City of Dreams

Corny title? Yes. But it's true! There's so much opportunity in this city it's ridiculous. Everyone that I meet seems to have a connection somewhere. If you are open about what you want in a career, people will usually help you out to get it. I have a meeting tomorrow that may have the potential to make or break a future career. It's not a formal interview or anything, but if you royally screw up in front of one of the managing partners you're finished. I'm nervous...

I sat in on a session of the Supreme Court today! One of the coolest experiences! The sessions are open to the public, and I highly recommend everyone to attend sometime in your lives, especially if you're into law. Sadly, this was the last session until October but they pick up again then. I woke up at the crack of dawn to go stand in line at 7am outside the building. Thank goodness it was a pretty morning and the weather was nice. They let us in around 9 and we entered the courtroom after storing all of our belongings in lockers (no pictures). This courtroom is one of the most gorgeous rooms I've ever seen. It was all white marble with long red velvet curtains and a huge frieze along the perimeter with all of these figures. The ceiling was 44 feet tall (I remember from the lecture haha). Our seats weren't great since they make the general public sit along the outside of the courtroom between these huge pillars. Luckily, I was in a row near the front, so I could still see everything.

 It was a non-argument day so the Court only read opinions. Two of the first opinions concerned personal jurisdiction and went over my head, but I'm positive I'll learn about it in law school. The third opinion struck down a California law that prohibited the sale of violent video games to minors arguing that it violated the First Amendment (aka violence is not obscene and is therefore still a protected form of speech). The other case dealt with an Arizona clean elections law that permitted public financing to match funds in campaigns. The Court also struck down that law as unconstitutional, arguing that it restricted political speech of candidates who raised funds privately. Interesting stuff! I can't wait for a law professor to ask about my summer: "well sir/ma'am, I attended a session of the Supreme Court where they verbally gave the opinions that we're reading about in these casebooks." NBD.

The funniest thing was being mistaken for a member of the Supreme Court Bar (aka an attorney who can argue in front of the Supreme Court). First of all, I'm not even a law student yet until August. Second of all, this is a coveted position among attorneys and not many can practice in front of the Court. I tried to use the restroom and this guy was like "why are you using the public restrooms? The private lounge for members of our Bar is this way with private bathrooms." Haha I played along. It was great. Thank you professional attire.

I can't believe I saw the Justices up close. Most are getting pretty dang old but the Chief Justice is relatively young. This select group of 9 people interpret the law of the land. Wow. Law student geek moment- I think so. I can't get over all of the cool stuff I see out here.

I miss...

This post is different than all of the others. Instead of raving about how great DC is (which it is!), this is dedicated to all of my friends/family across the country who I miss sooo much! Consider this a shout out with photos.

1. ADPi: Omg I never realized how much I would miss it. It will be even harder in the fall when I'm back in Tucson, but not living in that house. I went from having 50+ roommates to one roommate. I miss always having someone around to do something with- watching movies, dinner, partying etc. There is NONE of that here. No one I meet seems to want to see the nightlife/let loose with me. I've been here for 5 weeks and I've been out to the bars once. Pathetic, yes. Where are my ADPis at to have fun with? I went from going out 2-3 times a week to never. Talk about a culture shock! And it's not just the nightlife, it's the bonding and always having sisters around. It's REALLY lonely in a brand new city. Sure, there's tons to do and things to see that get my mind off my lack of a solid group of friends, but it's always in the back of my mind. I miss you ladies!

Classy ADPi Seniors <3

Love the personalities in this photo

Bid Day seems like so long ago

2. Fourth Ave Crew: You all are my best friends and I miss our crazy shenanigans! All the times at zv, Bens, Kon Tiki, Champs, 4th Ave (always drama free of course), Taco Shop, Congress, date dashes, etc. Here are some of my fave pics from senior year of this crew.

Halloween 2010

Homecoming 2010

Clubcrawl

80s Prom Date Dash

The Camping Adventure of 2010

Superheroes Date Dash

Senior Awards

The last outing :(

Wildcats for Life

3. Family: I am a homebody at heart, and being 3000 miles away from my family is hard.

My mom and I have a "Gilmore Girls" style relationship

My papa, me and my mom

Me and the 'rents

4. Dogs: I have 2 dogs back home- Ty and Bo (taebo/bowtie- get it?). They are getting really old, 11 and 12 years old. I miss them every day. Here are some pics of my lovable mutts.

Bo



5. My car: Public transit is a royal pain in the ass. It's convenient, but when it takes me 40 minutes to get to a Target and I have to lug all of my crap on the crowded metro, it's ridiculous. I miss the days of hopping in my car and driving 10 min max to the store. It's also a plus not to sit in a sticky seat and grab on to the nasty disease-infected handles.

Even though this city is wonderful, I still miss Arizona. I'll be back in 5 weeks.





BEST DAY EVER

Alright, it's 11pm and I need to wake up in just over 7 hours but here I am online- blogging. I'm just so beyond excited about today. Here's the lowdown on the excitement:

1. White House Tour: Ballin'!! Ok so it was only the East Wing Tour and it was self-guided but it was so great! I think my major freak out moment was when I saw the hallway with the long red carpet and the chandeliers where the President walks down before his big speeches (like last night's). omg! And all of the rooms are so pretty! They're roped off which is annoying but you can still see a lot. I loved seeing the presidential portraits, especially the famous Kennedy one with his arms folded. My co-intern and I went and we were one of the few people in professional clothing on the tour. Someone asked if I worked in the White House *are you kidding me?!* and I met some great people. Business cards passed out, yes I think so. I wish I could have taken pics inside but outside was enough (pics on fb).

2. Fancy schmancy lunch: We went to this place across the street from the White House and Treasury Department. It was pretty pricy but worth every penny. I had this amazing pasta dish and salad. The place had such pretty decor. Loved it.

3. Dream job potential: So my trip last April when I went lobbying was really a life-changing experience and made me re-consider my future career options. On a whim today, I decided to e-mail one of the partners from the lobbying firm that we worked with. I got a response 5 min later from his assistant and I have a meeting with him at his office next week!!! WHAT?! Is this real life? This firm is one of the top in the nation. And I'm meeting with a partner. I couldn't contain my excitement at work, I had to excuse myself to the bathroom to do a happy dance in a stall. No joke.

4. See a former First Lady up close: I went to this talk at the Archives that featured Laura Bush. We had amazing seats and it was so great to be so close! She seems super down to earth and sweet, very mom-like. I didn't get to meet her but just being there was enough for me :)

I suppose I should try to sleep at least. Good night world. <3

The Good Life

You know that great moment when everything seems to work out perfectly? Ya, that was today for me :)

I'm working on this huge project at work that will actually make a difference. There's only 3 of us working on it in my office and we're trying to implement this thing across the board so it's no easy task. Today I worked for 10 straight hours, sat in 3 meetings, and ate lunch in 5 minutes at my desk while working. I actually had to shut the lights off in my area when I left- weird. The unpaid intern stays the longest... I like being busy though and everything is really interesting. It's also a plus that I'm the only intern/youngest person on this.

I still really interested in lobbying after law school. Today one of my co-workers mentioned that he knows the president of a lobbying firm in the area and that he can give him my resume, and put in a good word. Epic!

Tomorrow, I'm going on my first ever White House tour. I'm so EXCITED! I really nerd out over this stuff. I know it's only the East Wing (aka billions of people go on this including annoying schoolchildren) and it's by no means VIP but still it's the WHITE HOUSE. I'm just stoked to get on the other side of the fence. Bummer I can't take pics inside though... To add to my presidential adventure, I really want to go to the Archives tomorrow night to see Laura Bush speak. Former First Lady + Republican + free event= I'm there and desperate for an autograph. Needless to say, I'm wearing my best suit tomorrow. Gotta look the part, ya know?

Next, I'm moving onto the judicial branch. I'm going to be one of the crazies lined up at 7am on Monday to see the Supreme Court's last session of the summer. It's not every day that you can sit in on a US Supreme Court hearing. For a future lawyer, this is the best you can get.

And now to leave you with one of my favorite songs/our Graduation song for the Class of 2011:
"When you're happy like a fool, Let it take you over, When everything is out, You gotta take it in. Oh this has gotta be the good life, This has gotta be the good life, This could really be a good life, good life." <3

Potomac Fever

So there's this thing out here that the locals call "Potomac Fever." Basically, it refers to the excitement that tourists and new Washingtonians feel when they spend time out here. I've been here for exactly one month, and I definitely still have that feeling.

On my way to work, I can see the Washington Monument towering above the buildings. I see Marine One on a regular basis (pretty sure the President travels by helicopter more than motorcades). I live in walking distance from a ton of amazing things including the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, White House, Vietnam Memorial, WWII memorial, Jefferson Memorial, the Smithsonian, etc. Everything is so close here! If my boss clears it, I get to go on a White House tour on Thursday!!! I cannot wait!! :)

The Capitol

Quality time with President Lincoln

Washington Monument

My favorite :)

I visited the Holocaust Museum last week, and it was such a powerful experience. I've learned about the Holocaust, Hitler, and the Nazis in history class back in high school but nothing compares to witnessing this stuff. For me, the most powerful exhibit was a huge heap of the shoes of the victims that were removed before they were sent to the crematorium. You could still smell the leather, and I started thinking of the people who once wore those shoes... It still gives me goosebumps. Millions of people died. I can't believe there is so much hatred out there.

On a lighter note, my favorite museum so far has been the Newseum. It's a huge 6 story building that contains exhibits of the major news stories of the past century. There was a Hurricane Katrina exhibit with some of the graffitied plywood that people posted to scare looters away. The 9/11 exhibit meant a lot to me- they had the antennae on display that used to be on the top of one of the World Trade Center Towers. I really liked the President's Photographer exhibit which included great candid photos of past presidents. The pulitzer photographs were also great to see. I even got to be a reporter for a minute as a "White House correspondent"- woo teleprompters. I love the news, and part of me still wants to be a news reporter so I definitely geeked out a bit.

This was on top of the WTC

Funny at first- then the reality sinks in- Hurricane Katrina

Loved being a White House Reporter

I can't believe my internship is almost half way over. It's such a whirlwind. The projects pile up, my Outlook is always blowing up with e-mails, etc. I really do love this city though. I need to find a job here after law school. Maybe even next summer- but it needs to be paid because it sucks being low on $$$! Working for a place that pays some interns but not all is ridiculous, but that's for another blog/rant.

Whenever the locals say that this "Potomac fever" eventually fades, I think it's sad. Why would you live in a city you're not excited about? It's so cool leaving every morning wondering what exciting thing might happen today. You never know in this city. With so many young 20-somethings in such close proximity, there's always something fun going on ;) Living it up this summer.

Love y'all!

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

During my first 4 weeks in the "real world" working a career-type job, I've made several observations about people.

1. It's not what you know it's who you know: I know it sounds way cliche but it has a lot of truth to it. The other day we learned about something called your "corridor reputation." This refers to what people would say if someone asked them about you- ex) the funny guy, the over-achiever etc. Apparently, this corridor rep is based on 3 things: performance, image, and exposure. Performance only accounts for 10%. Image is 30%. The rest is in this huge category called exposure- do people know who you are? I know another intern who recently had a job opened just for him after meeting someone on his train commute to work. This job pays a 6 figure salary. Crazy right? I really struggle with this. Office politics suck. See #2.

2. Nice Girls Never Get the Corner Office: This is the name of a book that I really want to read that we talked about in an intern session the other day. It basically talks about women in the workplace and the major challenges that we face. It mentions a bunch of mistakes that women can subconsiously make that causes people to take them less seriously (men can also make these mistakes but they happen more often with females). For example, I tend to take up little space at meetings usually sitting back in my chair with my hands on my lap. Not effective. Men, on the other hand, tend to lean forward and put their arms on the table claiming their "territory." Apparently, positioning yourself in that way shows confidence and that you deserve a "seat at the table." Another mistake= tilting your head when you talk to people instead of looking at them straight on- guilty of this. But my biggest struggle involves asking for what I want. There are a lot of people around that I would love to arrange meetings with/ ask for job opportunities. But I'm not a forward person. Some people will walk into whatever office they're interested in and introduce themselves and ask for a job, opportunity, etc. That's not my style. Unfortunately, it's hard to get what you want without asking for it. The trouble is coming across as too forward or greedy. This brings me to #3.

3. Sugar and Spice: I've noticed that there are 2 stereotypes of career women stereotypes that are prevalent. There's the beauty with no brains who sleeps her way to the top and there's the Ice Queen who everyone hates. Where's the middle ground? I'm not saying that the women I meet fall into these categories- that's not the case at all. It's more about how we're perceived by outsiders. For example, I'm scared to wear skirts that fall above my knee because then the women think I'm slutty and the men think I'm the first category above. If another married man makes a move, I might punch someone. Wiener scandal anyone...A lot of men are dogs- but I digress. But when I'm career focused and trying to get ahead, I'm perceived as the second category. This kind of relates to the corridor reputation thing I mentioned in #1. Getting that "exposure" is hard for modern women. You're either a whore or a bitch take your pick. It's ridiculous.

Don't get me wrong, I'm loving every minute of my experience out here. I've met some amazing people, and I'm doing important things at work that make a difference. I'm trying to write everything down that I'm questioning in this blog because I want to combat the stereotype. The number of female leaders has grown but it's no where near a majority. Congress, especially the Senate, have very few female leaders. Even the two biggest female leaders in the limelight, Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin, fall into the type I and II stereotypes I listed above. Hillary is perceived as the Ice Queen and Palin the airhead. I'm not going to go into their politics (I'm representing both parties here), but do we really have to compartamentalize people like that? At the rate we're going I don't think the public would ever be satisfied with a female president- she's seen as either too emotional or cold-hearted. It has got to change.

Ok, that concludes my soapbox. The end.

Life Moves Pretty Fast...

I can NOT believe that I've been here for over 4 weeks! I'm already almost to the halfway point. I feel like time flies by, and there aren't enough hours in a day. I wake up at 6:30, get to work by 8, and next thing I know it's 5pm and time to go home. I guess this is the real world- wake up, work, eat, sleep, repeat.

I enjoy my job so far. I feel like I never get a second of downtime though. As soon as I'm done with one thing, another project gets piled on. Usually, I'm juggling about 3 projects at once. Prioritizing is a must! I go to a few meetings but half the time I don't comprehend much. Here is a sample convo: "We need to reset the GDP values in BFEM, adding a few D&CP and OCO accounts for H and A. The DAS wants an instant-rackup and we need to coordinate it with GFMS." Say what? Well I actually understood that one but still I seriously need a freaking handheld glossary most of the time! Damn acronyms.

Last weekend was cool. I finally got to go out and experience DC nightlife. Happy hours usually turn into nights out in this city. I explored the city a lot this weekend, including getting lost A LOT!! Let me explain something about the street layouts here... There are quadrants AKA the same exact intersection can be at multiple points in the city. I went to go get my intern wristband for "intern appreciation week" and had to walk about 3 miles through the "hood." I'm not even kidding. People thought Tucson was sketch. I'm walking down the street in 98 degree 80% humidity weather trying to work my useless GPS on my blackberry and I hear a bunch of sirens. All of a sudden, about 20 cop cars start racing down the street with huge armored SWAT cars that looked like tanks. At first, I thought it was a motorcade but no high-ranked official travels with the SWAT team. It was insanity. I eventually found the building after an hour of panicking, but it was an adventure all right.

I went to the International Spy Museum which was interesting. The National Museum of American History was one of my favorites. It's amazing to see all of this super old stuff like George Washington's uniform, Lincoln's hat, etc.

I did have to cut my visit short though. Family emergencies are terrifying. Nothing like hearing about an "accident" when you're across the country. Luckily, everyone's ok but it was a serious reality check. It sucks being helpless and 3000 miles away. Life is too short. A lot of things are unexpected, and you never know what might happen tomorrow. Ok, that was definitely a downer but there's a lesson there. I'm really trying to live every day to the fullest and always tell my family and friends that I love them.

"Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why we call it the 'present'."

Total Intern Moves

So I'm pretty sure there's an entire blog dedicated to dumb things that interns do while in DC, but I decided to add some of my own observations.

1. Total Intern Move (TIM) #1: Today I was sitting at my computer trying to complete a project under a bit of a time crunch when an e-mail pops up on my screen. An intern planned a happy hour event for tomorrow. I was so excited at first because I've been dying to meet new people in this city. This was until I read the rest of the e-mail that said "everyone should reply all so we all know what's going on." This email was sent to over 500 people. Guess what happened?? My Outlook blew up with emails with people saying "I'm in!" or "sorry can't make it," etc. It was so ridiculous they had to call IT to handle the problem. Future/current interns DO NOT hit reply all to mass emails. Nevertheless, it was entertaining.

2. TIM #2: I was walking home from work yesterday in the 98 degree heat when I noticed the girl's outfit in front of me. She had on a pencil skirt with a slit that literally went up to her butt. It seriously left little to the imagination. I tried to snap a pic, until I realized it may have been mistaken for porn. Ok, I get it that women like to show off their "assets." That may work out at the clubs/bars but it doesn't fly in a professional setting. She even had on a government badge. Come on, seriously. Let's be a bit classier.

3. TIM #3: I went to an alumni networking event last night. It was a blast. This "move" was not committed by an intern, but a current college student. However, I'm sure a lot of interns (including myself) are guilty of it. So for the first time ever, I got to play the role as an "alum" at an event AKA people sucked up to me A LOT. Sure it was flattering and all, but considering I just graduated 3 weeks ago and I'm only an intern, it came across as extremely fake. When networking, at least try to come across as genuine. When every other question you ask the person involves who you know etc. it gets old fast- especially when it involves someone who isn't that senior to you.

4. TIM #4: I'm guilty of this one. We have this color printer/copier at work that's very high-tech but temperamental. I had the lucky task of replacing the paper. I put the new paper in the tray and closed it, the usual. Until I heard this horrible clicking sound and it started blinking "call service center." In the meantime, there is a backlog of print jobs and about 5 people behind me trying to print things. I had to tell our permanently pissed off secretary about it, and I'm definitely not on her good side. We finally fixed the problem after hearing "intern" grumblings around the office. Don't jam the printer people!

Hope my "wisdom" helped a bit.

The Comfort Zone

Today I realized that I've always lived in my own little comfort zone, pretty much a bubble of sorts. I like to stick to the familiar, the predictable, the expected. My first lesson I learned while living in this city is this: comfort zones really don't get you far. When was the last time you heard someone successful say that the key to success is sticking to the status quo? Never.

I'm also a person that doesn't handle change well. Lesson #2: Change is good for people. My favorite experiences in life involved huge changes.

1. Joining a sorority: If someone asked me 4 years ago to join a sorority, I would have laughed in their face. I was so anti-Greek my freshman year of college it's not even funny. I didn't even step foot on 1st street AKA Greek Row until I joined Greek Life. I'm about as far from the average sorority stereotype that you can get. BUT my first year of college sucked and I was ready for a change. I joined ADPi, had the best 3 years of my life, and never looked back.

2. Lobbying: I applied for a student lobbying trip on a whim because I wanted to see Washington DC. At the time, lobbying seemed interesting but a ton of work. I had the mindset that the big-wigs in Washington could really care less about some student housing bill and that we would be treated like "kids" and laughed out of the office. I couldn't have been more wrong. This trip was actually a defining moment for me. I learned to my surprise that I was pretty good at the whole lobbying thing. I loved every minute of the experience so much that it changed my whole entire future career plans. Change.

3. This whole summer: The fact that I'm spending the entire summer away from home, my family, and friends is a HUGE deal for me. I hate being alone. The opportunity to spend ten weeks in my dream city outweighed the fear. The experience I had in #2 also helped me to make the decision. I'm sitting out on my balcony right now and I swear to God I just saw Marine One (the President's helicopter) just fly by. Absolute craziness! I still struggle with change and the unfamiliar but I keep telling myself all the awesome stuff that has happened so far when I've embraced it.

Such a deep post I know. If you don't want to hear my random ramblings this summer, don't read. Negative Nancys are downers! To everyone else, I love and miss you all!

Here are a few of my favorite pics:

New Experiences

Hello all! This is my first ever official blog and I thought it would be fun to keep track of my summer adventures. I'm living in our nation's capital, Washington DC, for 10 whole weeks this summer :) I can't believe I've already been out here for two of those weeks.

This city is amazing. I can really see myself living here after law school. I can't begin to describe how different it is from home. Instead of a suburban lifestyle filled with sprawling golf courses and resorts, I'm living an urban life with public transit, high-rises, densely packed buildings, and gridlock traffic 24/7. Walking is also the norm here (because of the gridlock) and it's great to get so much fresh air. DC is full of energy. Scottsdale and Tucson are sleeper towns in comparison. Don't get me wrong, I love everything about AZ! Washington, on the other hand, still has its magic.

It's a big city lifestyle, but it's still not New York City or even Chicago. There's no other place in the world where you have rivers, forests, hiking trails, skyscrapers, and monuments in such close proximity to eachother. That's probably what I love the most- the diversity of everything (lifestyles, cultures, people). I've come to learn that I've been living in my own little bubble the past few years. There are A LOT of different people in this world.

I love my internship. It's cool to actually have an impact on something that will affect people across the nation- the budget. Sure, I'm a bit of an accounting nerd... But when you actually see the huge amounts in different accounts/agencies, it's mind-blowing. It's not exactly in my career path but the connections are endless. In this city, it's more about who you know over what you know. A very sad but true fact. Lobbying is my ultimate dream. I'm can't wait for the Capitol Tours/ budget briefings on the Hill- that's really where my passion lies.

The past two weeks have been a whirlwind. Work is constant chaos which is stressful but great. My favorite part of the day is my walk to work, the hustle and bustle. Everyone is in business clothes (I melt for a guy in a suit) and rushing to work. I usually throw on my flats, head out the door, and rock out to my DC Itunes playlist- yes I made one!

I'm still trying to figure out the ins and outs of the city. I have yet to meet a solid group of friends here, but that always takes time. Honestly, I've enjoyed my alone time. More than anything, this experience has taught me how to be independent. I explored the city entirely on my own last weekend and guess what? I didn't hate it! I still miss my friends and family SO much though. I can't wait for two of my closest friends/sisters to come visit me for the 4th of July (shoutout to Dana and Linda)!

That's pretty much all I have to say right now haha. Skype me!! <3