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.