it's our whole life, down to one box

I'm writing this in the kitchen surrounded by cardboard boxes and luggage. I can't believe I'm actually packing to leave D.C. It really seems like just yesterday I got here. This has been an incredible four months.

I finished up a few projects at work this week and took my finals on Tuesday. The past few days I've just been trying to take everything in, wrap up some loose ends, and visit as many cupcake stores as possible. My supervisors took me to lunch yesterday before I left. It was really weird to think I've spent the past several months with them and suddenly - I'm gone.

I took as many jogs around the Mall as possible with my roommates this week. I just don't see how Denny Chimes and Gorgas are going to compare to Washington, Lincoln, and the Capitol. We also tried to hit up as many of our favorite restaurants as possible.

I had a graduation ceremony this morning and a goodbye dinner a few nights ago. Our coordinator put together a nice slideshow (there is one picture with yours truly making a typically adorable face) and gave out superlatives. They were mostly things like "Who will be in political office first." Needless to say, Hillary did not take home that award, haha.

My parents are in town to help me pack all of my things up. It's so strange to think of everything that has changed since my mom and I drove up here in January. I'll be going home and working with students getting ready for end-of-grade tests for a few weeks, then getting ready to head off to Ghana! I'll try to update from Africa, but it might be a little difficult :) This has been a really wonderful experience, and I'm so excited for the next few months.

like a comet pulled from orbit as it passes the sun

Things are getting pretty crazy around here! I spent most of the weekend doing homework, writing papers, and working on study guides for my upcoming exams. I'm also getting down to crunch time with my movie. I've been working on outlining what I want to say, going through my interview notes, trying to pick film clips, etc. It's harder than I thought because I know what I want the final project to look like, but it's getting there that's a lot of work.

Last Monday, we went to the State Department. Our speakers were from the Afghanistan and Pakistan desks. I just finished reading Three Cups of Tea, which is about school building efforts in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The speaker from the Pakistan desk has actually met Greg Mortenson, so of course I asked him about education initiatives in the region. Learning about the cultural differences in the area is fascinating and it's understandable why it's hard to install a democratic government. It was my favorite visit by far.

I've had a several research projects to do at work. It's funny how I'm taking on more and more responsibility the closer I get to leaving! I really have learned a tremendous amount at work though and I've enjoyed it. I've been able to dabble in so many different areas.

This weekend Robert and I went to a D.C. United game. It was so much fun, but the team is pretty awful! I think they've scored one goal all season. I really wanted to go play soccer afterwards and I actually had a dream about playing soccer in Ghana that night :)

On Sunday, we went to the White House to see the gardens. Every year, the First Lady opens up the back lawn to the public for a few days, and you can walk all over the grounds (well, not all over. I saw several people get yelled at for walking on the grass...). I mean, it's the White House, so of course it's beautiful, but I really enjoyed the tour. You could look in the Oval Office and see the American flag, the table where Obama had the beer summit, his daughter's playground, the new kitchen garden, Jackie Kennedy's garden, everything!

I'm about to scramble off to Georgetown for class, but I wanted to give everyone a quick update about how things are going! The next 11 days are going to be insane, but I am loving it.

these streets will make you feel brand new

Well, I'm at the three week mark of my semester! I can't believe that I've been in D.C. for almost three months, and I'll be leaving in just a few weeks. This semester has flown by.

I'm making some more progress on my film - I practiced editing with the film from the wedding I mentioned in my first post. It just seems like such a monumental task that I don't really know where to start! I've worked on a script and have started working out which clips I want to use, but it's still pretty daunting.

I had a fantastic meeting at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute on Monday. The institute focuses on education reform and policy, and I learned a lot. I thought I was pretty knowledgeable on the topic because so much of what we do at work is about education, but I definitely didn't know as much as a thought! I spoke with one of their policy experts, and she actually recommended some really interesting studies and ideas for to me look at. I love talking to people who are so passionate about what they do.

I was pretty busy helping our event planner this week. I had to look through agenda for about a decade's worth of meetings and put together a spreadsheet of speakers - it ended up being nearly one thousand people long. I know that doesn't sound very exciting, but it was actually neat to see these really recognizable names and organizations that our group has a relationship with. My next project is writing a piece on public-private philanthropy projects.

Classes are going well too - I'm going to have finals starting up in less than two weeks. The weather has been ridiculously spastic - high 80s yesterday, 50s today. I sat out and watched a storm roll in last night. I felt like I was back in the South :)

On a side note, I ate Ethiopian food on Wednesday! We went to a place up in Georgetown after class. It was definitely unlike anything I've had before. They brought out this huge pan covered in flat, spongy bread, and then just dumped everyone's entrees onto the bread! You don't get any utensils - the waiters brought us rolls of the bread that you scoop the food up in. I have a feeling my food experiences in Ghana this summer are going to be pretty interesting...

look at the stars, look how they shine

I spent most of the weekend editing my videos from the protests I went to last week. I cut down about 30 minutes to 14:30, so I've got a good idea of where I want this project to start heading. I feel so lucky to be in DC while there is such big legislation going down - it's changing the trajectory of my project, but I think it will be cool.

Editing hasn't been terribly difficult so far, just time consuming. It's really, really weird to hear myself talk on camera. I've also noticed that I talk a TON. I had to edit out so many good clips because I was carrying on in the background.

I'm working on setting up some more interviews. I've been talking with a staffer in Senator Hagan's office to get a legislative point of view from a Democrat. One of my professors is helping me set up something with a think tank. I'm also working on speaking with a policy expert at one of my favorite groups, the Thomas Fordham Institute. I heard their president speak about education and philanthropy last month and I've read a lot of their publications since then. It's probably the meeting I'm most excited about!

At work I've been doing some follow-up from our event and started preparing for another conference. The annual meeting isn't until October, but it's at a resort so there's already a lot of planning to do. I made a bunch of phone calls to photographers to get price quotes and worked on guest lists. I guess event planning is the part of PR that I don't really enjoy as much. It's something I can do if I have to, but I'd rather not.

On Friday, we went to the Federal Reserve. The security is really tight, but the interior of the building is just beautiful - marble floors, columns, crown molding, chandeliers. Our briefing was in the Board of Governors room, so it was neat to be in a place where Bernake and other high-ups meet. However, after an hour and a half briefing, I am still as clueless as to what the Fed does. When the speaker got talking about the recession, it was pretty interesting, but the structure of the Fed is just confusing!

Robert and I are going home this weekend for Easter, which I am really excited about! After Easter, it's less than a month until I'm home for the first part of the summer.

and i don't know how it gets better than this

On Monday, I had my first interview for my independent study project. I met with the Legislative Director in Senator Sessions office, and I ended up getting some good information from him. I'm trying to understand a bit more about public policy, including the policy process. I'm pretty familiar with the whole Schoolhouse Rock, "I'm just a bill, on Capitol Hill" concept, but there's so much more than goes into creating policy (especially in these huge Senate offices).

The one downside I've found is that many congressional offices are hestitant to let staffers appear on camera. For my staff interviews, I'm just going to have to take notes and make kind of a video-journal entry for my project. It's not what I'd orginally wanted to do, but it will just force me to be a little more creative! I'm hoping nongovernmental offices are more lenient.

With the healthcare debate heating up, there are a lot of protests this week. Today we went out to a big healthcare protest by the House offices - it was just mind-blowing. I interviewed several protesters and got some good footage. It was really neat to see these people who had never been politically active out fighting for something they believe in so much. Whether or not you agree with them, it's great to see democracy in action. That's what America is really about.

My big work project for the semester was on Tuesday. I worked 14 hours and then had a midterm the next day - not fun. Everything went pretty well, which I think is usually a suprise with event planning. I've ended up doing a lot more event planning and support than I expected here, actually. This week and next week, I'm mostly going to be working on the followup - thank you letters, evaluations, reports, etc - before jumping into another meeting that will happen in October.

I've only got 5 weeks left here, which is a bit strange. I felt like I was waiting forever to come to D.C. and I was so nervous about this semester, but it really has been a fantastic experience.

feeling lucky today, got the sunshine

I feel like I haven't been in D.C. much since I last updated - I spent last weekend visiting in Tuscaloosa and I'm back in Charlotte for a few days over my spring break. It's actually been nice to have a little break from the city, but the snow is pretty much gone and we're heading into the home stretch of the semester.

Work has been picking up a bit with our event approaching. I've been handling all of the RSVPs, which involves transferring information from one database to two others, updating my supervisors, and researching attendees. I told my supervisor that I was interested in Gulf Coast recovery, so I've been updating her on research about community rebuilding. Last week, I attended a meeting on the Obama administration's partnerships with nonprofits and foundations. I really feel like I've just been learning so much about nonprofits and philanthropies that I forget other people aren't surrounded by this all the time!

This week, we visited the World Bank on Wednesday and the Australian embassy on Thursday. I didn't really know much about what the World Bank actually does, so it was pretty interesting to hear about. The week before, we visited the Pentagon. It's actually not nearly as interesting as it sounds - the Pentagon really is just the world's largest office building. I'm sure plenty of interesting things happen there, but not that we get to find out about.

I'm hoping to get out and see some more museums this weekend. It's supposed to be in the high 50s for at least the next week. I've also got midterms coming up, some friends visiting in a few weeks, and before I know it I'll be in the last few weeks of my internship! I can't believe how quickly everything is going by.

I finally seem to be on track with my independent study too. I've been sending out requests for meetings and interviews, and my computer (fingers crossed) is finally updated with its new software. Once I start getting video shot, I'll post up the more interesting bits. I'm a little nervous about really getting into the editing, but I'm excited to give it a try.

a new day dawns, and i am practicing my purpose once again

The snow is melting, birds are chirping, tourists crowd the Metro, and I'm finally getting back in the swing of things in the capital. I'm hesitant to say spring is arriving, but it got up to 50 on Sunday and that was good enough for me! A few months ago, I listed Boston as a potential place to live after graduation. After (barely) surviving Snowmageddon, it's safe to say that this little bird is ready to fly back south...forever.

Last week I attended the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), which is an annual gathering of over 10,000 conservatives, think tanks, and leaders. It was, to say the least, interesting. On one hand, it was a great opportunity to learn about issues, meet new people, and get excited about midterm elections. On the flip side, there were definitely some crazies. My personal favorite was the Tea Party rep who dressed up in a different pre-Revolutionary War outfit each day and waved his "Don't Tread on Me" flag from the balcony.

I got the chance to hear a lot of great speakers - Lynne Cheney, Dick Cheney (right before his heart attack!), Scott Brown, Newt Gingrich, Jim DeMint, Ann Coulter (speaker? comedian? who knows), and Mitt Romney. I'm sure I'm forgetting someone. Even if I didn't agree with everything they said, it was interesting to hear the opinions of people who really know what they're talking about.

Romney was definitely my favorite. For starters, he was the only one who really touched on reforming the education system, which I thought was great. He's a great speaker and has an excellent economic record, which is more than I can say about our sitting president. Gingrich was pretty good too, and he stayed away from the divise language that some of the other speakers used. He really hit home with his comments about the importance of bipartisanship during a bad economy, and he's gotten a proven record of successfully working across party lines.

In the epic battle of Hillary vs. Machine, it is currently Hillary, 0, Machine, a bazillion. The camcorder Mac told me to buy was not compatible with the software on my Mac computer, and the new software Mac sold me was not compatible with my Mac operating system. Luckily, I used the skills of persuasion I picked up from watching my mom sweet talk her way out of so many speeding tickets to talk my was past a two hour wait at the Mac store and into some new programming. Thanks, Mom.

this is the part where you find out who you are

Not much to say about the last week, except SNOW. I used to like snow. I used to like having work and class cancelled. There are drifts taller than me outside my apartment (okay, so I am short, but that is still a lot of snow). Round 2 hit yesterday and there were 50 mph gusts. I managed to make it out to see the Duke-UNC game (go Devils) but that was about it!

Today, Sarah and I tried to go for a run, which mostly consisted of us scurrying around slush puddles and black ice. The streets have gotten cleared out a bit so we're going to work tomorrow, which I'm actually excited about.

The good thing about being stuck inside for the past week is I've managed to get caught up on a lot of homework, applications, and such. I actually sewed up some pants and cleaned the kitchen. I think you know it's a bad sign when I'm mad that someone else got to unloading the dishes before me.

I tried to work on my independent study project during Round 1, but my software wasn't up-to-date, so I had to order a new set from Mac. Of course, the post hasn't run all week, so I haven't gotten it yet. All I've been able to do is read up on the new software and play with what I have. It's kind of a frustrating waste of time.

I realized that I haven't talked about my classes yet. I'm taking three - Theories of Constitutional Interpretation, an internship seminar, and Economics and Public Policy. I've never liked econ, but I've always wanted to. I think that economics and education are the best way to solve social issues, which I suppose is another tangent. Anyway, my economics professor has given us some pretty interesting readings that are real world applications of economic theory and I'm actually really enjoying it.

Last weekend, Brittany and I ventured out in the snow to go try out a church. The pastor gave a great sermon about vision and timing - it's funny how everything seems to come back to the same message sometimes. I've had a lot of free time this week to think about how close I'm getting to graduating, and it's been neat to see how some things just seem to be falling into place.

more than fine, more than bent on getting by

So, best weekend ever, I woke up on Saturday morning, walked outside for breakfast (in yoga pants and ballet flats, no less!), and it was SNOWING! There was just something so beautiful and fresh and clean about the snow, a chance for cleansing and a new start.

We're starting to get to know the neighborhood a little better. Friday night we went and grabbed Chinese across the street and then a few of us headed up to American University. The more schools I visit and see their social life (or lack of - ha!), the more and more I like being at Alabama.

Saturday was, of course, our snow day. Brittany, who's from Arizona, and I convinced my Pittsburgh roommate to go play in the snow with us. By the time we got to the Capitol, Brittany and I were absolutely freezing and whining about getting frostbite. Julie was a trooper and ran errands, but we went home. It actually snowed again last night, so I woke up to more beautiful-ness this morning. My office runs on the Federal government's schedule, but seeing as this isn't Charlotte, we were still open today.



Sunday and Monday we stayed in and "studied", aka watched the Grammy's. I think I actually worked out both days though, so that's an accomplishment.

At work I'm mainly focusing on this upcoming event. I finalized the guest lists this week and I got to do some mockups for a dinner invitation. My favorite part was looking at resorts for a big conference that's coming up in a few years. They're in the preliminary stage, which basically means I get to look at pictures of pretty hotels.

I really love this city, being around all the people, the train, the hustle, all of it. My roommates and I spend almost every night just sitting the in kitchen, listening to music and doing homework and talking. I miss Tuscaloosa, but it's amazing how quickly we've formed a family up here.

"The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still." Exodus 14:14

a change in the weather, it just might do you good

I read Bill Gates' annual letter at work yesterday (this is what you do working for a philanthropic organization) and I'm posting a link to it if you want a quick peak. He discusses his beliefs on improving health abroad and education at home, which are both initiatives I would love to work on in the future. There's also a little shout-out to work being done in inner-city Charlotte schools towards the end.

2010 Annual Letter

I'm starting to settle into a nice routine here, which probably means my blog is about to get boring. At work, I've been helping with some event planning and sitting in on meetings. I haven't completely left the glamorous world of database management yet though, so no fears. Today I got to edit a thousand-person invite list!

Robert and I went to lunch and some of the museums on Saturday, which was a lot of fun. We started at the Natural History Museum, where the big elephant from Night At the Museum 2 is. There were about a gazillion children, but it was still really neat. I don't think I've actually seen dinosaur fossils before.

Next we went over to the art gallery. I'm kind of picky about art because I have the attention span of a 6 year old, but they have a good Impressionist collection and lots of modern art. There's a huge Jasper Johns exhibit too. We were pretty tired and didn't spend a long time there, so I'd definitely like to go back.

On Friday, I went for a jog on the Mall in the middle of an anti-abortion rally. I think that's a pretty unique D.C. experience. I wish I'd had my video camera on me; I think that would have made great footage for my independent study. My favorite part was when I ran by a group of Asian tourists smoking and posing with anti-abortion posters.

We're expecting snow this weekend! The weather has been all over the place, so I have my doubts, but we'll see!

this is the future and you are alive

One of my roommates found out that a friend of hers passed away in Haiti last week. She'd been working in an orphanage since June. While losing someone is immensely tragic, there is also something powerful in her passing. It's really a reminder that there are bigger things in life. She loved that work so much that she gave her life doing it. If you haven't thought about donating yet, I would really encourage you to check out these sites and see if you feel led to give.

www.oxfamamerica.org
www.worldvision.org
www.savethechildren.org
www.redcross.org

Anyway, off my high horse :)

I think that the reason I am in D.C. is to learn to be more domestic. On Tuesday, we went to DC Central Kitchen, which prepares more than 4,000 meals to serve to the city's homeless every day. It also offers a 12-week culinary class for homeless adults or those living on public assistance so that can develop marketable skills. My job was to peel and cut cucumbers.

Have I mentioned that I am terrified of knives? I actually cut apples with butter knives. So, they give me this machete and set me loose. The supervisor kept coming over to tell me I was going to cut my fingers off. One of the homeless people even asked me if I had been in a kitchen before. I'm not kidding.

They later figured out they'd given me a dull knife, so that sort of explained it. But at least I could brighten someone's day, right?

I started my internship on Wednesday and I've worked the past three days. Right now I'm just getting in the swing of things, so it's not terribly exciting. I've already cross-referenced enough invitation lists to last me the rest of my life. I have signed up for some interesting listservs though, so I'm getting to read a lot of interesting blogs and articles about philanthropy. We started class this week too, so by the time I get home at 8:30 or 9 I'm about ready to fall over!

We also have a new roommate, who was hopefully taken care of by maintenance this morning -- a mouse. I really don't like creepy things. My mom says she is going to send Snickers up to protect me though, so no worries.

Overall, I am really enjoying the city! I'm about to go for a run in the freezing cold and then P90X it. I'm just having horrible flashbacks to what happened last time I sat at a desk all day...

I need to get some more memory for my camcorder and move all of the wedding footage on to a back up disk so I can start on my independent study project. I've been reading some legal documents at work to start gaining an understanding about the whole public policy side of nonprofits and philanthropies. Georgetown has labs with Final Cut Pro, but I don't think it's really going to be a feasible for me to get up there enough to use it, so I'm sticking with my iMovie.

And, of course, GO COLTS!

oh, what a wonderful world...

I can't believe I've been here less than a week! Tomorrow I'm really getting things kicked off, which is a blessing and a curse after a long weekend. I've definitely had a wealth of city experiences already!

On Saturday I walked up to the Capitol and went for a run around the mall. It's pretty cool to use the Washington Monument, WWII memorial, and Lincoln Memorial as points of reference on your workout. In the afternoon I managed to get lost on the Metro on my way out to Robert's, but it ended up in a pretty amazing experience. It's funny how God sends strangers into your life when you really need them.

I watched the early game at Robert's and then headed back to my place to see the Colts. Needless to say, I am quite excited about the AFC Championship next weekend! Sunday was rainy, so I didn't venture out to do much other than grocery shopping. My roommates and I have also converted the study room into a workout room, and we're doing P90X together this semester. Between that and running, my body hates me.

Today was another beautiful day. I went out the Mall again and then walked up to Union Station with one of my roommates. We had a potluck with the other students and then some people came over to watch a movie. We ended up staying in the kitchen and debating everything from foreign policy to education reform - certainly not a typical night in Tuscaloosa, haha.

I start my internship and classes this week, which I am really looking forward to! After living on cereal and peanut butter and waffles for the first few days, I've finally started cooking some real food. The sight of me being domestic is probably very entertaining - my roommates have to keep giving pointers on things like how to tell if water is boiling. Yes, I'm that bad.

bright lights, big city

Being is D.C. is pretty surreal. That's about the only word I can find for it. Today I rode the Metro around in business clothes and went to an office building and I felt like I was living someone else's life. I guess I haven't been here very long, but I don't know when this is going to feel real.

I moved in at 10 Wednesday morning and I've been at different orientations, tours, and meetings since then. My apartment is in a townhouse right of Pennsylvania Avenue. There are seven of us in a three bedroom, and guess who got the top bunk?? Robert couldn't believe what a great location we have; we can see the Capitol Building from our back porch and we're just a few blocks from the Mall and the Metro.

I managed to be the first student locked out of my apartment today (surprise, surprise) while I was on my way to meet with my internship supervisor. Evidently they told us that some of the keys to our front door didn't work, but I hadn't tried mine yet and, of course, it did not occur to me that it might not work. Oops...

I'm starting my internship with the Philanthropy Roundtable/Alliance for Charitable Reform next Wednesday. I'll work on everything from event support to media relations. It's going to give me a great chance to learn about public policy for my independent study and I'm going to get a lot of hands-on experience.

Tomorrow we have more tours, which promises to make me even more exhausted than I already am! This weekend we're going to try to get know the city a little more and I might ride over to Robert's to watch some of the playoff games - Go Colts!

baby, get ready

I'm still hanging out in Charlotte for a few more days before I move to D.C., but I unofficially started my independent study project today! For those of you who don't know, I'm completing an independent study about public policy and video production while I'm in Washington. I'll be researching public policy and making a short documentary about what I've learned and my experience in D.C.

A family friend got married today and decided to set me free with my camcorder - my first foray into any video work other than filming our horses when I was thirteen. I used a tripod for the ceremony, and once I got the hang of screwing and unscrewing pieces so I could swing the camera about it wasn't too difficult. Capturing parts of the reception was a bit more challenging. I had to worry about people jumping in front of me (which they often did), picking up background audio, lighting, etc. My next challenge will be editing the video, which I've never done before. Jennifer has a bit of an idea what she's doing, so I'll definitely be calling her a lot for help with this video and my independent study project.

I'm heading up to D.C. on Tuesday, and as you can probably guess, I haven't started packing! All of my books have arrived and I've gotten my work clothes dry cleaned, but that's about all I've done to get ready. The next two days will be pretty crazy, but I'm getting excited, albeit a bit nervous, about heading off on this adventure!

I'll be living in an apartment in the Capitol Hill area, so if you would like my address (hint, hint, I love getting letters) or to find me on Skype (which I also love), just shoot me an e-mail and I'll get the information to you!