Forecast for this weekend (memorial day weekend): Saturday is 92 with 70% humidity. Oh. Boy. I am already beginning to miss my Michigan summer. I can only imagine how horrible its going to be mid-July. Anyways, enough of me complaining about weather because let’s be honest, there’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad circumstances. Welp, it’s Friday and my first week as a DC intern is coming to a close. So, what is it that I’m feeling? thinking? and what have I learned? ummm.. I’m gonna have to get back to you on that. Honestly, I haven’t accomplished a whole lot and I’m beginning to think that if all 11 more weeks of this internship is like this week, it’s going to be a looooong summer. I know that interns usually don’t get a lot of respectable work until they’ve proven their capabilities, but, sitting and staring blankly at a computer screen with nothing to do isn’t my ideal internship. Don’t get me wrong, I love where I am and the people that are surrounding me but I desire to actually be needed. That’s what everyone wants in life, in their careers, in their families, in their relationships. We all want to feel important to someone, somewhere. On that note, I’d like to congratulate my baby sister (well, she’s not a baby but ya nahmean) on finishing high school today. She’s a soon to be college gal now! I miss her so much. I honestly am realizing how hard this summer is going to be away from all of my family and friends but God’s got plans and there’s no changin em. I found out yesterday that I unfortunately did not make the frisbee team I tried out for due to the fact that I wasn’t able to fully commit to all of their tournaments. But that’s okay because since then, I’ve been contacted by two more mixed club teams from the area who want me to come out for their teams. As long as I get to play some frisbee this summer I will be oh so happy. On Tuesday we had our first class for Demmers and we drew dates for when we give our presentations to the class and lucky me, I drew next Wednesday. Not sure what I’m going to talk about with my job so to say but I can definitely talk lots about the DOI. Looking forward to this weekend with memorial day and all the fun festivities. I just have to keep having an open mind about everything and be a sponge, learning all that I possibly can. If I do both of those things, everything’s gonna turn out alright..Hopeful.

well, I did it. I survived my first day as an intern for the department of the Interior. I made it to work on time [through the rain] and entered a silent room full of 8 awkward interns just like me. First day, its expected people. The morning was full of filling out paperwork and educational efforts. We were then given a tour of the building-which is huge and awesome. There’s a gym in the basement with a full size basketball court, free weights, group classes, and cardio machines. There is also a brand new cafeteria, a credit union, a barber shop, post office, and dry-cleaners. Heck, all they need now are some sleeping bags and pillows and I can just live there. After our mini tour we were taken to our individual areas of work. I met with my supervisor and she is such a kind woman and all of the people I’ll be working with (the ones I’ve met thus far) seem like really great people. I don’t know if the first day of any job is extremely enjoyable but I’m excited to get immersed in the work that there is to be done especially since my supervisor made it sound like I’ll be working with all forms of social media (right up my alley! uh, hello). All in all today was a pretty great day, started off awkwardly but ended on a high note with some new friendships.

On another side note, my entire body is so SORE. I had my tryouts yesterday for Scandal and it was a blast. Never before have I played ultimate with such talented women. I felt honored and privileged to be able to be there playing my favorite sport with such elite players. But now, my body is suffering the consequences and my knees refuse to straighten.. no pain no gain. welp, time for bed, and to have a successful day 2. Goodnight world.

note to self: walk to work in tennis shoes NOT HEELS. that is all.

I’m beginning to feel more and more comfortable as a DC local. Yesterday we ventured down to the Eastern Market and Capitol Hill flea market which was very cool. I now know where I’ll be going to get most of my groceries from now on. I’m also the proud new owner of my first pair of pearl earrings as well as my first fedora hat Hollerrr. An observation I’ve made is that there are dogs EVERYWHERE here. Everywhere you look, dogs, dogs, dogs. As soon as I graduate and get a place of my own, I will have a dog. On another note, our fourth roommate arrived last night and she is a sophomore from Washington State University. Unfortunately, she doesn’t play Ultimate.. oh well, that’s why I get to go tryout for an elite women’s team today called Scandal. This is where the feeling of itching and yearning comes into play. I have been itching to play ultimate ever since leaving Michigan and this is my chance. I also have an itching to go do things and see places and meet people. I cannot wait for tomorrow (first day of work) to finally get to meet some awesome people who [hopefully] have similar passions as myself.
Last night Frankie and myself got to go see where a group of six other interns from our group are living. They found their house on craigslist and are renting it form a bunch of Georgetown Law students that are loaded. The house is enormous and newly renovated in an awesome location. It was a lot of fun to finally meet some of the other Demmer’s and hangout with them. This summer is definitely going to one to remember. I’m #pumped.

Michigan to Ohio to Pennsylvania to Maryland to Washington D.C. this was the trip I took yesterday. For the next three months I get to kick it with the prez (but not really). After sending my dad off on his journey back home to Michigan last evening, I was officially in the nation’s capitol as a student intern and embarking on a once in a lifetime opportunity. Luckily, I’ve got my pal Frankie and about 20 other MSU students to share the experiences with. We’re all part of a program called the Demmer’s Scholars Program: http://csis.msu.edu/news/demmer-scholars-immersed-policy-making-summer.
So how was my first night in this awesome city? It was great. We went to dinner at a little Mexican restaurant right around the corner and enjoyed margaritas and quesadillas. I’m pretty sure our apartment is haunted… which is nothing new to me. Besides there’s no such thing as ghosts, just ninjas right? Today, Frankie and I decided to go find our places of employment. We decided to walk. Not such a good idea. Thank goodness for the metro system. Everywhere you look is a variety of people. There’s the local politicians wearing their suits, the school groups from across the country all wearing the same t-shirts, the ever-so-prevalent homeless person, and finally us, the young and ambitious interns. I realize that there are a lot of things I don’t know or understand and a lot of things I don’t have an opinion on, but that’s okay! That’s what the summer has in store. I’m so excited to see what God’s got in store and what he has to teach me. Gotta start growing up sometime right? Riigghhhttt… Ready or not, DC here I am.

well, today marked full day #2 in this interesting city. Frankie and I decided it was time to map out our grand plan on how each of us were going to get to work since walking is not an option for business women. We got up early, marched ourselves over to the closest metro station and succeeded…for the most part. We split up at a central point to go our separate ways. My way turned out to be farther than I had predicted and decided to seek a better route. Roaming the business streets of DC made me realize how awesome of a city it truly is. Even though it has it’s flaws, it’s so uniquely made and full of so much character. I sat down at a little park across from the metro station I found to be much closer to my place of employment and decided to see how Frankmeister was doing on her journey. Call twice, no answer. Text: “yo where are you??” No response. Hmm… within minutes our other roommate had texted me letting me know Frankie had left her phone at the apartment. Adventure! There should never be a dull moment uh duh. I then decided to go back to where she was headed when we parted and see if maybe she was there, nope. Then I decided that maybe she was waiting at the metro we split at, nope. Well I’m sure she’ll be at the apartment, nope. After being back at our place for about 20 minutes she marches in the door. She had done the exact same thing I had except went to look for me where I’m supposed to be working. Needless to say, we walked more than we had hoped/expected. After enjoying some lunch, it was time to go for a much needed run. I wanted to explore, to see the sights, and to feel the burn. We definitely got to fulfill all of those things and more today. After going for a three mile run, finding the Eastern Market (which is where I plan on getting lots of yummy produce tomorrow!), and showering, it was time to hit the sights. We ventured onto the metro once again and found ourselves at the white house. We were true tourists with our backpacks, comfortable walking shoes, and Nikon cameras around our necks. From there we WALKED to the Washington monument, the reflecting pool (which currently is an empty, concrete, construction mess), the world war II memorial, the Lincoln memorial, Vietnam war memorial, and the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. We didn’t make it to the FDR memorial but we were glad to have seen all the sites we had. We were extremely hangry and wanted nothing more than to sit and eat until we couldn’t eat anymore. Ask and you shall receive right? All three of us went to dinner and got our own deep dish pizzas and beer. I am so full and so exhausted and so happy. If I’ve learned anything today it’s that I need to work on getting some calluses, and beer and pizza will always do the trick for a hangry young person. All in all my feet traveled 8.71 miles today…. oh. my. goodness. Now all there’s left to do is start my routine as an intern. Can’t wait!