Am I done yet?

Well, to be frank, this week sucked.  Work has been really stressful and crazy.  This is one of the busiest weeks of the year for tourism in DC, since it is Easter week, and the Capitol was so packed.  I gave one tour, which turned out to be a nightmare since part of the group was late, and it was the last tour of the day so everything was closing up.  People are so rude.  They were late then complained that they didn't get to see enough.  I'm not sure what people's expectations are, but I think the Capitol is really cool!  I hate feeling like I let anyone down, but I think these people just had a bad attitude, and it wasn't me.  I guess the crowds are getting to everyone.  There were a lot of people gone from the office this week, too, so I was doing a lot.  It was nice to have more responsibility and things to do, but also not so fun since I barely had time to take a breath or eat.  I was also told I was going to be attending the Easter Egg Roll at the White House on Monday, but then a few days later learned that I couldn't go as an intern.  That was a huge heartbreak.  I mean, I never in a million years thought I would get to go to something like that so I was seriously ecstatic when I found out.  Then after being so emotionally drained all week and looking forward to that to keep me going, finding out I wouldn't be able to go was really tough.  Thank goodness I had Friday off, or I might have really gone crazy!

Thursday for theater class, we went to see Taming of the Shrew by Synetic Theater, but it wasn't typical Shakespeare at all.  It was silent!  There was music, but no words.  It was also supposed to be a modern hip hop version set in a very smutty Hollywood-type city.  It was bizarre, kind of crude, and I did not like it at all.  I don't think anyone in the house did.  It wasn't a great way to end my week or a good play to end this theater class on.

I came home on Thursday to find the cutest popcorn tin from my Aunt Jean.  I definitely needed a pick-me-up so that was just perfect!  She spoiled me too much when she was here, so I can't believe she sent me this popcorn, too!

Popcorn tin from Aunt Jean

Friday I decided to go to the Smithsonian National Zoo.  I made the mistake of waiting to eat lunch until I got there.  The zoo was crazy busy, and I had to wait probably almost 30 minutes in line to get food.  I almost felt awful and faint, because I had to wait so long.  It is not fun to feel that way when you are somewhere by yourself.  Moments of weakness like that and being surrounded by so many families at a place like the zoo reminds me of how much better it is to do things with other people instead of alone.  It is the times like those when I get a twinge of homesickness again and can't wait to just be with the people I love even doing the little, mundane things.  In general, it was hard to walk anywhere without a person or a stroller in your way as it was so busy there.  The zoo itself was cool though.  Its very big, and the big draw is the Giant Panda habitat.  I had never seen a panda before and seeing one up close was neat.  I also liked the meerkats - really cute.  There were some peacocks, which are just breathtaking, as well.  It is a lot of walking though so I was beat when I finished.

Panda!

Peacock

Flamingos

Meerkat

Saturday, I was kind of at a loss as to what to do with myself, so I decided to check out the Pentagon City Mall.  It was a pretty nice mall.  I just did a lot of looking mostly, but I did finally find myself a graduation dress at Forever 21.  I had been looking for a few weeks but didn't see anything that really hit me.  I love what I got.  I will be able to wear it to work and for other nice occasions, too.  The best part is that its bright purple!  Go Tigers!  I also bought myself a Cherry Blossom Festival shirt at Union Station on my way home.  That night there were fireworks down at the SW waterfront for the Cherry Blossom Festival, so I gathered up some of the roommates and off we went.  It was a nice show, but then the metro was crazy for a while with the huge crowd leaving the area.  We decided to try to find a restaurant or coffee shop to hang out at until the rush died down, but that was ultimately a failure so we just walked around for a good bit.

Red fireworks

Tons of gold fireworks during the finale

Today I was pretty bored and again didn't know what to do with myself.  I did my fairly regular Sunday tradition of going to Eastern Market for my favorite crepe and to look around.  I ended up just doing a work out video and watching some movies on my computer after that.  I'm really getting to the point where I'm just ready to go home.  Other than the few things I have planned for next weekend and when my parents are here to move me out the weekend after that, I'm done with everything I wanted to do and see here.  Living with 14 other people in this tiny house is wearing on a person, this week at work was crazy, and I'm done with all of my schoolwork, so I'm counting down the days.  I'm excited to get back to SC soon and be with my family and friends.  I swear this experience has made me appreciate the South so much more.  I'm craving some good BBQ and summer time fun.  It is also scary though as going home approaches since I literally have no plans after graduation day on May 11.  This has to be the first time in my life that has ever happened, and to a planner like me, that is pretty inconceivable in my mind.  As much as I'd like to relax and travel before I land a job, like everyone is telling me to, there is no way I can just sit around and not be stressing until I find something.  I want to start my life, and I want it to be the right thing, not just the available thing.  I can't rest until I find it, but the job search has been pretty sparse so far.

With the semester drawing to a close, some of you may be wondering what this blog will be afterwards.  Maybe you're not...but I guess I'm trying to answer myself on that question right now.  I still want to keep it up, though I likely won't have as many sightseeing adventures to document.  I'll probably do some general life update posts infrequently when something big happens or I take a trip.  I definitely want to write more about PR and social media related topics.  I've always wanted to since I started it, but I let the DC posts take priority for the time being.  Maybe in my unemployment I'll finally have time to be as crafty as you would think I am from looking at my Pinterest boards and post about that!  And I'll put it in writing right now so I stick to it - I want to try a diet when I get home, and I may write about how that goes.  We'll see!

Sorry for the mildly depressing post, but no worries!  I'm bringing out my favorite Coldplay and James Morrison tunes, which always feel so right and have gotten me through a lot.  I'm hoping the next two weeks are much better than this one, and I'll be home before I know it.

Official pic with Congressman Clyburn

Jake Came to Visit! Woo Hoo!

Last week at work was fairly uninteresting other than a few sightings of some famous representatives.  I walked by Barney Frank in the hallway and saw Dennis Kucinich get in an elevator!  I also got to work the door for an event the boss was having and caught a glimpse of Al Green, Whip Steny Hoyer, and others walk in to that.

Thursday for theater class, we went to see "New Jerusalem: The Interrogation of Baruch de Spinoza" at Theater J.  It was about the Dutch Jewish philosopher, Spinoza, and his excommunication from the Jewish community for his philosophies about religion and God.  It was pretty interesting.  It really took me back to my philosophy class last semester.  Unfortunately I had a headache so these deep world concerns were a little much for me at the time.

Finally Friday came, and I got off of work for the day.  I went to go meet Jake at the airport and brought him back to the house to drop off his suitcase.  We then headed over to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing for a tour.  You get to learn a lot about how the money is printed and inspected each step of the way before it goes into circulation.  You also learn a lot about the different security features of the bills and how they are trying to prevent against counterfeiting.  There are a lot of different layers of ink printed on the bills to make them so colorful and safe.  It is incredible how much money you get to see in big piles right before your eyes. 

Jake with $1,000,000 in $10 bills

Afterward we walked around the Tidal Basin area where the Jefferson, George Mason, FDR, and MLK Jr. memorials are.  None of the cherry blossoms out there were blooming yet, but it was a gorgeous day out besides being a bit windy.  Eventually we walked back towards the mall and decided to go in the Natural History Museum.  We did the dinosaurs, mammals, and ocean exhibits.  We got through part of the geology and gemstones exhibit, then we had to leave as they were closing.  We ate at We the Pizza for dinner, which was delicious as always but pretty crowded and hot.

Saturday we headed to Eastern Market to get pancakes at the Market Brunch I have heard so much about but never had a chance to get.  We ended up having to wait about 45 minutes to get them.  I was expecting a wait, but that's a bit crazy.  They were just as great as they were hyped up to be though I'm not sure I'd want to wait that long for pancakes again.  We walked around the market for a bit, then headed to the National Aquarium.  The aquarium had some cool fish, tree frogs, an octopus, and an albino alligator, but we are definitely spoiled at home with the Georgia Aquarium being as big and wonderful as it is.  This didn't compare at all, but it was only $10!

Blue dotted fish

Awesome polka dot stingray

Baby Sea Turtle

Blue Tree Frogs

Then we went to the American History Museum and checked out some of the exhibits.  We weren't that impressed with it.  I don't think the exhibits we went to was stuff we were really that interested in, and we both felt like for as big of a museum as it is, there wasn't enough in it and the displays were kind of odd.  We didn't spend a lot of time there.  After that we walked down to Chinatown to see what we could eat for a snack, as the pancakes weren't holding us until dinner.  We got some shakes at Fuddrucker's and walked through the Presidents section at the National Portrait Gallery before heading home.  For dinner, we went down to Barracks Row with my roommate and her friend and got some Mexican.

Of course we went back to Eastern Market on Sunday for my favorite crepes!  I also got some awesome mini donuts with powdered sugar from the cart next to the crepes, which tasted a lot like funnel cake or beignets.  I also broke down and finally bought a painting from a booth (Turbopolis) I had looked at a couple times.  I think it will be a great souvenir from the trip for myself.

My Painting

We decided to go back to the Natural History Museum to go to an IMAX movie, as the tickets were pretty reasonable at only $9.  We saw Tornado Alley 3D.  We liked it, but we would have liked to see more shots of tornadoes and less of the team driving around trying to find them.  We also finished up the geology/gemstone part we didn't get to finish on Friday and made a stop at the gift store for some secret things for people we love!  We happened to see part of a St. Patrick's day parade on the mall when we left.  We toured the National Archives and saw the Constitution, Declaration, and Bill of Rights.  We tried to go about 3 or 4 different places for dinner that night which were all closed, as it was Sunday.  I'm always surprised with that, since DC is such a big/tourist city.  It seems odd that so many places are closed.  We eventually just decided to try an Italian place we walked by on Barracks Row.  It was a nice romantic meal and a great choice.

I was off again on Monday, but we went by my office to print Jake's boarding pass and so I could give him a tour of the U.S. Capitol.  I hadn't given one before so there were a few glitches with getting different places and passes for him, but it was good practice.  I wasn't able to take him on the House floor, which my office thought I could do, as we didn't have a staff member with us.  Unfortunately we were a bit tight on time too, so we couldn't really have a staffer meet us over there.  That was a little disappointing, but we did go on the Speaker's Balcony, in the gallery, rotunda, and everywhere else.  Next time I will know to have someone from my office meet me so I can take people on the floor, which is a really great privilege of going on a staff-led tour.

At the Reflection Pond with Capitol in back

Jake on the Speaker's Balcony

On the Speaker's Balcony

Then we went back to the Natural History Museum again (3rd time) for another IMAX movie.  This time the tickets were only $6 each.  Since we had gone to the one on Saturday, we got a discount, which is why we came back.  We went to Coral Reef Adventure, and this one had a lot more visually stunning scenes so we liked it better than the other one.  I think it is pretty clear that we love the Natural History Muesum!  There is really a lot of cool stuff in it.  I enjoyed it a lot more with Jake then when I went on my own.  We stopped at California Tortilla for lunch, a new restuarant for both of us.  It was a lot like Moe's or Chipotle, and we love Mexican/Tex-Mex so it was great.  Finally, we went to the Crime and Punishment Museum, also new for both of us.  We spent a little over 3.5 hours there and we still weren't done, but we had to leave so Jake could get to the airport.  There was a LOT of info and a lot of reading.  It was very interesting.  I hadn't heard such great things about it so I was pleasantly surprised by how good it was.  I think I may have liked it better than the Spy Museum, and it was definitely worth the money.  There were sections on famous medieval torture, pirates, mobsters, robbers, serial killers, and the like.  Then the second part of the museum was a "CSI Experience" where you had to solve a crime.  There were lots of hands-on activities like quizzes and simulators.  We cracked open a safe, drove cop cars through crazy traffic, and had to shoot down a gunman in a home invasion.  I got him in the head on the first shot!  I had no idea I would be so natural with a fake gun!  I would definitely recommend this museum, maybe not to kids due to some of the gruesome nature, but to any teen or adult.  I didn't realize crime and punishment could be so fascinating, and I'm glad Jake picked this one, as I probably wouldn't have gone otherwise.

Crime and Punishment Museum

Ted Bundy's Car

Learning how to crack a safe

Cop Car Simulator

Firearms Training Simulator

Needless to say, we did A LOT!  It was a whirlwind of a 4-day weekend, and we definitely got some exercise in with all the walking we did.  We had lots of fun.  Some of the things I had done before, but we did different parts of them or they were just more fun to do with Jake. We also did some things new to both of us.  It definitely went by too fast and was bittersweet in that it made me a bit homesick again when he left.  I'm at a weird point now, because I only have a couple things left on my to-do list.  I don't have as much to look forward to as in the beginning, which makes me want to go home more.  I also just realized how much more fun it is to do these sightseeing activities with someone else, especially my family and Jake.  I've pretty much been doing everything on my own here, just because all of my roommates do their own thing and it is easier that way.  So I'm definitely looking forward to seeing my aunt and cousin this weekend and doing some things with my parents on move-out weekend.  It is probably a good thing I'm almost out of sightseeing to do though, as I need to get to work on my research paper for the political science class as well as my final project for theater class.  Plus, DC is getting crazy with tourists since it is prime spring break time and soon to be cherry blossom time so I'm glad I did a bunch of sightseeing early on in the semester.

Today I gave a tour of the Capitol to the Mayor of Orangeburg, his wife, and some of his staff.  It was a lot of fun, and I'm glad to be done with one (two if you count the less official tour I gave Jake) so I feel more comfortable giving them.  That was a good way to start off my work week!  Happy Saint Patrick's Day, and I'll catch you up after!

Halfway There Already!

Wow.  This weekend it really hit me.  I'm about halfway through my time in DC.  There are exactly two months left.  It has gone pretty fast, but I got hit with some homesickness this week because it has been so long.  It didn't help that I had a pretty stressful week and didn't get a chance to talk to my mom for about 5 days, which is probably the longest we've ever gone without talking.  This week was pretty crazy with ups and downs, and I think the stress of this whole situation is finally getting to me a bit.  I cannot wait until the two weekends in March when I will have visitors.  I think that will definitely lift my spirits again.  I'm just trying to stay positive and enjoy every moment.

On a weird side note, I really miss driving my car and singing along to my music, too.  I just realized I really haven't been listening to any music here since I usually do that when in the car or working out.  It is so weird!  I need my music to relax.

A highlight of my work week was that I actually met Clyburn for the first time.  I've seen him around before but never had the chance to officially introduce myself so that was good.  I've been working in the Capitol office more lately so hopefully I will get more interaction with him and the communications director.  I hope to get some PR work soon and make the most of the rest of my time here at work getting some good experience.

A peek inside of our Capitol office

On Wednesday, I got to judge the "We The People" competition at Chavez Prep Middle School here in DC.  The students had to prepare little speeches on different aspects of government like "why is voting important?" and "what would happen if there was no civic participation in government?"  The speech and debate nerd inside of me was so excited to help these kids.  It was a neat little excursion from work.

I also (sort of) went to a committee hearing this week that ended up being big news.  It was the Oversight and Government Reform committee's hearing on "Religious Freedom" or "Obama and Separation of Church and State," but it ended up being more of a hearing on the whole contraception issue that has been going on lately.  It was on the news a lot because there were no women on the panel, which was pretty crazy since it was a discussion about contraception.  It was pretty fiery in the beginning with the Democrats and Republicans going at it about who is credible to be a witness at a hearing and why some people didn't qualify that the Dems submitted.  I didn't get there in time to actually sit in the committee room and a lot of the seats were reserved anyway, so I watched it on a TV in an overflow room.  I wish I had gotten there earlier and I maybe could have gotten a seat and been on national news!  I had no idea the hearing was going to be such a big deal.

On Saturday, I went shopping with my roommate in Friendship Heights.  It is a really nice, ritzy area.  It was the first time I was in a Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale's, or Anthropologie.  I got some cute shirts at Nordstrom Rack and got some good exercise in with all the walking.  It was a really nice day out, and it was fun just to do some looking and window shopping.

Sunday was another museum day!  I went to the National Museum of the American Indian.  I had heard the Mitsitam Cafe there was a great place to eat from a few people so I made sure to go at lunchtime.  I had an "Indian Taco" which was chili, pinto beans, diced tomatoes, cheese, and lettuce on fry bread.  It was very good, but a bit pricey.  Then I toured the museum.  This wasn't a museum that was top on my list of things to do, but I must say all of the smithsonians are just so well done.  The design of the building and all of the displays is really neat to admire, even if you're not that interested in the content.  The building itself is kind of wavy on the outside, and the displays are shaped similarly.  Afterwards, I decided to go through the United States Botanic Garden and Conservatory since it was right next door.  Obviously since it is winter, the garden wasn't too much to see, but I will definitely have to go back in the spring.  The conservatory was really neat.  They had a big display of different kinds of orchids.  I got some cool pictures there.

National Museum of the American Indian

Indian dress

U.S. Conservatory

Beautiful white orchid!

Purple orchid

Since all federal buildings are closed on President's Day, this was a three day weekend for me, and I had an extra day to explore.  It was nice, and I didn't feel bad that I just stayed in all today working on some schoolwork, playing my uke, and catching up on my TV shows.