Tours, Twitter, and Twilight

TOURS
I am graduating this upcoming May from my undergrad. at KU. I have loved it and look forward to my senior year. But with this end comes a new beginning – Law School. I am studying for the LSAT on the weekends and taking tours of DC area law schools. It’s said you should go to law school where you want to live and work after you graduate because that is where you will build you network and work while in school, so naturally I am looking in DC first.

Last week I took a private tour of Georgetown Law from a good friend I’ve met here and he is also a first year law student/ 1L at Georgetown. He showed me the beautiful and historic college that over looks the Capitol and Supreme Court and detailed his experience there, both positive and negative. The following day after work, I went to an information session led by Georgetown Admissions. It was excellent and helped to answer several of my questions. Being accepted to Georgetown Law would be a dream come true.

Later, I went on a tour of George Washington Law after work. It is quite different from Georgetown, with a smaller more laid back feel. It had its positives and negatives as well. The campus was gorgeous and I would love to have an acceptance letter from them as well.

I still plan to tour American University Law in the coming week while here in order to have a full experience of area schools. It isn’t a decision of whether I’ll go to Law School for me, but instead which one and how to get in to it.

TWITTER
If you haven’t joined the Twitter craze, you are missing out. I know it can be as scary as Facebook, or even MySpace was but it is amazing and how our world is communicating. As great as Twitter is though, it is a lot of work to stay on top of things, if running an account for an organization or political effort. Those who tweet are today’s journalist, breaking information and stories before news can print an official article. You can also tweet from anywhere that has cell phone reception and places that don’t allow cameras i.e. court rooms.

Last week and the week prior, Log Cabin Republicans v. United States court case was taking place in California. We worked diligently to keep our members and follows involved and informed through all media outlets, including Twitter. You can’t film or take pictures in a court room but you can provide play-by-play details through tweets. Oh technology!

TWILIGHT
My 20 minute Metro ride to the office twice a day has turned into the perfect time to listen to my ipod. But I’m not like the many others who listen to music; I choose to instead listen to audiobooks. People may think that I’m some hipster on the Metro, when instead just a nerd in disguise. What is probably especially nerdy is my choice in books. I fill my day with hard work and watching the news and decided I needed a lighter form of entertainment, so I joined the Twilight craze. I have surprisingly enjoyed the books, even though they are built around teenage love… Fortunately I am not such a crazy and am not on Team Edward or Team Jacob but instead just listen to the books to stay up with pop culture and for light entertainment to and from work. Audiobooks also offer another great way to multitask, which I could not live without.

Between touring law schools, tweeting all day everyday, and listening to love stories on the Metro I stay busy during my exciting summer as an intern.

Lesson Learned: Law Schools, new technology, or book fads – don’t knock them until you have tried them and experienced what they have to offer.

Victories and Dreams

This week held several monumental decisions for equality. From DC to California to Argentina, gays and lesbians are receiving the same rights as everyone else, and keeping up with all of these updates is my job. Twitter has taken on a whole new meaning for me.

Log Cabin Republicans v. The United States trial challenging the failed 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' (DADT) military policy that bans gays and lesbians from openly serving in the military began this week with testimony. The case was filed six years ago and is finally being heard in Riverside California. Log Cabin has an amazing team of lawyers from White & Case and moving testimony from national board members to discharged individuals from the military. The trial began on Tuesday and is scheduled through next Thursday. Log Cabin is the only court case challenging the constitutionality of DADT. If this policy is repealed through executive, legislative, or judicial it won't matter, simply getting it repealed is the final goal. The Obama administration is defending the policy even though he is pro-repeal?

Washington DC is also in the news for a court decision announced this week. They ruled to uphold the same-sex marriage law made earlier this year and continue to allow gays and lesbians equal marriage rights as everyone else in the city. I have met several people who have fulfilled their vows after the passage of the law and the other day met a couple who traveled here from Texas just to be able to have an official ceremony, even though their marriage would not be recognized in their home state. (all in good time, with the work of Log Cabin and many other dedicated workers)

A big shout out to all my Latinas! Argentina voted this week to pass a gay marriage in their nation! They are the first Latin American country to allow same-sex marriage, even though the Catholic Church highly opposed the legislation.

Congrats to any of the gays who now have equal rights! It must be nice. One small step in a sequin pump for our community! Enough talk about gays around the world, lets focus on me now!

This week was, as usual, busy and challenging. Congress is back in session after the July 4th recess and that means the entire town is back to its fast pace lifestyle. Phone calls, emails, conferences, briefings, press releases, receptions, OH MY.

I'll expand on my favorite, receptions! This week my director invited me to attend a reception for Rep. Aaron Schock! If you don't know who he is then google image him now and read the rest of this later!

It was a great event and I got my pic with Aaron and talked with him for around 15 minutes with three other gay men, naturally we swarmed him. The event was at my favorite club, the Republican Capitol Hill Club and had food and wine. The Congressman is a very nice guy and I wish him the best of luck on his next election, in office, and coming out.

One of my roommates finished his internship this week and has left for home. He was a great guy to get to know and have political discussions that often lead to debates with. I am just three weeks away to leaving my now comfortable life in DC and flying to Vegas for an exciting weekend with my Lawrence crowd and then back to Kansas for a slower lifestyle, but still just as fun. DC is feeling like home and one day I hope it will be home. I toured what I would like to be my next home, Georgetown Law this week. The law school is located in the heart of DC and I believe it would be an amazing place to attend school. But for that to happen I better focus on the LSAT studying and keep up my hard work efforts. So enough blogging and on to the books.

Lesson Learned: Never discredit any option or disregard any opportunity. Those least expected roads may be the greatest route to take in life.

Working 9 to 5

Although my social life in DC is picking up and my evenings are excellent, I wanted to share more about my typical work week and the work I do for Log Cabin Republicans.

I wake up in the morning (feeling like P. Diddy) and depending whether of not I had a social evening out on the town the prior night, I go running. Then I shower and watch Good Morning America while ironing my shirt and eating breakfast. I leave for work 40 minutes early to give time for walking and the metro ride. Recently, I've gotten into listening to an audiobook with my ipod on the metro, which helps pass the time of the ride. I begin the work day by tidying my director's desk then checking my many emails. I don't understand the people who email in the evening, there won't be a reply until the next morning. I then proceed to check and delete spam from our Log Cabin email and search for news reports to blog and tweet about for BlogCabin or What Marriage Means blogs and twitters I help to run.

I usually have an on going 'to-do' list on my desk that includes scheduling appointments for my directors and reserving rooms for meetings. Once the mail comes in, I sort the bills and donations, entering them in the computer then making copies. I take the donation checks to our bank and make deposits, often these checks are fairly large. I save our bills in a folder to once a week take to our accountant.

Often I draft letters for donations or inviting guest to our upcoming events and fundraisers. Past letters have been sent to Congress members, Senators, Laura Bush, Cindy McCain, Dick Cheney, Ambassadors, and many others. Finding out who each of these people's schedulers is takes a long time as well. It seems that I share something in common with other schedulers because we always hit it off on the phone or exchange pleasant emails. We must be sharing similar experiences throughout our days.

There is always something else to work on as well including building and up-keeping websites, wikipedia pages, returning phone calls and emails, helping on the logistics of future events, attending meetings, attending congressional briefings on issues in focus, and many other tasks assigned to me.

I do an extensive amount of writing and researching, more then I would have ever imagined. My official title is Staff Assistant, which is very fitting because even though I am an intern, I am blessed with additional responsibilities. Communication is also a significant portion of my daily activities. Written and online communication takes place during my work day and interpersonal and face-to-face communications at evening events networking and spreading the name of Log Cabin.

Working with Log Cabin Republicans has been and still is an amazing experience. It is one that offers challenging tasks to develop and grow skills. To be able to work at a place where I have a passion for the work we do and can see the results is absolutely remarkable. This summer has been one full of issues that strike a passion for gay rights and rebuilding the Republican Party and prove that "Inclusion Wins!" (Log Cabin tag line). I now know the importance of an internship and hands on experience learning. These lessons are ones you simply cannot teach in Bailey or Blake Halls but must instead be learned here in Washington.

Lesson Learned: Multitasking is a blessing when done correctly. Be constantly working but don't forget to follow through to the finish, paying close attention to the details.

Fabulous Fourth

Independence Day in our nation's Capitol! What an amazing American weekend. I drank American beer, watched red, white, and blue fireworks, and attended a bbq party and social. I tried to plan all my weekend events around the holiday, making them extra patriot.

I got off of work early on Friday, most of the town took the entire day off. After work, I met up with my neighbor and friend for a fun happy hour. I had been invited for later that night to attend a jazz evening and ribs by a lady who worked at the Dole Institute as a fellow this past semester, Wilma Goldstein. She was one of the very first women to work for the RNC and has done great things in the Republican Party. She also brought another political friend that now teaches campaign classes at American University. I went with my alumna friend from KU and we had a great evening of American jazz and ribs. Never have experienced much jazz, I thought it was pretty excellent and added some culture to my life. After the great experience, Wilma took us home (I hadn't been in any car that wasn't a taxi is almost 6 weeks, weird!) then I got ready to go out with some friends.

On Saturday I met up with Mason, a friend from KU, and we walked around the Mall and went to see the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Three remarkable documents that have led our country for hundreds of years. The history of these documents is important to remember and why we actually celebrate the Fourth of July. Mason and I grabbed some food then I headed to a going away party for another friend from KU that is leaving for Ireland to attend graduate school.

Sunday, the 4th, Mason came over and we headed to a bbq together. We decided to walk and avoid the tourist filled metro. It was extremely hot and we soon regretted our walking decision. The bbq was being hosted by our KU alumna friend. We had food, fun, and met several other young professionals. The bbq lasted all afternoon and into the evening where we all headed to the National Mall to watch the fireworks together. We got there only 30 minutes early and still found great seats with the Washington Monument in front of us and the Capitol to our backs. The fireworks were phenomenal and created an American memory.

From sea to shining sea, I hope everyone remembered that freedom is not free and how fortunate we are to be in a country that is free, democratic, and protects our rights. Yet our great country is still a work in progress. We still are working everyday to ensure that every American has the same rights and there is still a lot work to be done to do this, but remember history, the Constitution was not written in a day and certainly hasn't be interpreted in a day either. "God Bless America, land that I love."

Lesson Learned: There isn't a lot of money to be made as an intern, but great memories and experiences are priceless and last a lot longer.