CELEBRITY POST

Author: Jeet
Position: Heritage Intern Extraordinare


Because I want to be more like the remarkable connection-making queen that is Alina, I decided to ask her permission to write on her blog. So here it is.

Here at the SC Washington Semester Program, we've all wrapped up our second or third day of work. Most people seem to be enjoying their internships - Alina and I definitely are. I'm working in Health Policy at Heritage, and getting to look at a lot of cutting-edge state-level policy issues while fighting for market driven reform (ah, heaven). For an example of what we're working on, see One of Stuart Butler's Papers. Being around like-minded conservatives is also exciting. Alina's in the whip's office, and apparantly today she actually saw a physical whip. Guys, steer clear.


This evening we had a meet and greet for DC area interns, and Alina and I networked the place out of control. We met a lot of new interns, including a group from England that seemed nice. Recent days have mostly been spent working, so it was good to have a social event. We even met some people that are involved in Roosevelt! No, I couldn't write a whole blog post without mentioning that group...


Well I'll turn the blogging duties back over. But fear not, you haven't heard the last of me.

I'm probably not going to ever come back to South Carolina...

So, after many months of anticipation, I have finally made it to DC and have moved in! Let me tell you, it was a bit of an ordeal getting here, but definitely well worth it. Jarred and I left Columbia a little before noon on Sunday and after multiple hour long stops (that may or may not have included a treck through the boonies of Florence and a bit of time at the outlet malls) we made it to Georgetown around 9. Now I was expecting it to be pretty quiet, it being a Sunday night, but I guess I have been living in the Bible Belt for too long because it was booming! We checked into the hotel (where we discovered that the room we got upgraded to normally costs $800 a night, which I obviously did not pay on my college student budget) and then went exploring. Walking around the area for an hour or so made me seriously question why I decided not to go to Georgetown for undergrad -- oh wait that would probably be because I would have $200,000 in student loans right now, plus be seriously in debt due to the proximity of the shopping district.

This morning we woke up really early (7:30) so that we could catch an early breakfast before the day go started. We were expecting there to be multiple cute breakfast options as there were bistros open for supper, but it was not so. Apparently no one is up at 8am in DC, that is except for the billions of joggers, so we ended up eating at Starbucks...great DC culture for ya.

Now, when I had spoken to the women from WISH, the housing people here in DC, she said that I could check in to the house at 9am. Naturally when I arrived a little after 9 they were not open. Jarred and I pondered what we should do while we were waiting for the office to open and realized that we are in the nation's capital and we should probably drive to all of the national monuments, so that is what we did. We may or may not have accidentally ended up at Arlington National Cemetary due to uncharacteristically poor directional skills. Anyway, so we made it back to the house and I checked in, moved in, and quickly realized that I desperately needed to go to Target. I used my handy-dandy blackberry gps and found one pretty close by. My favorite part of the whole experience was that they had an escalator for your cart! Soooo cool!

I am all unpacked and my room is great! Fortunately the people who lived in my room before me left two garment racks so my roomie and I have tons of extra space for hanging our fancy DC business clothes.

I went to supper with Jeet and his family in Georgetown and that was really delicious -- though I am pretty sad that I ate veal there, I usually steer clear of baby animals. Now, I am sitting with my roomies, arguing about whose school is better... can it get any better? I don't think so.

Tomorrow we are exploring some more and I will be sure to update as much as I can!

The DNC in Denver-- Why am I not there again?

So I do not move in to my apartment in DC until Sept 1st and I don't have any classes or anything to be at in Columbia, so why am I here and not in Denver at the Democratic National Convention? I cannot answer that because I have absolutely no idea. I must not have been in my right mind when I decided it was best to go home for a week in the beginning of August instead of at the end. Bad call.

So I am currently sitting on Katherine's couch watching Nancy Pelosi and Jimmy Carter on MSNBC instead of in person. And I think I should take this time to note that Katherine is actually sprawled out on the couch next to me having taken 2 benadryls she isn't going anywhere, so she is forced to watch with me and endure the liberal remarks coming from me and the tv. To Nancy Pelosi's "Health Care is not a priviledge, it's a right" K Todd says "Is it? Is it? What do you think, Alina?" I of course declined to comment -- she is letting me live at her house.

I may or may not have screamed/exclaimed/cried about 25 times in the less than 2 hours that I have been watching coverage. And I am glad that there is something to watch on TV for 6 hours every night now that the Olympics are over. Oh and a special shout out to Dr. Fowler because without his class I would not be able to get half as pumped about this convention as I am.

So I'm going to DC for a semester to pretend to be an adult

I am leaving Columbia to intern in Washington, DC in one week! Though I will miss USC a lot, I have been wanting to do this since I discovered my love of politics at the ripe old age of 8 when my class followed the 1996 Presidential election. I'm still not sure who I will be interning for, but I am positive I will have the time of my life no matter what.

I have never blogged before, and it took me literally half an hour to figure out how to do this, but I figured this would be a good way to document my adventures and keep everyone updated (plus Katherine and I decided our lives were way to interesting not to have blogs, so I went ahead and started one -it all began with a roach in a fishbowl, don't ask).

I will try to keep things interesting, which means I probably won't write too much about my research or class, but maybe a lot about the sweet free food I get!

Oh and I refuse to have a cheesy sign off line because though I have never read a blog, I somehow know that people have those.