Arrival!

I discovered today that my life, at least three months of it, weighs 131 pounds. This past weekend I cleaned, packed, and sucked the air from all of my clothes with the amazing Space Saver bags (don't worry I didn't buy them from the commercials). It was all jammed into two suitcases and ready for travel.

This morning I woke up at 5:00AM at my sister and her husband's new home in Overland Park. I had decided to stay there the previous evening in order to be closer to the airport and have a relaxing evening with family. GUARANTEED if I had stayed in Lawrence with my great and crazy friends, I probably would not have slept and would have struggled to find a sober driver at 5:00 in the morning. I was amazed by how busy and bustling the airport was this morning. For almost an hour I waited in line for security. If you know MCI then you know that this is pretty rare. I assume it is simply a flock of students and others returning home after graduation or headed to vacations. As I stood there in line I thought "Shoot, better get used to this security! Thank goodness I enjoy people watching so much."

Around 1:00PM I got off of the plane with no problems at the Dulles Airport, which is about a 30 minute drive outside of DC. Prior to that I had a quick layover in Chicago. I had planned on taking a taxi into the heart of DC where my townhouse was located but changed my mind after striking up a last minute deal for a personal luxury driver. It seemed like the simplest, stylish, and least stressful way to travel. After he drove Miss Daisy aka me to the WISH office for check-in, he drove me to my actual location at a four story old townhouse that has several smaller living areas in it. WISH stands for Washington Intern Student Housing. I heard about if from several previous interns that I knew from KU. It is "fully" furnished with furniture similar to the Reserves Apartments in Lawrence, and if you know what I'm talking about then you know the quality. The location is outstanding. It is across from a large park that I "might" think about running in some morning and just a 5 minute walk to the metro.

Once arriving at my apartment it was around 3:00PM and naturally there was no one there. The historical apartment is on the first floor and has one bedroom, one bathroom and a kitchen and living room. It is no penthouse but will work efficiently. The entire building is full of interns from various walks of life. There are men, women, liberals, and conservatives. I am excited to meet each of them and look forward to our social being hosted next week.

I brought in my suitcases and decided to head out and grab a bite to eat and to try to pick some items up at a Walgreens or a CVS. Those stores are on every corner, correct? Well they're not! I walked around for several hours in the misty 50 degree weather before figuring out the metro system and locating a CVS. I enjoyed my Tuesday walk around touring the city on foot, but set out to find winkle releasing spray and bedding for my small twin bed. Unfortunately I am going to bed on the couch tonight and have laid out my wrinkly clothes on the bare bed in hopes they will be ready for my first day tomorrow with Log Cabin Republicans.

Tomorrow I start my morning off by attending an event called "Lessons Learned from the Service of Gays and Lesbians in Allied Militaries" Battling the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy will be one of the major items my summer agenda for Log Cabin. I plan on discussing more topics about the actual internship in future posts. Also, don't worry Lawrence friends, these posts won't usually be this long. Have a beer or a case for me tonight boys!

Lesson of the Day: Space saver bags = good idea for traveling IF you have an iron or wrinkle releaser when unpacking.