Afternoon,

A week from today, I turn 21 + 1. Hard to get excited about turning 22, it just ain't that bigguva deal. I don't get anymore sweet perks, and it symbolizes my slow progression into the "real world," which is somewhat dreadful due to the fact that I still lack a concrete plan.

However, rather than viewing this birthday as a dreary marker of aging, I will choose to see it as a celebration of the past year of my life. I accomplished quite a bit during my 21st year. I successfully completed my term as Fraternity President, made Dean's List, worked at the DNC in Washington, D.C., and had a great time as a camp counselor for one of the best outdoor camps in Texas. All these triumphs made me grow a lot as a person, and I will celebrate that for sure come this weekend. At the same time, I hope to make new goals for this next year. 21 was great, but there's no reason that 22 can't be even better. It's my senior year of college, so I've got to set the bar pretty high. No doubt, a lot of shit needs to get done. Plans need to be made and goals need to be accomplished.

I pretty much see my life as a struggle for self improvement, anyhow. It's kind of a pain in the ass, but it makes me tick. I'm disappointed I didn't have time or the assets necessary this summer to start learning Spanish. Also, I wish I could have had more time to work in politics these past few months. I did, however, pick up an instrument, have a great time at work, earn lots of $$$, and live in a big city all by myself (more or less).

Here's a list of things I'd like to work on starting now. The list will include everything from personal improvements to things I'd like to do and is open to amendments. Without further adieu:

Improve my writing (this blog has been frustrating)

Earn at least a 3.8 GPA

Improve organizational skills

Begin learning Spanish

Find a way to work in politics in some form/fashion

Still make time for leisure

I will think about these goals a lot in the next couple of weeks and how to go about accomplishing them. Undoubtedly, there will be additions to this list. I believe it's a good start for now. I've got a crazy week coming up; lots of tiring activities at camp, and then driving to Fort Worth on Friday.

Keep on keepin on

Tim

All of my life I have been an accident prone, awkward ass, absent-minded, general fuck up. I am about to turn 22 years old, and still cannot conquer many of these flaws. One of the greatest challenges has and always will be my absent mindedness. How can one correct something that, by definition, occurs within one's own mind? How do you go about improving your ability to remember things on a daily, hourly basis.? I don't know, honestly.

Lately, my strategy has consisted of going through my head and remembering everything I have, while developing quick little systems to double check. I've just about mastered not losing my phone keys, or wallet, simply by saying "phone, keys, wallet," followed by patting each one of my pockets before I go anywhere.

Other items have given me more trouble though. Particularly clothing, sunglasses, water bottles, and other personal items. On a daily basis, it's hard to fairly assess my idiot level because of my job's circumstances. It's hard to double check everything in my head while chasing after kids in the hot Texas sun. Needless to say, I've already lost a water bottle and pair of sunglasses this summer.

Every time I lose or misplace something, I just feel really, really mentally inadequate. Like, if this were the cave man days, I'd be the caveman eaten by the saber tooth because I left my backup spear at the fire pit. Not a comforting thought. You'd think such a fatal flaw would be weeded out via natural selection, but no. My parents are just, if not more, goof prone than I am.

Needless to say, I'm stewing over this. If any of the three persons (and that's being generous) who actually read this slowly dying blog have any suggestions, besides "quit being retarded" I'd be happy to hear them.

On another note, I've been having an ongoing "political debate" with several members of my fraternity over the past couple of days. The politics of my fraternity is the only thing I don't like about it. Sadly, that's all many of them ever seem to want to talk to me about. Whatever

Have a good one

Tim

good day mates,

Today, I feel like I need to write a little bit about my life inside the co-op. Like anything in life, there are pros and cons. Let's start with what I like most:

First, I enjoy the since of communal responsibility. Every week, there are 2 meetings where we discuss the happenings and logistics of the co-op. A good way to stay up to date on what is going on in your living space; this is perk is probably not available in your average apartment complex. Second, I really love the food situation. The food is almost always good (imho) and they even provide a vegetarian option at every meal. Third, I do enjoy my labor. It's a good way to spend time with people and cooperate to do something positive. Finally, I couldn't afford to live anywhere else. This is by far the most in expensive way to live in Austin. For about $1000, I get my rent, food, and utilities covered for the entire summer. Boom. Can't beat that.

Now, onto some of my difficulties...

First, I can't say that i've had the time, energy, or desire to socialize a whole bunch with my housemates. I've got a cool roommate, and we've made friends, and I consider myself to be acquaintances with some others. However, I just don't feel like I really "fit in" here, so to speak. I have plenty of excuses for this, and I think most of them are pretty valid. I work close to 40 hours a week, and most of socializing goes on with my friends at work (who are all my age). After that, I have my friends from SU that come around Austin and still live in G-Town. When I'm not hanging out with co-workers or SU friends, I'm probably with Ursula or seeing if I can spend time with my family. In short, I don't have a lot of time to hang out with my co-opers. Don't get me wrong, I do try. Last weekend I watched some world cup, hung out by the pool, and stopped by the party. But after a long day's work, nothing beats a night of eating, chilling and going to sleep early. That's just not the general routine of co-opers though.

Either way, it's only 1 month till I go back to SU and start up a whole different routine, with a whole new group of people. So, I better not get too comfortable (or uncomfortable). I've got a month left to enjoy Austin, and I plan on doing exactly that.

Today I said farewell to the soon to be Taiwan bound Tyler Rankin. The goodbye was strangely anti-climactic, not too different than any other goodbye we've ever shared. I think Tyler understands that good-byes are sometimes only as hard as you make them out to be. He didn't want a drawn out, overly emotional send off, and I don't blame him.

However, I could not help but reflect on our friendship at least a little bit. On the way home, I tried to think of the first time Tyler and I hung out as "friends." I couldn't think of a single moment or event. But, I will always remember my first year of college and how much Tyler helped me out as both an RA and friend.

Tyler and I have celebrated the good times and helped eachother through the not so good times. He's been a defining part of my college experience, and with his departure, I know that next year will just not be the same. Simultaneously, I feel as if my own time at Southwestern is coming to a close at a more personal, acute level than I did before.

Last night was one of the best ones of my summer. I went to Georgetown around 6 PM and met up with Cal. We then stopped by Truman Hunt's house, where he was setting up for his raging 21st birthday house-party. Truman is such a genuinely nice person, and I have missed him a lot. He told me that he "missed the shit" out of me and couldn't wait for the year to begin. Ditto, friend. Ditto. After a couple of hours over there, I went to Fish City Grill--where Matt bartends--to meet up with Tyler and Garret. We hung out there for a while, and then went back to Truman's, pre-partied, then drove (via a designated driver) to 6th street. After hitting up a couple of clubs, we went to my co-op party. By the time we got there, the beer was all gone. However, the party was still bumpin due to our clutch as hell swimming pool. Everyone was either gathered around it, or swimming in it. It's a liberating feeling to swan dive off a diving board in nothing but your skivies, in the middle of a raging party. Thanks Pearl Street for giving me that opportunity.

To close out the night, the four of us, along with my roommate Adam, got some food at Kerbey Lane. Looking back at the night, it all seems kind of like a dream. I hung out with so many different groups of people, in completely different settings, while doing different things. I can't say I've ever had a night like it in College.

So, I guess you could say that it was a proper send off for Tyler. And, it was a good experience for me as well. I was feeling a little down yesterday, but last night successfully reversed my spirits.

Sending off a friend
I contemplate my own path
Always embrace change.

Hello,

If you're ever in Austin on a Tuesday night, wondering what to do, you should head to Flipnotics Coffee Shop and Eric Honaker play. I went last Tuesday, and everything about the show was great. He's a terrific musician, with a terrific group, inside of a very mellow, groovy venue. Eric can play the fiddle like nobody's business, and hits it pretty hard on the axe as well. If you're lucky, he may spend a few minutes ranting about the time(s) he's spent with "indian tribes" as well. Bottom line is, he's a great artist, and he performs weekly for free at a great venue. Can't beat it.

I think Eric provided me with a lot of good energy throughout the week. We had a lot of difficulties with our group, but things seemed to turn a corner last week. Despite my apprehension, the campout was fantastic. The only bump came when the kids went to sleep, and homesickness/longing for mommies commenced. However, the little ones' complaints and tears warmed my heart more than they stressed out my brain. I forgot how much 9 and 10 year olds care about their parents and homes. It was, for lack of a better phrase, fuckin' cute. Reminds me why I took the job.

After the campout, the weekend came. And what a weekend it was. Ursula came up Friday (bringing the rain with her) and we drove to Funky Town to meet my parents for dinner and weekend festivites. We had a terrific weekend, filled with lots o' fun stuff. I went to the Stockyards for the first time in forever and loved it. So many cool stores, restaraunts and saloons. Gotta love it. Fourth of July was celebrated by an all American bbq and baseball game/fireworks show. Despite the outcome, the Rangers game was a good way to spend the evening. Ursula and I had never been to a baseball game together. I think we're good baseball watching partners. Hopefully, that will translate into football this fall, when the Cowboys begin their season of domination.

I've returned to the Co-op now, and am starin down the barrell of another work week. This one looks like a breeze though--lots of tours and field trips. If I get time, I will write more in here in a few days. I need more time to just jot down some musings, rather than simply recount the events of my past week.

Until Later!


Tim

Hey gang,

The past week was remarkably eventful. Fate blessed with me with 12 of the most rambunctious hellions the Austin area has to offer. All but two of these children are overly hyper, prone to temper tantrums/meltdowns, rude, snotty, and hard to control. Leaving work felt more like a retreat than a drive home. Over the weekend my co-counselor Laura and I held a strategy session at Thunder Bird Coffee in order to quell some of the chaos. I had the day off today, and I heard the kids were better...hopefully their behavior will continue to improve.

I'm a little sad to see this weekend come to an end. Ursula came up and we, along with Wouter and co., hopped around the hill country in search of the restaurants, bars, and experiences every true Texan must visit/partake in before they die. Wouter and Ursula decided to begin this mythical quest of experience via Texas Monthly Magazine, which featured an article titled "Texas Bucket List: 63 things to do in Texas before you die." Despite the reminder of our inevitable doom, the bucket list thing is really, really cool. Here's a list of what we did, in chronological order:

Swam at barton springs pool
Ate dinner at the Gristmill in Gruene
Danced at Gruene Hall
Woke up real early and went to Snow's BBQ in Lexington (it's only open one day a week)
Floated the Guadalupe River in New Braunfels

Everything we did seemed to compliment eachother in some way. Floating felt great after stuffing our bodies with beef, and country dancing fit in well with a country meal. The only thing I feel disappointed with is my dancing skills, which I thought progressed more after lots of thinking and mental practicing. I guess the only way to get better at something is to actually do it.

I'm currently hanging out in my room. To pass the time, I've been playing some guitar, reading, and working on this blog. I've come to really enjoy the hours I spend by myself, working on various hobbies and striving for self improvement. The co-op is great because I don't have to eat by myself, and there are always people around to socialize with if I so choose. But, as I implied, I've really come to value my "alone-time," if you will. I don't really understand why, but I feel as though a bit of solitude is very good for me right now. Very soon, for instance, I'll start learning spanish (via a fellow co-opper's rosetta stone) and planning more for next semester and beyond. I believe I will remember this summer as one filled with learning, growth, and self searching. The thought of that makes me :).

This week will be jam packed with stuff as well. Going camping with my group on Thursday, and then going to Fort Worth with Ursula on Friday. I will update later

Ciao,

Tim

Beyond...

It has been a while, and there is no way I can describe everything that has happened in the past 1 1/2 months. Long story short, I've moved down to Austin, TX, where I live at a student run co-op and work as a camp counselor at the Austin Nature and Science Center.

At first, adjusting was not easy. Washington DC and Austin, TX have completely different vibes to them. The people are different, the ebb and flow of the cities polarize one another...the two cities have pretty much nothing in common, which is somewhat ironic given that they are both capitol cities of some kind. On top of that, my job at the ANSC could not be more different than my internship in Washington. Now, as opposed to the spring, I work outside, with children, teaching them how to have fun in the outdoors, while cultivating a sense of respect for the environment around them. That isn't exactly a press office intern's job description.

Despite some initial difficulties--which i think came about because I was adjusting so much-- I'm really fond of my job. I've learned so much about the hill country--i.e., where to go, what to do--, and so much about myself (I'm good at rock climbing?), thanks to this job. Simultaneously, I feel like I get to make a positive difference through my role as a camp counselor.

Strangely, the more I like this job, the more I miss my last one. Working in DC was occasionally taxing, but it was also somewhat addictive. I now yearn for the hustle and bustle that was once the source of occasional stress. And, needless to say, I miss constantly being inundated with matters concerning politics and policy. Perhaps in the future, I'll find a career path that allows me to combine the best aspects of both of these lives.

More to come soon..I have a lot of goals for the summer and the next semester, and I haven't even begun to talk about my living situation. So, barring some strange occurrence, I will be writing again very soon.


Best,


Tim

Hey all,

Today, my cousin and I went to Harper's Ferry. It's a national park with an old, historic town in the middle of it. The town is located right where the Potomac River and Shenandoah River meet up. Surrounded by pretty, green foresty mountains, Harper's Ferry was quaint, scenic and educational. The drive there was kind of chaotic because we didn't really know where we were going, but it was it worth it in the end. The area was gorgeous--the pictures I took will be on Facebook soon. For more information on Harper's Ferry, go to their detailed website. Lots of important happenings went down there many years ago. Overall, a must see for anyone traveling through WVA.

Yesterday, we capped off our last Saturday night in town by heading out to Adams Morgan. We went to this bar called "Madams Organ" (haha), which was pretty cool. They had a live band and three different bars; needless to say, we all had a pretty good time. The place kind of reminded of the Sig house at Southwestern-- a little run down, kind of random, loud and very crowded. But, it made for a good time nonetheless.

I now find myself ridiculously close to the end of this semester. I will be home in a mere five days. That's pretty crazy. I've probably said this before, but time sure has flown by here. It's such a busy, fast paced city that you kind of forget that the days are coming and going. It will be interesting to live outside the bubble, in a city where people do not constantly live and breathe politics. I think life will seem a great deal slower and less hectic back in Texas. Should be interesting to see if I prefer that pace of living. Also, I look forward to being the "political nerd" again, and not just another person, haha.


Tim

good evening folks. this work week went well. all my papers are completed and turned in. I will update more later. Suffice to say, I'm having an awesome weekend. Went to eastern market today, bought some gifts, went to dupont/embassy row, now am going to the national portrait gallery and dinner and china town. all is going to plan

i will write more in this thing soon. I've developed a plan for the future...


tim

Ok--

So, I just finished all my papers (pretty much). I've printed my Seminar papers, and now must revise my Middle Eastern Politics paper one last time before printing/putting it in "the box."

More on this weekend:

Friday, my program-mates and I went to a gay bar (you don't have to be gay to go) and watched an absurdly awesome drag ball. Drag ball lasted till about 12:30 AM; then I went to grab some food with my good pal Joe, at this place called "Bus Boy's and Poets." BB&P is named after Langston Hughes--once a busboy himself--and has great soul/vegan food. All in all, fun time. Drag ball plus killer veggie nachos = pretty fun night.

Like I mentioned the other day, I dog sat for some interesting people this weekend. Ate breakfast with them on Sunday morning, and we talked about politics/weird life connections for about an hour or so. Chris Lehman (editor of yahoo news and columnist/writer) can make some damn good migas.

Today at work was fairly ho-hum. My supervisor turned in my evaluation sheet last week, so now, I'm pretty much crusin.' This upcoming weekend is my last in DC. Hard to believe it, but it's true. I've gotta start making plans now, I suppose.

Peace,

tim

Good evening,

So this past few days have been pretty fun. Thursday, I found out that my supervisor sent in my internship evaluation form. I think it went well...she told via instant message and ended the sentence with a smiley face. That's always a good sign. After that, she asked me if I wanted to dog sit this weekend. Random? Perhaps. But that's what I'm doing right now...dog sitting. As it so happens, I'm dog sitting for Ana Marie Cox (TIME Magazine, GQ, blogger), Chris Cox (Yahoo News Editor), Rhett Miller (lead singer, Old 97's) and Hari Sevugan (DNC National Press Secretary).

It's been pretty boring so far, but hopefully I'll get to meet them. Either way, I'm happy to do a favor, and I got a lot of work done. Remember all those papers I mentioned earlier? Well, I'm done with all of them (pretty much)! Hard to believe another semester is coming to an end, but it is. It's been good. I just purged a lot of my thoughts out on this ten page synopsis paper...maybe I'll post that soon...

I'm really tired and can't focus to well. Will write/update more soon


Tim

Good evening,

Work today was pretty cool; I got to help out at the media event with the Chairman. Basically, he announced the Democratic party's strategy for the 2010 midterm elections. Lots of reporters were there, along with OFA volunteers. I held the door open for John King...twice. Pretty cool.

Other than that, work is going fairly smooth. I've been getting lots of compliments...assuages my fears about my intern evaluation that's due next week. Eek

Outside of work, things are really getting down to the wire. I have like 5 papers due next. I've written 3 of them, though, but still need to revise one and finish a ten/5 pager(s). Blerg. So this weekend I'll be reflecting a lot on my time up here, because that's what one of the papers must discuss. Perhaps I'll post that paper on here when all is said/done.

Socially, I will probably go out to the oober cool "Adams Morgan" or "Dupont Circle" area this weekend. I plan to start getting some fun gifts/souvenirs as well. Should be fun

nothing more, right now


Tim

Greetings,

First day of another work week. Hard to believe, but I've only got two more after this. Oh, how time flies by.

The weekend was good, for the most part. Much of the second went out of town for a few days, so Joe and I pretty much had it all to ourselves. Gotta say, it was pretty relaxing to be able to have a beer and watch whatever I wanted to on TV. Unfortunately, I don't get to partake in activities like that very often here (will explain in more detail later).

Saturday night, Joe, Nancy, Leslie, and I went out to "Adams Morgan," which is D.C.'s equivalent of 6th street. Pretty fun area, we'll probably go back again soon. Sunday, we went to the climate rally on the Mall. Lots of good energy there (no pun intended). Saw a bunch of random people (i.e. Jesse Jackson) speak, but missed Passion Pit play :(.

While I wasn't embarking on trip to seedy bars/rallying for the environment; I worked tirelessly on my paper for Middle Eastern Politics. So far, I've got 6 1/2 pages written. That exceeds the minimum length...yay? Needless to say, I'm going to need to do a lot of revising for it. We picked our own topic, which is both a blessing and a curse. I've got to iron out a few wrinkles if I want to earn an A. Hello, stress.

Fairly mundane day at the office. Clips, database project, notes on Press Briefing, answering phones, and putting together digest. Mundane, but productive. On that note, I'm getting addicted to coffee.

Will write more soon,

tim

Let me break down my work week

Monday--Fairly uneventful..My clips didn't take up too much time, nor did much else. I can't even recall what happened. Overall, a pretty slow day

Tuesday--A little bit faster pace, but I made a mistake that bugged me a lot. I didn't get the reporter's name on a question during a press conference. Usually, this doesn't matter, nor is it even expected. However, this was a pretty relevent question. I felt pretty embarrassed that i missed out on an opportunity to impress..but oh well, such is life.

Today was fairly hectic. I was going to go on a white house tour, but I didn't get put on the list in time (long story). Anyway, I ended getting rejected at the gate. Bummer. I came back and my supervisor felt sorry for me, so she said she would work on getting me another tour (cool).
Not too long after that, I went to an intern meeting with a Congresswoman. She's a real interesting, energetic lady. Name is Debbie Wasserman Schultz, from Florida. Fun meeting. After that I had a mountain of clips to do along with a really monotonous project. Needless to say, I messed up a bit on the project and had to correct it--which only added to my stress. Soon after leaving the office, my friend and I stopped for a beer at a local bar. Much needed

Now, I'm angry the mavs lost. Oh well, I knew they wouldn't sweep.

Other news--all my paperwork got through to my supervisor in Austin. So, looks like everything is all in order. Sweeet


tim

Seeing as this is a public blog, I can't complain about all the things I'd like to. Let's just say that living with 15 other people who are very different than me can be aggravating. I've become less patient and tolerant of bullshit, ignorance, and naivety. I've got less than a month here and I don't want to spend it around negativity.

OK, enough of that. Perhaps I'm stressed out because of my increasingly desperate monetary situation. In a city where a sandwich and beer will run you $15, things can get messy. I guess I'll turn into my roommates who do nothing but eat frozen chicken nuggets and surf the blogosphere every f'n night. Nah, fuck that. I would rather overdraft.

Tim

This has been a good week of work

Monday and Tuesday were fairly busy. Andrew and I have been compiling lots of clips between the two of us, and our boss seems to trust us a bit more. I had my senior colleague interview on Monday afternoon. The "senior colleague" was the office's press secretary for the midwest region. Cool guy overall. Only bad part was that I slept poorly on Sunday night, which made for an unusually exhausting Monday. A lot was on my mind that night, I reckon.

Yesterday was crazy. The office had a pretty banging cocktail party. Robert Gibbs, David Axelrod, and many big time reporters attended. I actually got to shake Robert Gibbs' hand--which was AWESOME. He's the WH press secretary--basically the voice of the White House.

Also, yesterday was incredibly busy. But, it was probably my most productive day as an intern yet. Felt pretty accomplished because I really helped the office out, I feel like. Not only that, but the office has added another intern. He's very part time--only works every other day, for half a day. But it's always fun to have another intern/volunteer in the office. Working solo can be difficult.

Will write more soon,

Tim

Hey guys,

This was a pretty fun weekend. Tyler came down, and hilarity/adventures ensued. On Friday we walked to the memorials by the mall, the tidal basin, the Jefferson Memorial, the White House, and then China Town. All in all, we probably walked about 10 miles. I really enjoyed going to the memorials, especially the FDR and Jefferson. The FDR is probably my favorite in all of DC--very inspiring.

The next day we went to a German restaurant called "Cafe Berlin." Cafe Berlin has a quaint outdoor patio, where they serve you giant glasses of German beer. Can't beat that on a Saturday afternoon. We then went to hang out at the ever so bourgeois George Washington University. Had a drink with Joe and John (two program friends) on the patio of some campus bar/grill. Waitress was a little off, and everything was overpriced. So, we booked it a completely different place: China Town.

China Town is becoming one of my favorite areas in DC. Mainly because of the Rocket Bar and a plethora of good places to eat. We stopped at a restaurant where the dumplings were hand rolled by two friendly looking chefs in the front window . The chefs' amiability was off set by the several dead chickens, ducks, and squids surrounding them. Still, though, that only made the place more endearing to me. We got the dumplings then went to eat thai food. Good combo. Then a couple of Pabst Blue Ribbons at the Rocket Bar. PBR is huge in this area.


All in all, a very good weekend. Weather is fantastic--in the 70s with lots of sun. This week should be interesting. Wednesday, Andrew (other intern) and I are checking people into a "party on the patio," which takes place at our office. Should be really fun; David Axelrod (Obama adviser) is posted on the guest list.

Will write more soon


Tim

Good Morning,

I'm currently watching the CBS Early show; because I have to for work. It's pretty uneventful...slow political week I guess.

Week has been so-so. I found out I've been doing my clips wrong, which was kind of a blow. Apparently, I'm not supposed to use any of my own words, just copy and paste sentences out of the article. This will save me time, but I kind of liked writing my them in my own words. Plus, it just made me feel like a dumb, ignorant intern.

Other than that, I really like the new intern. Makes the job easier to have the guy around. Tyler is here for the weekend, so that should be fun as well.

Will write more soon,


Tim

Uh oh,

It's been a long time. Let me tell you what I did over the weekend--I was way too busy to blog. First, I hopped a sketchy China Town Bus to Philadelphia. The bus reeked of port-a- potty, but I guess that comes with the territory of a $28 round trip. Anyway, I got there and Kim/ Geoff picked me up.

Friday, Geoff and I went strolling around in Philly. Mostly toured the hipster section of South Street. We came across a particularly interesting art gallery: Philadelphia's "Magic Garden." It was an entire building and outdoor garden made of tiny bits of thrown together ceramics. I can't really describe it...try googling it? Needless to say, it was a very trippy experience...which is probably what they were going for.

After that, we ate lunch, toured around some more and met kim and her boyfriend at the Phillies game. Very fun--the phils are a very solid team and the ball park was gorgeous.

After the game, we preceded to hit up some local bars. The first one appeared to be themed around Pabst Blue Ribbon. Seriously. Everyone in there had a PBR can in their hand. The walls were decked out with retro PBR posters and signs. F'n weird.

More hilarity ensued shortly thereafter. We hopped around to another pub, and were greeted by a strung out bouncer. He looked at my ID and said something to the effect of : "whoa, man. I was born on the 8th too. I did so much acid the day you were born." Good to know, friend. Good to know.

Craig (Kim's BF) bought us all drinks--very courteous. Quite the stellar guy--especially because he had a tattoo of the iconic scene from Shawshank Redemption on his arm. Ya know, where Tim Robbins is in the rain after he escapes from prison? Yeah, that one. Craziest tat I've ever seen.

The next day we drove over to Geoff's aunt's house for an action packed easter Saturday/Sunday. Well, maybe not action packed. The house was very, very lovely. Quaint is the best word to describe it. They had a magnificent lot as well. I could totally live there...and no worries, I took pictures. Not to mention they live by an AWESOME dairy farm and get fresh milk/ice cream. On top of all that, Geoff's family was very nice and hospitable to me. Couldn't have been more pleased.

Monday, life returned to normal (sort of). Two of my co-workers left the job to work on campaigns. So, I now have more responsibilities. I am required to wake up at 7 am and watch the CBS Early show; so I can see if anything important comes on. Along with that, I need to compile more clips (article summaries) throughout the day.

One shitty note, though. My summer job continues to confound me. Paper work is getting absurd, and no one seems to be good at communicating. I hit yet another snag in the road today..hopefully this can get ironed out soon.


More to come soon. Tyler is coming Wednesday, and I'm very excited.


Tim

Surprises

Good Evening, America--

Where to begin? Sunday night I returned from an epic road trip. The journey was filled with amazing adventures...let me describe them, systematically:

First stop on the journey was Delaware. There's not a whole lot to say about Delaware. Joe Biden was one of their Senators for a while. Liquor stores are open till 10 PM. They have lots of affordable, random hotels. Other than that, it's a pretty modest and industrial area. Industrial was one of the big themes of the road trip. Many of the cities, i.e. Baltimore, Philly, and the state of Del., are inundated with factories, smoke stacks, and the like. You can tell that the urban economy is significantly different than cities in Tejas. It's much more blue collar and rough than one might imagine. Some may cite this as a negative quality, but I like to think it shows character.

Then, we stayed in the outskirts of Philly at this shady (kind of a reoccurring theme) road side inn. We woke up and went to this really good breakfast place (another reoccurring theme) dubbed "the cafe." Not very original in rural Pennsylvania, I suppose. Anyhow, we then went on a tour at independence hall, saw the lib. bell, Ben Franklin's grave, and the American Philosophical Society. The APS was weird because we were accosted by two random old ladies as soon as we walked in. Ironically, one of the ladies was named "Ursula." Self described as feisty, Ursula stopped Joe and I asked us lots of questions about philosophy and why we were interested in the APS. The irony here is that it was one day before Ursula and I's anniversary (Ursula James, not Ursula philosophy lady). Small world, I suppose. The APS had a pretty cool Darwin exhibit. FYI, he has horrible handwriting. Pretty cool guy overall. I learned that he only used the word "evolve" once in his entire "Origin of the Species." And it was the last word of the entire book. Funny how things turn out, no?

After that we drove to New Haven, CT--home of Yale. Of course, we drove and walked around the campus. Really interesting architecture, lots of bourgeois students, and a TON of pizza places. Apparently, ivy league snobs can't get enough of that stuff. We went to this one pizza and beer joint, and were served by the sweetest lady ever. Her name was Linda. Linda was pushin 70, lacking front teeth, and serving us food with an attitude. Funny how you go to an Ivy League University and stumble on people that you wouldn't think would "belong" in such an area. However, New Haven is kind of shit-hole. Lots of poverty...it looks like Yale is the only thing going for it. More irony, I suppose.

Another surprise of my adventure came when we found my Grandmother's childhood home in West Haven, CT. A little blue house--very quaint, and homey--located just north of main street. I got some pictures, which I still need to email to my mom.

After CT, we went into Providence. By this time, it's Saturday morning. Providence was wonnndeful. Very cute, clean, fun looking town with an AWESOME capital building. I totally got the feeling that I could live there one day. It's very centrally located too. Not too far from NY or Boston, or any of New England for that matter. It's a great little place, I would recommend anyone touring the area to make a stop there.

After that, we passed through Boston. We toured a couple of streets and went to lunch at the Cheers Bar. DONT EVER GO THERE. We were starving and it happened to be right there. But it's a tourist trap rip off with no soul. Don't go there...

Then, it was on to Maine. Ahhh, Maine. Home of lobsters, cottages, Mountains, Beaches, and postcard towns. It was almost too adorable. Everything was so put together, everyone seemed so happy, and my God it was so gorgeous. I posted dozens of pics on my FB, so check em out if you can.

After hanging out in Maine for several hours (because it was so awesome), we went to Portland to get some fresh seafood. Hmmmm was it tasty--lobster caught fresh daily. Only problem was that it got incredibly cold. We had to head down south around 7 Pm...but little did we know our journey was only just beginning.

Driving through southern New Hampshire and Vermont at night can be a little surreal. Forests were fairly dense, hills and mountains surrounded us. The night sky was gorgeous--completely clear. A very isolated, surreal, and relaxing area. When we decided to turn on "The Doors" and listen to the band's most creepy tunes, things seemed to be completely in place.

We drove all the way to Wilmington, VT. Wilmington is on the southern tip of the Green Mountains/ green Mountain National Forest. Very cute town (another theme), with a couple of fun pubs, lodges, and diners. Saturday night we went to this dive bar called the "village pub." The village pub reminded me of a dive bar in Texas--floors and bar were made out of wood, the people were a bit tired and run down looking. Overall, it seemed like a rough place at first.

However, this was Vermont, and we knew something had to be different. I struck up a conversation with our bartender; who eventually mentioned that "he was a gay man" and wondering who to vote for in the upcoming primary election. That's what you can't get in most places--a bartender feeling comfortable enough to tell you he's gay. In Texas, that could get a bartender killed (not kidding). Nice guy, nice place, nice conversation. Then we went to the bar across the street, where we met this awesome/crazy/very drunk man named "Dove." Dove was a half irish catholic half jewish man; in his own words, "a tough mix." Judging by the McCormick brand Brandy he kept feeding himself, Dove had lived through some tough experiences himself. Dove excoriated me for temporarily forgetting the last name of George Harrison, and almost punched my friend in the face for "being a wise guy." However, we ended up winning his heart over, and he bought us all a round. Good guy. Before we left he said something to effect of "people should be respected for no matter what there heritage is." Profound words for a man whose seemingly had his share of rotten luck. Ah, the surprises of life.

We returned the next day, only to find that life goes on as normal. This week has been horrible but great at the same time. I'm so inundated with work for my job, registration, and filling out paper work for summer job/housing. I don't know how I can handle it though. My job has been treating me well though. Another intern was hired today. He seems like a really nice guy, and I'm glad to have him working with me. Also, I've told some pretty good office jokes. Not to mention, I've got a lunch planned this Thursday, where I will talk to a "senior colleague" about how he got to this position and what it's like working in politics.

Should be a good work. Pray I get all this stuff done, it's driving me crazy.


Tim Clark

Good evening,

I just completed my first paper of the semester. First real, written assignment since December. I felt incredibly rusty, but after several revisions, I feel a little bit more comfortable with it.

Tomorrow is the last day of the week and day 1 of my road trip extravaganza. Work has been up and down this week, but today was better. We had a meeting with the Chairman's Chief of Staff. Really interesting guy, and I could see myself living a similar life.

I'd love to write more, but my fingers are just too tired. I'll try to blog from NE this weekend, if we get the chance.


Tim

Geez, where to start.

I suppose I'll begin by telling you about my Friday. I woke up at 6 a.m., put on my shoes, drank the morning joe, and walked over to the DNC. The walk was extra inspired because I knew I was on my way to President Obama's final health care rally at George Mason. If you're a huge political nerd, you'll know that Obama's first campaign rally took place at GMU over 3 years ago. Lucky university, I do believe.

When we got to the rally, some really intense people surprised us by slapping volunteer badges on us. I didn't mind though...I considered myself a volunteer for the Commander in Chief, so I took it with a good attitude. Basically, our job was to walk around the massive line and make sure no one had large bags, food, and were prepared for the metal detector. Only hard part was the standing up for 3 straight hours after a breakfast of cinnamon oats.

So then, we the rally commenced. I got down on the second level in the floor section. Not bad view, and I didn't mind standing for another 2 hours. You don't really mind anything when you're listening to the most influential person in recent history give a motivating speech.

Many say that it was his most motivating speech on health care yet. I was certainly excited for the weekend after Obama's rally. Despite all my anticipation, there is no way I could have fully understood what I was in store for.

Saturday brought all kinds of insanity my way. My friends (all fairly liberal) and I decided to check out the inevitable protests going on at the Capital. For those of you who didn't already know, going to a tea-party is like stepping into another dimension. The dimension is filled with hate, paranoia, ignorance, and pictures of aborted fetuses. What my roommates and I stepped into was the most despicable aspect of American culture. I saw children in camo outfits, carrying signs that said "McCarthy was Right." I walked by a mom telling her 7 year old child that "Nancy Pelosi is the leader of congress who gets to decide that we have to pay for other people to have abortions." These are the people who assasinate doctors, world leaders, and fly planes into IRS buildings. The event was total sensory overload, and left me feeling really ashamed of a large portion of our American culture.

After the whole event, I had to decompress a bit by going to work out/jog. While I was jogging, I realized that these tea-partiers were the same wing nuts who actually approved of the job George W. Bush was doing when he left office. Did you know many people who approved of George W. Bush's job performance in fall 2008? Ya, neither did I. I think the best way to approach these people is to admit what they are--fucking wack-jobs--and then quickly dismiss them.

Saturday night I was served a milk shake by top-chef (a food network hit show) hero, Spike (don't know his last name). Anyhow, it was a bad ass milkshake. That was the highlight of my Saturday, night. Not much else happened, just wanted to mention that little part.

Sunday brought another trip to the hill. After being accosted by some tea-baggers who thought all modern day legislation should be as long as the Constitution (about 10 pages); me and my friend Hayley decided the conversation wasn't going to go anywhere very good. So we took off and walked into a WONDERFUL celebration of solidarity. We decided to call it a celebration instead of a protest because it made us feel really awesome.

Anyway, the "celebration" was an immigration reform rally. Tens of thousands of supporters were there, which dwarfed the tea-baggers numbers. There was so much positive energy in the air, so much love as opposed the antithesis displayed at the tea party rally. Everyone together, marching so they can help their families and friends stay together, earn amnesty, and prevent damaging/unjust deportations. Ahh, so refreshing. On our way back, we walked by an group of protesting hippies/anarchists. They were dancing to rap/funk music that no one but them had probably heard of, while holding anti-flag and "fuck capitalism" signs. Don't worry, I took pictures. I think it was the best moment of the day.

Today was a good, but stressful day at work. Most people seemed refreshed that Health Care had finally gotten done. By the way, HECK YEAH HEALTH CARE!

That's all I got for now. Will write more soon



Tim

Hello People,

Today is Thursday, a.k.a Friday for people in my program. But it's not exactly Friday, because tomorrow I need to be at the office at 7 A.M. Then, myself and some fellow interns will hop on a bus and head to see the Obama health care rally at George Mason University! Very excited, this will be my second time to see Obama speak in as many months. Very badass.

This week was good, it flew by faster than any other week yet. The weather is beginning to get beautiful--around 70 degrees today. I even saw a few cherry blossoms on my way home from the office. The best part of my week was reading some letters from people across America who desperately needed a reformed health insurance industry. I swear, some of those stories made me think I was living in a third world country instead of the "richest" in the world. Our system has some glaring flaws that need to be fixed, no one can deny that anymore.

This weekend could be a once in a lifetime experience. Saturday there is a fairly large war protest planned by Answercoallition.org. On top of that, there will certainly be a great deal of protests for and against Health Reform The tea-baggers should be out in full force, making fun of people with terminal illnesses, mis-spelling words on signs, and trying not to feel too uncomfortable around all the non-white people living in the District.

Until Later,

Tim

Good Day All,

Tomorrow is Saint Patricks day. I think I'll be going to a meeting hosted by Tim Kaine...pretty good way to celebrate the holiday. Today was an interesting day at the office. The morning didn't involve a whole lot of working, overall a pretty sluggish. Mostly just aim chatting and surfing news sites. In the afternoon, things got more hectic though. I got to work on a project related to health care on top of my usual stuff.

I've been thinking a lot about the future lately. What's gonna happen? Every time I get really deep in thought, a song comes on my pandora account that describes exactly how I'm feeling. It's kind of getting eerie. I will try to describe what I'm feeling in more depth later--most likely this weekend when I have more time and energy.

Keep your eyes on the health care debate. It could move from debate to reality in the next days/weeks.

10 days till the Cherry Blossoms Festival Starts. 10 days till my epic road trip. It's going to be an epic day in 10 days


Until Next Time,


Tim

Hello blogosphere and fans of blogosphere,

Allow me to describe the past few days. Friday was our trip to the city of brotherly love. It was a fun time, we got to tour the birthplace of America. I was in the very room where the Declaration of Independence was signed and where our founders ratified the Constitution. I got a picture of George Washington's chair! Also, we toured the Senate and supreme court. After independence hall ,we toured around china town and ate a cheese steak at Jim's Steak. The only bad part was the ride home, where we suffered through hours of traffic and whiny/negative people.

On Friday we went to a lounge called "the Science club." The lounge is a vegan restaurant by day and hip 3 story bar w/dj by night. It's basically the hipster mecca. Lot's of hip places over in that area, I will probably go back soon.

Saturday we hosted the first (of hopefully many) CHIP House BBQ extravaganza. I bought a bison sirloin from the Eastern Market down the street. I grilled it up after marinating it in teriyaki, pepper, and green onions. Along with the steak, I bbq'd some mushrooms, onions, and asparagus. Needless to say, my dish was very well received. I think it actually earned the most praise of any piece of meat.

Today was a pretty lazy day overall. Woke up late, adjusted to the time change, went to the gym, and ate lunch with John and Joe at this pub called "Mr. Henry's." That was about it. Now we're having movie night--watching "forgetting sarah marshall." Fun stuff.

Tomorrow week 7 of work begins. Wish me luck, I will write more on it soon


Tim

Hey guys,

This week has been good! I took my first sick day on Monday, and it helped me out considerably. I was a bit apprehensive at first though, because I didn't know how my boss/supervisor would react. To my relief, she was fine with and gave my day off her blessing.

So on Monday I rested and cleaned up a lot around the apartment. The apt. really needed a good delousing of sorts, so I'm glad I got to scrub it down and vacuum up all the allergens and bacteria. By the way, I'm getting really good (not just competent) at keeping my living space tidy. Living in a co-op this summer will be a walk in the park.

In addition to cleaning I was able to take a stroll in the park because it was a gorgeous day. The weather has been fabulous all week, and I'm incredibly grateful for it. Torrential rains will occur for the next few days, but the temp will remain in the 60s-70s. I can live with that.

Tuesday and Wednesday were good days at work. As you non DC-er's may know, health care is a pretty big issue around here. No doubt, it's been dominating a lot of the conversation. A lot of our attention has gone to that at the office, which is cool because I get to hear all the information on it and what the exact democratic position is on the subject. And as always, they're keeping me busy.

Today we, the interns, attended a meeting with the head of the new media department. She gave us a digital tour of the organizing for america facebook page, the party website, and some of the blogs. Pretty cool lady. After partaking in some discussion with a few of the other interns, I learned what an advantage working in the Communications dept. is. A lot of the other departmetns are slower and don't deal with up to the minute, detailed news and policy. I ended up explaining a few integral issues to them, i.e. what reconciliation means and how many times it's been used in the past several years. If you're curious, reconciliation is a filibuster proof, majority vote, which has been used 22 times in 21 years (15 by Republicans).

Tomorrow is Thursday, a.k.a the last workday of the week. On Friday, I travel to Philly with my program to see independence hall and eat a cheesesteak. I plan on going out as much as possible this weekend and have a little fun...I've been sick/cooped up too long.

Shitty thing about going to Philly on Friday is that I miss another intern meeting, which will be hosted by college democrats. But it's not that shitty, because I talked to the intern coordinator today and expressed my interest in possibly getting a college dems chapter started at SU. She said she would set up a meeting with someone from College Dems for sometime next week!

So, all is well right now. I'm healthy, energized, and wanting to rock and roll. I even got to skype with Ursula the other day. Like see her face and everything! Made my day!!!


Will write more soon


Tim

Good evening,

Watching the Academy Awards/trying to fight through a sore throat and cough. I don't know what is wrong with my immune system, but it can't quite fight off this virus. So, it looks like I'm making a trip to the Doctor tomorrow. Do I know where the Doc's office is? Nope. Will I find out soon? Hopefully. I'm a bit apprehensive about telling my supervisor that making it to work tomorrow will be tough. I hope they do not get frustrated with me.

During the day I feel decent enough. Yesterday afternoon I went to the botanical gardens, then I toured the area of farragut north. Farrugut is pretty a interesting place-- dozens of Asian/ethnic food restaurants, good bars, weird clubs, etc. I'll head over there very soon.

This week is my 6th week of work (I think). I'm getting in the groove, and if I wasn't sick I'd be really rollin into it.

I will write more soon

Peace

Hey everyone (all 6 of you),

Being sick sucks. I'm taking this medicine called "Buckley's," which is kind of like Mucinex in liquid form. Mucinex, of course, loosens your cough and gets phlegm/mucus out of your chest. It's working OK, but it tastes awful. I've never seen a medicine with the tagline, "tastes awful, but it works!", until now.

The cough and sore throat have left me pretty incapacitated. I haven't been able to see any sights or go out anywhere in a few days, and that sucks because it's FINALLY nice outside. Also, I can't exercise any, which makes me stir crazy. Blerrrg, I despise illness. I did go to work this week though, because I am the most dedicated employee in the history of employees. Except for the sickness, work was great this week. By the end of each day though (esp. Wed. and Th.) I was really really out of it.

The next few weeks should be cool though. Next Friday I'm going to Philly, and two weeks after that I am going on a road trip with a couple of guys.

OK, I would write more but I am too sick and tired to focus much. I'll leave it here.

To be continued

Tim

Geeeezz I am sick. I thought I recovered, but Tuesday it only started to get worse--especially in my chest. Awful. And the weekend is about to start...double awful. At least I have chamomile tea and Tylenol PM to ameliorate symptoms; hopefully problems will ease up by tomorrow or Friday.

Work has been tough due to sickness, but I keep getting new tasks and challenges and they keep me on my toes. For fun, I helped decorate the office today by taping shamrocks to the walls (the theme for March). After that there was an intern meeting with the DNC Secretary, which is a pretty important title because she has a huge hand in planning the convention. It was an informative meeting (as they all are) and I look forward to the next one on Friday, hosted by Congressman Mike Honda.

Speaking of meetings, I get to sit in on the Comm. Department morning meeting. Really interesting and priviliged information gets disucussed. The type of projects I'm doing are similar in nature, but more imperative for office function. So that's a positive. Some relatively important people could be in the office next week, which I am excited about. Hopefully, I will be able to meet them after having a long and illness free weekend.

Will write more soon

Tim

Geez! It's been a while.

Let's recap. The past week at work was busy as usual. I'm trying to take things week by week; using the logic that if I have a bad day, I can just shrug it off and move on.

In our seminar class Doug was talking about different stages many interns go through. First stage is nervousness/anxiety, followed by disillusionment, then "competence", then the final stage where you look back on it all. Sometimes I get disillusioned at work, wondering if the work I'm doing is really all that important. But I feel fairly competent as well--I've gotten good at talking to the press when they call my line, and I feel like I'm starting to develop a niche in the office.

I worked on a variety of tasks this week. The guy next to me, Adam Elkington, works with Organizing for America. He frequently gives me a lot of projects that involve looking up contact information for media outlets. The projects are tedious, but I feel motivated because I want to help out the cause in any way I can. I've also had to call up media outlets and "pitch" events, i.e. tell a reporter that OFA is having a huge event in your city, you should really want to cover it. I'm still taking notes on the gibbs press briefing, and apparently I do a pretty good job (see last entry). Occasionally, people will around me will ask me to clip articles. I had to like 25 clips in 90 minutes (not easy) for an asst. press secretary who sits near me. On top of all that, I have to do the Rapid Response Digest--a compilation of all the Press Releases that gets sent to the White House. In summation, I do whatever people tell me to do. And that encompasses quite a bit, adding up to a lot of work.

Thursday was of course the HC Summit. Feel free to read what I thought about it on the Megaphone Website. I watched it the whole, but was disappointed I didn't have any projects invovling it. New media and Comm merged for the day, so the Comm interns got pushed into a corner office in New Media. New Media is a cool dept, and I enjoyed working on some of their projects...but I wish I could have been in the comm office during the summit. Oh well. Rt now, I really hope HC reform gets passed soon, just to see everyone's reaction. That will be crazy!!!


More soon,

Tim

Hey guys/gals,

Today was a productive day at the office. I got there at around 9:15, did some media clips, answered the phones, and worked on a project where I researched the contact information for various NPR stations in the Northeast. By the way media clips are basically short summaries of articles written about issues that apply to the DNC in some way. Come noontime I took notes on the Robert Gibbs Press Briefing. Then I did another project where I pitched an Organizing for America event in Milwaukee Wisconsin to local media outlets. Then I went to lunch with a few other interns from different Departments. It was nice to talk to the other interns and compare jobs and what-not. They were kinda small townish girls, judging by the fact that they asked me if planned on marrying my girlfriend. Nice people though, must say.

When I came back, I received a compliment in my inbox. Apparently my notes on the press briefing were so good that my supervisor sent them to everyone in the office. And tomorrow, they will be used to prepare someone for a TV interview!!

After that, I compiled the daily Rapid Response Digest--a series of press releases sent throughout the day--onto one document. Later that will be sent to the White House!

To end the day, I sent in my clips and my supervisor said I'd done an Amazing job today. So I feel pretty good about all that

After work I went to workout. Then came home and made a big dinner. Then went running. Then came home and ate some more. Now I'm watching Ice Dancing with a few of the guys downstairs, just chillin. It's been a good day


Laterz,

Tim

Hello world,

Lazy Sunday, good day to write some stuff in the blog. The past few days have been treating me pretty well. Thursday night we went out to a couple of local spots. There's this cool little dive bar called the "Tune In," which is right next to the Hawk n Dove. We went back and forth between them for a couple of hours, then went home for the night. I enjoyed it, but I've got to get off cap hill for a while next weekend. I've got some spots in mind and will hit them up asap.

Friday was good. We had our 10:30 class, and Doug brought some doughnuts. We didn't discuss a whole lot--just our internships and which book we'd like to do our project on. I think my top choice was a book called "What's the matter with Kansas." It's about why red-states vote Republican when the majority of their populous should be aligned with the whole "pro-middle class" platform of the Democrats. Hopefully it will provide some thoughtful insight.

After class I went to a meeting at work. The meeting was with all the interns and we had a Q and A session with a woman who has worked on/managed many different campaigns. It was an informative meeting. I think I need to work on a campaign, out in the field. It would be fun to "get my hands dirty" and get outside of the office environment. It's an experience I know I need to try out as soon as I can.

After the meeting I went and worked out/ran. I'm really happy I've got such a good gym to go to. It's really relaxing and helps me stay healthy.. Everyone is getting sick in the house except me (knock on wood). I think part of the reason is that I stay active through all the working out.

Saturday, we went to the Eastern Market, flea market, an Organic Market, and an AWESOME book store. The bookstore was exploding with thousands of old and random books. It was three, very compacted, stories--a basement, first floor, and second floor. They also had a bathroom--which was filled with books, of course. I'm definitely going back soon--it's one of those places you could just get lost in. The Eastern Market was also fun. All of the meat is from local, wholesome-ish farms. The produce was blegh, but not a lot is in season. I'll report back on the veggies in a couple of months. Overall, it's a really cool place and I would recommend it to anyone visiting DC.

Also on Saturday, I found out from Catherine that I am the "favorite intern" at my office. Haha, that made me pretty happy. I am one of only two interns in my dept, but I'll take what I can get! Good stuff.

I don't really know what I'm doing today. Maybe try to hit up Arlington National? The weather is starting to get a lot nicer--much better for sight seeing. Hopefully it will only keep getting better. I really want to see as much as I can.

Will write more soon


Tim

Meeting Tim Kaine

Hello everyone,

This was an exciting few days. It was weird going back to work after a four day hiatus/snowpocalypse. I was kind of worried about getting back into the groove and swing of things. When I got to work things got rolling and my afternoon came very quickly. By the time it was 3, I had not even eaten lunch yet because I was so busy. That's when the highlight of my day came. As I was about to go eat lunch, my supervisor IMed me and see the Chairman's interview. Needless to say, I accepted. To my surprise, I even got to help walk Chairman Tim Kaine down to the interview! I got to meet the Chairman and shake his hand and even have a small conversation with him. This guy is one of the most influential people in DC and he knows who I am, where I go to school, and where I live! CRAZY

After that, the week flew by with ease. I'm getting more comfortable with my job. On a daily basis I answer the phones, transfering members of the press to their respective secretary, updating data records, doing projects, and searching for/summarizing media articles. I like it mostly--my job is pretty much all about the news and political media. Also I really believe in the organization goals, so I like doing all I can to help them out.

Now the weekend has begun; class was cancelled and everyone is gettning ready to go out on the town. I'll be joining them soon. I should have more time to write tomorrow, and should have more time to write then.


Tim

Hey again,

Well I'm watching the Olympic figure skaters. It's really impressive stuff. I'm not even a fan but I gotta give props where props are due.

The past week overall has been pretty up and down. At one moment, or perhaps even a whole day, I'm out and doing something fun; something that occupies my time, interests me, and makes it all fly by. There are moments though (not days) that are slow and kinda depressing. Right now for instance, is pretty blerg-ish. I don't know why, but my apartment can be a little smothering and depressing.

Meh maybe something else is buggin at me right now. Kinda hard to put my thumb on it at the moment. I guess I'll just diagram the past couple of days, maybe that will shed some light on my slight/temporary funk.

Like I mentioned last night, I went to the Holocaust museum with a friend from the house named Joe. Needless to say, by the time I walked out I had completely forgotten it was Valentine's day. I guess learning about one of the most disgusting events in human history will do that to you...depending on how you feel about Valentine's day.

Valentine's Day definately gave me a mixed bag of emotions. I have the most wonderful Valentine ever, but she is literally on the other side of the planet. She gave me some really cute cards, but we didn't get to talk any. I didn't realize how difficult it would be to communicate b/w the two of us. When I'm just sitting around like I am now; I get a little blue because I realize how big of a relationship adjustment this is.

When I got out and do stuff though, it keeps my mind busy enough to not get too down. Today I went to a neighborhood coffee shop and got some reading and writing done. After that I went to see Dupont Circle/try to locate the house of Real World DC. I couldn't find the house (got the wrong address) but I did explore Dupont a bit. It's a really neat area. I found this bookstore that also has a bar and grill. I call that heaven. The whole area was poppin with cool and original places. I'll go back soon for sure.

On a more somber note, I found out my cousin was injured in Afghanistan. He is fine and should return to the front soon, but just keep him in your thoughts/prayers for a while.

Best,

Tim

Holocaust Museum

Hello blogosphere,

I'm currently hanging out at a Valentine's (apostrophe necessary?) party. So can't talk much. Just wanted to mention that I went to the Holocaust Museum today. There was one poem I read there that really struck me. It was written by a holocaust survivor; he survived solely because he was a talented writer. Many of his friends died because they were less "gifted". Anyway, he wrote this poem after it was all said and done. Here's how it went:
-
I, the Survivor

I know of course; it's simply luck
That I've survived so many friends. But last night in a dream
I heard those friends say of me: "survival of the fittest"
And I hated myself
-
I thought that was pretty powerful. It's a great museum and if you ever get the chance you should check it out.

I'll write more soon, just wanted to share

Start of the Weekend

Hey there,

Well it's Valentine's Day (almost). Tomorrow I think there will be some sort of house party to celebrate it. I'll go, but my Valentine is very far away right now! I hope she's doing well and likes the cards I've sent her!

The past few days have been pretty eventful. I got to go into work on Thursday, which eased the boredom/cooped up feeling. After work I had my Middle Eastern Politics class. Pretty interesting so far...I'm pretty sure I have a lot of reading to do this week for it. Hopefully I can get it done!

So after that the weekend commenced. Went out with my roommate Joe and John--Joe's friend from College who works on the hill. We went out to the "Pour House" a pub and grill on Pennsylvania Avenue. It's in a pretty neat little area--next to some capitol hill bars and restaurants. We met some other interns there...I think they were from the WISH Program. Nice people, a few of them were from Europe. Overall though, it was a nice/chill evening.

The next day (Friday) was very eventful. First, I had my seminar class. We finally got the syllabus and it looks like it's going to be a fun and challenging seminar. We're expected to go to some sort of event, i.e. a protest or hearing, and do a report on it. There are a couple of other projects as well, and the class discussion is pretty interesting. And of course--we go on lots of cool field trips. Yesterday, for example, we all went to the top of the Washington Monument. The views were incredible! Visibility could not have been better and we could all pretty much see the entire city.

After that, a few of my housemates and I went to the "Old Ebbit Grill" which is like the epitome of a historic and classy DC establishment. U.S. Grant was a loyal customer; in fact they have a bar stool dedicated to him. That night Joe, John, and myself met up with my cousin Catherine for her bday bash. We went to this really cool bar in Adams Morgan (a popular night life area) where me met up with some more of her friends. I met another person from Texas who works in her office! She seemed really cool and willing to help me out if I wanted it in the future. Good person to know. Also, the bar we went to was on the same street as many of the bars frequented by the party fiends of Real World D.C. Needless to say, I had a lot of fun and will go back out there when I am able to.

But that wasn't all that happened yesterday; I also had my phone interview with the hiring lady at the the Austin Nature and Science Center. It looks like I've got a really good opportunity to get a job with them. I would work with either 12-17 year olds in the "adventure" camp or 7-8 year olds in the "nature" camp. Adventure camp will involve more intense outdoor activities but the 7-8 year olds will provide me with more funny quotes and less insubordinacy. I've got a tough choice to make. Either way, I'll most likely have to get lifegaurd, cpr, and first aid training. So get ready for a more Bear Grylls like Tim Clark.

In the upcoming days I'll probably try to get out a little bit and read as much as possible for class. I don't have work presidents' day (as if I need a day off) so I'll probably write more soon!


Tim

Week of Snow

Hello,

The office was closed yesterday due to massive weekend snowfall. In order to avoid massive boredom, I went out and did a few things. After sleeping in a little bit, I went to eat lunch with my cousin Catherine. We went to this place called the "Good Stuff Eatery" which is run by Spike from "Top Chef" and uses all free range beef for their hamburgers. It was great--loved the burger, fries were handcut, and the milkshake was incredible. I will probably go there again!

After that, I went back to the apartment in time to catch a few of my roommates before they went out for a long, snowy walk. Not wanting to sit alone in the apartment, I went out with them. We walked all the way to the WWII memorial. The snow was ridiculous and froze my feet, but I toughed it out and it turned out to be a pretty fun walk. The reflecting pool is completely frozen over. I also walked by all the museums, which I plan to hit up very soon. Also on my to do list for the upcoming weeks-- going to see some local markets. I would really like to see the Eastern Market first-- I hear it's pretty neat. Plus it's not too far from my house. Other markets on the list are are the farmer's, fish, and Italian.

Today was a fairly ho-hum day. Trudging through left over snow, I got to work 5 minutes before anyone else did. Work is...pretty good. I'm getting better at my jobs, but I still struggle sometimes. The bummer about work is that I don't work with anyone my age. All the people in my office are nice, but they're typically very busy and consumed in their work. My supervisor told me today that last semester there were 3 different interns in the department. This semester I am the only one--except for one girl who only comes in on Thursday and Friday (i don't even work Friday). So I'm kinda flying solo. But whatever, several people don't even do anything at their internships...at least I'm busy.

So it's been snowing now for a few hours. It's supposed to keep going until the mid afternoon tomorrow. The streets are starting to look pretty bad, so I doubt I will have work tomorrow. I just hope they email me tonight so I don't have to wake up early and what not. If I don't have work tomorrow I will probably read, blog, and pray the power doesn't go out.

So after that it will be pretty much be the weekend. How will I spend my time?? I don't know yet exactly. Catherine's bday party is Friday, I will probably go out for that. Thursday will probably be a night for bar-hopping with the fellow interns. Maybe the weather will be nice enough to go to the market or visit the Smithsonians. Also, I don't know if I will have President's Day off or not. If I do, maybe I'll have time to embark on an adventure of some kind.

Will write more soon

Tim

Snomageddon

o
Good evening everyone,

This weekend just got longer (thank you snowmageddon). Tomorrow I don't have work, and its supposed to snow more on Tuesday. So DC is pretty much going to a snowy, icy hell this week. Hopefully President's Day won't be canceled, lol.

Other than dealing with snow, I've been reading, trying to work, watching the Superbowl, and wondering where Ursula is. I just found out she landed safely in Hong Kong and should be getting into Saigon momentarily. I miss her a whole lot, but I'm so excited for her crazy adventure!

I'll probably take some time to write more tomorrow...today was mostly just for pictures and what not. If I can't get out much tomorrow I'll probably write like 2394293 pages because of intense boredom.


Later guys!

Tim

Week 1

So it's been a few days. Now that I finally have a chunk of free time, I think I'll write a little bit down.

Working at the DNC has been challenging and eventful. I get there around 9:15 everyday and work till 6. It's the busiest job I've ever had, hands down. Even for me, a lowly intern, there are usually three things going on at once. Yesterday, I was calling up different national newspapers to get some contact information. While I was calling them, people were calling me. While I was juggling phone calls, I had to enter in data to the computer.

I think it's been a really interesting job so far though. I get to see the way journalism works from the other end--the end that does their best to manipulate what journalists report on/how they report on it. And it's good insight to how certain aspects of campaigning/organizing go. To be clear--the DNC has lots o' different departments, but I've been placed in Communications. I think I got lucky with that placement. Like I said, it's really busy so I'm always doing something(s). And that means time goes by fast. This week really did blur by.

The highlight of my week was yesterday afternoon. On Wednesday, my supervisor told me that there was a chance I could go to the DNC Fundraiser on Thursday afternoon. My jaw dropped because I knew that President Obama would be speaking and taking questions at that event. Sure enough, as I leave work Wednesday the boss-lady tells me to bring a coat, because Thursday I will be in the same room as the President of the United States.

So Thursday afternoon I went to the fundraiser. There weren't a lot of people hawking you for cash. Hell, I couldn't even tell it was a fundraiser (until I saw that it was $6 for a miller lite). So after walking around and mingling a little bit, I got as close as possible to the stage and waited (along with everybody else) for Obama to come on. After several minutes of nervous anticipation, he finally walked upto the podium.

It was incredible-the man knows how to work an audience. The cool thing about Obama is that he comes across as so personable and friendly. I've admired his rhetorical and oratory ability for a while now, but I never understood how inspiring it could be in person. He delivered a great speech, had some good answers to tough questions, and charmed the freaking pants off of me and everyone in the room. After he was done, he did some handshakes with people. I got about 10 feet from him, and as he was starting to walk off I yelled "Barack!!! Air Five, Air Five!!" He turned around for a split second and put his hand in the air. I put mine up too... I air fived the President of the United States.

Pretty cool huh? And that was only my 4th day of work?!?! Unbelievable! After I did that, I went back to my apartment to catch the last half of my Middle Eastern Politics class. It seems really interesting. Prof. is kinda quirky, but that's no surprise really. After that, myself and all the interns went to the Hawn and Dove Bar. It's been around since 1967, and is really popular with interns and the like. Pretty cool place, I had a lot of fun. Will probably go again soon ish

I would like to go a lot of places this weekend, but I don't think that can happen unfortunately. Why? Snowpocalypse.

It's supposed to snow like 25 inches this weekend. Holy crap. Can it stop being cold soon? I will write more soon, seeing as I will not be able to go outside.

Also, check out some Townes Van Zandt if you can. I can't stop listening, here is a song of his:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JGc2CvM0EQ&feature=related

''

['/"

Review of First Day of Work

What I see on my way home from work
other 1/2 of kitchen
Living room in the morning

Happy Monday--

Man, today was incredibly busy. I got up at around 8:15 and got ready for work. An hour later I headed down to South Capitol St. to commence my work at the DNC. "Training" time lasted about 30 minutes. Then they took me to my desk, gave me a "tutorial" on their computer programs and said, "alright get started!" So after an hour of being in the building, I was let loose to do my job. The first half of the day was brutal. I didn't know how to work the programs, I didn't know how to work the phones that well, and had really no idea what I was doing. I hadn't even had time to read through the intern guide!

So when I finally got free for lunch I was pretty stressed out. It was a fast paced job and it was fairly overwhelming. So I went to Subway, took a breather, and gathered myself for the afternoon.

When I got back I had sometime to prepare for the next possible phone call or assignment. I began to gain some confidence with my duties: the next phone call went better than the last (the first guy hung up on me lol) and I did a good job on my duties. My supervisor even said my notes on the press conference were "perfect"! Then at 4 PM my co-workers and I got called into the conference room for a surprise birthday party for someone in the department! There was cake AND champagne. So I got like a 15 minute break to eat cake, have a solo cup of champagne, and chatted it up with a few of the people in the office. So it was fun and really broke some ice. As the resident "intern" I was asked to lead the happy birthday song, and I of course obliged.

So after that little shindig was over, my day wound down pretty nicely. I came back to the Apartment and plopped down on the couch, feeling quite accomplished. Before I got too comfortable I changed into some workout clothes and went on a jog. Jogging in DC is a pretty awesome experience. I ran by the capitol, supreme court, reflecting pool, and along the mall for a while. It was pretty cold outside but if you cover everything up, you can actually stay pretty toasty.

So now I'm watching "Mythbusters" with a few of my fellow intern-mates. Pretty fun bonding time! Tomorrow I have another day of work and I need to be there around 9:30 A.M. Hopefully it will go by quick, I won't screw upto much, and I'll continue to get better at the job.

Will report back soon

Tim

Move in Day

Pics of snow-day with Otis the Otter and Move in Day! Blog below!















Hello,

Well it's my first official day of the program! Today I met everyone, moved in, had an orientation session, and then went to a restaurant in China Town. All in all, I'd say it went pretty well. The people in the program, including my roommates, are nice and chill. All of them also seem very smart and outgoing as well. So that's good.

One interesting thing about the program is that there are 12 students from one school. That's almost 1/2 of the entire program. I think that makes it a little harder to break into the groove simply because the majority of people are not in my position. I suppose that puts them at a slight advantage. It is a little weird being around so many people I don't know. It's kind of like being a freshman all over again...in that regard at least.

I do have a few advantages though. I'm used to city life to a certain extent. And I have been to D.C. a few times, so a lot of things are familiar. Overall, I really just want the week to get started and for this whole thing to get rolling. There's kind of an edgy and anxious feeling in the air, most likely because everyone is starting their internships tomorrow and has little idea of what to expect.

Have I mentioned how badly I want work and this week to get started? Lol, I don't want to be redundant but the sooner it gets started the quicker a routine will develop. Routines may be boring sometimes, but they make time go by quicker and relieve anxiety. I think I need that.

I'm confident that in a week or two all that will fall into place. By that time, it will be mid February. It's astonishing how quickly this year has gone by. It seems like yesterday I was moving into the frat house, or helping Ursula get all her stuff into her second floor apartment. I know its only been a few days up here, but I already miss so many people! I hope everyone back home is doing well, and for those of you about to go abroad, ;) -- I wish the you the best and safest of travels.

Wish me the best of luck tomorrow! Big, big day...