On my last trip to DC , I took a tour with May Davis (a good friend from Student Senate) of the Supreme Court and learned that above the actual court room is a basketball court. So this morning when I got up, with a little hangover, I decided to go over and see if my boy John Roberts wanted to shoot some hoops. He was busy so I walked by the Library of Congress and then remembered that I am here to lead - not to read!
My first week of intern work is now over and it has been excellent. Each day has offered something different with a variety of challenges and numerous exciting moments.
Thursday was a full day of work in the office. Part of my job is to write the Log Cabin Blog, research news stories that affect the party or GLBT concerns, and run the twitter and facebook. Completing these tasks and my ongoing work on the website filled my day on Thursday until around 6:00pm. After work, I decided that maybe it was time to purchase bedding and a pillow and get off of the couch. I took the 20 minute metro ride to the nearest Target and Bed, Bath, and Beyond. This is one of the strangest aspects for a midwest person. In a city you literally have to carry your groceries and items back on the metro and carry them home, meaning you are limited to about two bags. DC also charges people to use sacks so you better bring the reusable bags, if you are my friend then bring your census bags! In Lawrence, I shop about once every three months and stock up in order to save time and effort. That method is practically impossible here. The Target is built above the Bed, Bath, and Beyond which is built on a Payless, not the typical shopping I am used to. There is also no Walmart!!!! and a lot of hippie expensive organic places, that I am sure my sister would love. Thank goodness, I was able to find bedding and make it back to the house with time to get ready and go out for the evening.
Going out is a very different concept for me here in DC. In Lawrence, my friends and I wouldn't even think about leaving the house until around midnight but on weeknights here the metro ends at midnight. So I changed and headed out at 9:30!!! CRAZY right Lawrence friends!?! I don't know a soul here yet and decided to suck up my fear and just go to a bar alone and see if I could meet people. I headed to a gay district area of town and fortunately met some people who were just visiting DC. We were both new so we were in the same position and just sat at outside a corner bar and had a couple of drinks together and chatted. He was from upstate New York and invited me to a Drag show the next night. He knew the famous Drag Queen Pandora Boxx and invited me to join him at her show the next evening. I was so excited! I had made a friend, but he was leaving after the weekend. Eh, I at least got a club invite out of the evening. I headed home a little tipsy and had the metro directions in my pocket so I wouldn't drunkenly get turned around. Once back at the house, I chatted with the new roommate a little and bonded more. Booze makes bonding with new people so much easier!
Friday at the office was a great day! Our new Executive Director started. He is excellent. He served in the Iraq war and then in the Bush Administration. His contact list and experience are extensive and extremely benefiting for Log Cabin. Him, Christian and I went to a lunch with around 30 prominent GLBT people in the DC area. The group consisted of lobbyist to human rights activist to business people. There were Democrats and Republicans present. I made some excellent contacts and met some outstanding members of society and my community.
After work I decided to try out a happy hour that I had heard so much about. No one does Happy Hour like DC! I went to a bar with unlimited beer for $8! I had planned on just having a couple then heading back to the house to freshen up but then got to talking to people and stayed until my new friend came and we went to the Drag Show together. Pandora Boxx was absolutely amazing and hilarious! I was able to attend her after party performance as well and talk with her a bit. After that I headed to the famous gay bar called Nelly's Sports Bar. A KU alumni owns the bar and it was featured on The Real World DC. It was pretty busy with a lot of young interns and political workers. I enjoyed myself and even let a guy from Mizzou buy me a drink, lucky him!
This morning after bypassing basketball with John and skipping the library, I went on a stroll around the Capital to the Lincoln Memorial. I called my girl RanDee and friend Nick, who is in Vegas now, to keep up with friends. I then went to the National Asian Culture festival in front of the Capital. I had some great bubble tea and remarkable Thai food. Martial arts, belly dancers, and arab drums were my entertainment for the afternoon. At 5:00 I decided to do what any person in DC would, go have a beer! I then called the family members to fill them in. I am headed out again tonight in order to make friends. I left an amazing social life in Lawrence with many popular great friends to DC where I drink alone at bars and force myself to chat with anyone sitting close to me. I hope to make friends soon, but either way I am enjoying myself!
Lesson of the Day: Get out of the house and into the streets to truly enjoy a city.
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Dearest Alex Earles. That is BS that CJ Roberts was not available for some bball. But, you do realize he has to school Ginsburg in a little game of Horse every once in a while, so I hope you can be understanding. Also, I am happy that you are getting your fill of drag shows. Thank you for keeping me updated. Also, you've inspired me to have a website/blog. Likely to be inappropriate, but likely to be entertaining.
ReplyDeleteYou are egregious.