Let's Hear it for the Boy

So last night after a long day at CBS my roommate Lauren and I went to see the new remake of Footloose.  It was as cheesy as expected, but I absolutely loved it.  I thought the acting was great, the dancing was fun to watch, and the soundtrack is amazing.  I currently have Ella Mae Bowen's remake of "I Need a Hero" stuck in my head and have been listening to it on repeat...I'm definitely downloading the soundtrack when I get home.

I think it's safe to say that Kenny Wormald is my new celebrity crush.  With that sexy Boston accent, his amazing smile and his awesome dance moves, it was hard not to completely fall in love with him after watching him on the big screen for two hours.

Go see this movie in theaters--I promise you, it's worth your money.

I can sleep when I'm dead...right?

So I've been crazy busy lately but loving every minute of it.  My internship is amazing...my boss really tries to give me every possible opportunity to get exposure to the news industry, and I've been able to do a lot of research on stories that air on the national news.  So far I've seen or met John McCain, Hermain Cain, Newt Gingrich, Scott Pelley, and a few national news correspondents, all of whom have left me a bit starstruck.  It's funny how the "celebrities" out here are politicians, but I guess that's D.C. for you.  Anyways, I'm going to the opening of the MLK Memorial bright and early tomorrow morning and will get to see Obama speak, so I'm really looking forward to that (and a strong cup of coffee), since I haven't seen him speak in person since he visited UO in 2008.

My restaurant job is good and is helping me pay for a lot out here, and I know once the weather gets colder I will start making way more money doing coat check.  It's not a lot of money by any means, but it's enough to get me through my new habit of online shopping, happy hours, and take-out lunches when I don't have enough time in the morning to pack my own.  I really miss my friends and family back home and in Oregon, and although I have great roommates and awesome co-workers, it's definitely hard not being back in a college environment where I am constantly surrounded by my best friends, my sorority, and familiarity in general.  It's also hard working weekends since it doesn't give me much of a social life, but I do like that the weekend news crew is smaller, as it allows me to help out a lot more.

The two main things I really really miss: my own room and my car.  One of my roommates is one of the nicest people you'll ever meet, but quite possibly the noisiest in the morning (as if it's not bad enough having bunk beds).  This morning she was leaving our apartment to take an early flight, and she answered her cellphone at 4 AM in our bedroom, left both doors open with the lights on, and was slamming around below me like she was searching for lost treasure.  Long story short, this is a frequent occurrence, and while we've all discussed multiple times about being quiet while others are sleeping, she doesn't seem to realize how loud she is being.  So basically, I have constant dark circles under my eyes from being exhausted, and even when I do get the chance to sleep in (which is about 8:30 AM for me on a good day), I still get woken up abruptly before my alarm even goes off.  As for my car, walking to the metro and back in the rain is miserable, and I don't enjoy having to lug my heavy groceries for 4 blocks on the walk home from the grocery store...so a car would be nice right about now.

But that's enough complainging for now...overall, I'm really loving D.C.  I don't know if I'd ever want to settle down here for a long period of time, but if I got offered a job out here I'd definitely take it.  I need to start looking into jobs, and at this point, I'd take one anywhere...I'm mainly interested in finding a job in New England, Portland, or even Texas, but I know I have to take any opportunity that comes my way.  I've loved living with my parents and I am excited to visit San Diego for the holidays, but I don't want to live at home again after the internship.  Fingers crossed that I find a good career somewhere, preferably in the news industry!

One Month in D.C. Already!

Hey all,

It's been a while since my last post, but I've unfortunately been sick with bronchitis for the last 2 weeks or so! I finally got antibiotics last Tuesday, and it took a while for them to kick in but I'm finally feeling better. So far I'm loving my job at Kinkeads, and I'm meeting a ton of great people! I missed all of last week at CBS because of the bronchitis, but I'm back at work today and helping out the evening news crew since my boss Christina is out of town.  My manager at Kinkeads asked me to help out for a few hours after I get done at CBS, so it's going to be a long night!  I'm pretty much tired all the time now that I work 7 days a week, but coffee and Diet Coke get me through the day.

I had a great 22nd birthday but it definitely made me miss all of my friends from Oregon and San Diego so much! I pretty much call my parents every day so I don't give them much of a chance to miss me, but it's hard keeping in touch with all my friends on the west coast because of conflicting work schedules and the time difference.  Anyways, my 22nd birthday was definitely more low key than my 21st, but I think that's only appropriate, and my roommates out here made it a good time.

I ordered some new oxford booties for work that I think will be fun for the fall and winter out here in D.C.  I got them in black, and had to have my mom send them to me from my house in San Diego after mixing up my shipping and billing address.  They should get here tomorrow, and I hope they fit!

New job!

So after searching Craigslist like a mad woman, I lined up some part-time job interviews and today I got offered a job at a restaurant named Kinkeads! From what I know of it so far, it's a very high end, well known, award winning seafood restaurant, so I'm excited for my first day tomorrow!  I'm going to be a hostess, and will be working there Monday through Wednesday when I'm not at CBS...which means I'll be working every day of the week! I'm tired already just thinking about it, but I think it will be good for me to stay busy, and hopefully I can make some new friends at work!  The restaurant is across the street from the World Bank, so I'm sure I will be meeting a lot of successful people from all over the world!  It's also located near George Washington University, so it will be nice to be surrounded by so many young people!

I'm currently fighting a cold so I'm going to try to get to bed early so I can get better ASAP.  No one likes a sick hostess!

Proud to be an American

So it's my 3rd day on the internship and it's going well so far! It was definitely a struggle coming into work on the weekend, but I didn't have to come in till 11:30 AM today and have been getting off early, so I can't really complain about my shifts! The most exciting part of the internship so far was probably yesterday when my boss and I went to Capitol Hill for an interview with Congressman Michael Grimm.  I'd never met a politician before, and it was a really awesome experience to meet him and see his office.  So far everyone I've met at the internship is really nice, and my boss seems to genuinely care about making sure I'm getting a good experience here.  It's definitely been slow so far when it comes to my specific intern duties, but it's really interesting being in a national news room when big events like the anniversary of 9/11 are coming up.

Speaking of 9/11, my boss told me not to take the metro today or tomorrow because of the terror threats.  I can't say I like paying for the taxi rides to and from my apartment, but it is nice not having to walk to and from the metro every day and I'd rather play it safe.  I'm praying the terror threats don't actually come true--not because I'm worried about my safety in the nation's capitol, but because I can't even fathom our nation and our people suffering through such a tragic event again.  All of the coverage on the news lately of individuals who lost family members 10 years ago makes me extremely thankful for my parents, family, and all of my friends.  I'm hoping everyone stays safe this weekend and as always, I'm proud to be an American.

Public transportation, I've got you down

So I have to say, after being in D.C. for 9 days, I'm feeling very confident in my metro skills and navigating my way around the city.  I've been having a blast here so far, and as of today all of my roommates have moved in! So it's me, Teressa, Danielle and Lauren sharing one room, and Jevonna and Meera in another room.  Everyone has really different personalities and career goals, but we all get along really well and I'm excited to get to know everyone even better.

I got dinner with a girl earlier last week who is friends with one of my closest friends from high school, and I had a lot of fun hanging out with someone who understands the California lifestyle but is still looking to start a new life in D.C.  I also got coffee and did some shopping today with a girl from my sorority, Lindsey, and it was fun catching up with an old friend.  Since I don't know very many people out here, I really have to take advantage of getting together with the few people I do know and friends of my friends. This weekend, some of my roommates and some other new friends went out in Chinatown for a fun dinner, and then Lauren, Jevonna and I explored the nightlife in D.C. together.  It's definitely different than Eugene and San Diego, but I had a lot of fun and am eager to explore more as the weeks go on! We also went to the D.C. Zoo this weekend which didn't even come close to the World Famous San Diego Zoo, but it was free and we still got to see a few cool animal exhibits!

I start work this Thursday and am so excited to get started and meet all of the other interns! I'm so eager to finally have a weekly routine and am looking forward to being more productive with my life! Until then, I'm forcing myself to work out, clean, grocery shop, and make sure I'm completely ready for my new internship! I'm also still brainstorming ways to survive the humidity here...the west coast definitely did not prepare me for this, and I'm missing my car with air conditioning more than ever!

All moved in!

I'm finally here!  I got to Washington D.C. around noon and after three hours I am completely done unpacking!  My apartment here is absolutely wonderful...there are six of sharing the apartment, and it's really spacious.  I'm sharing a room with three other girls and I'm definitely going to have to get used to sleeping on the top bunk, but living in Pi Phi for two years has more than prepared me for this.  Our bathroom and walk-in closet have plenty of room for all of our stuff, and we each have our own dresser and huge drawer under the bed.  The living room has the most comfortable couches and chairs (currently one of my roommates is passed out on one), and we have a flat screen TV which is currently set to the news to keep us posted on Hurricane Irene.  I'm not too worried about my safety in D.C. but I will probably be stuck inside my apartment until tomorrow afternoon.  Our apartment has a dining table, a nice modern kitchen, tons of storage for our suitcases, a giant pantry for our food, and our own washer and dryer.  Two of my roommates are sharing a room and they have their own bathroom too, so I'm really thankful our apartment is so spacious.

I've only met two of my roommates, Jevanna and Terassa, and they both seem really down to earth and sweet!  I'm guessing we will spending a lot of time together this weekend because of the hurricane, so I'm excited to get to know them better!

I had a great time in Maryland and got to spend a lot of time with my grandma, aunt, and all of my cousins.  My cousin Felicia who is only a year older than me took me to get Mexican food at her favorite place on Thursday, and although it was good, their fish tacos didn't even come close to the Mexican food at home.  I might have to stick to seafood while I'm here, which I can't complain about.  After that we went out for drinks and watched the Ravens/Redskins football game at a sports bar, and it was a lot of fun catching up with her.  I'm very fortunate to have family out here, and I look forward to visiting them when I'm not working.

I'm reading the book "The Hunger Games" right now and it's amazing.  I stayed up late reading because I couldn't put the book down, so I'm pretty tired already after waking up early and unpacking all afternoon. The grey sky and rain isn't helping me stay awake either.

Below are some pictures of my apartment and my trip to Maryland, and I'm praying for everyone on the east coast to stay safe in the hurricane.