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