D.C. Day 24

All my depressed writer ramblings from yesterday rang less true with me Sunday morning and even less today.  I think I was having a mid-internship crisis brought on by a combination of moping around with a soar throat for three days and being homesick.  Of course I still want to be a journalist, though I'm still not sure about the whole political thing.  Eventually I will be a freelance writer, but I've known that all along.  Right now, I just need to worry about enjoying DC for the 2 and 1/2 months I have left. 

Truth is, I'm homesick for Rexburg.  Never thought I would say that.  But I miss my little bubble where you never hear cusses and never see cigarette smoke, and where everyone holds the door open for anyone, no matter what.  But when you're homesick you can either whine or buck up.  I'm attempting the latter.  I do generally like it here.  There are some super nice people in my ward, and its so cool to sight see in this historical city. 

And church yesterday definitely cheered me out of my soar throat slump.  We had ward conference and the choir sang.  Naturally, I'm in the choir.  We sang "Come thou font" and we sounded almost as good as the tab choir.  It's so nice to be partaking of music like that again.  And I've been learning some new piano pieces in my spare time too. 

This morning, I have time to write before work because I woke up early.  I guess all the sleeping I did over the past four days kicked in, and my body wouldn't let me sleep in anymore.  I feel excited to go back to work today.  I'm going to start writing about legislation soon, and that's gonna be super good training.  So, I better go get ready for work!

D.C. Day 22

There wasn't a lot to report this week. The most exciting thing that happened is I saw a group of hipsters wearing striped socks, oxford shoes and Where's Waldo hats.  They were so stereotypical that I had to get a picture.  Unfortunately.. my flash was on.  I didn't get the shot because I averted my camera so quickly out of shock and embarrassment.  Next time I was on the metro and wanted to take a picture of something hilarious, I made certain that my flash was off.  That picture turned out:

I've never seen wooden high heels before, and they were so obnoxious, I had to take a photo. 

On Monday, I think, I was walking down a sidewalk.  I had to walk under some scaffolding because of construction going on.  As I was walking, I saw a tag sticking out from the wood and stopped to read it:

Great... that's reassuring.

So anyways, I got sick on Wednesday and spent Thursday and Friday sleeping, wallowing and watching chick flicks.  (How cliche)  I was very cold and went to extreme lengths to keep warm.  I woke up from an all-day nap and saw this in the mirror:

Yes.. I'm wearing my Russian mafia hat over my hood in an attempt to keep warm. :P

I felt much better today (Saturday, the 28), but I didn't particularly feel like going out.  I spent the morning cleaning my room and bathroom.  I also practiced the piano today.  Well it's only a keyboard, not a piano.  Yes, that's how desperate I have become to create music.. I'm reduced to playing a keyboard. 

Anyways, my friend Rachelle (who is also 6'0" and also comes from Tacoma, Washington area. She's awesome)  convinced me to go with her and her other friend to the Smithsonian museum of natural history.  That was cool.  On the way there, I saw a couple guys playing a terrific drum medley on some buckets.

As soon as I arrived at the museum, Rachelle and her sidekick announced their intentions to see an Imax about coral reefs.  Great, a movie about water, fish, diving... all things that I'm terrified of.. on a 12-story screen.  It wasn't so bad; it featured gorgeous scenes of colorful fish darting through cascades of floral.  But it was a familiar film about how humans are good-for-nothings who are ruining the earth and killing all the sea creatures. 

My bad. 

Besides that, we saw the Hope Diamond and a bunch of other beautiful diamonds and gems.  That must have been our favorite part.  Or at least mine. 

We also saw the fossil exhibit, which reinforced my believing in sea monsters and my non-believing in dinosaurs. 

After we all left the museum and said goodbye.  I took the metro to a stop about a mile from my house because I wanted to check out a gym I'm thinking of joining.  I walked home, but went further and traversed down to the waterfront.  I prefer walking to riding the metro, especially today.  The streets were empty in these outskirts of town where I live.  A few cars passed, and a few pedestrians carried groceries down the sidewalk, but I was mostly alone in the midst of the apartment buildings and oak trees.  The wind blew at my face, whipping my hair behind me.  But the air was thick and warm today, and the breeze felt divine. 

I thoroughly enjoy strolling pensively, losing myself in thought as I take in the sights and sounds of the city.  I enjoyed even more walking along the waterfront of the Potomac.  The water lapped at the boats in the dock, and I wandered down the sidewalk, delighting in the moisture lilting on the breeze.  The moist aroma reminded me of the waterfront back home, and warm memories flooded back of loved ones sauntering down the waterfront with me.  The sun was setting by this time, and the fuchsia-dandelion sky reflected on the rippled water along with the city lights across the river. 

I especially liked seeing house boats sitting in the water.  They looked so cozy with their shingled roofs and white decks overlooking the waves.  I spent an hour on the waterfront, soaking in the divinity.  Water.. I fear it, but I love it.  A large body of water is my favorite place to be besides a forest.  There is hardly an abundance of forests in DC, but the water is just as beautiful here as anywhere else.  While I luxuriated in the waterfront ambiance, I pondered.  I've been thinking about things a lot already, but this gave me some time to really examine myself. 

I've known who I am and what I want to do for a long time.  I still know who I am for sure, but I'm not so sure about what I want to do.  I still know that I must write; that's never been under question.  But I'm not sure if I'm cut out to be the political reporter I wanted to be.  I came here as a bright-eyed journalist dedicated to exposing the truth at all costs.  You know, my whole journalism is democracy speech.  But here I am, writing about FCC orders and what organizations think about pending legislation.  And my stories and news briefs are being read by some of the most important executives and government officials.  Yet how satisfied do I feel sitting in a cubicle 40 hours a week? 

DC was supposed to be my shining moment, the jump-start to this dream.  I'm still immensely enjoying the experience, but it has turned into a soul-searching marathon.  My thoughts keep going three ways.  1)  This weird and disturbing desire to settle down with a soul mate and have babies has surfaced out of no where and is suddenly stronger than my desire to be a journalist.  2) go do a bunch of young-person crap. And I want to live in Europe for a time period, most likely the U.K., but Germany would be a plus. 3)  I need to write books.  Hundreds of novel ideas pop in my head every day.  I want to write about everything. 

All these are conflicting ideas and somewhat new.  My desire to write books was replaced a couple years ago by my desire to serve the truth and justice of journalism.   Now, I want to let my mind expand onto paper and give life to these worlds I create everyday.  I feel like an artist with 3 miles of blank canvas.  I want to paint pictures with my words and never stop. 

But at the same time, I still feel excited by journalism, and the ability to present the news to the public.  I'm not sure what this all means, but I think it will eventually boil down to me becoming a freelance writer someday.   But honestly, when I think about making pancakes for mini-Katies in ten years or whenever it happens, all this stuff seems meaningless.  So for the first time in my life, I'm trying to focus more on now than on the future.  It's odd but freeing.  I don't know why I always stress about the future so much anyways.  My life has always followed the same pattern:  I try to live righteously, I tell Heavenly Father to lead me where Be wants me, He plops a scholarship, internship, opportunity, etc. into my lap and sends me off with very few obstacles.  I trust that it will always be this way if I keep trying to do what's right.  Hopefully.  So after all that thinking, I came back to Earth and found myself back in front of the twilight-lit river, walking home in the moonlight. 

D.C. Day 15

Jan. 21
So I decided to miss the basketball game today so I could sight-see.  Good choice right?  I got to see all kinds of monuments and stuff.  So of course I started with this:

We walked around it and travelled down the national mall towards the Lincoln Memorial.  The day was cold, and the wind whipped at our clothes.  It was so cloudy and gray, I almost thought I was back in my other Washington.  A previous snow still covered the ground.  Coldness aside, the air was crisp, and it was a lovely day.  Unfortunately, the reflecting pool is being remodelled, so I didn't get any cool pictures of that, but as we progressed towards the Lincoln memorial, we came upon the new World War II Memorial.  A beautiful ring of rectangle columns representing each state that fought in the war. 

 

Of course I found Washington's column.  At four points in the circle were small towers with statues inside.

 There was also a plaque of stars.  Each star represented every 1,000 American casualties... I think.

Next came the Lincoln Memorial.

 

 

Some lady awkwardly offered to take a picture of us.  "Pictures are so much better with your other half!" she exclaimed... ohmygosh, lady. We're just friends and he's like wayyy old.  Awkward... Cute picture though!

Here's a better one ;)

 

Hehe.. but seriously.. look at this guy!

He's so cool.  So while deciding where to go next.. I took this awesome pic:

(Lol)

And attempted to take a picture of a black squirrel, which I've never seen before.

So next, with wet feet and cold hands, I went to the White house, and it was my lucky day.  There were Iranian protestors in front of the white house gate.

Next we saw Occupy Washington D.C.  It looked like a bunch of homeless drug addicts living in tents.  But...all power to them!

Silly people...

So we walked by a bunch of cool buildings.  I will post those pics on facebook to save room.  But we also passed the FBI building.  Sweet!

I saw the capitol building very last, but it was beautiful as ever.

D.C. Day 14

So yesterday (Thursday), I covered my first real-life press event. It was a conference where two hoity-toity economists talked about their research findings that technological innovation might be minorly, somewhat, maybe, possibly related to job creation and could save our economy. Yeah, duh. They made it into such a big deal, but it was way overblown. But lunch was provided, and I got to network a bit. And by "network" I mean talk to tech-savvy people without sounding like a complete idiot, and receiving a business card from some chick who was giving them to everyone she talked to. It was fun to sit around and eat sandwiches with other journalists and reps from trade associations. I talked and joked with them and probably convinced them I was a "grown-up"... probably. :P

My smartrip card wasn't working so I couldn't take the bus. It was only a 1 mile walk, but with the 40 mph wind in my face, it felt like atleast 5. The wind was even colder on the way home, and I just about died everytime I had to navigate my phone. (Because it's a touch screen, I can't use my phone without taking off my gloves.)

Today, I finished up a story I've been working on about what trade associations are pushing for what policies and bills this year with the FCC, congress, etc. Then Bryce pulled me aside and told me I need to start coming up with my own ideas for stories. This is the moment I've been dreading. I've got no idea. No flipping idea! I mean I finally understand the stuff they assign me, but this is still a whole new world to me. I've got all weekend to come up with 3 story ideas. I told him I was interested in how video games affect society, and he suggested I start with that. But still.. I've got no idea! 

Hopefully I will be able to come up with something good this weekend. We had another basketball dinner tonight, but I didn't go because it's at some house that's an hour away. I hid in my bed all night, writing and watching T.V., trying to procrastinate away this stress. I'm sure I will be able to come up with some great ideas, after I get some much-needed sleep.... I hope.

D.C. Catch Up - basketball team

I realized I forgot to tell you guys about the basketball team, which is an intrical part of my experience here so far.

Apparently all the tall people in Washington D.C. are LDS.  I don't know what it is, but I'm not complaining!  There are several tall men and women in my ward, and there are plenty of women who are taller than I am.  One girl has got to be at least 6'2".  And a lot of the girls my height wear heels so they are even taller.  I love feeling so normal. 

Naturally, we have a sizable basketball team.  Last Friday, we had a dinner for all the girls on the basketball team.  Atleast 20 girls showed up.  We had it at the cheesecake factory. Why did a bunch of destitute young adults go to the cheesecake factory?  Good question.  So we got there at 7:30 p.m. and didn't get seated until 9 p.m.  Everyone around me ordered dinner.  Dinner cost atleast $20.  I splurged for a piece of cheesecake, which cost $10.  I ordered a piece of red velvet cheesecake.  It had layers of cheesecake between layers of red velvet cake, and each layer was frosted with white chocolate frosting.  The edge of the crust was coated in frosting and white chocolate chips.  Slice of heaven. 

As everyone else dug into their veggie burgers and chicken salads, I took a dainty bite of this 1,200 calorie slice of divinity which cost the same amount I would earn in an hour and a half at work.  The cream caressed my tongue and the tastes excited my taste buds. 

"This is like an art gallery in my mouth!"  I exclaimed.  The girls around me gave weak laughs and continued to devour their food.  They hadn't had my hindsight to eat dinner beforehand.  I knew we wouldn't get our food until late, and I knew I didn't want to spend 4 hours worth of wages on food I could easily make myself.  The cheesecake was worth it though.  I ate half of it and took the rest in a to-go box.

It was 10:30 p.m. by the time we got our bills.  After 3 hours together, we had all run out of things to say, and we were all too exhausted for conversation anyway.  We longed for the waitress to return with our cards so we could go home and sleep.  I think it was decided that we would have dinner at someone's house next time so we could afford it and not have to wait up so late. 

The next day we had a basketball game at 1:30.  We're the only singles ward in our stake, so we have to play the young women teams.  There were 15 of us, all over 5'8" and seven of them, all under 5'6".  I was the tallest girl at the game, so my team had me jump.  I never want to but I'm always the one who ends up doing it.  I easily got the ball to one of my team members and we bounded down the court.  Someone shot and missed, I grabbed the rebound and stuck it in the hoop.  One minute into the game I had scored our first point, and I suck at shooting.  We easily demolished those poor 14-year-olds.  I think the score was somewhere around 35 to 19.  I felt bad, until I heard that they had called us old ladies.  Those brats.. We had a dinner last night, but it was an hour away in Virginia, so I decided not to go, and we had a game today, but I want to go enjoy the snow and monuments, so I opted out again.  I'll play next week though.

D.C. Day 12

I don't miss the mountains very much because the buildings towering around me remind me very much of mountain ranges.  When I first got here, I felt a bit claustophobic.  In most places, you can't see more than a couple of blocks in front of you because of the thick swarms of people, vast herds of cars and looming walls of skyscrapers.  Naturally, I felt trapped and longed for a nice open field or forest glade.  But the buildings are tall and bulky like evergreens and mountains, and they soon became a comfort for me.  I feel safe and hidden in the concrete forest. 

My favorite thing about the city is seeing small, century-old buildings still standing amid the modern skyscrapers.  I took pictures of a couple of my favorite examples. 

I just love buildings like this.  Despite being overgrown by massive office buildings, they still stand strong.  I love this one even more: 

This one is my absolute favorite.  This lone little house with a fenced in yard, surrounded on all sides by office buildings, sitting in the shadow of skyscrapers, it reminds me of me.  I'm here in this odd world, this strange new place where I don't belong.  I stick out from the blonds in pencil skirts, but like this little house, I stand my ground in the midst of these city people. 

So about work today...  It was pretty uneventful.  There was an event this morning that we needed to cover but somehow no one found out about it until an hour before it was over.  So they sent me to it at the very end to catch what I could.  It was somewhat tolerable, yet terribly windy half-mile walk.  On the way there, I saw a homeless guy literally living in a cardboard box.  He sat in his box under a tree and cuddled into a ragged blanket .  I wished I had something to give him, money or food or anything.

By the time I arrived at the building, my face felt like a heavy, swollen iceberg.  I walked in about 20 minutes before the end of the event.  I got as much info as I could, but it really wasn't enough.  Before I left, I noticed the breakfast table.  After the event, I took a scone and a muffin.  Poor college interns have no shame.  On the way home, I passed the homeless guy again.  I stopped and offered him the muffin I had taken from the event.  Surprise crossed his gruff face.  He shook his head and looked down ashamedly.  He waved me away.  This was a moment of realization for me.  "Great," I thought. "I'm more desperate than a guy living in a cardboard box."  How ironic. 

That wasn't the only irony for the day.  That night, I decided to go to the Barlow center institute.  I hungout with my friend Emily and some other Barlow people between work and institute.  I probably won't go to that institute any more though cuz it gets out really late and I need my sleep.  Anyways, I somehow sat between two married couples at institute.  Darn married interns. :P

D.C. Day 11

Today, my alarm woke me up, and I thought I was back in my parents house for a minute because of the rain pounding on the roof. That music playing on the rooftop put me back to sleep and I woke up twenty minutes late. I rushed to get ready in time. As I dashed outside with my breakfast in hand, I was so happy to be in the rain that I didn't care that my toast was bloating with rain water. But after walking for ten minutes, I was enviously eyeing all the people around me who had umbrellas.

At work today, I covered a press teleconference about the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IPs Act. Everyone is making a big deal about it, and tomorrow over 7,000 websites are blacking out in protest, including Wikipedia, Reddit and incidentally, Minecraft. :P Google isn't going to completely shut down, but it is blacking out its logo and providing a link. We'll see what happens!

So I actually did stuff after work today instead of returning home to wallow in boredom and sleep. I decided I would attend institute at the Barlow center instead of our chapel because the Barlow center is much closer to where I live, and it's unrealistic to return home after work and go all the way out to the chapel. (The Barlow center is a church building where all the BYU interns live, because BYU interns deserve better treatment than BYU-Idaho interns apparently. But I don't mind because they have strict rules and have to write essays all the time. Imagine being in Washington D.C. and living in a BYU-ruled dorm. Ack!)

Anyways. So institute at the church is on Tuesday, but institute at the Barlow center is on Wednesdays, so I wasn't gonna go to institute tonight, but rather tomorrow night. But my friend Alan insisted that I go. (And we know I'm easily persuaded by males) Not to mention he offered to buy me dinner beforehand. Considering my general lack of money and food, I figured it would be a good investment. (Not to mention a male being involved) So we ate at this burrito place, and I had a divine burrito with all kinds of things in it like chips and jalapenos. I ate the entire monstrosity hoping that my body would store some of it away and I might not have to eat the next day. Yeah right, like that's gonna happen. By the time I finished my meal, I had begun to view Alan as a saint. I may exagerate my financial standing in life, but it really has been a while since I've been truly full after a meal. After we ate, I sat and observed people around us. I learned some things about the dating rituals of non-Mormon DCites:

I'm glad I wasn't on a date with that tool! So after we ate, we walked around D.C. and saw random D.C. things. Alan said I should take more photos.. like this one:

I know where to get books for my future kids! :P We also walked by this:

I was expecting Tom Cruise to come out of the building.. It didn't happen. Here are a couple other cool things we walked by:

Aslan!!!

A wall mural of Marilynn Monroe!

So yeah.. fun adventures. It was lovely walking weather too. The rain that morning had left the air crisp, but the clouds had kept the warmth in. It was so warm, I only needed one coat, it was great. 

And then institute! Which was ok.. It was really really really basic so it was kind of boring, but everyone was nice, and I met this chick from Tacoma, Washington! That's basically where I lived. So we reminisced about being true Washingtonians. Then I took the long trip home and promptly passed out in my bed. :)

D.C. Day 10

Before I talk about today, I wanna write about something that happened last week that I forgot to write about. My second day of work, I was still feeling pretty discouraged about everything. I was having troubles adjusting, and I had taken the half hour metro ride to the church for institute, but it didn't start until the next week, so no one was there. It took me 45 minutes to get home, so it was over an hour round trip for nothing. I had also been searching for days for an allergy clinic to administer my shots and have been unsuccessful. All this together and I was fed up. I was in the depths of an extreme pity party, so I figured I should get a blessing.

I asked the dad of the family who is renting me a room. I sat around and talked to both parents, Peter and Michelle, for a while. They gave me some pretty good advice about everything. When Peter started the blessing, I immediately felt better. I won't go into too much detail, but he said Heavenly Father knew me and knew my troubles and was with me throughout them. He also said God wants me to know he is happy I'm in D.C. learning and growing. Other things were said, and it was such an encouragement. From there, things have gone uphill.
I've still had a few bumps in the road, like not being too able to socialize on Sunday because of my anxiety about the sheer amount of people there. Trying to find someone to talk to is quite scary when you're surrounded by 250 suits and pencil skirts who all seem to already have someone to talk to. But yesterday we had family home evening for the YSA ward, and it was so fun. We had a scavenger hunt at the U.S. History Museum. I haven't been there yet, so that was pretty cool. While I was there, I saw the first Washington memorial, which they apparently took down because it was inappropriate:

 

I also saw the original flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the national anthem. I would have taken a picture, but we probably weren't supposed to. It was in a dark room to protect it. It was so inspiring though. It was frayed and worn, but the huge flag (30 something feet by 30 something feet) was still preserved, even after hundreds of years. There is also an exhibit with original dresses of first ladies over the years, including Mrs. Lincoln and I think Mrs. Washington.
After the museum, we headed back to a church education facility and prepared food for a homeless shelter. We had pizza and played games,etc. I met some quite interesting people, from political interns to a guy who works for the Shakespeare Theatre Company. It was much easier to get to know people in a smaller group, and I enjoyed meeting various personalities. Around 6 p.m., a group of us headed down to the new Martin Luther King Jr. memorial, suiting considering it was MLK day. We walked along, reading the inspirational quotes. The memorial consists of a large stone, split with a path running through it. The path leads to a bigger piece of granite. A depiction of MLK is carved out of the front of the stone. It looks like this:

 

We listened to a ranger talk for about an hour about MLK and his life. I remembered when I visited MLK's grave when I was a kid, and I felt so proud to be there on that day. There's always a special spirit when you visit history and look back on the amazing people who shaped the freedoms that we enjoy today. It was so cold at the memorial though. It was dark, and we were by the waterfront. I had my russian mafia hat and a scarf, coat and gloves, but I was still freezing. All I had on my feet were thin socks and converse, and I was sure I was going to get frostbite on my toes. It was worth it though. I loved walking past the water on the way there and the way back. It reminded me of home when I looked out on the wind-blown bulges of the sea, felt the misty billows and tasted the salty air. I've missed Tacoma's waterfront, and this was very similar. This coast is a bit colder and harsher though. The air in Tacoma kind of sinks into you, but the atmosphere here stabs and cuts through you. I like the weather here though. Even though it's constantly cold and windy, I like the humidity and sunshine.

D.C. Day 5-9

So, I decided to compile all the missing days into one post so I can be all caught up.  I probably won't need to post about every single day now that I have settled in here, but I will try to post regularly.  I'm getting very used to the flow of the metro, and I think I've gone from visitor status to almost resident.  I'm even gradually overcoming my fear of escalators.  They don't seem so long anymore and I'm actually able to walk down them without clutching the hand rail for dear life.  After nearly two weeks here, I feel quite at home.  I seem to have somewhat of a talent for adjusting.  "Home" seems to follow me wherever I go, but Washington state will always be my true home. 

I have to remember to differentiate between the two Washingtons here.  But this Washington is so much different from my evergreen state.  It's so sunny so often, but it's so cold and windy.  But when it rains, I feel even more at home.  The only time it has snowed here, it was quite similar to Washington state snow.  It was wet and didn't stick very much.  It made huge mud puddles on the sidewalk that I had to pick through in my nylons and converse.  I wear my converse when I walk to work and then change into dress shoes when I get there.  It helps with blisters.  I know I look funny with a pencil skirt and Converse, but I see people walking around in slacks and tennis shoes, so I figure other people got the idea too. 

So back to the metro... On my third day of work, I saw a man who looked suspiciously like Leonord Nimoy.... like a lot.  I couldn't help but stare at him.  The longer I stared, the more I knew it was him.  He noticed me staring and should have thought it was odd that some young babe was staring at him, but of course he didn't think it odd... he's Leonord Nimoy!  I think he was presently surprised that someone under 40 recognized him.  He smiled at me as I left, and I resisted all urges to say "Live long and prosper."  So that was my nerd fix for the week... Yeah. I saw Leonord Nimoy on the metro.  For reals.

Anyways, it's time I told you about work.  My coworkers are still very nice.  The ones I have talked to most are Mike, John, Tim, Bryce and Adam.  John is basically my mentor, Mike is my boss.  Tim is his boss, and Bryce and Adam are two other reporters.  I like Mike cuz he really seems to trust my writing abilities.  John is a bit tougher on me, he is merciless when he edits my stories.  But I like it because he teaches me how to write better.  Bryce is my next door neighbor, and he's got perfect hair and a smile from a toothpaste commercial. 

On my first day, he came over and confessed that he was as clueless as me when he started there as an intern before his current job. On my third day, he took me with him to a press conference he was covering.  Bryce made me sit in the front so I could take scrupulous notes and come up with questions. He had to stay in the back so he could plug in his laptop and write the story.  So I wandered up to the front and sat between two ladies with stiff hair.  One of them was scarily skinny, and she scooched away when I sat down. 

The press conference was the CEO of the big, faceless "nonprofit" organization who pretty much runs the Internet.  He basically told the press that despite all the concerns expressed by pretty much all governments and agencies, he was employing generic top-level domain names.  That means it won't just be .com, .org, etc. but there will be tons of dots.  Like .movie, .restaurant, .Katie, etc.  And it costs thousands of dollars to apply to buy one of those, and all the money goes to that faceless "non-profit" for who knows what.  Cuz its way more than it costs them to generate the names.  And it brings up tons of security issues that the CEO glossed over using blanket terms like "safe" and "secure."  I didn't write the story about this, but I loved the learning experience. 

I wrote three full stories this week and tons of news briefs.  I got a bunch of compliments on my second and third articles, so hopefully that means I'm improving.  The second story I did was about a press teleconference.  Tons of other reporters and I all called in and used a secret code to get access to the news briefing.  Afterwards, reporters asked questions over phone too.  This lady who works here too, Yu-Ting, let me borrow her awesome recorder that plugs in to the phone and records everything coming through.  So I only half-listened to the teleconference and played it back later.  It was boring at first until I realized that the group hosting it is the group that decides on the world's technological fate every four years.  These groups from each country meet and discuss technology laws and initiatives.  Two of the big things they mentioned were dealing out free spectrum space and preparing to develop unmanned aircraft for civilian use.  Scary huh? 

At this job, I'm learning that there are millions of people in thousands of agencies, associations, etc. who lobby and decide things every day that affect us in huge ways, and we don't even know!  They control everything that goes on with TV, mobile companies, the radio, and especially the internet.  It's crazy that so much power goes to these groups, and most people don't even know they exist.  They're like the ultimate undercover workers.

D.C. Day 4

There is a picture of a neat little building I walk by some mornings. :) So my second day on the job was much better.  I had gotten a proper night's sleep, and I tackled my assignments much more easily.  I'm beginning to learn the lingo, with the constant help of Google and Wikipedia.  Anytime I'm not writing, I read up on telecommunications terms and issues.  I like my coworkers.  They're super nice, but it's been odd adjusting to their constant swearing and coffee drinking.  Coffee is such a foreign substance to me; I can't imagination how it is for them.  They drink it literally all day.  But I guess I drink water all day, so that must be similar to their coffee addiction.
There are mostly men where I work, probably because it's a job where you have to know a lot about business and technology, items which are not interesting to many women.  I find the politics side of it very interesting, but the technology jargon not so much.  Either way, this is going to be such valuable experience, I'm so so so grateful to be doing it!

Also, today I wrote my first story!  I posted a picture of my first byline to Facebook, and it's in my mobile downloads in case you didn't see it.  The story was about associations opposing the FCC proposed rule that anyone filing in a case must provide full copies of any cited materials.  Anyways, lots of big words, and its probably boring but I liked writing it.  So that was good. 

The more I take the metro, the more I realize my absolute fear of escalators.  The metro escalators are so long..  At one metro, the escalator is so long that you can't see the bottom.  It's like riding a painfully slow rollercoaster... but with no safety bar or seatbelt and nothing to stop you from tripping on a step and tumbling to your untimely death.  The metro is already scary enough, especially after my dad pointed out that if you stand too close to the edge, someone could bump you onto the tracks as the train approached and you'd be like a bug on a windshield.  (My dad sometimes forgets how morbid and vivid my imagination is)  Needless to say, the metro has been the cause of quite a bit of anxiety. 

But the thing I enjoy about the metro is the people watching.  The people are so fastinating.  People in D.C. are either very grumpy or very friendly, never really inbetween.  And nearly everyone on the metro seems dull-eyed and dejected, having the life sucked out of them by the same gray routine of the subways.  I still love all the human contact.  As I watch the strangers around me, I'm reminded of what unites us all.  Through the forlorn attitudes and exhausted yawns, I see people who all have the same fight I do, that right as Americans.  We've all got this sense of entitlement towards the world.  Some people say it's a bad thing, but it's so good.  We know what we expect from life, and we will fight so hard to get what we want.  It's the American Dream.  You don't sit around waiting for life, you make it happen. 

The one thing I never see in these people's eyes is defeat.  I see sadness, tiredness and disappointment, but never defeat.  No matter which side of the country we come from, we are all united in this American attitude, this way of life.  This sense that life owes us something and we won't stop until we get it.  It's why I have this internship.  It's why I chase every opportunity that comes my way.  I know what life has in store for me and what the world can offer.  Even if people haven't figured it out yet or don't see it in themselves, we've all got this fight in us, and it's a beautiful thing that I see no matter where in this country I go.

D.C. Day 3

So, today was my first day of work, so here is a photo of me in my cubicle with my own computer and everything :)

 

So despite the excitement of being a real reporter, I feel a bit discouraged. All I had to do was write "notes" which are small news briefs written about press releases or FCC reports.  All FCC reports and most press releases are written in jargon that is nearly incomprehensible to the average reader.  There are tons of names and idioms and basically.... I had no flippin idea what they were about.  But the thing is, the people who read this publication I'm working for are rich, smart techy people who understand all these things.

Our publication, Communications Daily, is subscribed to by all the people who work at the FCC!  So I have to understand these things, write about them in that same type of language, and make sure it's accurate because readers pay $5,000 a year for this publication.  The hardest part was when I had to write a bit of a longer note about an FCC report about some technology item I so did not understand. I won't go in to detail, but it took me three hours to figure out.  When I called my parents tonight telling them I felt a bit discouraged, they reassured me that this was great experience and that I most certainly could do it.

Honestly, I think I just need some sleep.  This is a lot different from anywhere I have lived, and I'm still adjusting.  I don't really know anyone here, so I'm a bit lonely, but I know I will feel better after a good night's rest.  I really am grateful to be here. I know this is the best experience I could ask for, working as a reporter for a high-priority publication that writes about telecomm and business legislation.  It's a stretch, but I know I will grow from it.

D.C. Day 2 - part 2

Here are a few more really old, awesome documents:

<Original 16th century translation of The magna carta!!

The first protest to censorship in the media ^

An original copy of John Locke's "An Essay Concerning Human Understanding"

So, next I went to the 9/11 exhibit. Here is a news tower found in the wreckage:

Here is plane parts found in the wreckage

Here are cell phones found in the wreckage that were reported as still ringing for days after 9/11:

So the last thing I wanna talk about is the memorial to all the journalists killed in the field.  This is what it looks like:







Yes, all those photos are photos of journalists who have died in the field. I stood and offered them a moment of silence, and my silent tears fell in honor of them.  It was so spiritual and touching, the most inspiring thing I've felt in quite a while. 

It just reminds me why I want to be a journalist.  The same reasons these people died for.  The truth, the good of the public, the preservation of democracy.  The Newseum is the best place I could have visited before starting as an intern at a news publication.  Journalism is the coals that keep the fire of democracy going, and I hope I can always be a part of that.

D.C. Day 2 - part 1

So today, I went to the singles ward here. There were 250 people! I've never been in a ward that big, but apparently that is common here. Also, I've been wondering why everyone in D.C. is short, but I discovered today that all the tall people are Mormons! There were many tall people at church, male and female. There were guys and girls as tall or taller than me, and I loved it. I already made a friend named Emily and committed to join the basketball team. (YESS basketball!)
After church, I hopped on the metro and went back to the Newseum to use up the second day I had left on my ticket. I know some people might say that's not the best Sunday activity, but I really did feel the Spirit there.  I finished looking at the FBI exhibit and saw replicas of show bombs.

And a poem written by a convicted terrorist to his prosecutor during his trial (scary!)

On the walls of the girl's bathroom are awkward headlines, like these:

And this picture was in the sports photo sections:

 Lol!

Outside the newseum is that day's front page of every state's newspaper. So of course I went and found the one from Washington!

Then I had to ride the big glass elevator all the way up to the 6th floor.  Due to my fear of heights, I stood in the very center of the elevator and as far away from the glass walls as possible. The higher we got, the dizzier I got until we arrived on the sixth floor, the one with the large balcony.  Sixth stories up from the street, the view was beautiful, but the dizziness and fright were nearly intolerable.  I hugged the building and stood back as far as I could from the edge as I took pictures.  I walked down the patio to get a picture from another angle, and I nearly screeched as the loose concrete tiles rocked under my feet.  I edged closer to the edge and stopped when I was a foot away from the railing.  Yes, the railing was nearly as tall as my chest, but I was still terrified of falling off.  I managed to take these pictures though.

The next photo was a little harder.  I figured this would be the best time and place for me to get a picture of myself in front of the capitol building, and some girl offered to take my picture if I would take hers so..... Don't underestimate me when I say that it took all my self-control and courage to do this...

And don't underestimate me when I say that that smile contains gritted teeth, and my hand is clutching onto that railing for DEAR LIFE.

So naturally, after that, I moved as quickly as I could to the next floor which was the fifth and was closer to the sweet, blessed ground. 

The next exhibit, which was probably my favorite, displayed news publications from various important dates in history, starting with the first one in like the 1400's or somewhere in there.  And... they had an original page from the Gutenberg Bible!!! The original page is the left of this replica I think..

Next is one of the first newsbooks. Newsbooks were like newspapers but they only covered one thing. These ones covered the treaty of Madrid in 1526 and something to do with Martin Luther in 1546.

This news illustration shows the murder attempt on King Henry IV of France: 

The next ones should be recognizable to people. I'm putting more on Facebook.