Lady Gaga-MIA-Madonna night. Every song was one of those 3 artists. It was a really fun girls night, and then we crashed and woke up the next morning and Meghan arrived!! Meghan lives in Baltimore so her drive was about an hour, and she stayed until Sunday afternoon. We went and did the monuments (where Meghan graciously allowed me to ramble like i do so often) and then got lunch at Zorbas, a really yummy Greek place in Dupont Circle. We wandered around that area for a bit and then shopped around in Pentagon City Mall by my metro stop. Then we went to Busboys & Poets, near my work in Columbia Heights/U Street and met up with some of our other wonderful AOII sisters! Liz, Kelley, Maria, Meghan and I had a wonderful dinner. Busboys and poets is a wonderful place that is part bookstore, part coffee house/part performance space and part restaurant. It is quickly becoming one of my favorite places in DC!! After that, Meghan and I went and saw Twilight: Eclipse (pause for obligatory groan) but for my A) low expectations and B)understanding of the cheesy, poorly written script, it was definitely entertaining. I think the movies are definitely getting better, even if i still really dislike the idea of sparkly vampires :)

Sunday Meghan and I went to Georgetown and shopped around, and also went to the famous Georgetown Cupcake! It was super yummy and I had a delicious Chocolate-Coconut cupcake. TLC is starting a reality show on the store in the next few weeks and the line is always wrapped around the door. It was cool to see! After that, we met up with my friend Brian! Brian and I always seem to run into each other. We did speech together in high school, and Brian lives in Nashville but goes to Georgetown. Usually I see him when he's on Vandy's campus, but it was awesome to see him in DC!

Meghan left after our afternoon in Georgetown, and Katelyn drove the 4 suitemates + Maria (my roommate for this upcoming year who just arrived in DC for July-August) to her house in Baltimore where we had a really wonderful summer BBQ with her whole family. it was so nice to have a home cooked meal and get to sit outside with a big group of people and just hang out. it reminded me a lot of our family nights on the river at home and made me miss everyone! But it was a great time.

This week, Evlyn is on vacation in Los Angeles, and Anita is gone for most of the week as well. Since Michelle apparently fell down stairs this weekend, she isn't in today either. So, it's just Cara and I in the office (which is weird, even thought I really like her). Not too much going on here in the office! I'm just crossing my fingers that the rain will hold off until I can get home safely!

The Heat Chronicles, Day 4, and no this has nothing to do with LeBron

1) LeBron James is highly annoying, and a media whore. I don't want to hear anything more about him. That being said, i'm sure my cousins in Miami are very happy he's joining their probably-going-to-win-the-NBA-championship team.

2) it is inhumane to keep your full time, UNPAID intern in an office on the 3rd floor of an ancient Victorian house with no AC at all when it is over 100 degrees outside. No matter how little clothing I wear or how much liquid i drink it is still unbearable. Plus, I bring my own computer and don't interact with my coworkers anyway so there is no reason I can't work from somewhere else. They can ignore me even more than usual if they let me work from a Starbucks or something.

3) This has been the longest short-work-week ever. I'm finding some excuse to leave early today no matter what.

4) Sorry to be so negative. Sometimes it's just necessary. :/

In other news, we had a "Faces of Homelessness Panel" on Tuesday after work that was interesting. My friend Gheremey works at the National Coalition for the Homeless so he helped put it together. We had 2 speakers who have both been homeless for a portion of their lives. It was really interesting! After, we had an impromptu TWO HOUR LONG 'evaluation' of the program that Lilly, our Vandy coordinator flew up for. No comment on how much fun that was. basically she's been getting a lot of complaints and this was her way of dealing with it, but it wasn't what a lot of people were expecting I don't think.

Last night we had an "Around the World Dinner" between the 6 suites, where we divided up appetizers, entree and dessert and moved from place to place to eat. We had chinese and italian appetizers (egg rolls and bruschetta), fajitas, enchiladas and a yummy pasta for entrees, and then our suite had all-american ice cream sundaes for dessert. it was really fun and a good way to hang out with VIEW people.

And today is finally friday!!!! i'm still trying to tackle this Ambassadors of the Arts Gala that has no direction whatsoever so we'll see where that goes. And tomorrow my friend and AOII sister Meghan comes in town!!!! I'm so excited to have her visiting for the weekend. Maria Gaitan (my roommmate this upcoming year) just got to DC this week and is starting her job. Can't wait to see her too!

4th of July Weekend

The National Portrait Gallery with Cornelius Vanderbilt

Liz Furman's 20th birthday party!

"A Capitol Fourth" Rehearsal

Dinner with Mom & Laura!

I forgot to mention in my last post that we had a Young Alumni Panel on Wednesday night after work. 5 Vanderbilt alumni who all work in the D.C. area came and gave us a lot of advice on our internships, future goals, and what to do after graduation. Long story short, I made a big decision after that panel that I've been leaning towards for awhile. I decided that I'm definitely not going to law school, or at least not right out of undergrad. I'm not sure if it's what I want to do with my life and getting a few years of experience working in DC or somewhere else would actually help me figure out what I want to do plus will make me a better candidate for law school should i decide to go. i'm also considering public policy grad school- but everything after a few years of work in the real world. i don't want to become one of those people who is continuously putting off joining the 'real world' and want to use that to figure out what i want to do in life.

ok, rant aside:

thursday was fine at work, i hardly remember what went on as it's been awhile, but all bets will lead to nothing exciting happened at all. that night laura and mom got in town (yay) after getting lost on the way in from BWI, and i went over and visited with them for awhile. since we were all tired, we called it an early night. friday i was off work to spend the day with mom and laura, and we actually started our day off with visiting my workplace. it was great for mom and laura to be able to see where i spend 40 hours a week all summer! then we went to look at the monuments on the mall- and that took most of the morning! we saw WWII, Vietnam, Lincoln, FDR, and Jefferson. Fortunately, it was the coolest it's been since I've been here- in the low 80's, making it a pleasant walk around the monuments. I forgot how much I love the Vietnam memorial- it's definitely my favorite of all of the monuments/memorials. i'll spare everyone the time of me explaining why!

Then we met up with Katelyn & Jill at the Holocaust Museum in the afternoon. It was so moving- I remembered very little from when I went the last time we were in town. Even though I've read a lot about the Holocaust and have learned about it in school, there was so much information and the museum was very well done. It was certainly a troubling experience and it takes awhile to recover from after walking through. But I'm so glad a museum like this exists for people to remember and learn about this horrific event in our history. We went back to our apartments in the afternoon and rested for a bit, then met up and went to a cute restaurant called Veranda for dinner with my friend Michael Kariya. It was a lovely night with a cool breeze and we got to eat outside at the cute restaurant. It was a really nice evening! That night I said goodbye to Laura and mom and they left the next morning. It was a really quick trip but it was so great to see them!

Saturday morning our suite was planning on sleeping in to kick off the holiday weekend but were instead jarred awake at 830 am by a full high school marching band practicing directly below our window. After many angry phone calls to the Embassy Suites across from us (we live in an area that is completely saturated with hotels/apartments so this had to be bothering thousands of people) they stopped after at least 30 minutes of playing. Oh well, no sleep for us!

Saturday Jill's dad was in town, so she was with him. katelyn, katie and i went to Georgetown which was SO crowded but really fun! we shopped around, met up with jill and her dad, and got ice cream since it was pretty hot in the afternoon. that night, we went to the capitol for the rehearsal of "A Capitol Fourth". it was much less crowded than it would be the next night, and we got to see the whole show! David Archuleta, Daris Rucker, Lang Lang, Gladys Knight, and Reba Mcentire were all performing (although all of them didnt show up for the rehearsal) We had a lot of fun a camped out picnic-style and i have never felt so patriotic! We also met a really cool woman who was sitting next to us. she and her husband, though in their early 60's, own a skydiving business in Oklahoma and have each jumped 2000+ times! They were in the middle of a motorcycle tour of all 48 contiguous US states! Talk about awesome.

On the 4th Katelyn, Matthew and I went to Liz Furman's birthday party at her house in Alexandria. I have never seen such a patriotic gathering! it was tons of fun as michael was there, plus my AOII sisters kelley, veronica and jamie and two of my friends in sigma nu. it was a wonderful time, complete with USA fans, georgetown cupcakes and great barbeque.

that night we went to the roof of Katelyn's office to watch the fireworks. it was a great view and we had no trouble getting there or getting back. that was a relief as we had friends who spent hours getting home! jill's dad ordered us pizza and we watched the re-run of the Capitol Fourth show on PBS.

yesterday, katelyn matthew and i went to the National Portrait Gallery / Smithsonian Museum of American Art. They had a wonderful Norman Rockwell exhibit plus a lot of really great portraits! We got froZenyo after (our favorite!) and then came home in the late afternoon. katelyn and i put together an all-american dinner to celebrate the 4th weekend coming to a close- we had grilled chicken, corn on the cob, mashed potatoes, peas, and i made a peach compote to serve over vanilla ice cream for dessert. rounded off with iced tea and some country music in the background and it was a really nice dinner :)

now, back to the grind in the office. the air conditioning is hardly working today and with it being 100+ outside i'm nothing short of miserable- but hopefully things will make a turn for the better.

the week so far

Monday was great because after work i got to wander around the U-Street area for awhile, then headed over to Dupont Circle and met up with Matthew Taylor and our friend Andrew Maguire. Andrew goes to VU with us and is a counselor at an international diplomacy camp at American university. he doesn't get many days off from his job so it was great to see him! we at a place that is literally called 'the burger joint' and it was really good. then we walked a few blocks over to a frozen yogurt place called Mr. Yogato that Andrew's friend had recommended to him. i didn't get anything, but apparently it was LITERALLY yogurt that was frozen and not everyone's favorite. the place itself was really cool though. froyo shops and gourmet cupcake shops are all the rage here in DC (as they are in nashville) but they have yet to really reach louisville yet (not surprising). TLC is even starting a new reality show soon called DC Cupcake. no complaints about so many yummy things being stationed around me!

I went home after that and crashed early as i was really tired. Tuesday was great at work because to celebrate Anita's (my boss) birthday we went and got Ethiopian food! There really, truly aren't any African cuisine restaurants in all of nashville, and to my knowledge our one and only one in louisville, Queen of Sheba, just opened. I had no idea what to expect but it was really cool. you're served everything in a large, wooden bowl that you share with your group, and you don't use utensils, instead you pick up everything with this spongy bread and eat it that way. sorry for my lack of culturally accurate terminology, but, well, i'm coming from an area that doesn't exactly excel in global awareness ;)

Tuesday night i met up with katelyn, jill and matthew at the Nat's stadium for the Congressional baseball game (democrats v. republicans). it's been going on for 30-40 years and it was a lot of fun watching members of congress play each other in baseball (even if i was forced to sit on the democrat side). the dems won big, and ben chandler (D-KY) played! we sat in front of his interns, mostly from KY, and i found out we had a lot of mutual friends- go figure. then we all went home and used katelyn's quesadilla maker that her mom brought us- yummy!

Wednesday was also fun at work- my supervisor Evlyn is a flamenco dancer and had a show in the afternoon so we all left the office to go see it! she's in a really talented company and they put on an awesome show. definitely a great lunch break!!! the rest of the day went by really quickly. however, my computer crashed AGAIN because let's face it, if you're working on a 10 year old Dell, things aren't going to go very well. the piece of crap was ridden with viruses before i ever got here and we've already had to wipe the harddrive multiple times. so, starting today, im bringing my macbook to work every day and just plugging in the ethernet cable for internet. on one hand im happy about it because i have a lot less wrist pain (which was becoming really bad on the dell) on my macbook, and it works a LOT better. however, i walk about 1/2 mile to the metro from my apartment and then a full mile from the metro to work each way. my bag weighs 20+ pounds and i already did a LOT of damage to my shoulders this year at school carrying around all that stuff, so im worried about it here as well. I don't have a backpack and seeing as i wear a dress or skirt every single day it'd hardly be feasible. im sure ill figure it out soon enough.

today is the last day of my work week as Laura and Mom will get here tonight after dinner sometime! since they're only in town for one full day im taking friday off (hey, they dont pay me- i deserve it!) not too much going on in the office, but we won't be taking any fabulous lunch breaks or field trips today that im aware of- i was getting used to it ;)

Tomorrow i'll be showing Laura and mom around the mall and monuments in the morning and maybe checking out the Smithsonian Folk Life Festival- it has a TON of cool free things going on. then we're meeting katelyn and jill and going to the Holocaust Museum. We might fit in the botanical gardens after that, and then we're meeting michael kariya for dinner. can't wait!!!

Weekend!

well, in the middle of True Blood (the best part of any Sunday), dad texted me requesting a blog update, so, here it is.

friday night katelyn's mom and aunts were in town and didn't leave till later in order to miss rush hour traffic on their drive home to Baltimore, so we didnt all go to the grocery until late. we came home and decided to make stir fry since we had so many leftover vegetables from the office reception/networking event the night before. aside from my apparent ineptitude when it comes to measuring how much water is needed to cook rice, dinner was really good! we didnt finish until almost 930, however, and were all too tired to summon up energy to do much else.

we all got to bed early and got up early saturday morning to go to Eastern Market. Eastern Market is a great farmer's market style, craft fair with over 100 vendors and the best breakfast you'll find anywhere. its a huge deal here and we'd all been wanting to go. we waited in line for an hour for breakfast, but it was worth it. we all got 'blue bucks', aka blueberry buckwheat pancakes which were HEAVENLY :) and shopped around. people here are obsessed with pandas, as they're the most popular animals in the national zoo- so it's a good thing i dont have a little sister in AOII to shop for anymore or i'd be buying this panda stuff left and right.

After looking around for a bit, we went to the Smithsonian Museum of American History. It was really great! It was nice going with girls because we all agreed on what exhibits to focus on and what to ignore. Things we loved- the First Ladies Exhibit, the President's Exhibit, and the pop culture section. Things we ignored- all things related to science and technology.

We rushed home to catch as much of the US-Ghana game as possible. We ended up being able to catch all of the additional time from 90 min. mark onward. sadly, it didn't end as we'd hoped but i'm honestly ok with that, because the US can't be the best at everything, right? ;) Also, i'd be happy if an African country was able to win and Ghana is the last shot at that happening. It is unfortunate that this is the 2nd consecutive time theyve knocked us out of the tournament, however.

Liz Furman happened to be watching the World Cup game in Matthew's suite, so she came over and we all hung out for awhile, and then decided to go to dinner and a movie in China Town, an area i hadn't been to yet. China Town was the first time DC has felt like NYC to me since ive been here. It made me realize how much more i like the feel of DC than bigger cities like NYC and Chicago that i've been to. We had a great dinner and then split up for movies (liz had already seen TS3 and i'm waiting to see it with Maria when she gets in town)

Liz and I saw "Get Him to the Greek" which was hilarious!!! i knew it had gotten really great reviews but i still had my doubts- and they were proven wrong. it was really hilarious and a night with liz is never a bad time!!!

today i got up early and went to an Episcopal Church literally feet from the White House with matthew. it was very interesting and remarkably similar to a Catholic mass (except for the female presider). Afterwards, i hung out in the suite until the VIEW BBQ, which was a lot of fun. Complete with grilling out, music, and pie, it was a great time and it was fun to see everyone and hang out for a bit. After, i went and worked out and then finally got to talk to my mom on the phone (its been weeks!) that was wonderful, and then i made some dinner and the True Blood group convened and enjoyed our favorite television indulgence.

Now, off to bed! Can't wait to see Laura and Mom this Thursday!

week 3

well, another work week is finally coming to a close.

monday & tuesday were honestly awful days at work. i had nothing to do and was entirely bored all day. however, tuesday after work i went down to the hill and had dinner with Matthew taylor and Mary Lamar Washburne. She's been interning since school got out and is leaving today so it was great to get to see her, especially because she'll be in Florence all fall semester :(

I rushed home Tuesday night to watch Pretty Little Liars with the roommates and our friend Gheremey who is a VIEW participant and lives on our floor. We can' t help but love it for how awful of a show it is.

Wednesday was a better day at work. I've finished Arts & Health Month and the website should be launching in the very near future! it's a good sense of accomplishment. Now I'm working on planning the Ambassador's Dinner, which is a 500 person event for the many supporters of the arts in Congress, major organizations, and other arts related industries. It's been a lot of tedious work but it's cool to know I'm working on something that is important to the society.

it has been UNBEARABLY hot in DC this week. hotter than temps in Texas and other areas normally much hotter than DC. We actually set a record yesterday when the temperature hit 100. Walking a mile each way to and from work is miserable in business clothes but oh well!

Last night Evlyn (my supervisor/membership coordinator at the SAH) and I went straight from work to the VIEW Reception, which was held at the Vanderbilt Federal Relations Office, which is down by the hill and is where Jillian, my roommate works. It is a gorgeous building and was a networking style cocktail party for all of the VIEW students, our mentors, and employers. I met some really nice and interesting people- including a man who actually went to Trinity high school in Louisville and grew up on Hanover, which is within walking distance of our home in Louisville! He is going to get Jill and Katelyn and I into a criminal trial so we can watch what really goes on during a court case. Also, Professor Dalhouse, who oversees the program, flew in from Nashville and was at the reception. We got to talking and now I might be babysitting for he and his wife in the fall as they have two twin boys who are 3 (and they live on the Commons in East House!) It was a really nice evening but by the time it was over I was wiped out and my feet weren't too happy with me either. Since jill works at the host site of the event, we got to take home ALL of the gourmet leftovers! However, they weighed about 30 pounds and we had to lug them home via metro...THAT was an experience. We made a lot of friends on the ride home who wanted some of our delicious food. Now we wont have to go to the grocery for awhile!

Today my computer crashed at work (seeing as it is a 9 year old Dell, i am not surprised at all.) the old piece of crap freaks out on me daily and has been through a few too many interns to work much longer. Im on Anita, my boss's computer, since she is at a conference in Baltimore, while a repairman tries to salvage my computer. looks like i might be bringing in my macbook (yay! mac!!!) instead of working on the desktop for the rest of the summer.

Not sure of too many weekend plans yet, other than going to Eastern market tomorrow with the roommates and other VIEW people. It's supposed to be a wonderful open air farmers's market plus it has a lot of booths for jewelery, crafts, and other things. Can't wait!

and i'm back!

Sorry for the delay in posting!

Thursday was uneventful at work- I'm still getting to do a lot for starting up Arts & Health Month, which should be really cool once we've got it up and running.

Liz picked me up from work Thursday night and we went on what became a driving extravaganza. I'm not used to living in a city with tons of traffic and lots of driving- but DC certainly requires patience on the road! We looked around Tyson's mall (wow, i could spend my life savings there) and then picked up our AOII sister Veronica and drove to Bethesda (such a cute area!!) and got dinner at a great Thai place there. Then we dropped Veronica off and then me- but by then it was after 11pm! Let's just say we did a lot of driving around. But that's ok because Liz and i never run out of things to talk about so we had a great time.

Friday at work was fine, and more relaxed because my boss wasn't there. I got to leave a bit early to go to Metro Center for the Ivy League Mixer. It included students from Harvard, Penn, Stanford, Yale, Vandy and a few other places...but basically the Vandy kids were singled out as the dumb ones since we aren't an ivy. It was fun, but it certainly didn't do anything but reaffirm my impression of Ivy league kids and make me very glad i go to school where i do! i got to meet some nice people though and it was fun to get out. The best part was that the frozen yogurt place we've been dying to try, called froZENyo, was only a block away. the suite girls went after the mixer and it was soooo delicious. it far surpassed any other froyo i've had and was delicious! After we went back to the suite and just laid low for the night because we were all so tired.

Saturday was not the best day for me- i dont know if it was the leftover Thai i had for dinner Friday night or something else but i had awful food poisoning all day and literally couldn't leave our room all day. i was getting sick all day and basically just slept the ENTIRE day. i feel better now but it was quite a waste of a Saturday!

So today, i want to wish happy father's day to all the wonderful fathers in my life- my dad, my grandpa Paw Paw, my many great role models that are my friends parents, and many more! I also don't want to leave out my late grandpa Pop, as this is only our family's 2nd father's day without him. All of yall are in my thoughts today and i wish i could be at home in KY to celebrate Father's Day with the family. This afternoon i'm going to try and go to a museum, then have dinner with the suite girls and watch True Blood- because we're all obsessed!

We grilled out!!!

Grilling out- thankfully avoided the rain!

9/11/01 Memorial at the Pentagon

Abe statue in the capitol

don't make too much fun of my inability to be artsy

CLT (currently listening to, for all of you who are not-Clay): Find Your Love- Drake

Monday was uneventful, other than actually getting a REAL LUNCH BREAK. this is revolutionary , since normal lunch consists of silently eating at our desks. Since it was Cara's birthday (our secretary) i lugged a glass tray of iced brownies there as a surprise, and we all went out to lunch to celebrate. We went to an awesome restaurant with great food that also doubles as a performance space and coffee shop (called Busboys & Poets). all 4 of us came home and just ate together and watched TV- Katie and i both watch Secret Life together.

Tuesday all of the VIEW interns were off work (yay!) and went on a group tour of the capitol and the pentagon. the capitol tour could have been better, as we had some organizational issues, but lunch and the pentagon tour were awesome. we had a vandy undergrad & vandy engineering alum who is a doctor and works in the pentagon give us a super cool, private tour. then we got to go outside the pentagon and see the 9/11 memorial, which i also really loved. it was very simple but i'd never heard of it before and was very impressed.

after that, all 4 of us were exhausted from a lot of walking and came back to rest our feet. after a quick turnaround, we went to the nearby farmer's market. it was great to look around, but stuff didn't seem in season yet and was too expensive. we made our normal weekly grocery run and came back. since it's resident-appreciation-month, they had a free barbeque on the porch, complete with balloons and live music and really good food! barbeque, cole slaw, corn on the cob, etc. then matthew, liz furman (who came over!!!) and the 4 suite girls drove to georgetown, which i'm now obsessed with, and went to Baked and Wired, a 1/2 cupcake store 1/2 coffee shop. it was amazing. we shopped a bit and then came back.

our suite is addicted to really poorly acted, poorly written, cheesy television. aka, ABC Family. Naturally, we watch their new show Pretty Little Liars and plan to all summer. It'll become tuesday night routine for sure. This morning Katelyn and i were a bit slow moving, unwillingly returning to work. i was a little later to leave this morning (still got to work 10 min. early) so i got to ride with some VIEW people on the metro. Work was fine, a bit slow today, but i'm getting to do a lot of really great work on the first annual Arts & Health month. its really great to be able to be with the project from its inception and help make it get off the ground.

as usual, g chat saves me from complete and utter boredom at work. the highlight of the day was when katelyn, jillian and i realized we can GROUP gchat. Our lives (and productivity levels) will never be the same. however, it is helping me learn to multi-task, out of sheer necessity.

after work i got to FINALLY talk with katie (Vandy roomie and best friend, not Katie my roommate here or Katelyn my roommmate here- confusing, i know) and skype briefly, do to bad wifi. I lovvvvve her and it was so nice to get to begin to discuss all the stuff we need to catch up on, since she's been out of the country most of the summer so far!

then, the suitemates, minus katie who was at a work dinner, decided to defy gender stereotypes and grill out. we managed to out-grill the gay couple that we shared the grill with (it was quite hilarious, 3 girls cooking big cheeseburgers with ease while 2 clearly gay men cant manage to cook their thin strips of chicken) and enjoyed a really nice, sit down dinner complete with squash, cucumbers and a rich dish with vegetables freshly supplied from katelyn's family. Katelyn and i went to the gym and worked out and then we watched the season premiere of Top Chef: DC. its so cool to see the show set in the city we're living in! im sure we'll watch that regularly too.

i also spent a good hour saving, well, rescuing, Omar's suite from it's filthy conditions. he called asking for cleaning supplies but i soon realized his situation required drastic action. these 4 boys have no trash bags, no cleaning supplies, and no care that their place is trashed, has bugs already, and smells awful. the future housewife in me kicked in to gear and managed to sanitize, clean and organize the whole place. since ive already baked for them too im sure they consider me their house mom haha.

now, off to bed. sooo tired. hopefully seeing liz again tomorrow! also, my boss hinted we might get Ethiopian food for lunch!

the rest of my not-so-lazy-sunday

I liked the Corcoran gallery. didn't love it, but had a nice time wandering around. i also walked around the area for awhile, stumbled through the GWU campus, and found a nice coffee place to get an iced coffee. then i met a really cool woman who happened to be visiting from Hawaii, where she teaches art history! she is in town looking at new collections at art museums and even has a gallery in NYC! we exchanged cards...hmm. such a cool coincidence!

Then, Liz picked matthew and i up and we met her friend mary beth, who was wonderful, and we went to dinner at Clyde's in Georgetown. Georgetown really isn't accessible from the metro, so it was sooo great to get to see it and bethesda. we had a wonderful evening and now i'm ready for work tomorrow!

Song I'm currently in love with:

Since i have a 45 minute commute each day, i get a lot of time to listen to my ipod (which i LOVE). I'll try to update with my DC playlist :)

i know at least clay will like this, haha since we share a mutual appreciation/obsession with music

First Weekend

At the Gay Pride Parade in Dupont Circle

Late-Night Visit to the White House

Katelyn and my room

Kitchen

Dining Room (that we rarely use)

Living area

After making and delivering brownies for Omar and his suitemates to congratulate them on completing their 1st week of working in the 'real world', the suite girls walked down to crystal city, which is about 1/2 mile away and has all of the shopping/restaurants close to us. the area is really nice (i learned about it from my boss on our tour last week!) and we went to this great restaurant called Urban Thai that was small, inexpensive, and great food! we're trying to eat a lot of ethnic food since we don't get the opportunity in Nashville (and in my case, not in Louisville either!)

Then we took the metro to Dupont Circle, which is a really great area, and wandered around looking at restaurants, nightlife and sights. We ended up at the White House around 11pm, and it was really cool to see the White House at night. After that we crashed as we were all tired from the long week.

Saturday we all went to Pentagon City Mall (right by the metro stop) and looked around- it's 4 stories tall! All the DC people i've talked to say it's an 'ok' mall, but to someone from Louisville, this mall is incredible :) Then Michael Kariya came over to our place to watch the World Cup game (US v UK) and we hung out here and ate lunch. Then i met up with the other 3 suite girls in Dupont Circle for the Gay Pride parade! It's pride week, and the parade was huge! We caught tons of free beads, t shirts, candy and got to hear a lot of Lady Gaga music (of course). We even ran into quite a few Vandy people that we didn't even know were in DC for the summer! It was a great time and definitely entertaining. The highlight had to be all 4 of us leaping into the air to catch a blue noodle (the type you play with in pools) that we carted around all night long and plan to use in our rooftop pool very soon. Then we stumbled across this small diner called Luna's and ate there- and it was surprisingly good! All of the restaurants here have really cool decor and are so varied in their styles and I love it- especially after taking Modern Architecture last semester. I'm nerdily fascinated by it all, haha. Then we took the metro home and stayed up late just talking and had some VIEW friends over to hang out for a bit.

This morning we went to brunch at Freddie's, which is right next to the Thai place we ate at on Friday night, which is a gay restaurant/bar (there is no intentional pattern, it just had good reviews and has crazy decorations!) that has a great brunch buffet! We loved all the kooky decorations and had a good time. Now we're back in the apartment and Katelyn's mom is driving up from Baltimore (or down, i guess i should say) to bring her more things we've discovered we need in the apartment. I'm going to take the metro downtown and go see the Corcoran Art Gallery...it's not free but it's been on the top of my list of art galleries to see. it'll be nice to go by myself and just wander through. Later, we'll probably just eat in the room and have a suitemate meeting to plan out our week. We have tons of stuff planned for after work, since we're finally starting to get a hang of life here!

Highlights i'm looking forward to next week:

Monday- meeting up with Katelyn near the hill where she works and getting froyo and watching her office's softball game (but not playing because...come on, it's me)

Monday- Cara (our administrative asst.) is turning 25! We're going out to lunch to celebrate!

Tuesday- Megan, Katelyn's roommate from Vandy who also lives in Baltimore, just offered us FREE tickets to see the Dixie Chicks, Keith Urban, and The Eagles play at the Nationals Stadium!!!! I love Megan and this will be such a fun night!

Tuesday- oh, i forgot. i dont have to work tuesday!! The VIEW group is going together for Tennessee Tuesdays (breakfast w/ TN congressmen), a tour of the Pentagon and tour of the capitol

I'm posting a bunch of pictures, sorry this post is so long- here you can see what our apt looks like! More on facebook, and don't worry adults, the album is limited profile so you can ALL see it :)

WEEKEND!

Sorry, extreme fatigue set in last night as I hadn't gotten more than 4 hours of sleep a night all week...you can only do that for so long before even coffee doesn't keep you alert! Above are some pictures of the park across the street from where I work (more on FB) at the end of this lawn you can see over all the buildings and see the Washington Monument in the distance.

Yesterday was great at work. With there only being 5 of us (including myself) in the office, i'm working almost completely independently and am doing as much as anyone else in the office. Yesterday I did some mailing stuff- stuffing envelopes, stamping, sealing etc, but I also got to listen in (and contribute a little!) to the conference call with the membership committee which consisted of people calling from all over the country in addition to Great Britain and Australia! It was really cool and very informative but left me with a very long to-do list! After that I compiled a list of all of the member emails that were no longer working, scoped the internet and our database to find another way to contact them, and started the arduous process of calling every member with a falty email. That took a few hours but it was nice to get to talk to some of our members. I also finished writing multiple letters regarding our new website resources, membership renewal, etc that will be sent out to 1,700+ people. Not too shabby! The best part about yesterday was that I actually got to interact with my coworkers. Anita, our boss, was out of the office yesterday and today and so the environment was a bit more relaxed. Not that Anita isn't great- because she's been a big help in the office, but everyone talked a lot more and I really like the women I work with. A big plus is how casual our office is- I've still been dressing up a lot but it's nice to know I won't necessarily have to most days (considering the forecast for the weekend is 90 degrees, muggy, humid and rainy I'll be just doing whatever to survive!).

After work I went to the courthouse metro stop in Arlington, not too far from where we live in pentagon city and met my mentor, Tyler for the first time. He's only 23 (graduated from VU last year) but was a big help. We got coffee and he talked to me about post-grad options and what he does working in a senator's office on the hill. We're going to try to meet every week and I'm lucky to have such a great mentor! By the time i got home at 8 i was exhausted, but since Katelyn and i had marinated chicken the night before we decided to broil it and make dinner for basically the first time since we've been here. Being exhausted, we both weren't in our most sensible minds and forgot to move the salt and pepper shakers off the stove top and the plastic tops melted into jiffy-pop-shaped forms (see previous post for photo!) As hilarious as it was, we managed to throw together really delicious chicken, corn, salad and some bread and had a nice dinner. After dinner, we all 4 collapsed and had our eyes set on the weekend!

Work today was great- especially because I got to leave early around 230! Now that 3 of us are home early from work, I made brownies for one of the boys suites down the hall since my friend Omar lives there and I'm trying to be a good neighbor and congratulate them on completing the first week of work (it was a challenge!). Katelyn and i are considering exploring the blocks around us, and later the 4 of us are going to a highly recommended Thai place for dinner, and then maybe a free Jazz concert where a lot of our coworkers will be. It's great to know we can actually sleep in tomorrow and YAY FOR THE WEEKEND!

Walking to the u street metro heading home over 2 hours early! Thank you God for that much needed blessing! Also, GO 'DORES

It keeps getting better

Cooking FAIL.

too tired to blog...more later :)

3

Today was the best day in the office by far. I actually got to be in the office with all 4 regular employees and we interacted a lot more than before (it's usually silent entirely all day)

We had a guest come in to discuss arts and health programs all the way from Australia- really great accent :) which is always interesting. I finally figured out what I'm going to be doing, and worked a lot on preliminary ideas for our first annual Arts in Health Month (which will be this upcoming November). I also worked on writing a lot of different letters and promotions for targeting members and increasing membership.

I'm also working on other things such as press releases, news blurbs for newsletters, and various things in the office. it's very independent work and sometimes it's challenging, but it's rewarding at the end of the day. And the park across the street has a view of the Washington Monument which is gorgeous. After work I took the metro to Dupont Circle and met up with my good friend Omar, who is a VIEW intern at the RFK center. We caught up in the park there and then went to a panel of experts discussing US-Iranian relations. It was very well done but by the time we got home at 830, I was exhausted! The suite all ate together and watched Cake Boss for way too long- the time just zooms by when you're too tired to really pay attention!

Tomorrow, i've got another regular day in the office and then i'm meeting with my mentor for dinner. Can't wait!

Work, Day 2

I got to meet my boss, Anita, today! She's been in Israel with her family for a wedding- and from the pictures we saw it looked amazing! I did a lot of similar stuff today, and worked a lot on the social media aspect the office is working to expand- especially Twitter! (although, that got difficult when the new Lady Gaga video premiered- it crashed twitter for over an hour. wow.)

We had a prominent member visiting in town come into the office for a meeting this afternoon, which was interesting to listen in on. Also, Anita was nice enough to drive me home, as she also lives in Arlington. On top of that, she gave me a tour of the entire surrounding area- so now i'm not so clueless!!!

Jillian arrived today, so our suite is complete! While Katie was hearing Ralph Nader speak, the 3 of us went to the grocery and Bed, Bath & Beyond and actually had a really fun time. We rushed back just in time to watch Glee, and then all crashed out of exhaustion! I finally have hangers so the giant mound of clothes that has been residing on my floor is now hung nicely in the closet. Day 3 tomorrow!

Internship: Day 1

Wow, I am tired. (As expected!)

For my internship, I get up by 7am and leave by 745..Katelyn's one-cup coffee maker is amazing and will save my mornings no doubt. I arrive at my metro stop around 8:30 and it takes until about 8:50 to get to work, depending on lights, etc. Not the closest commute but I think I'll get it down. I'm dreading when it'll get really hot though, because it doesn't take much to ruin your hair and makeup and feel gross all day.

I work in a gorgeous Victorian house, on the top floor. The office I work in is very small- only one room and there are 4 regular staffers (all females- no surprise there) and myself. Only 2/4 of the regular staffers were there today, so tomorrow will be when I get to meet the other 2, including the executive director. I am going to be working pretty independently and can foresee accomplishing a lot once i get the hang of things. I haven't interned before, or worked much in an office setting, so i'm hoping to catch on to everything quickly. today was a bit overwhelming, as i didn't receive too much of an orientation and the office was absolutely silent from 9-5. No lunch break- the women simply pull out their lunches at 1pm and eat at their desks and continue working. I don't know how i'll feel about that much silence! Hopefully once we get into the swing of things i'll be able to go over to the great park across the street. I will be working on issues pertaining to membership recruitment and retention (primarily) and hope to help out a lot! It's too early to say how i feel about everything overall, but it's definitely a LOT to absorb.

After work, I took the red line all the way out to the stops that are parking garages and Michael Kariya picked me up and took me to his house for dinner with his family! It was so great and i am so lucky to have friends in the area who want to see me! Michael cooked dinner for us and it was wonderful- steaks, sweet potatoes, green beans, and bread, completed with delicious brownies made by his sister. I even got to bring the extra dessert home, which the roomies appreciated! I stayed for a few hours and got to hang out with his parents and sister, all of whom were great and truly fun to talk to. It was so great to get to have a nice, family style dinner! Then I came back and realized how exhuasted i was- caught up with my 2 roommates and Matthew as well about their first days, and now i'm planning to start all over again! It's certainly a hectic lifestyle (as i can already tell!) but I am determined to not waste a second.

Also, I'm really excited that Vandy won their baseball regional tonight! Yes, it was against UofL, to which i devote my loyalty also, but i'm all about a good upset- and it was great to see them win and advance to a super regional! Go 'Dores!

Where I Work:

Here's the facebook page for my work:

And here is the website

just if you're interested!

the last day of DC without work!

The baseball game was great! I got to see the Nationals (where Adam Dunn, former Louisville Bats and Cincinnati Reds fan favorite, now plays!) playing the Cincinnati Reds, and it was actually a good game! The Nationals are normally awful, so that was fortunate.

Katelyn and I had QUITE the adventure at Giant grocery store. It's an older building so the layout wasn't great, and since it was our first trip we needed a LOT of stuff. And going right when people were getting off work made it crowded. However, we got everything we needed and got back to our apartment and let me tell you, having an elevator is a great improvement from living in Scales all year without one. I had to dash off quickly because LIZ FURMAN is back from Paris and was picking Matthew and I up for dinner! She drove us to Old Town Alexandria which is amazing and perfect in every way, where we met up with her mom and stepfather for a lovely dinner. Then we walked around the area (there are real cobblestone streets!) that had cute shops and stores, grabbed some ice cream and ate it while looking over the water at Maryland. It was a really wonderful night, and much cooler!

Afterwards, Katelyn and I checked out the gym downstairs. it is beyond amazing. not only does each machine have a touch-screen workout formatting screen, but it hooks up to your ipod so you can control your ipod (scrolling through songs, playlists, whatever) from the machine screen. all the machines also have TV and you can listen to music while you watch tv with closed captions. There are tons of machines, everything is new, plus there are weights, weight machines, mats, medicine balls, etc. I actually might want to work out :)

Now I've figured out everything for tomorrow and have a packed lunch, selected outfit, and mapped out course. Hopefully tomorrow goes well! Now, i've got to get some sleep!

Day 2, thus far

So, the day has had its fair share of emotions thus far!

This morning, realizing we had no food in the apartment, I temporarily delayed breakfast (I'd never skip the best meal of the day!) and went on the metro alone to find my workplace. If anyone has any idea of my sense of direction, you know that it's nonexistent. I work in Columbia Heights, which is a fairly 'transitional' area, so I have to be very careful about where I walk. Parts of the area are very cool and modern with new shops and stores, and mere blocks away are government-provided housing, rundown areas, etc.

I'll be sure to map out the best location! Sadly, I got turned around finding my building, since it's a good 3/4 of a mile from the metro stop. It was 90 degrees and humid and well, you get the idea. Also, I was running late to get back to the apartments for an 11 o'clock meeting with the group. Finally, I found my building and it's BEAUITFUL! It's a historic building and across from a wonderful park...mere blocks from a Starbucks (which provided breakfast!) and a Target and many lunch places. I can certainly see myself eating lunch in this park daily.

I then got lost looking for the metro station to take back to our apartment ( I was told to take a different one than the one I came on) and ended up running (literally) aimlessly to find the stop and not miss my train. Well, I missed it, but caught the next one 15 minutes later. I got back just fine and only a little bit late. We had a group lunch and then all went to watch the Nationals play the Reds! My mentor couldn't make it, but I met a lot of other cool Vandy alumns and also got to see my sorority sister Claire who lives in the area (and is a VIEW alum). The game was great until the weather turned nasty and we decided to leave. Now, we're back in our apartment and Katelyn and I are about to go to the Giant grocery store (apparently they're like Kroger? haha) and stock up on food. Our 4th suitemate still isn't here since she is taking the LSAT tomorrow, but we can't wait to meet her!

Tonight, I'm really excited because one of my best friends and AOII sisters at school, Liz, is back home from her Maymester in Paris! She lives really close to our apartments (10 minute drive!) and has invited Matthew and I over to her house for dinner! I am beyond excited to see her and her family. It's hard to believe that I have to go to work tomorrow! I'll be on the subway by 8am to give myself plenty of time to get there. I've already come to the realization that I am going to be hot and sweaty constantly. I'm VERY glad my hair is shorter, but business casual in the heat and very hot metro is going to take some getting used to!

More later!

First Day

Wow, I'm exhausted. We got into DC early this afternoon and got settled in. Fortunately, both of my 2 suitemates (the 3rd arrives later this week) drove and therefore were much more prepared with supplies and necessities for our suite. The suite is pretty nice- big bathroom, nice living area and a decently stocked kitchen. The fitness center downstairs is brand new (maybe incentive to actually use it? haha) and the pool is on the roof!

The lobby is being renovated in our building so there literally isn't even dry wall yet. But, more surprising than that was the concierge woman who was...well, interesting. Let's just say that I can think of members of the Addams family who she too closely resembled...and they also had more warmth to them!

Katelyn (my roommate) is awesome and we sorted out our large amount of clothes and shoes and got things figured out. I finally got to Skype with Maria in Spain (yay wifi) and then Omar came up to visit before dinner. The whole group met up (about 25 in total) and we walked to a nice Italian restaurant for dinner. Then we took the metro to view the monuments at night- WOW! That was a really cool experience- I definitely liked the WWII Memorial the best, but it's impossible to remember the grandeur and awe of the monuments until you return to them. Seeing them at night was a great perspective. We passed GWU on our way back and it was really nice to see their campus- nothing like Vandy! Very urban...I really liked their greek houses though. Then we rode the subway home as a collectively exhausted, hot, and sweaty group. Only a few minor mishaps with the subway so far but unfortunately my internship is one of the further ones from our suites- meaning early mornings for me!

Tomorrow we're going to have a practice run to our internships to figure out the best route, then meet back and go to a Nationals game where we will sit with our mentors and meet with alums. After we'll probably hit up the grocery for basic supplies. I'm in awe that I'm here and am so excited to get started with work and figuring out everything about this amazing city!