Tuck and Fold

Disclaimer: This post doesn't have a clear point.

I've realized that the best part about blogging is that it's made me so much more cognizant of other blogs, and so much more appreciative of what it takes to craft a good story (or post.. whatever we're calling these things). Since I started this last week, I've noticed that so many people have been blogging while away this summer/previous semesters etc. Exciting! This is like unearthing a new section of the New York Times, except better--because it's all about people I know! (and people I actually know; not my usual system of "being friends with Barack Obama" because I know someone who knows Oprah, and Barry and the big O are known to be tight. Or reading the Sunday Weddings&Celebrations section and getting excited when I "know" the couples because they're being married in the Duke Chapel.)

Anyways- I've spent the day folding dress shirts to high heavens (#DCinternproblems?) while updating myself on all the magic happening across the globe. I am so excited that so many people I know are off doing remarkable things and--more importantly--telling me about them via the blogosphere (I can't get enough of this word) or mass emails. I am so used to all my friends' natural characters--the way they hold themselves, their mannerisms and catchphrases--and it is so fantastic to hear and see a slightly different side of them, their narrative voice.  Keep it up guys! It's like I get to read page after page of college essays! (@NA-ers, remember how I bizarrely enjoyed those?)

Additionally, I'm shocked how many people reached out after my first post! You don't know how much the feedback means to me. Keep the comments coming, I really love hearing from you all. On a semi-related note, I wish there were a better way to follow blogs, but people are using to many different sites. Ah, first world problems.

Anyways,  off to DC in the morning! I'll post another update with photos after settling in/my first few days of work. (AH!)

:)
G

Between the Beltway: Embarking

Starting this was an internal battle. I am vehemently opposed to the Twitter phenomenon (despite a soft spot for hashtags and Charlie Sheen), I cringe when people update their Facebook status too frequently, and I have never regularly followed a blog. I don't really know if my voice is worthy of its own place on the Internet. But the last few years have taught me that there is something to be said for capturing great moments. From the document on my phone entitled simply "Quotations," to the (virtual) piles of emails from friends and family I refuse to delete, I have slowly begun to digitally catalog some of the things that have made me smile wide or think deeply of late. I am horrible about taking pictures, and even more horrible about writing my own experiences down. I am quick to live in the moment, confident that, like an elephant, I will not forget.

A rabid patriot, I will be spending the next two months exploring our nation's marble masterpiece--Washington, DC. So this is something I don't want to forget; I won't be okay with forgetting. Thus, I am writing it down. Who knows the next time I will have an office on Pennsylvania Avenue? (Let's pretend my next one will be Oval.)

I'll do my best to document my experience here through pictures, anecdotes, and, of course, my signature environmental rants. I hear this place has a bag tax (shout-out to SESC!), and I'm hoping the coffee machine doesn't use Styrofoam cups.

I want to hear your stories too, because I have no doubt that you are all up to incredible (and, more importantly, hilarious) things, so post them in comments, send me emails, Facebook me to death, write letters, mail postcards, and never, ever tweet.

George