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