Rush America!

Bid Day: July 4, 1776

(For the seven of you on Earth who I haven't told, that was what was written on my favorite Independence Day themed tshirt EVER. No idea where the guy got it, but I totally want one. #totalfratmove?) 

Anywho, yay America! For the Fourth my parents came down and we perused lots of overcrowded museums, wading our way through thousands of confused foreigners and hundreds of people snapping shots destined for the annals of Awkward Family Photos. (But seriously, I'd kill for some of them. My favorites included a super unenthusiastic picture of two kids and their dad on the Metro, taken by their mom, huddled masses around Michael Jackson's hat, and anything involving the Hope Diamond.) 

Oh my god speaking of pictures, I totally forgot to write about the Kennedy Center! (My memory of this was jogged because there was a guy just standing alone on the terrace behind the KC right by the fountain, essentially begging to be asked to take other people's pictures. Naturally, we obliged:

Scholas in the District! Miss ya, NJSP 2008

Also, I don't know if you've heard, but the Kennedy Center is GORGEOUS.

 Great pics, I know.. 

 You can sort of see National Cathedral and the top of Georgetown here. Wooo Potomac!

 My favorite. Kind of want to magic out the garbage can.

There are Jack quotations everywhere. Obviously they all give me chills. Would have loved to see some of Teddy's though! Ya know, “The work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die.”

The National Symphony Orchestra was also great. And free! I love this city. (I had such a Duke moment waiting in line: They started giving out free tickets at 6pm for an 8pm show. I went straight after work and got there around 5:30. The man behind me in line thought that it'd go pretty slowly and was worried he wouldn't have time to grab dinner before the show. He said he really hates waiting in lines for tickets, but free is free. I told him I lived outside for a month to watch Duke beat UNC and that I've spent entire days in line, so I'm much more patient now than I used to be. I think he was more perplexed than impressed. #sorryimnotsorry Also, it took all of eight minutes to get our tickets so I don't really know what he was worried about.) 

Anyways, American History Museum is soooo good oh my goodness. I legitimately teared up when I looked at Michelle's Inaugural Ball gown and the huge picture of Barack and Michelle that accompanied it. Love them so much. But I still would've been thrilled to have another chunk of the exhibit dedicated to the Clinton's return to the White House. Would've been interesting, right? Would the exhibit still highlight Hillary's (third!) Inaugural gown? Would the First Ladies exhibit include a section for the first First Gentleman, William Jefferson Clinton? #whatcouldhavebeen. Can't wait for the first female president, if for no other reason than to see what the Smithsonian Institute whips up! For now I'll have to make do with Hillary's 18 million cracks in the Marble Ceiling and hope that the damn thing is shattered by someone brighter and more worthy of greatness than Sarah Palin or Michele Bachmann. 

AHM also had some great pop culture stuff, including Kermit (!) and Nastia Liukin paraphernalia. Olympicssss.

Fireworks were beautiful, the pictures are on my dad's camera, so I'll post them eventually. In the meantime, we'll admire these:

 The World War II Memorial 

Wooo adoptive home!  When I die I'm not a Tarheel dead.

Lincoln: always doin' big things

Also everyone should read Room. It is incredible, fascinating, and such a fast read. Totally deserved to be a Booker finalist. I won't spoil any of it but for people who have read, I would love to discuss!

Plenty more to write, but that's enough for now slash I've gotta save some stories for real life.

Thanks for reading :)

G

Enchanting Vocals and Hypnotic Rock

A quick post before I get into the Fourth and such.

Live! On the Woodrow Wilson Plaza is an event that is running all summer long. There's a free concert every weekday from 12-1:30, right outside my office! Who would fund this you ask? YOU WOULD! #taxdollarsatwork (I firmly believe that everyone would feel substantially better about all the money they're mailing off to the government if they came to DC for a week every year. It is the city of free. And by "free" I mean, you paid for it indirectly in the past, so it feels free now. For those of you following along at home, this notion of "indirectly prepaid thus free" may sound oddly familiar, you may know it by its other colloquial names: college or, more aptly, Duke basketball. Trek around DC for a free cupcake? Sure! Sleep outside for a month to watch the UNC game? Why not! 

Anywho, the acts are pretty random (as you can see from the link above), but each day has a dramatic literary description--like "enchanting vocals" or "hypnotic rock." In reality, all the acts sound basically the same; some variety of smoooooth jazz for lunch (cue Priya voice, FAC-stars). Every day, there are two fixtures: dancing old lady and dancing man in wheelchair. They are my favorite federal employees besides the Obamas. You should come see them. My favorite act so far has been the man I've dubbed the rogue flutist. He was getting his groove on on-stage, occasionally playing the flute but mostly shaking what looked to be a red baby rattle (??). 

Just a day in the life. (Not to be confused with Life in a Day, which looks incredible/fascinating.) 

Peanuts

Kennedy Center, lots of museums, Independence Day, and plenty of shenanigans. I don't even know where to begin!

I think I would rather write about the ridiculous things. They give you a better glimpse into my life.

Let's start with peanuts. In an empty Environmental Education office, there were huge bags of peanuts. The peanuts were set to expire soon (apparently they expire? Reminds me of my favorite Seinfeld standup), so someone sent out a message to the office asking if the peanuts belonged to anyone; if not, they would be donated to the federal food drive going on right now. This is a real email received in return: The peanuts are there because this office has a long standing tradition of feeding the squirrels outside our windows. Janice usually does the peanut drop, but I will sometimes do it if she is not here. Janice and former members of this office buy the peanuts for this purpose. Excuse me, WHAT?! That is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever read in my ENTIRE life. A PEANUT DROP?! For SQUIRRELS?! This is even more absurd than the treatment of the Duke squirrels. Honestly, my time here has exposed a series of inefficiencies in the Federal government, but oh my goodness this is just a whole new level of crazy. Obviously jokes about peanuts are now even more popular than ones about being blessed. Look at your life, look at your choices people. 


Speaking of federal inefficiency, I'm going to take this moment to have a discussion with myself about my future in government. On the one hand, I don't think I can work in government forever. Things just take too long to get done, and so many of the career staff lack passion. They are complacent moving at a really slow pace, with antiquated methods, because there is no incentive to get it done faster. My parents were down here this weekend, and they asked if anyone would be in the office on Saturday. I scoffed at such a ridiculous notion. There are advantages to being in the office on a Saturday in the private sector; be more productive and you can both earn more and move up the promotion ladder faster. In the federal government, everyone is salaried, and there is a rigid pay scale that has extremely few exceptions for rapid upward movement for merit. Plus there is no funding to improve the infrastructure, and there are no venture capitalists betting on the government of the United States.

But on the other hand, maybe federal work should be slow. The rules for creation regulations at the EPA are extremely tedious and time consuming. But maybe that's how it should be! If they were rapid fire, like the private sector, then one crazy administration could rapidly usher in the complete removal of environmental protection. Constitutional amendments and overrides are extremely hard to pass for a reason--our government shouldn't be susceptible to incredibly rapid flux. Furthermore, while the slow rate of action is frustrating, the impact is incredible. If I want to really be a player in environmental policy, there are few places better than the EPA in terms of making a real difference. And there are SO many programs within the EPA, the scope is unbelievable; Obviously EPA has a stake in every major environmental issue, but who knew it administered programs like EnergyStar? And I had no idea how much public health work they do (radon, mercury and air toxics, UV/sunburn, the list goes on and on) Plus it is remarkably easy to move between programs. Few nonprofits or private enterprises could offer that flexibility of experience.

This summer has both stoked and diminished my cynicism about government. In the end though, I think I will definitely at least consider and apply to federal jobs after college. And after our "How to Prepare a Federal Resume" workshop today, I will probably need to get cracking on USA Jobs soon!

I'll tackle the fun stuff mentioned at the start of this post in my next one because this one already feels excessively long.

Blessed Metro Rides

So I want to start by recounting a story that I neglected to tell earlier, and how it's manifested itself into many subsequent DC adventures.

On one of my first days here, I was making small talk with one of the security staff at some federal building, I forget where exactly. Part of the conversation transcribed below:
         RANDOM GUARD: How are you, sir?
         ME: Oh I'm fine, and yourself?
         RG: I'm blessed.
         (RG Returns my backpack and agrees that my badge is sufficient proof to let me into BUILDING.)
         ME: Have a good day.
         RG: Have a blessed day!

A few days later, I was walking to lunch with Isabella (NJSP shoutoutz!), and she told me a similar story about being "blessed" and then we got to ANOTHER security guard who also told us to have a blessed day! What is this phenomenon? I have literally never heard anyone describe their state of being as blessed! Is DC some sort of religious Mecca?

Needless to say, "blessed" has become one of our running gags, and we wait eagerly for the day that we can slip it into mundane conversation. This probably counts as sacrilege/blasphemy, but I think that there are other, more severe offenses (in the eyes of the church) which I've already committed that have functionally shored up my eternal damnation.  (Examples include: not going to church and generally renouncing the positively ludicrous beliefs of the Catholic church on Harry Potter, gays, abortion, liberals, Muslims, anyone remotely removed from Caucasian descent, etc.)

Anyways, we had a truly blessed day on Saturday, which began by going to a chocolate tasting at Biagio in Dupont. It was all amazing/delicious, I was totally unable to really distinguish the "sensual flavors" and "subtle differences" between different, exorbitantly overpriced chocolates. I should have written some of the descriptions down, they were really rich. The chocolate was so robust it was positively jumping with life! How do I get a gig writing this nonsense? Is it the same people that staff the Pun Department at ESPN?  In any case, I'll be adding "chocolate connoisseur-ery" to my laundry list of skills to learn later in life. It's right up there with Morse Code and croquet, and just slightly after "legitimate (non-pasta) cooking." Ah, edification.

Afterwards, we went to the DC United game against the Houston Dynamo. But, as any sage will tell you, life isn't about the destination, it's about the journey. And let me tell you we had a really special one...

It all began on the Red Line of the Metro. All was well from Dupont to Metro Center. Our transfer to the Blue/Orange line was where things began to get sticky. At Eastern Market, the (crowded) Metro decided that it would just stop indefinitely. As the minutes ticked away, we realized that the game was about to start. After 15 minutes of this ridiculous waiting game we decided to just get off here and walk to the stadium. It was, after all, only 2 stops away, and we were armed with two Blackberries. DC is the city where each block is in desperate need of a station (See: Farragut North, Farragut West, Metro Center, Gallery Place, Federal Triangle, Smithsonian, Archives, L'Enfant), so I mean really, how bad could the walk be? Once we were about halfway there, we saw a man going into his apartment and sought affirmation that we were going the right way. Conversation:
        ISABELLA: Excuse me, could you tell us how to get to RFK Stadium.
        RANDOM MAN: Sure, if you just walk about three blocks back, you'll be at the Metro. Go two stops and you'll be right at the stadium!
        ME: OK, what if we want to walk?
        (RM casts a strong look of consternation and concern upon us. Why on Earth would you ever walk somewhere in this city when it has a Metro stop? he thinks. Clearly he has never tried the Metro on the weekend, otherwise he would know that it is little more than a glorified shuttle service, seventeen year old girl sick of her parents, coming and going at its leisure and not headed anyplace with a great sense of purpose or urgency.) 
        RM: See that silver car over there? Cross the street to it and then snake your way up to 19th and East Capitol. The stadium will be right there.
        US: Ok great, thanks!
        (RM no doubt turns away and shakes his head.) 


So we got to the game a few minutes later, having missed the first 20 minutes but nothing major (ie no goals). The game itself was really fun, and we had great seats especially considering the price (my only reservation on "great seats" is that die hards would wave these absolutely enormous flags on the sideline and obscure our view of the field). It ended in a 2-2 tie, but we left a few minutes before the end of regulation for fear of more Metro issues/never ever getting home. Of course, our fears were confirmed. First we got to the stadium station and rode a train in the wrong direction for a stop. (Oh hello, Minnesota Avenue! You're so lovely out here, all suburban and what-not. So glad we got to sight see! Of course it was too good to be true that a train was just sitting on the platform when we got to the stadium stop!) Soo then we waited around to get going in the right direction. A train came pretty quickly (and we used our new trick skillz--sitting in the first car), but of course that train proceeded to do a whole lot of nothing between stops. Super unclear why.

Basically, this site needs to become an app. Or someone with some serious spiritual power needs to bless these trains.

In late breaking news, never shop at Trader Joe's on Sunday afternoon! But you should definitely go to Georgetown and ogle the hoard of people trying to get into Georgetown Cupcake. Absurd.

Leaving lots out, but overall a really fun weekend! Can't wait for the 4th!

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!

Hook 'n Bullet!

Hello again!

My second full week here in DC has been a good one, and I'll do my best to update you on it and, as always, editorialize a bit.

Work has been a lot more fun and a lot more productive this week. The rest of the intern team has started, and it's been great getting to know them/having peers around the office. Our internship coordinator, Shira, is really fantastic, and she's organized a lot of fun events for us, both in and out of the office. For instance, we have a meet and greet with Administrator Jackson, tours of the Capitol and Supreme Court, and a speakers series over lunch. This week we had our first speaker, Seth Oster, who is the Associate Administrator (AA, ie head honcho) for External Affairs. Like the rest of the higher admin, he is a "political" and he came to the EPA after many years in the private sector. While he was introducing himself, he said "I serve at the pleasure of the President," which obviously gave my chills given my recent West Wing obsession. (Speaking of, Season Two. WOAH NOW. President Bartlet's reelection campaign is stressing me out substantially more than real world news, and I can hardly stop watching. Problem?) Reeling it back in, Seth's talk was great and I'm really looking forward to meeting the other AA's. (AAs? Do you use an apostrophe? #grammarproblems)

In addition to the entrance of the new interns, I also feel like this week brought me much closer to the staff I'm working for. On Wednesday the Public Engagement team (about 15 staff and 4 or 5 interns) a really fun meeting over lunch. The first hour and a half was serious business, and the last half hour was "forced socialization" as our director, Dru, put it. By the end she was showing us videos of her three year old son dancing, and playing youTube videos of Bills, Bills, Bills from Glee because she finds the Warblers hilarious. Solid office bonding experience clearly.

On Friday a bunch of us went to the free jazz in the Sculpture Garden after work, which was really nice/so classy. Besides the crazy hippie protesting alone next to us. . . I left early to meet up with Alex and Eliza who were visiting from Jerz. They introduced me to my new favorite spot in DC.

Freedom Plaza is an open space that is inlaid with a map of downtown DC. When you stand on the blueprint of the Capitol and look down Pennsylvania Avenue, you get the most majestic view of the actual Capitol, flanked by office buildings and the Old Post Office Pavilion. You have to see it, especially in the evening, it's amazing. You will wax patriotic instantaneously. I'm feeling immense American pride right now just thinking about it. My little camera didn't do it justice at all, so I won't even bother posting the horrible picture I took there.

The monuments on The Mall are best beheld at night, and that's all I'll say about that. Oh, and they desperately need to finish this Reflecting Pool construction (I realize I've already kvetched about this, but it bears emphasis. And really, have I ever been one to quickly drop my complaints? #dcinternproblems)

The National Portrait Gallery is probably my new favorite museum, we had such a great time there on Saturday. Besides the actual art, my favorite part is the Kogod Courtyard which is a fantastic architectural wonder inspired by no less the voice of God (just like the music at Alpine, Dukies!) and designed by people more brilliant than I will ever dream of being. The art was great, especially the Calder exhibit which just totally left me in awe of what someone can do with a few pieces of wire. Certainly not your 3-month-old's mobile. The wire, the color, the shapes, the shadows. So cool. I don't think my chatty writing can come close to honoring the place enough. The Presidents and Champions collections were my favorite. I could walk around the place all day. Especially because there is virtually no crap (aka modern "art") like monochromatic abstractionism and other spilled paint formations.

In addition to being touristy and watching too much West Wing when I get home from work, I'm  enjoying Dear Girls Above Me, and this ridiculous Metro site, which is about as clever as Did Duke Win?.

Thanks for reading :)
-George

Alphabet Soup

An update on my first week here in DC.

So I'm living at Catholic University, in this lovely building:

 

And the National Shrine is right outside my door:

(Look at me taking pictures and everything!)

Anyways, I've spent my first few days here just settling in and figuring DC out. I have a few first impressions to discuss. First, the HEAT! The first few days here were brutal, especially in dress clothes, but  the last two or three have been much better.. I've finally had the chance to walk around DC at lunch and on campus in the evening without sweating profusely, which is great. There are so many amazing sights to see, I'm not sure how I'm going to do it all. Yesterday I took a walk up to the Washington Monument and the WWII Memorial and just took it in for a bit. I also wanted to walk down the Reflecting Pool to the Lincoln Memorial, but when I got there, I found that the whole thing was torn up! "Renovation..." The other incredible thing is that so many of the museums are free, which is fantastic for both my minute attention span and my sometimes cramped schedule. I will keep you posted on the monuments and exhibits that I enjoy the most.

Next, the Metro is SO clean! It is a totally different world from the Subway. DC is also really small! I feel like I already have a decent grasp of the geography and generally understand where the five (only five!) Metro lines go--something I definitely cannot even pretend to say about New York. (I know you're all DYING to read my commentary on such a fascinating subject as underground trains.)

Work is good! The first day was definitely overwhelming just trying to figure the place out. I'm working in the Ariel Rios North building, which is located at 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue in the Federal Triangle (IRS, Commerce, and EPA all have their headquarters here, and some other Federal departments also have some space). Apparently the same geniuses who designed Edens were responsible for this inspired collection of buildings, because in order to get to my second floor office from the main security entrance, I need to go up to the third floor, walk around the building, go down a flight of stairs, and walk around the building again. Which, particularly on the first day, is overwhelmingly intuitive! I have a pretty big desk, and a window which looks out onto the Old Post Office Pavilion and 12th Street. (Quotation of day 1 was in reference to the window, "‎It's cool, sometimes they ring a signal and the President drives by.") 

I'm working in the Office of External Affairs and Environmental Education, and my direct boss is Stephanie, the Deputy Administrator (ie head) of the office. This summer I'm supposed to have two main projects, America's Great Outdoors, which is a program started by the President earlier this year which aims to enhance outdoor spaces and engage more Americans in a culture of outdoor action, etc. Read about it on the website, it's a pretty cool, New-Deal-ish project. I'm not quite sure what my role with it will be yet, but we have some big meetings about it next week. Thus far it's just been about getting me up to speed on who everyone is, what the legislation says, etc. 

My other project is the Green Sports Initiative, which is all about engaging professional leagues/teams/athletes to participate sustainably--better waste, water, and energy management in the stadiums and at practices, and using athletes as positive role models for green living. Our main goal this summer is to take the work of the Green Sports Alliance, which has partnered with EPA Region 10 (Northwest), national. 


I've also been working on miscellaneous things around the office, and sitting in on meetings that my supervisor thinks will be interesting/beneficial. So I've seen a budget meeting for the new Office of Environmental Education (which actually wasn't as boring as it sounds!), I've talked with a member of the board from the American Fly Fishing Trade Association about the importance of protecting our waters--and learned a lot about his political and environmental distinctions between fishermen and hunters, I could talk about that for a while now--and yesterday I actually got to write the briefing report and compile some research documents for a meeting about the health benefits and risks of water fluorination. On Monday about 20 more interns start at the Agency, and I can't wait to get to know them.  I'm sure you're all waiting anxiously for me to talk about "work friends," since I know you all rejoice when I starting going on about "town friends," "home friends," "NJSP friends," or "school friends."  


I've rambled a bit and have neglected to explain the post title. So much of my week has been spent in meetings and behind documents, attempting to decode the alphabet soup that characterizes language in this town. DC, EPA, OGC, DoI, HHS, EA, EE, AGO, GSA, the list goes on and on and reads like our essay about FOP (@RebeccaCurwin). Stephanie has asked me to stop her any time she uses an abbreviation that I don't recognize, but I feel badly interrupting when there are lots of staffers around. So for now, they just get jotted in my notebook and Googled later! 


So far, so good. It's beautiful weather today, so I'm going to go out and enjoy the city. I'll post more stories and pictures soon, and they'll likely be much more interesting/substantive. Just figured I'd take this post to get you all acquainted with my little bubble here, as that's what I've been doing this week. 


:)
George


PS: Congrats to Li Na for winning the French Open! First singles Major for China, what an achievement. Pulling big for Roger tomorrow. 


PPS: I'm now hooked on the West Wing (way to fit a stereotype, I know). You should all watch, too. I could probably write a long post just about my favorite things from the first half a season I've watched this week... but I won't bore you with that until Big Block of Cheese Day.