A Giant Greenwich

Sorry for the delay between posts. I've been really busy riding trains (I went home last weekend!) and watching The West Wing.

So yesterday I had a really interesting conversation with someone at work after they found out I go to Duke. She told me that she lived in Durham for several years right after college, because she had a job in Research Triangle Park (RTP) and that she had just visited Durham last week. She was telling me about how much she loves it, and a few of her sentences really struck me. She said that Durham is a place that is really important and really resonates with her because it was the first place she was really an adult. She felt as though she really "came of age" there (hate that phrase but love the sentiment) and was also very involved in the community. Plus the Triangle is just a really cool place.

She asked me about my time in DC, what drew me here, and what my impressions of the city are. After what she had said about Durham, I definitely felt a kinship to DC. It is the first place I am (a semblance of) a real person; I live on my own, I commute and work in an office full time, etc. It's nothing like school. It's probably also different from being a truly real person since my responsibilities are lessened by the fact that I'm 19 (aka no Bills, Bills, Bills to pay, shout out to OPE internz). Anyhow, I feel a special affection for DC, and I think it'll always have a place in my heart because of this summer. Not to mention the fact that it's full of really interesting people, places, and things. One of my impressions of DC that we discussed was the fact that, to me, it feels like a real working city defined so much by the Federal government. We drew parallels to the entertainment industry in LA, the auto industry in Detroit, and, to a lesser extent, the banking industry in New York (New York was more of an exception for us because it's also so intricately defined by the Arts). That's the flavor of DC. Everything is about the Hill and the [white] House. Also, because of the city ordinance which prohibits buildings taller than the Monument, the city is populated by an eclectic mix of a few shiny office buildings flanked by lots of brownstones and colourful row houses--or, as I called it, a Giant Greenwich (Village not CT)... She was fond of this description.

Anyway, I'm rambling. Basically it was a really interesting conversation about life that we had as we walked back, on the White House Ellipse, to EPA from a meeting we had at the Department of the Interior. (Aside: the meeting was originally scheduled for the White House. Still pretty bitter about the move. But on the upside we got emailed for our names/birthdays/Socials to send to Secret Service for our upcoming WH tour!)

Work has been pretty interesting this week. Green Sports is really taking off! And the idea of America's Great Outdoors is finally starting to come together and make sense. I've been busy putting together documents and scheduling meetings and going to lots of meetings (and even participating, how crazy!), and I'll definitely share updates when they're more concrete.

We also had a cool meeting with author/filmmaker Lynne Cherry. Everyone should check out her Young Voices on Climate Change, a lot of the stories were really cool/empowering. I especially liked Kids vs. Climate Change and Dreaming in Green. Stephanie also likes to end meetings with a fun/interesting video, so here's a REALLY amazing one on the social media revolution--it's short and chock full of great graphics and statistics. Enjoy!

This weekend should be fun. The plan is for some museums, a DC United soccer game (Kristin here's your shout out: COME!), some crazy chocolate tasting shenanigan in Dupont, and maybe the zoo. I'll update again over the weekend! I've also got to hunker down and find out if Bartlet wins re-election, and watch some Wimbledon! (Go read this article about Wimbledon strawberries--so ridiculous I could have written it.)

Peace & Blessins,
George

OH! I also learned this week that they (I'm invoking the magical "they" from outer space/Model Congress/probably real Congress here--as in, "they say that three ounces of sweet persimmon on koala's meat cures pancreatic cancer" and "they say that one in four gay-bashing Republicans are actually gay") can apparently make pseudo-Styrofoam from fungi and it biodegrades. Blew my mind/began to redefine my hatred of both Styrofoam and mushrooms! I know these are the sorts of stories you eagerly await to hear from me!