So, I have two main points to discuss before the Thanksgiving break. First I will be discussing my classes for next semester, then I will discuss my plans for Thanksgiving.
I registered for classes last Friday. I was fortunate, in that I got all of the classes I had hoped to. I am taking a couple of classes toward my major and my minor as well as my final University requirement, my second theology class. I'll start with the theology class. It's called "What Catholics Believe" and I'm hoping it's pretty straight to the point. My history classes for the semester include a survey of American education, a survey of Latin American independence movements, and a class on the Bloody Monday riot in Louisville in 1855, it will also address violence and politics generally in the 1850's. My classes for my minor include an internship in a South Bend public high school and a class on the psychology of coaching youth sports. I'm really looking forward to all of the classes I'm taking. I'm also excited that I have, once again, avoided Friday classes.
Tomorrow I'm leaving for New Jersey with Matt and Erin to spend Thanksgiving with Erin's family. While I'm a little sad that I'm unable to make it home for the holiday, I'm excited to see how another family celebrates. I'm also excited because I think we may go to Atlantic City on Friday, and I've got some pennies I'd like to get rid of. More on that on Sunday.
The only real news from the weekend to report, as far as I can remember, is that we went to the National Archives on Saturday before the game was on TV. It's a pretty neat place to go, and even though I had been there before, seeing those documents never gets old.
I'd like to wish everyone a blessed, safe, and happy Thanksgiving, and I look forward to updating you on mine (hopefully) on Sunday evening.
Gob Bless,
Jes
November 24, 2009
November 18, 2009
Another Week Gone By
Hopefully I'm not going to be nmaking a habit of taking a week between blogs, it relly makes it difficult to remember what has happened. Friday was my fellow intern's last day in the Braley office as he was moving on to bigger and better things (a paid position) in Harkin's office. As a result, we had cookies and a little going away party, which was nice. I believe we just hung out in the apartment Friday night, so nothing out of the ordinary there. Saturday, after sleeping in, a couple of us went to the mall to go to the Air and Space Museum. It's a pretty neat museum with lots of artifacts from NASA especially. While there, we saw an IMAX about the space station. I must say, it seems like it could be a fun place to hang out. I bought some freeze-dried ice cream from the gift shop, so that I could get the full space experience. It wasn't half bad. After that, we headed over to Taco Bell to attempt the "Grande Meal Challenge." In the interest of everyones' stomachs, I won't go into details of what the challenge entailed; suffice it to say that after I completed it, I regretted it. Unfortunately, both of my football teams lost again, with the ND loss putting quite a damper on the mood here in the apartment. We called it a night kind of early. Sunday we went out for group brunch before I decided to start working on my history paper. As part of the universe's effort to keep me from writing that paper, the internet in our apartment wasn't working. Packy and I went to the Barnes and Noble in Georgetown in an attempt to get internet access, but it was to no avail. By that point, I had lost all motivation to write the paper. I did work on it later that night, when our internet access was restored, but it was a significantly less productive day than I had anticipated. In recognition of our lost day, Packy, Paul, and I walked over to Adams Morgan to get a nice dinner. We settled on a pizza place that, while it had excellent food, had terrible service. I came back to the apartment to work as best as I could on my paper, but ultimately wound up watching the very exciting fourth quarter of the Colts v. Pats game, with the Colts pulling out the win at the end. Monday at work, a new intern started. It reminded me of how timid and confused I was when I started just a few short months ago. I established with my supervisor that my last day in the office would be December 4, which means I have just over two weeks left. I'm definitely going to miss it, but I'm also looking forward to getting back, both to DBQ and ND. Monday night I got a fair amount of work done on my paper, and didn't do much else. Tuesday was pretty much a standard day at work. I can't remember anything out of the ordinary worth reporting. After class last night, I finished off my history paper (which was due today), before hitting the hay. Today was another fairly standard day at work. One thing to report is that our new intern got a paid job elsewhere meaning that, for the forseeable future, I am the loan intern in the office. Naturally, I relish the challenge and responsibility. Tonight, after history class, I decided to reward myself with Chipotle, a reward I always enjoy. I register for next semester's classes on Friday, fingers crossed that I can get into everything I want. In between now and then we've got class day tomorrow. More on that, the weekend, and my Thanksgiving plans on Sunday night.
Later,
Jes
Later,
Jes
November 12, 2009
One Full Week
Hello all,
So its been a full week since I last blogged, and I've got a fair amount to talk about. Work kind of sucked on Friday. With the probable upcoming vote on healthcare reform (which did pass on Saturday) we were getting pretty much constant calls on both sides of the issue. When it was finally time to call it a day, we went out to happy hour for one of my co-workers' birthday. It was nice to finally be old enough to go out with my co-workers. Saturday was a long day that I'm mostly blocking from my memory. However, we did make a trip down to Union Station for our favorite chicken salad sandwiches at Vittorio's. Sunday was a good day. First we all went out to brunch, something we have been wanting to do for a while. I got an eggs benedict, which was pretty good. I'd been waiting to have it for most of the semester. After brunch, Packy and I went to the zoo. It was the first time I had been to the zoo since being here, even though we only live two blocks from it. It's actually a really nice zoo. They have a great asia section with three pandas. When we were there, all three of them were eating. It was pretty cute, they were really putting it away. After the pandas, we walked past the elephants on our way to the small mammals, another excellent exhibit. They also had a great ape house and a pretty decent exhibit on invertebrates. Packy reminded me, they also had otters which, many people know, are among my favorite animals. After the zoo, we both went to Giant for groceries. It was a nice little man-date. Sunday night was mass and pizza Sunday. Monday and Tuesday at work were nice because there were no votes which means I don't have to where a suit. It will be the same tomorrow. Also, with the reform bill passing the House, we didn't have a letter assignment this week. So, I've been working on inputting mail and taking calls. Calls have definitely slowed since last Friday, but I doubt they'll stop any time soon. Monday night we watched the first season of The Office and then The Dark Night. Tuesday night I had class and then we went to a bar since there was no work on Wednesday. It actually kind of sucked, because it was far away and not a very good bar. We came home and finished the rest of The Dark Knight. Wednesday I really took advantage of having the day off and slept all morning. I started to work on this year's swim program after I woke up. We also cleaned up the apartment. After history class last night we just hung out around the room. Today we discussed the market in class and then debated the stimulus package. In the afternoon, we attended a discussion on the stimulus at the CATO institute. They provided lunch, which consisted of really classy sandwiches. Then, this evening, we got Vittorio's again. While we were at Union, it was evacuated. We never really found out why, but there were tons of firefighters there. We were ultimately able to go back in and get our gelato which comes with the sandwiches. We headed to the Folger Shakespeare Library for a production of "Much Ado About Nothing." It had been modernized, but very well done, and I really enjoyed it. We came home to watch "Sunny" and "The League." Looks like the Bears lost tonight too, so that's always a plus. Back to work tomorrow, and then we'll see what happens this weekend.
Later,
Jes
So its been a full week since I last blogged, and I've got a fair amount to talk about. Work kind of sucked on Friday. With the probable upcoming vote on healthcare reform (which did pass on Saturday) we were getting pretty much constant calls on both sides of the issue. When it was finally time to call it a day, we went out to happy hour for one of my co-workers' birthday. It was nice to finally be old enough to go out with my co-workers. Saturday was a long day that I'm mostly blocking from my memory. However, we did make a trip down to Union Station for our favorite chicken salad sandwiches at Vittorio's. Sunday was a good day. First we all went out to brunch, something we have been wanting to do for a while. I got an eggs benedict, which was pretty good. I'd been waiting to have it for most of the semester. After brunch, Packy and I went to the zoo. It was the first time I had been to the zoo since being here, even though we only live two blocks from it. It's actually a really nice zoo. They have a great asia section with three pandas. When we were there, all three of them were eating. It was pretty cute, they were really putting it away. After the pandas, we walked past the elephants on our way to the small mammals, another excellent exhibit. They also had a great ape house and a pretty decent exhibit on invertebrates. Packy reminded me, they also had otters which, many people know, are among my favorite animals. After the zoo, we both went to Giant for groceries. It was a nice little man-date. Sunday night was mass and pizza Sunday. Monday and Tuesday at work were nice because there were no votes which means I don't have to where a suit. It will be the same tomorrow. Also, with the reform bill passing the House, we didn't have a letter assignment this week. So, I've been working on inputting mail and taking calls. Calls have definitely slowed since last Friday, but I doubt they'll stop any time soon. Monday night we watched the first season of The Office and then The Dark Night. Tuesday night I had class and then we went to a bar since there was no work on Wednesday. It actually kind of sucked, because it was far away and not a very good bar. We came home and finished the rest of The Dark Knight. Wednesday I really took advantage of having the day off and slept all morning. I started to work on this year's swim program after I woke up. We also cleaned up the apartment. After history class last night we just hung out around the room. Today we discussed the market in class and then debated the stimulus package. In the afternoon, we attended a discussion on the stimulus at the CATO institute. They provided lunch, which consisted of really classy sandwiches. Then, this evening, we got Vittorio's again. While we were at Union, it was evacuated. We never really found out why, but there were tons of firefighters there. We were ultimately able to go back in and get our gelato which comes with the sandwiches. We headed to the Folger Shakespeare Library for a production of "Much Ado About Nothing." It had been modernized, but very well done, and I really enjoyed it. We came home to watch "Sunny" and "The League." Looks like the Bears lost tonight too, so that's always a plus. Back to work tomorrow, and then we'll see what happens this weekend.
Later,
Jes
November 5, 2009
News Room and More
Hi All,
Its been a good week thus far for me. Work has been good. I've made a couple of trips to the Capitol to drop off letters and such. Congressman Boswell called the office to talk to Bruce on Wednesday, so that was a little out of the ordinary. Calls have ramped up a little bit in the last couple of days, mostly with the probable upcoming vote on healthcare reform. Additionally, on Tuesday, I went to the DNC and phone-banked for the NY 23rd congressional race. Believe it or not, it was the first time I had actually phone-banked. It was quite the experience.
Today, we discussed policy in regards to the war in Aghanistan. Even after reading quite a bit of literature on the situation, I felt like I could not make even a remotely informed decision. This leads me to wonder, how can these people who call into the office know exactly what the US war policy should be? Anyway, our policy visit was to the local ABC affiliate, which is evidently the most high-tech news station in the world. It was sweet. We got to watch a live newscast, both from the studio floor and the production room. With the stuff out of Fort Hood, the production room was going nuts trying to keep up with all the live feeds. I think it would be pretty sweet to work at a news station, but a lot of stress. After watching the newscast, we discussed some of the problems the general counsel of a news station has to deal with, with the general counsel of the station. Suffice it to say, he has to deal with a lot of disparate issues. The whole experience was a lot of fun. On the way back from the station, I stopped at Starbucks to get a pumpkin spice latte, which was nice. Now we're watching "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," and it's really funny this week. I think we're moving the mattresses into the living room again this weekend. That's about it for now.
Later,
Jes
Its been a good week thus far for me. Work has been good. I've made a couple of trips to the Capitol to drop off letters and such. Congressman Boswell called the office to talk to Bruce on Wednesday, so that was a little out of the ordinary. Calls have ramped up a little bit in the last couple of days, mostly with the probable upcoming vote on healthcare reform. Additionally, on Tuesday, I went to the DNC and phone-banked for the NY 23rd congressional race. Believe it or not, it was the first time I had actually phone-banked. It was quite the experience.
Today, we discussed policy in regards to the war in Aghanistan. Even after reading quite a bit of literature on the situation, I felt like I could not make even a remotely informed decision. This leads me to wonder, how can these people who call into the office know exactly what the US war policy should be? Anyway, our policy visit was to the local ABC affiliate, which is evidently the most high-tech news station in the world. It was sweet. We got to watch a live newscast, both from the studio floor and the production room. With the stuff out of Fort Hood, the production room was going nuts trying to keep up with all the live feeds. I think it would be pretty sweet to work at a news station, but a lot of stress. After watching the newscast, we discussed some of the problems the general counsel of a news station has to deal with, with the general counsel of the station. Suffice it to say, he has to deal with a lot of disparate issues. The whole experience was a lot of fun. On the way back from the station, I stopped at Starbucks to get a pumpkin spice latte, which was nice. Now we're watching "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," and it's really funny this week. I think we're moving the mattresses into the living room again this weekend. That's about it for now.
Later,
Jes
November 1, 2009
Halloween!!!
As many of you probably know, I have always loved Halloween. That has not changed at all as I have aged. I guess I should start with Friday at work though. It was Bruce's birthday on Friday and our scheduler made 52 pumpkin cupcakes for the occasion. They were really good. I don't really remember doing much else at work, beside helping to determine the lighting scheme for the front office. Friday night was "guys' night" in the apartment. We had McDonald's for dinner and then got some nice drinks to share. I decided to test out my costume by wearing a few pieces of it around the apartment for a couple hours. We watched Forrest Gump before going out on the town for awhile. Then we came back to the apartment and moved our beds into the common room for the night. We watched sports highlights before calling it a night. All in all, I'd say it was a pretty good guys' night. Saturday was Halloween, but it was also a full day of college football. After trying to kill me for most of the afternoon, the Hawkeyes decided to put Indiana away with a huge 4th quarter. In between the Iowa game and the ND game we watched Air Force One, another great movie. We ordered in pizza and wings from Pizza Hut for the ND game, which we won easily over Washington State. By that point I had had my full Neville Longbottom costume on for several hours. After the game was over, the other adults and I went to Murphy's, the neighborhood pub, for a drink and to watch the end of the USC v. Oregon game, which Oregon won (yes). Then a couple of people went out to another bar while the rest of us came back to the apartment to watch John Carpenter's "The Thing". Since our beds were still in the common room, it worked out well, as we were able to lie down and relax while watching the sci-fi thriller. I'd say it was a pretty good movie, and would reccomend it if you are looking to watch something that will make you both jump and think. We called it a night after that and took advantage of daylight saving time to sleep in a little this morning. Today I didn't really watch a whole lot of football. Instead, I caught up with several people from my family. I also made myself mashed potatoes, which were yummy. Aside from that, it was pretty much a standard Sunday. I just got back from All Saints Day mass before blogging. Now we're watching game 4 of the World Series. I've got to read a little bit for my philosophy class before I go to bed, and of course it's back to work tomorrow. That's what's up with me.
Later,
Jes
Later,
Jes
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