DC Living

Today marks one month since I moved to DC for the summer and I am happy to report that my job is going well and the city is a blast. I am very appreciative of public transportation as the gas prices keep rising. Other people are too I think because the metro keeps getting more and more crowded - I watched 3 trains go by before I managed to sneak on to one this morning to get to work.

I live in a great location so the commute isn't bad. I walk about a mile to the metro station (or take the bus if I'm late - which actually doesn't happen very often, surprisingly enough) and then ride the Red Line to Union Station and walk a few more blocks to get to work. I'm actually on Capitol Hill and work just about 10 blocks from the Capitol. I spend most days staring at a computer screen, but have gotten out to lobby twice. So far I've been working a lot with the press (we had two press conferences this month!) and also on creating a record of how Senators have voted on torture-related issues. That should be up on the website in the next couple of days (www.nrcatactionfund.org). I get to do fun public policy things like that because that's campaign work which comes from a separate pool of funding (not tax deductible) and we don't have enough to pay any other member of the staff to do it :) It's a small office so we're always busy which can get hectic, but keeps things exciting.

As for when I'm not at work, I have had a great time getting out and seeing the city. There's always something going on. I took a sight-seeing tour by bus when I first arrived and visited the National Cathedral, the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, the WWII Memorial and the Korean and Vietnam Memorials. I have also been to the National Gallery, the American Indian Museum, the International Spy Museum and the Newseum (a museum about the press). My favorite thing in any of the museums by far was the photo display in the Newseum of every Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph - they were breathtaking.

My aunt and uncle (who I live with) have been very hospitable - sending me to the ballet and the military tattoo (where the navy comes and does their fancy marching and gun-twirling) at the Iwo Jima memorial among other places. Living with 7 dogs and a cat is a little different than two cats (that's right, there are 7: one German Shepard, one St. Bernard, two labs, a bulldog, a pomeranian, and one other one that howls). I have now successfully made one trip from my room on the 3rd floor out the door on the first floor without causing a bark or a howl (once one starts, they all do!) so I am hopeful that this will happen with slightly more frequency in the coming month. On the plus side, I never need to announce my own presence when entering the house because the dogs take care this for me.

I've had a few visitors too which has been nice. Ramya and Rani came out for her Odyssey of the Mind National Competition and I joined the group of elementary schoolers and parents on a night tour of the city which was beautiful. It was quite the journey given the shoes I was wearing (wedges are supposed to be much more comfortable than that!) Amy's mom Kathy has also been out to visit for National History Day and we enjoyed a nice meal together as well - and she convinced me to buy a great new dress! And while Katharina was in town, we visited Alexandria and enjoyed a Red Cross Festival that was going on.

One month to go!