Postcard Worthy Photos? Perhaps.

On Wednesday, after I attended the lecture and researched, I had about two hours before my class started, which again was only ten minutes away from the LOC. Therefore, I indulged in one of my most relaxing hobbies --- photography.

Here are some gems:

The Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress (clearly the main one)

Is this a Florida hotel? Nah, it's just the front of the LOC.

Some prestigious scholar on the street... Yeah, definitely kidding.

Look what's across the street. Oh hey.

Hello again, old friend

Hola

Yet another photo of the capitol. Clearly can't get enough. #Overdose

Russell Senate Building

Union Station (Trust me, this is the best shot I had since they have construction behind the statue... Convenient.)

Right outside the Union Station doors

The Afternoon When I Was an Academic

On Wednesday before my 5:30 p.m. class, I hiked back to the Library of Congress to attend a 12 p.m. lecture called " --> Covering America: A Narrative History of a Nation’s Journalism." It was perfect because it pertained to my thesis topic and my interests in general. The entire week before, I was nerding out in excitement that the most relevant lecture that I could find so far in DC was also on my day off from work.

It was really interesting, as it identified the history of journalism and the evolution of how it has become what it is today. I was also able to ask a question during the Q&A session to get an "interview" to use for my final thesis.

The Madison Building of the Library of Congress - The building where my lecture was held

While I was there, I took the liberty of trying to find books and articles to research, too. Surprisingly, however, it was relatively inconvenient to do so because it is a closed library and there is a waiting period to actually get the books. Plus, there are just so many security measures that it really is not worth it. I am just waiting for my Georgetown library card, which apparently should be arriving soon!

Update: My thesis is going really well so far! I am still in the research phase, but I have been developing a lot of insights on rhetorical trends and peeling out a lot of new, unforeseen angles to my research. I am really looking forward to it all coming together! I have a "prospectus" due in a couple of weeks, so I have been steadily working on that in addition to research.

My work schedule looks like this --- I work from Monday to Tuesday and Thursday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. with the commute being an hour each way. I come home at 7 p.m., eat my dinner, and then go to the "business center" for 2-3 hours to work on my thesis or work for my class. Although it is tiring to do work when I get home from well, work, I have been finding it to be a really helpful system for me with a lot less pressure to do constantly be working on my days off. It leaves me some convenience to do other things if plans come up. Plus, I think I'd be bored/feel unproductive if I just did nothing after work each night.

Something that I did not expect is that I would be going to bed pretty early for me. I usually go to bed around 11:30 p.m., which is very atypical to my usual sleeping times. At school, I would go to bed around 3 a.m. on average and usually 5 a.m. at least once a week when I would have a paper due the next day. Then, I'd wake up around 8:30 a.m. I thought that I would stay up until at least 1 a.m. here doing work, too, but it is really different when you actually have a job I now realize. Although I was extremely busy at school the next day and would always run into people, I need to consistently be refreshed and look professional each morning at work. I know that appears to be like common sense, but it is definitely a factor that I did not expect.

The class is going really well, too. It makes me wonder to be honest if I should have double majored in English and political science. I had my first paper due this week, so that little hypothesis might change if I do badly! 

The Town, Georgetown

This afternoon, I met up with two of my old high school friends and fellow rowers in Georgetown.

For such a famous university and shopping area, it is a little bit of an inconvenience to get to, although not too complicated. It is a short, ten minute metro ride to Rosslyn and then I walk a block to the Circulator Bus stop that takes me right to M Street in Georgetown's shopping area.

These quick snap-shots do not even adequately describe the area. It is really cute and definitely a touristy area. My one friend who goes to Georgetown recommended a Thai food place on the Potomac River, which was really good. I have never had Thai food before, so it was also nice to diversify my palate.

Then, we spontaneously decided to go to Sprinkles Cupcake on our way back, which was of course delicious. I naturally chose peanut butter-chocolate. For those who know me well, whenever there's a peanut butter option, you know that I am ALL over that.

I cannot wait for my Georgetown library card to come now because I have become pretty amazed by the area.

"Intern Moment"

In broader, American culture, we characterize the dumb, rookie mistakes we make as having a "blonde moment." In the corporate world, I would like to call this category of naive moments as the "intern moment."

My internships thus far at Holy Cross, Powerstation, and SourceMedia have been really different, as I have become very close with my bosses on a one-on-one level. At my internship now, despite how nice everyone is, they are so used to having multiple interns come in every semester (four-five months) and they are a lot busier each day. So, it makes me just another intern, which is honestly more typical of the internship experience.

I begin with this to explain that I really have never had any "intern moments" before. However, on Thursday, I certainly learned a lesson. Each day, I need to get the guests from the lobby and bring them to the set, which requires me to make small-talk with them. This one guest asked me, "Is [the name of the host] here today?" This struck me as odd since he is about to speak to him in about 10 minutes, since he is a guest on the show. It made me wonder if he just wanted to meet the host personally, which is why he asked. Therefore, without thinking, I asked, "Have you ever met [name of the host]?"

WELL, let me tell you, never ask a guest if he or she has met the host of the show! He was extremely taken aback and condescendingly laughed, "I have known him since before you were born. When were you born? Yes, I have known him way before then."

Okay, so he does know him. That's fine. Conversation closed.

NOPE. I watch the show in the control room where I can hear what people say on set. When this guest was about to go on, I hear him say, "Your intern asked me if I have ever met you and I go, I have known him since before you were born." They both laugh and the host says, "Gotta love the dedication." Then, one of the nice segment producers sympathetically says in the control room, "The poor girl." I think she forgot I was there...

Whoops! That's embarrassing. Can you say, dumb intern? Oh well, it was just a simple rookie mistake. Yet, the joke still is not over. After the segment, the guest leaves and repeats, "Have I ever met you?"

Let's just say: Lesson learned. Every guest knows the host.

GETTIN' CARDED

Nah, not at da clubz.

Last Wednesday, on my day off, two other people and I went to the Library of Congress to get our library cards before class.

There are several buildings to the library, so naturally we went to the wrong one after already going through security. After a long process that felt more like a job application to Stop & Shop, we well, GOT CARDED.

My friend and I with not only our Library of Congress cards, but our Connecticut driver licenses. WHAT UP.

Another perk: The library is right across the street from the capitol, which is a five minute walk to class and Union Station. Can you say perfectly convenient location? I think yes. (Excuse me for geeking out about saving a few dollars on the metro. #realworldproblems)

P.S. My photo for this card is literally the best photo ID I have ever taken. Just compare it with my license and you'd think they were two completely different people. Needless to say, I am very proud of myself for appearing to be a normal person for five seconds.

Running for the Hills

After a forty day hiatus, I decided to whip back out the old running sneakers to take advantage of running with such picturesque-Washington views.

There is the perfect running/biking trail with an entrance in Crystal City, which is a five minute walk from my apartment. It starts in a small park called "Water Park" and goes in the direction toward Washington on one side and to Alexandria, VA on the other.

Water Park - The first time my friend and I ran here on Sunday, there was a wedding.

I always go toward Washington because well why wouldn't you want to run to Washington, D.C.?! I have to admit though, I have never actually made it close to Washington (hahahaha). Blame it on my out-of-shape physique.

Reagan Airport

I have managed to spot the Washington Memorial though! Check-point #1 in the Amazing Race to DC.

Washington Memorial past the Platonic River

Hopefully, the incentive to see more views will motivate me to get my butt in gear! Knowing me, that probably won't even work.

Asian Tourist Hits DC

Although I am sure that you are hanging onto each word that I type here, I bet you are ready to give your eyes (and possibly your mind) a break. Yesterday, a group of us went to visit most of the many monuments in the city. Here are some of the Asian-tourist photos I took:

National Archives

Constitution Avenue

Oh hey guyz

My I-think-I'm-a-photographer shot

Washington Monument

Big Pappa's House (Some people call it The White House.)

Lincoln Memorial

World War II Memorial

 SIDE-NOTE: People were taking photos in front of the fountain at the WWII Memorial like it was Niagara Falls...

Washington Monument and Reflection Pool from Lincoln Memorial

Where MLK's feet grazed during that "little" speech of his

You can't tell because you are distracted by our good looks, but we were so dehydrated, sweaty, and sore from the afternoon. #ModelBehavior

Korean War Memorial - My favorite; it was extremely touching.

I'll leave you with these monumental words that I posted yesterday on Twitter:
"Can someone kindly cut off my legs for me? #kthanx"

"Cultural Immersion"

Going onto my eighth day in DC and I can surely say that my favorite aspect is being surrounded by politics and history, particularly with the election events quickly gaining speed.

At work, I have access to the news wires that delivers the latest news headlines as soon as they are released by the Associated Press and other big news sources. That has been great to discover the biggest political stories as soon as they are released. It is like the Twitter fanatic's cocaine.

Plus, I also do research for the show, which allows me to further envelop myself in politics. (P.S. Three things I found for the show ended up on the show this week... HOLLA.)

It is not even the perks of my job that makes me feel as if I have immersed into a new culture of politics. The casual discussions with the other people in my Holy Cross group have been stimulating. It is absolutely thrilling to be in the center of policy-making with young, college students who are passionate about politics, yet are still developing their ideas and career aspirations, too. As someone who has never even taken a political science course before, I love listening to others' views and I am learning a ton from them. I am truthfully not as familiar with state politics, so listening to others speak about various senators has been incredibly informative as well as simply interesting.

This past week was also the Republican National Convention (RNC). The group gathered each night at someone's apartment to watch it. It was definitely my favorite part of the week so far because I always enjoy hearing what ridiculous statements Republicans make (kidding, but not really). More importantly, it was so fun to watch it with political buffs from our little snarky side-comments to the full-on conversations that branched off of someone's RNC speech.


I might not have a host family or be spending Euros, but this week only already has been convinced that the Washington DC Semester is equally an immersion experience like study abroad. Although it is entirely different than a year in Europe or Australia, I feel as if I am also becoming more proficient in a new language, too. That language being bullshi--- I mean politics.