Day 4 (5/28): I seem to be settling into a rhythm. I wake up; shower; grab a bite if there’s time; head to Penn Station; ride the train in; walk to the Cannon House Office Building; and arrive at 9 in time for work. Today, though, was my first full day in the office. Half the office was out this morning, so I just set to work on memos. These memos are a list of the calls and letters that we enter into the office database. It’s my job to put these into a comprehendible list for the Legislative assistants to work with so that they are then able to discern what issues are getting the most attention from the constituents. Each LA has certain policy areas that they deal with, health care, defense, Native issues, environment, etc.
One thing that I had yet to do was answer a phone. Its not that I’m incapable of answering the telephone, it’s just that I was really nervous about screwing things up. There’s the whole script to remember and there are buttons to push in a certain order and it just seemed very overwhelming. Hover, one of the other interns came over and told me that I was taking the next call that came in and he helped me go over the protocols again. Five minutes later, I heard the dreaded chirrup of the phone. I picked up on the second ring. I managed not to stumble over the congresswoman’s name. It was someone wanting to confirm their House gallery viewing tickets for their visit next week. I took down her info and hung up. But before I even had the chance to feel proud, I got another call from a markedly more heated constituent. She expressed some very negative views of the Representative. It is our policy to take down the comments of everyone who contacts us because what would be the point of only listening to the people who are complimenting you. However, this caller shall remain forever anonymous not because I am contractually obligated not to reveal any personal details (I am though). No this person is nameless because before I could ask so much as a first name, she said her peace and hung up. The rest of the calls I took were very pleasant though.
After working on that for a while, I was sent out once again to hunt for signatures. I was feeling pretty confident, having read the letter, until I got to the first office in Longworth. (For those of you who are not well acquainted with the day-to-day workings of Congress, there are three House office buildings and three Senate Office buildings where the majority of each congressperson’s work is done. All three on either side are connected to each other and the Capitol by a series of underground tunnels. I’m not actually working in the Capitol; I’m working next to it.) Anyway, so the first office I visited in Longworth stumped me yet again. They asked if I had a point of contact. All I could say was which office I was from, and that was not what they were asking. Finally the third office that asked me that asked in such a way that I could tell they were looking at my sheet that had each Representative’s name and their chief of staff or a Legislative Assistant’s name next to it. Then I caught on. I was finally fully armed with knowledge and I completed the signatures.
I returned to the office in the afternoon and was greeted by a stack of 600 letters ready to folded and stuffed into envelopes to be mailed to people have contacted us. Not really much else to say. That pretty much says it all. 600. And I have another stack that size waiting for me on my desk. And lest you think that I got stiffed because I’m the new guy, the other two interns had equal sized stacks to fold and stuff. That’s 1800 letters. My only big accomplishment here was completing the pile and not getting a paper cut. While I was stuffing, my supervisor also asked me to sit at the front desk for the first time while he gave a tour. It was mercifully uneventful: a letter for the scheduler got delivered; a résumé was submitted; the mail came.
The routine has settled nicely for the trip back to Baltimore as well. Walk to Union Station, hop on the train to Baltimore, get back to my friend's house, eat dinner, get on the laptop for a while, and go to bed early.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Day 3 5/27
Day 3 (5/27): As some of you may know, if you wish to visit Congress while you are in DC, you can contact your Representative or Senator to procure tickets. It is then the job of the offices to contact the right people and get tickets for you and then show you around when you get out here to Washington. As some of you also may know, construction recently was completed on the Capitol Visitors Center (CVC) which runs underground on the lawn in front of the Capitol building. So, today I had my orientation to be able to guide constituents through the Capitol and CVC when they come to visit. Training started at 9 AM and went until 3:30 PM. It was actually rather fun and interesting as far as training sessions go. I went on the same tour three different times: the first was to get the logistics of the path to take and the procedures to follow; the second was to get more of the history of the art and architecture and to learn more how to be an effective guide; and the third was to learn the safety measures to take in case of an emergency. So I am now fully capable of giving a tour of Capitol Hill. If anyone happens to be in the area this summer… you know who to call!
After training I went back to the office, was handed a manila envelope and was asked to go get signatures on a letter. So I blithely went on my way, first getting all the signatures from offices in Cannon. The first office seemed to know exactly what I was talking about and signed off. The second however was more cagy. They actually wanted to know what they were signing on to before giving over the John Hancock. This maneuver on their part revealed a gaping flaw in my plan; I had not actually taken the time to read the letter or have its content explained to me. I quickly remedied that and did not encounter any more issues during the rest of the day.
On my walk to Union Station, I was crossing the street and was stopped by a man in the crosswalk. He asked me if I knew where Union Station was. My stomach did a little backflip when he asked because it meant that I was going to be giving directions! He thought I seemed to know where I was going and looked like I knew what I was doing enough to stop me and ask me how to get around the DC. Granted, he happen to pick one of two places that I have gone to every day since I got here, but it still felt like quite an accomplishment.
After training I went back to the office, was handed a manila envelope and was asked to go get signatures on a letter. So I blithely went on my way, first getting all the signatures from offices in Cannon. The first office seemed to know exactly what I was talking about and signed off. The second however was more cagy. They actually wanted to know what they were signing on to before giving over the John Hancock. This maneuver on their part revealed a gaping flaw in my plan; I had not actually taken the time to read the letter or have its content explained to me. I quickly remedied that and did not encounter any more issues during the rest of the day.
On my walk to Union Station, I was crossing the street and was stopped by a man in the crosswalk. He asked me if I knew where Union Station was. My stomach did a little backflip when he asked because it meant that I was going to be giving directions! He thought I seemed to know where I was going and looked like I knew what I was doing enough to stop me and ask me how to get around the DC. Granted, he happen to pick one of two places that I have gone to every day since I got here, but it still felt like quite an accomplishment.
Day 2 5/26
Day 2 (5/26): I woke up in time to go to my first day on the job, but I knew that I would be completely useless and not absorb any information, so I called my intern coordinator. I explained to him everything that had happened and he said it would be fine if I just did a half day for the first day. So I went back to bed for a while longer, woke up a couple hours later, and had my friend take me to Penn Station so that I could hop a train into DC. The ride is about 50 minutes long from Penn Station to Union Station. I then got off at Union and walked the four blocks to the Cannon House Office Building where my internship is. Once I got to the office, I met up with Mike, the intern coordinator, and we went over the basic office procedures and then he introduced me to the rest of the staff. The other two interns that are in the office are both really cool too. Everyone in the office is so nice and friendly and understanding of my “fish out of water syndrome”. I then got my first taste of real work: sorting mail. It may sound dull (OK actually it IS dull) but at the same time it was exhilarating. I wasn’t just sorting anyone’s mail, I was sorting the mail of a member of Congress. OK, that still doesn’t make it sound very exciting, but I’m a politics nerd so leave me alone! Anyway, after that I got acquainted with the office database system that we use to log any and all calls or letters that come into the office. A little overwhelming, yes, but I got the hang of it pretty quickly.
After an (un?)eventful first day, the other two interns told me that they were going to a really good burger place two blocks away and invited me to go with them so we could get better acquainted. We walked over, and I had the best bacon cheeseburger I have ever had outside of the Midwest. (They just don’t seem to know how to cook a burger outside of the heartland ;P ). We ate and chatted for a while, and then, as we were walking toward the door, they gestured to a picture on the wall and told me that the owner of the restaurant was Spike from the show “Top Chef” on Bravo which I thought was cool in itself. But THEN, as we were walking out the door, Spike himself walked in. I guess that’s only cool if you’ve watched the show, but in my mind I’ve already had a brush with fame. After that, I headed to Union Station and caught the train back to Baltimore.
After an (un?)eventful first day, the other two interns told me that they were going to a really good burger place two blocks away and invited me to go with them so we could get better acquainted. We walked over, and I had the best bacon cheeseburger I have ever had outside of the Midwest. (They just don’t seem to know how to cook a burger outside of the heartland ;P ). We ate and chatted for a while, and then, as we were walking toward the door, they gestured to a picture on the wall and told me that the owner of the restaurant was Spike from the show “Top Chef” on Bravo which I thought was cool in itself. But THEN, as we were walking out the door, Spike himself walked in. I guess that’s only cool if you’ve watched the show, but in my mind I’ve already had a brush with fame. After that, I headed to Union Station and caught the train back to Baltimore.
Day 1 5/25
So I suppose I should say a few general things about this blog. First off, I’m not entirely sure how often I will have access to a computer with internet. I do have my laptop, and I assume that I will have a computer in the office. I guess I might be apologizing before the fact for any tardiness in my posts here. Also, let me know if you have any questions that you want answered or pictures of anything in DC. This site is basically a blank canvas; I really have no idea what I’m going to write about yet so ideas will be much appreciated! (But do try to keep it PG since both my grandmothers will probably be reading this lol.)
PS if you want a mailing address, send me an email and I will send it to you. I’d rather not put that information out there on the Internet for just anyone to read!
Day 1 (5/25): Well my trip got off to a very inauspicious start. I went up to my uncle and aunt’s house in the Twin Cities on Saturday morning and spent the weekend there. I had a lot of fun and it was a nice way to sort of unwind before I went off to the hustle and bustle of the capital. So I printed my e-ticket on Sunday night and made plans with my uncle to drive me to the airport the next morning for my flight that I thought left at 9:10am. So I got up with what I thought was plenty of time to get ready and get to the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport to board. However, when I woke up I had a text message from Orbitz (that’s where I booked my ticket) telling me that I was to board at 7:10am and arrive in Milwaukee at 8:30am for my layover. I was immediately jolted out of my early morning stupor and began frantically throwing my few unpacked articles of clothing in the suitcase. I ran downstairs in a panic and told my uncle that we had to go now. He sat me down and told me “It’s physically impossible to get you there in time.” That was the last thing I wanted to hear right then, but deep down the tiny little voice of logic told me he was right. So my aunt went and got the phone for me and I spent the next two hours checking websites and calling the airlines. (I had to call two because I had booked my flight through one airline but Orbitz does all their business through another, so they each kept telling me that I had to call the other.) We eventually got it all worked out and I got a flight for 4pm from MSP airport with a connection in Philadelphia.
Once I got to the airport (three hours early), I found my ticket counter and I met up with a very helpful ticket counter attendant. She helped me get my ticket and then check my luggage. I hit a bit of a snag at this point because I had overpacked my larger suitcase by 13 lbs. She could have easily charged me the overweight bag fee, but instead she helped me rearrange the clothes among all my bags in the middle of the ticket counter lobby so that it all fit and I didn’t have the fee. I was sooooo glad for that!
After I was finally able to actually board a plane, it was a very smooth, boring flying experience. I got on my plane in Minneapolis just fine. I transferred flights in Philadelphia just fine. We were put in a holding pattern above Philly, in which time I thought I was flying over the Simpsons’ hometown of Springfield because I saw us circling around the smokestacks of a nuclear power plant like the one Homer works at. I got into Philly and got on my plane to Washington Reagan Airport. On that flight I talked to a girl who is going to grad school at Catholic University here in DC. Upon landing I collected my luggage and met up with my friend from Creighton that I am staying with and we went back to her house in Baltimore.
PS if you want a mailing address, send me an email and I will send it to you. I’d rather not put that information out there on the Internet for just anyone to read!
Day 1 (5/25): Well my trip got off to a very inauspicious start. I went up to my uncle and aunt’s house in the Twin Cities on Saturday morning and spent the weekend there. I had a lot of fun and it was a nice way to sort of unwind before I went off to the hustle and bustle of the capital. So I printed my e-ticket on Sunday night and made plans with my uncle to drive me to the airport the next morning for my flight that I thought left at 9:10am. So I got up with what I thought was plenty of time to get ready and get to the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport to board. However, when I woke up I had a text message from Orbitz (that’s where I booked my ticket) telling me that I was to board at 7:10am and arrive in Milwaukee at 8:30am for my layover. I was immediately jolted out of my early morning stupor and began frantically throwing my few unpacked articles of clothing in the suitcase. I ran downstairs in a panic and told my uncle that we had to go now. He sat me down and told me “It’s physically impossible to get you there in time.” That was the last thing I wanted to hear right then, but deep down the tiny little voice of logic told me he was right. So my aunt went and got the phone for me and I spent the next two hours checking websites and calling the airlines. (I had to call two because I had booked my flight through one airline but Orbitz does all their business through another, so they each kept telling me that I had to call the other.) We eventually got it all worked out and I got a flight for 4pm from MSP airport with a connection in Philadelphia.
Once I got to the airport (three hours early), I found my ticket counter and I met up with a very helpful ticket counter attendant. She helped me get my ticket and then check my luggage. I hit a bit of a snag at this point because I had overpacked my larger suitcase by 13 lbs. She could have easily charged me the overweight bag fee, but instead she helped me rearrange the clothes among all my bags in the middle of the ticket counter lobby so that it all fit and I didn’t have the fee. I was sooooo glad for that!
After I was finally able to actually board a plane, it was a very smooth, boring flying experience. I got on my plane in Minneapolis just fine. I transferred flights in Philadelphia just fine. We were put in a holding pattern above Philly, in which time I thought I was flying over the Simpsons’ hometown of Springfield because I saw us circling around the smokestacks of a nuclear power plant like the one Homer works at. I got into Philly and got on my plane to Washington Reagan Airport. On that flight I talked to a girl who is going to grad school at Catholic University here in DC. Upon landing I collected my luggage and met up with my friend from Creighton that I am staying with and we went back to her house in Baltimore.
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