Elevator, POTUS Call, and Drag Queens...

So much has happened since I last wrote on here, so this is going to be a quick overview with tons of pictures. This seems to be a common theme. A little over two weeks ago, we were going to hear one of our class briefings at AIPAC, a Pro-Israel lobbyist group. This was a briefing was particularly looking forward to hearing. Usually the speakers come to the Barlow Center, but this time we had to go to their building. We had a rough morning getting there. We were running late and I got caught in the Metro door, which was not to the amusement of all the people rushing to work. To them I was just a slowdown in their early commute. When we got off the metro we thought we only had 3 blocks to the building and would have plenty of time. However, the metro was running slower than normal and it was 5 blocks away. Needless to say we ended up running 3 of them in our heels. Always an adventure. By the time we got to the AIPAC building we were hot and sweaty. Basically disgusting. We had to get into an elevator to get up to the meeting room, so about 14 of us got into an elevator that would supposedly hold 21 people. False. Once we are all in there nice and tight, the elevator completely shuts down. Of course. So we are on the elevator for about an hour. At one point the firefighters were going to pull us up through the roof and into the elevator shaft to get out. However, they were unable to open the top. Instead, we were stuck in the hot steamy elevator for an extra fifteen minutes while they wedge the door open. As one of my friends so eloquently said, "We were stuck in there with people I would rather shoot myself in the leg than be stuck with." Personally, I would have to second that. If I can post one of the videos I think you can guess who I wanted to kill. Had it been Lord of the Flies he would have been the first one to go...

Last Tuesday at work, we got an email from the Chief of Staff telling us about an emergency meeting that was mandatory for all staff members in 5 minutes. She said to drop everything and run. At first I didn't think I was going to be able to attend because my supervisor told me to man all the phones and tell anyone who called they were at a meeting. I was kinda ticked off about this because I saw all the other interns from my floor heading down to the meeting room. I figured it was going to be some speech to rally the troops for the final week of the campaign and I wanted to be there. My supervisor was waiting to make sure everyone had evacuated our floor, which I found odd. Then turned to me and was like ok, go now! In shock I started booking it down the hall. On our way to the room he told me the First Lady was there, which obviously made me even more excited. I got into the room where about 200 other employees were all waiting to see what was going to happen. No one had any idea what was going on. I started talking to one of my friends and told her what I had heard. We figured they were getting us all out of the building to have it swept and make sure everything was safe. We didn't even think we were going to see anything exciting. After about 30 minutes of waiting the Chief of Staff and the Chairman walk in. The Chief of Staff thanked everyone for all the hard work they have done and gave the speech to rally the troops, as expected. It was really inspiring and unifying to be a part of something so big. It really made me realize how lucky I am to have witnessed so much these past few months. Then she started making comments about stalling and waiting for someone to walk in the door. I thought I was really cool, because I knew the secret about who was coming, but was I ever wrong. Suddenly cheers erupted from the front of the room. I was about halfway back, and because I am so vertically challenged, I couldn't really see much. If I maneuvered myself just right I could see a little bit between peoples heads. All the sudden I saw the grey hair and knew then and there that it was George. The freaking President of the United States was about 25 feet away from me! He started talking about how amazing the Chairman is and the RNC as a whole. He thanked us for all the hard work we do to help put Republican leaders in office throughout the country. He seemed very relaxed and was actually very funny. Overall, everything just made me realize that he is so real. I felt very empathetic towards him and everything he experienced in his presidency. Here is a link to an article featured in the Wahsington Post the following day... http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/28/AR2008102801737.html

That night we went to Dupont Circle, which I have also heard referenced as the Fruit Loop. I'll let you figure that one out. Every Tuesday before Halloween there is the High Heel race, which is drag queens racing down the street. Obviously we couldn't pass up this opportunity. It was by far one of the most entertaining things I've seen here. The streets were packed. I missed most of the race, mostly because I couldn't see. Once again I have my height to thank. But we were able to mingle with the drag queens afterwards. At one point the crowd was so tight that I literally felt like my lungs were going to collapse. There was not one part of your body that wasn't pressed up against another person. Basically a very bonding experience for everyone in attendance. Everyone was completely wasted and supplied endless amounts of entertainment.

Yesterday was the perfect fall day. It was about 70 degrees and we knew we had to take advantage of this beautiful weather. This week had been pretty freezing so we wanted to get outdoors and do something fun. We ended up renting bikes for super cheap and riding along the Potomic and across into Virginia. There were tons of people out on the path running and biking. Dad, you would have been in love with this trail. All along the path is a canopy of trees that are bright yellow and bright red all along the edge of the river. We rode down to the Jefferson memorial and looped back to the National Mall where the rest of the monuments were. About every five minutes I would freak out and have to tell everyone how much I loved my life. It was truly the perfect day. So relaxed and enjoyable. I am in love with autumn. I can't even describe how beautiful everything was. Afterwards we rented kayaks for an hour and paddled around the Potomic, which was also incredible. It was about 4 o'clock so the lighting was perfect, the sun was starting to get lower and was golden and beautiful. It reflected off the water perfectly. We went up the river to the upper part of Georgetown. It is basically a hill that Georgetown University is on top of. So, there was a sea of colored trees with amazing old, Harry Potter looking buildings on top of the Hill. It almost felt like it could have been colonial times or something. It was seriously one of those moments where you try to remember as much as possible to relive on your bad days. I was in heaven. We wrapped up our perfect day with a perfect night. We went to see the band, Bishop Allen, play at Black Cat. It was an awesome show and they did amazing.

On Second Thought...

Upon looking at those NY videos again, there really is no stark difference unless you actually experienced it I guess. The first one we don't really know what we were getting ourselves into and were wanting sleep. The second we no longer wanted sleep, we needed sleep and were in some horrible state of delirium. Also, pictures from the Cheney's BBQ...

In front of the VP Residence...
Mrs. Cheney...
Jackson...

Videos From New York...

Please notice the stark contrast...the one on the left is at 3:30am Saturday morning....the one on the right is 3:30am Sunday morning.


Also, we've always wanted to dance on the metro but people get annoyed when you are obnoxious. Needless to say, Ashley took the opportunity of the empty metro to perform a little number....

New York, New York

The night before our New York trip, we decided to go kayaking on the Potomic. However once we got there it was closed, so we just hung out and watched the sun set. So pretty.

We left at 2:30 am to catch our 3:30 bus in Chinatown. And yes, Chinatown is a sketchy as it sounds. Especially at that time of night. We didn't know exactly where we were going and had to ask for directions, but because everyone was drunk they didn't have the slightest clue where certain streets were either. One time, we literally crossed a street back and forth 4 times because each set of people told us a different direction. Good times...Here is us in the sketchy alley in which I saw 4 rats cross before we walked into it....
We all piled on the bus ready for our little adventure...and ready to crash for the night. Around 6:30am, we wake up to find the bus pulling off the side of the road. "Ladies and Gentleman, the bus is broken." Words of Satan. Needless to say our 4 hour ride quicly turned into 6 hours from hell. However, not for some. We fell asleep with everyone upright in their own seats, and awoke to find this...
Obviously Caleb and Paige had a little different experience than the rest of us...The next bus to come and rescue us was unfortunately smaller than the first, so we offered to pile three people in to two seats. As you may have drawn from our expressions, it was a joyous time...
Celebrating once we finally made it to NYC...

Saturday was a whirlwind...we saw Ground Zero, Wall Street, Lady Liberty, Time Square, Central Park, and some other places. I loved it all. It was kind of surreal having never been to NY and then being there for just one day. But overall, I loved it. I kind of think it would be fun to live there for a few months. I think it would definitely wear on you over time, but maybe its worth a shot.





Attractive I know...







This is ground zero, the previous two pictures are of the church directly across the street that somehow survived. It was really weird to be here. Right now the grounds look like a big construction sight, which it is. It's hard to imagine everything that happened here.
This pictures is basically sin and hell...you can really tell how tired we all are. Just to make this clear. We hadn't really slept since Thursday night. We had a few very short naps, cat naps if you will, Friday...a few people slept an hour or two Friday night and then we got fake sleep on the bus.
Time Square...
This was at my birthday dinner...so exhausted they needed chin rests...bless their hearts.
Before heading home, we walked down between the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan Bridge...also gorgeous.
To wrap things up in NYC, an ABBA dance party via synced ipods.
There is your short but sweet photographic journey through my NYC trip. Enjoy.

Disclaimer

Also, I just felt this needed a disclaimer that basically all the pictures on here are of me looking good, real good.

Long Time Coming....

Many, many things have happened since I last wrote on here. So unfortunately I won't have many superb stories for you, but rather a brief overview of everything that's been going on. I have been crazy busy, and still loving every second of it. Two weekends ago we went to Gettysburg--which Kristen and I have now renamed Ghettosburg, because I always want to add an "h" in the word. It was beautiful, the leaves were finally starting to change. However, basically all we got was a bus tour of the battlegrounds. We got out once to see a cannon, another to climb approximately 100,008 stairs to some overlook, and finally we were let loose on Little Round Top. This last one was actually really cool, a lot happened around this area and you could see for miles. The other two stops were pathetic and the rest of the tour consisted of me sleeping on the bus. Obviously it was a very educational experience for me. Here are some photos from the trip.

The aforementioned cannon....
Practicing some basic fighting moves atop the lookout tower....
After Ghettosburg, we made a quick stop at Harper's Ferry. This is some town were some raid happened during the Civil War involving John Brown. The details are a little sketchy seeing as I was still asleep at the point of the explanation....However I loved this place. This is the place. The town is situated between the Potomic and the Shenandoah, and is coincidentally in West Viriginia--holla Connie and the One and Only. If only I had known at the time. There is a sweet old church and tons of little old houses built all over the side of this mountain. There are also old ruins from another church that I climbed up on, the view was amazing, awe inspiring if you will. And I think you will.
Now for the exciting part. Last Thursday I got to work at Vice President Cheney's house. It was a bbq for his staffers that featured batton/fire twirling Majorettes and the Navy Band. First I had to check people in, so I was down at the main gate with the secret service agents. I was adorned with an earpiece and all. Too legit. Then we got to go up on his back lawn to join the guests and watch the performance. I was standing there watching, only to notice I was about 20 feet from Dick himself. All I could think about was how he shot his friend in the face. I know I should probably be thinking more mature and respectful things, seeing as he is the veep and all. But no. I was closer to him than his Secret Service Agents and I could have easily outrun them. However when we asked them what they would do if we charged Dick in an agressive manner, they proceeded to explain that they would shoot us dead. Anways, I got a picture with Mrs. Cheney, who was really nice. We were going to go meet VP Cheney but he ran inside to meet and greet the Majorettes. Who really cares about them anyways? Please. Then we went into the annex/office area to get our purses, only to find Jackson, the Cheney's dog. Needless to say I got a picture with him also. Unfortunately you will have to take my word on this entire story because the other intern I was with has all the pictures. Hopefully I can get them shortly to legitimize this experience.


A little shout out to my fam who has been here this last weekend...thanks for coming to see me. It meant a lot and I had a ton of fun re-touring the city with you guys! Love you all!

Also, very quickly, I just feel that my two best purchases thus far need to be mentioned...or maybe just shown. Exhibit 1a. My onepiece pajamas. Quite possibly the most comfortable thing I have every slept in. 2b. My Lincoln head that has come in handy to pick up trash, keys, food, books, etc. Also biting people. Just overall great purchases.
Also, here are pictures from when we attempted to go see the final House vote on the bailout...unfortunately we missed it by an hour or so. We were told the wrong time. Very dissapointing. It has been so exciting to be here during all this though. I thought I was just going to be here for elections, but no, I get to see the world fall apart first hand also. So much more than I signed up for.

Brigham Young in the Statuary Hall...blurry, sorry.
Henry Paulson and George W....

The love you gave me, nothing else can save me S.O.S...

So things have been crazy busy. Working 9-5 is a rude awakening...welcome to the rest of your life! We all work slave labor jobs all day and then at night try to find the energy to do things...some days more difficult than others. This weekend was fun. Friday we had class, which is sin and hell basically. The speakers are pretty good for the most part, but I just want to be out in the city in my free time. Friday afternoon we went down to Embassy Row and Dupont Circle. This was amazing! At Dupont Circle a few people stopped to get food, which happened to be across the street from a Scientologist Church that was offering free personality testing. Needless to say Ashley and I went to go check it out. We got a tour of the church and watched a few videos in the "Cleansing and Purification Room." While we got a tour of the other room, the other tourists there bailed. So we let loose on our questions. Basically the guy couldn't answer any of our questions. We'd ask about their views on a diety, or worship, or pre-earth life, or what they think happens after death. He would waiver in his answers, and frequently used the line, "I could tell you but it's really complicated and you wouldn't understand." I just wanted to say listen buddy, I could blow your mind with things I could tell you about my religion. Apparantly there are 8 dynamics or stages you have to go achieve, the last being "infinity" which is where you come to understand the creator. He hasn't reached that level yet so he really doesn't know anything about God, or so he said. Eventually we went to go walk past all the Embassy's of every country you can imagine. They are all beautiful European looking buildings. Our final destination was the Islamic Center. You get to go into a mosque but you have to take off your shoes and women have to wear head scarves. Obviously we had an encounter with a weirdy inside who kept harassing us wondering if we wanted a Muslim husband, because all he is looking for is red blood. He also told us we would be set for life and wouldn't have to deal with "hell fire and damnation" if we married a Muslim because we could ask him whatever questions we had and go to classes with all the other Muslim women. But the inside of the mosque was beautiful. They had the rugs covering the floor and people chilling all around the floor reading the Koran and stuff. They even let us stay for prayer, they pulled up chairs for us to watch. This was so cool to actually observe in person. We were the only women in the building. There were two rows of men lined straight, shoulder to shoulder across the entire building. There was a sort of arch, cutout in the wall that was decorated with colorful tiles that the man leading the prayer stood in. We got to watch for about 15 minutes while the one man recited the prayer and then the others followed. They would kneel then press their foreheads to the floor, then stand back up and do it over and over again. I don't know any of the symbolism behind any of the movements, but it was amazing to notice small things they all did that you don't notice on movies that show the Muslim prayers. It was also really cool to see men of all different races, ages, and class all coming at this time to participate in worship. I loved being exposed to something different than anything I had before. Tonight we went to Arlington National Cemetary. It is beautiful there! We saw the Kennedy's grave sights, which apparantly Dave Chappel was at fifteen minutes before us. We were also able to watch the changing of the guards at the Grave of the Unkown Soldier. It's unbelievable to see so many grave stones. To some extent its good to see because it helps you to understand the magnitude of the effects of past wars. However, there are so many that you become numb and can't seem to grasp that they were all individuals and had families and actual lives. It just made me extremely grateful for all the people who fought to defend our country and those that are continuing to do so today. I felt patriotic. So overall, I have seen so many amazing things this weekend. I feel like each day is a new little adventure. I LOVE IT!