Day 5 5/29

Day 5 (5/29): Just a general note for until I find a place to stay that’s actually in Washington, I have a 50 minute train ride every morning from 7:40 to 8:30 ET so if anybody is awake at that time and feels like chatting I would gladly accept a phone call :)

Today felt what I imagine it must feel like to be a part of the 9 to 5 commuter set. I woke up with my alarm and a very difficult argument with myself about the merits of getting out of bed to be able to get ready for work versus staying in bed and sleeping past my train. In the end the responsible me won out and I rolled out of bed to get ready. Brushing my teeth, I wondered if most people wrestle with this each morning. I never really think about it when I’m at school because nothing is directly expected of me in the classroom. It is entirely up to me to determine my level of input and output in class. At work, however, I am responsible to others who rely on me to get my tasks done so they can complete theirs. And I have absolutely loved every minute since I got here, but apparently even a dream internship in my dream city is not enough to make me into a morning person. Maybe that’s what it is: I’m a night owl by nature so it is difficult for me to transition to early bedtimes and earlier alarm clocks no matter what I am waking up for.

Today was a fairly dull day in the office. I got in and started working on folding and stuffing more letters. After working on that for a while my supervisor asked me to finish working on the memo detailing all the constituent comments in the database for the Legislative Assistant that I was working on yesterday. All in all, it was what I assume to be a typical day at the office. Having only worked in an actual office setting now for a week, I can’t exactly say what that is, but this is what I assume it would be like.

At one point today, I took a phone call from a constituent who was very upset about several issues. I mean really angry. Like yelling at the intern who answers the phone angry. This got me thinking: what exactly do people expect when they call their representatives? This is not meant to discourage you from doing so, but in fact encourage it. But being rude and sarcastic is not going to get the person on the line to give you the answer you want, nor will you be given the opportunity to speak with the official whose office you are calling. Not that anyone gets to do that anyway, but seriously. You are always welcome to call and tell them to support or oppose something or ask questions or share opinions, but being unpleasant is not, believe it or not going to get you better service. Sigh, OK sorry about that. I know that none of you would ever do that. My friends are all models of propriety. That was more just a vent. Most people who call in are very polite and I have actually begun to enjoy answering the phone, but every so often I get that call.

No more whining :) I’m done for Friday.