Merry Christmas!

Alright, everybody it's finally here!

I'll be back with some posts on what my family did and a little more on DC, but in the mean time...

HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Let It Snow: My Final Weekend in D.C.

Hey there folks,

I am currently writing this post in the comfort of my warm and toasty living room. But the question was how did I get here? Well, sometimes I'm having trouble believing that I finally got here myself.

Let's go through my final weekend in D.C. and tell you about some of the things I did to cap off my amazing few months...

Friday was the last day of my internship. I helped to train our new intern and worked on some papers for school. It was a pretty quiet day. I made sure to take an extra-long lunch and stroll around the Capitol for a final time. The thing I miss most about my internship is getting an "all-access pass" to the building. It's really unbelievable--even the parts the public doesn't normally see.

Late in the afternoon, the Chief of Staff called a "staff meeting". I thought it was odd since it was Friday afternoon and a few people had decided to take the day off. Well, when I walked in I was greeted with a big sheet cake and a hearty yell of "Surprise!" Sure enough, the staff in the office had chipped in and thrown me a surprise party. They got me a card and a few gifts and we all ate cake and chatted for a good two hours. What a way to end my internship! I miss that place already! After work, I walked down to see the Capitol's Christmas tree.

I had planned to go home Saturday afternoon around 3pm, but when we heard of the impending forecast (a boatload of snow for both DC and CT) my parents and I decided to move it up to 1pm. Then, after even that looked ominous, we decided to postpone my train until Sunday morning. I had to be out of my apartment at noon Saturday, so I stayed with my cousin Eddie and his now fiance, Ashley.

But I woke up early on Saturday, because earlier in the week I bought tickets to the Washington Monument. I braved the foot and a half of snow that had already fell and trudged to the top. It was something I had never done before. The visability was obviously not the best, but it was cool just to go up there (especially at such a unique time)! I then walked all around the mall and got some GREAT pictures. It was totally deserted. It was really eerie. I ended with going up to the Capitol and grabbing some pictures of the snow.

the National Mall...deserted

I checked out of my apartment in the snow (here's the view from our balcony) and braved the snow to my cousin's house a few Metro stops away. No one had shoveled the sidewalks yet, so my busting-at-the seams suitcase acted as a shovel. You're welcome Arlington Public Works! Once there, we stayed in all day and had a little HBO marathon. From Shawshank Redemption, to Into the Wild, to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (one of my all-time favorites), and Marley and Me.

For the movie buffs out there, I'll give my grades:

Christmas Vacation - A++ (it's a holiday tradition)

Shawshank - A (really well done)

Into the Wild - B (cool movie, good cast but couldn't really get into the character- such a hippie!)

Marley and Me - C (ehh, coulda been better. they kept mixing the years up: small, modern cell phones with giant Windows 95-esque computers. What gives?!

But I digress...

Anyways, I woke up early on Sunday to head to the train station. The Metro was still a mess and cabs weren't running. All in all, we got about 26 inches of snow. Last year, they got about 1-2 inches all winter! Eddie drove me there and sure enough, my train was delayed. We waited for about 2 hours just to find out it was then canceled. I raced to the ticket counter to try and get on another train. I waited for an hour and a half in line, while my Dad was on the phone with Amtrak trying do the same. Finally got on a 4pm train, so I grabbed a bite to eat and caught up on some reading.

FINALLY, I boarded the train (just after the New York Giants got off it, oddly enough) and I was headed home to meet my parents. We got in to our house about midnight. It's good to be home.

Coming up: Just because I'm out of DC, doesn't mean it's gone forever: I'm still working on some cool little posts about the Capitol. Look for those around the start of the new year!

Take care everybody!

Christmastime Snapshots

Hey folks,

It's officially the Christmas season here in Washington. The past few weeks I've been putting the finishing touches on my semester here: doing some work for the Washington Center, visiting places I'd been meaning to go to, and saying goodbye to friends.

However, last Saturday we got our first snowfall here in the District. My room is next to a bay window that overlooks Arlington and I couldn't believe my eyes when I woke up that morning. I hurried down to the Capitol and met my friend Brenna. We walked around and took pictures in front of the things we had walked by all semester. I really tried hard not to take for granted being able to walk in and out of the Capitol building at my leisure. It really is something. I'll never forget it.

After we got our fill of the Capitol, we walked along Pennsylvania Avenue and took in the sights and sounds. We stopped at the National Botanical Garden for a bit. We had heard that they had a special Christmas exhibit but we weren't sure exactly what it was. When we walked in, we found the main foyer decked out in Christmas decorations with famous DC buildings adorning the room, made from acorns.

They were very intricately made, right down to many small details, as you can see. Another cool touch was that they were laid out in the room, as they are in the city itself. (Supreme court north of the Capitol, Jefferson Memorial west of the Lincoln Memorial and so on...)

After our time in the NBG, we walked to National Christmas Tree behind the White House. The tree was translplanted there in 1977 and has been there ever since. Along the tree are fifty smaller tree adorned with ornaments from all fifty states. Unfortunately, we got there a little early and the tree wasn't lit yet, but it was still great to see it.

Later in the week, I got to meet Andy Card, former President Bush's Chief of Staff from 2001-2006. I had met him once before--about two years ago--when he visited Stonehill. Card has close Stonehill ties. He was a visiting professor in the mid-90's, a member of the Board of Trustees, and the Commemencement speaker in 2003 (while he was Chief of Staff).

Sidenote: another great thing about the season...Christmas parties! Free food, free drink, and the chance to meet people...it really can't get better. It seems like most days have a reception or party after work that I'm more than happy to go to. My intern budget is pretty tight, so free food is always welcome.

That's it for me tonight. Today was pretty hectic and so I'm hitting the sack relatively early. Get ready though. I have a few special posts coming up talking about a little art history within the Capitol rotunda. Stay tuned. Thanks for the checking out the Gorm-zone. Until next time, take care!

Thanksgiving Traditions in T-Town

Hey folks,

Hope everybody had a nice Thanksgiving! We're in the homestretch here in DC. I can't believe it! I go home in just a few short weeks. Speaking of home however, I want to share with you my time spent at home last weekend for Thanksgiving.

I left via train on Wednesday afternoon. I had never experienced holiday travel before, and while it wasn't awful, I was stressed to the max. This is pretty rare for me since I love to travel. I'm a big believer in the whole "half the fun is getting there" mantra. Once onboard, I reclined my chair, whipped out my iPod, and read my Washington Post and before I knew it I was back in CT. It was really great to see my parents again and when I got into the car, the entire backseat was full of food and candy to nourish me after my long journey (they know me too well).

On Thanksgiving morning, we all woke up early and took part in a little tradition for our family: the Manchester Road Race. It's a 5 mile road race in my Dad's hometown of Manchester that usually gets about 14,000 particpants. I've run it five times now and I love it! It's a great atmosphere: people cheering on the side of the road, bands playing on the side of the road, and--this year--great weather!
My aunt and two of my uncles joined us this year. While I ran, they went into a pub across the street from the finish line and took advantage of their morning menu of fried dough and coffee. After I showered and peeled the UnderArmour off me, we all headed to my other aunt's for Thanksgiving dinner. It was great to see everybody again. I hadn't seen most of them in quite a few months. Since I ran quite well earlier in the day, I decided to give myself an extra helping of apple pie!

The next day my Mom and I took part in another Thanksgiving weekend tradition: the Black Friday wake-up call. We really don't have anything to get, we just to it to see what's going on and maybe a little people watching. This year's alarm rang at 4:30am and we were out the door at 4:45. Our first stop was JCPenney to grab our free snowglobes, as we do every year. We then headed to Walmart and Target. Walmart was an absolute madhouse. They had gates--like those you'd see used to keep cattle contained--used to form lines outside the store. Once inside, it was practically chaos. People were lugging TVs out like they going out of style. I also counted 5 police officers on duty, as well as private security. It was ridiculous.

We returned home at 6:15am and after some more sleep, I met up with Deanna, an old friend from high school. We usually meet up at a restaurant called Fuji (it's the kind where they make the food in front of you) and this time was no different. We hadn't seen each other since the spring and it was great to catch up. We also compared stories from our early morning shopping excursions.

That night, my Mom and I started our Christmas baking. Our family hosts Christmas Eve and there has many traditions that come with it. We have a traditional Slovak supper and everything is made from scratch. My grandma passed the recipes down to my mom and she is passing them down to me. I've gotten to be a pretty good baker in the last few years have taken some dishes on myself. But more on this in another post...

On Saturday, a few of my cousins came down. My cousin Dave and his wife had a kid about a year ago: Jack. My cousin Steph and her husband also had a son in August: Chase. It was great to see them again.

Jack is growing like a weed, I remember when he was only a few days old. Jack is crawling all over the place and I volunteered to watch him while Mom and Dad took a break. He kept me moving throughout because he loves opening doors. He bounced from room to room opening and closing doors, then playing with the little door-stop connected to the wall.

That night, I met up with some old high school friends and got home relatively early because we had to decorate the Christmas tree our family had picked out earlier in the day. We had incredible luck this year. Where it would normally take a whole day (and a whole lot of arguing) to pick out a tree...this year it took us one stop and about 20 minutes!

But we got ours in the end: apparently a tree is supposed to be able to "stand up on it's own"?! Pshh, who knew! After it fell for the 3rd time, we thought we were doomed but it is still (fingers crossed) standing as I write.

Before I knew it, the weekend was over and I was on a train back to DC Sunday afternoon. I knew it wouldn't be too long before I was back home for good. But until then, I'm ready to make these last few weeks in Washington an absolute blast!

Take care!

A Saturday in the Senate

Hey folks,

Just wanted to fill you all in a very interesting Saturday I had lately. My friend Brenna had a few family friends come down to visit her and she asked me if I could give them a tour of the Capitol. Having nothing better to do on a Saturday (as well as being huge nerd), I said yes.

I got up around noon and headed down to the Capitol to meet them at 1pm. I showed them all the in's and out's of the Capitol as well as some neat little things you normally don't get to see on tours. Here I am with a statue of Joe Martin, namesake of the Martin Institute at Stonehill, on display near the Majority Leader's office in the Capitol.

I knew that the Senate was debating whether or not to take up the health care bill or not, so I decided to head to the gallery and check it out. I got a seat in the front row around 2:30pm. I was pretty interested and the hours moved pretty quickly. Before I knew it, I was about 5pm and I was ready to go. Just then, Senator John McCain (a favorite of mine) came out to give a speech. He ended around 6pm. Since they were voting at 8pm, I decided just to stick it out and watch. At around 8pm, the gallery became more and more filled around me and all the Senators came to the floor and took their seats at their desks.

In this age of C-SPAN and 24 hour media, it is very rare to have more than just a few Senators on the floor at once...let alone 99 of them. (Where were you George Voinovich??) It was also very rare to see Senator Robert Byrd on the floor. Senator Byrd is 92 years old and is the longest serving member of Congress ever. He took office on January 3, 1959! He is quite frail nowadays and makes appearances on the Senate floor only sparingly, so this was a treat.

I watched them each rise from their desk when their name was called and register either an "AYE" or "NAY" vote. Unlike the House--which votes via electronic device--the Senate votes through a roll call. It was about 8:30pm when I got out of the chamber.

I looked like a zombie: eyes red, feet asleep, stomach growling. Now, they are pretty strict in the gallery. You obviously are not allowed to eat, drink, or take pictures, but you're also not allowed to have any electronics inside. Also, if you leave your seat, it is up for grabs. So I had not eaten anything all day (since I only anticipated going to the Capitol for about an hour or so).

I then stopped to call my parents from the rotunda of the Russell Senate Office Building. On a hunch, I told them to turn on FOX News, which was doing a live shot from just in front of me. I walked in and out of the shot on my cellphone, looking away and trying to make it seem like I had no idea that the camera caught me. But sure enough, my mom saw me! haha!

On the way out of the Capitol, I met Senator Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia. I stopped and chatted with him for a few minutes and he couldn't have been nicer. He is pretty big guy, much taller than me. After I was done with him, he was swallowed up my a news station.Quite a Saturday.

I love this town.

Take care!

On Statues...

Hey folks!

Here is a photo of me rubbing the foot of the Will Rogers statue here in the Capitol. This is a famous statue because for years lawmakers would rub Rogers' foot before going out on the Senate floor to give a speech. It was a good luck charm. That is why you can see his feet are pretty worn. With the addition of the Capitol Visitor Center last year, they have since moved it.

Every state is allowed to display two statues here in the Capitol. There are a few rules though: they must be made out of either bronze or marble, they must be paid for by the state, and they must also choose the person they wish to honor. Every state is represented here, but some states want to update their statues. Therefore, they must choose which statue they want to replace. Helen Keller from Alabama is the newest statue to be unveiled. It will soon be a big day for our office when Michigan replaces it's statue of Zachariah Chandler (Google him!) with Former President Gerald R. Ford. Quite an upgrade!

Statues are housed all over the Capitol from the Visitors Center which hold Keller as well as former astronaut Jack Swigert. Who is Jack Swigert you ask? Well, ever seen Apollo 13? He is played by Kevin Bacon. Talk about six degrees of separation...that guy is everywhere!

Many of them are housed in Statuary Hall, the old House of Representatives chamber and the more famous one (Lincoln, Washington, Jefferson etc) are in the Capitol Rotunda. But others are just in random hallways that most tourists never see.

Well this is a nice little diversion but coming up I'll talk about a weird day in the Senate and my Thankgiving with the family...

Take care!

Washington, Let Me Introduce You to Stonehill...

Hey there folks,

We’re at it again here in the Gorm-zone! Bringin’ you the latest from our nation’s capital. This past weekend was an exciting one here. A few friends from Stonehill came down to visit me. Steve, Steph, and Molly flew in from Boston on Friday night on what would be an action packed weekend. Steve and Steph had never been to DC before so I made sure to show them all the sights.

After picking them up at the airport and getting them settled in the hotel, we went straight out to Georgetown to grab some grub. There’s a really good place for barbecue called Old Glory, so I took them there! I have a weakness for some good pulled pork or a nice rack of ribs and Old Glory is the finest around. Everyone was pretty hungry so besides catching up on the latest happening at Stonehill and in DC, we chowed down our food pretty quickly. After grabbing some dessert at IceBerry, we went to my apartment and just relaxed. They were all tired from a day of classes and traveling and we were planning big day on Saturday, so it was an early night.

On Saturday we awoke bright and early and went to Arlington National Cemetery. I had not been there in quite a few years. It was a beautiful fall day and we walked all around the large piece of property formerly owned by Confederate General Robert E. Lee. We saw the revered Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and walked to the eternal flame at JFK’s grave.

We were pretty hungry after walking so much, so we decided to meet up with friends of Steph’s family that live in Alexandria, VA. They picked us up at the cemetery and drove us to Old Town Alexandria to a restaurant called the Fish Market. It was great because I really wanted my guests to see how beautiful Old Town was. Though none of us, not even Steph, had met these people before, we hit it off and chatted about Stonehill and future plans.

They graciously then drove us back to the Capitol where I gave Steve, Steph, and Molly a private tour. They couldn’t help but laugh after seeing how my Congressional ID could allow me special access and the ability to cut the lines. When we first got there, a Capitol guide was directing visitors to the long line just to go through security. When I flashed my badge, he exclaimed, “Oh, sir, you and your guests are all set,” and pointed the way to the door. Steve and Steph lost it at this. THEN, I got to a Capitol Police Officer by a barricade just before security. I then flashed my badge and she deadpans, “Have you briefed them already, sir?” I said that I had and ushered them in, all while trying to keep a straight face while my three comrades were doubling over in laughter. I honestly couldn’t have made them treat me more importantly if I had bribed them. We kept laughing about that the entire weekend.

After the tour, we walked over to Bullfeathers, which is a pub right next to my office building. We sat and rested our weary legs and got ready for a night of more walking. Immediately after dinner, we embarked on our Tour de Monument. We began first at the Capitol, then walked to the Washington Monument, then World War II, Vietnam, Lincoln, and the Korean War. By this time, we were basically ready to drop. However, we pressed on and walked to my favorite monument of them all: the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial. It is setup quite differently than the others. Instead of one statue or scene, the memorial consists of 5 stages that you walk through much like a park. Each of them consists of certain statues and waterfalls to symbolize the times. For example, the stock market crash has a waterfall with one large pillar of water crashing down, while the chaos and destruction of WWII is symbolized through water crashing around from all directions and in all sizes. It is very powerful to see, especially at night. After FDR, we made it over to the Jefferson Memorial. After that, we just about had it and took a cab home.

The next morning was a beautiful Sunday. It was in the mid-70s, so I took my friends across from my apartment to my favorite Sunday ritual: the Corner Bakery. We sat outside on the deck and enjoyed some scrambled eggs and home fries. We then embarked on a short journey the Iwo Jima Memorial. It is the largest bronze statue in the world. After that, we went over the White House to snap some pictures. Unfortunately, no one was home.

Before we knew it, it was time for us all to say goodbye. The weekend had flown by. But our consolation was that I would see them in the not so distant future. I can’t believe that I only had a few weeks left here. It is so surreal.

Coming up: at brief stop home for Thanksgiving

Stay tuned! Thanks for checking out another installment here in the Gorm-zone! Happy Thanksgiving! (And thanks for taking the time to check out my blog these last few months! Feel free to give me some feedback!)

Take care!

Secret Service Saturday

Hey folks,

I’m finally finishing my week’s worth of posts with Saturday: the day that the House voted on the Health Care Reform bill.

I had been expecting all week long that the vote would be held on Saturday, so it wasn’t a shock to any of me to be in the office at around 9am on a crisp autumn weekend. What I didn’t expect was all the hoopla and commotion surrounding one of the biggest votes in quite some time.

It started early in the day. I knew President Obama would be given a talk to House Democrats just two doors away from our office in the Cannon House Office Building’s Caucus Room. One thing you realize when the President comes around: he certainly isn’t subtle. After taking my usual elevator ride to the 3rd floor of Cannon, I was stopped by a Secret Service agent immediately after the doors opened and asked for my Congressional ID. Then another agent next to him asked me where I was going. I just thought to myself: Here we go…

I went down to grab some breakfast in the cafe under Longworth and got to talking with Rep. Lummis from Wyoming. She, like me, had just gotten some breakfast to sustain her for the long day. We talked a little about what to expect and how it was going to be very late before we would all get out of there.

About an hour later, a coworker of mine went outside to use the men’s room right outside our office. He was quickly stopped by another Secret Service agent perched in front of the door. The agent told him that restroom was Obama’s personal bathroom for the morning and he would have to go downstairs. (Talk about perks…) Later, a Capitol Hill police officer came into our office and informed us that we would be in lockdown for the duration of Obama’s visit—no one in or out. Just before Obama arrived, a few people in our office took a peek outside the door to see what the hallway looked like. To their surprise, it was lined with Capitol Hill police and Secret Service agents lined shoulder to shoulder. It was an unbelievable sight.

From our balcony, I snapped a few shots of the desolated street while Obama was inside our building. Normally, the sounds of car horns and smell of gasoline would be hard to miss, but today…silence. Also notice in the far left corner of one of the pictures is Obama’s motorcade.

The day went on pretty normally. There was about 7 hours of debate in total. I was able to head over and watch the proceedings from the staff gallery. Rep. Camp was often on the floor managing time. (which is when a member dispenses time for speeches among the junior members) When I was not watching in the gallery, I was relaxing in the office watching C-SPAN.
We all ordered some dinner eventually. Who knew they made calzones as big as my head?! And the debate finally wound down around 10:30pm or so. The few staffers that were left were all pretty tired so as the members voted, we turned on some Springsteen and just relaxed.

Springsteen, votes, and calzones! -- Love this town!

An Evening with the Gore...and more!

Hey again folks,

Alrighty, I'm back to tell you about the week I had.

On Thursday, many GOP politicians called upon citizens to protest the current health care reform bill by coming to the Capitol for a rally. The congressman I work for, Dave Camp, is the Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means committee (one of the committees that oversees health care spending) and is the lead author of the Republican alternative plan. These factors made it a given that it was going to be a busy day in the office.

A bus trip was organized from Rep. Camp's district made up of people looking to participate in the rally. Since these people would leave Michigan at 10pm and arrive in D.C. around 11:30am the next day, our office decided to host a reception for them so they could stretch out and have something to eat before the protest started. I was charged with getting there early and mingling with some of the people that came down. Soon after Congressman Camp came down to say hello and thank them for driving all night from Michigan to be here.

Coming back, I realized the magnitude of the crowd. After the rally, many of the them came into the office buildings to lobby their representatives and others for tours of the Capitol. The sheer crowds in the hallways and waiting to get through security were pretty overwhelming.

Working in a place such as the U.S. House of Representatives, I quickly became accustomed to demonstrations and protests outside my work. Some are quite creative and kinda funny (a giant papier-mache dracula marching down the sidewalk on Halloween to lobby for universal health care) and others can be quite obnoxious and really turn you off.

We had heard reports of sit-ins and arrests scattered throughout the different office buildings. By and large, many of them that day, were peaceful and respectful but their are, of course, bad apples in every crowd. Overall though it was a busy day, it was also a day that was very unique to the Hill and one that will make me miss it when I'm back up North.

That night, Brenna, Jen, and I had the opportunity to see Vice President Al Gore speak at George Washington University. He just released another book about climate change and I didn't want to pass up the chance to go see him.

What struck me first about Gore was how big of a guy he was! He came on stage and gave a talk for about an hour. He focused it on what are some of the things we can do to fight the climate crisis. I flipped through the book a little while he talked and it seemed pretty techinical--this doesn't strike me as a "beach read".

After he finished up, he signed books for about an hour. I was in the back of the auditorium and was one of the last to get my book signed. I was struck by how courteous he was to everybody. I could also sense a little stiffness--maybe owning itself to the Saturday Night Live parody of him. But I was able to meet him and get my book signed. (He also has quite a handshake--certainly not a "dead fish") I went home a happy man.

Coming up next: an EPIC Saturday involving Obama, the health care vote, and more!

THE YANKEES WIN, THAAAAAAAA YANNKKEEESS WINNNN!!!!

I believe the title says it all!!

On Wednesday night, my cousin Eddie and I burned the midnight oil and watched our beloved New York Yankees win the 2009 World Series. It was there 27th and the first since 2000. It felt soo good to win it again. The championship trophy is where it belongs...the Bronx.

Now I only wish I was in Boston so I could rub it in to those Sox fans....

Madam Speaker...(Part 2 in a Series)

Hey again folks,


I walked into the office on Tuesday morning and got a really great opportunity: I got a ticket to go see the German Chancellor speak in front of a Joint Session of Congress.


First, what is a Joint Session you ask? Well, it is rare usually only once or twice a year do both houses of Congress (the Senate and House of Reps) convene together. While in session, either the President or a foreign head of state addresses them. When the President addresses them, it is usually in January and is called "The State of the Union". However, as I said, Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, would speak.


It was a packed house. It seemed that everyone was there from Vice President Joe Biden and Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Congressmen, Senators, and members of the President's Cabinet. In the parliamentary tradition, the Sergeant at Arms announces the names of those dignitaries that process in (which is where we get the title to the post from).


It was a really great speech. She gave it in German, so we had to use the headphones they supplied us to listen to the translation. Unfortunately, you're barred from taking any electronic device into the House Gallery, therefore no pictures to speak of.


Alrighty, that'll do it for now. I know it was a little short and had no pictures, but there is more to come...

"And it ain't no sin, to be glad your alive..." (Part 1 in a Series)

Hey folks,

I'm gonna switch things up a bit here in the Gorm-zone right now. I have had an absolutely incredible week. It is way to much to pack into one or even two posts, so I intend to update everyday or so with a new adventure from this week. Hope you enjoy...

Alrighty-o, the last time we chatted I was in the final stages of prepping my costume for Halloween. Well October 31st came and went and so I figure I should probably recap.

I went dressed as Bob Ross. Don't know who Bob Ross is? Well my advice is to "Google image" him--he was the painter on PBS in the 70s known for his soft voice and afro. It was a pretty cool costume, if I do say so myself. Here you can see my roommates and I all dressed up. We went out initially to a section of town called Adams-Morgan. On Halloween, it is the "place to be". They close down the street and people are dressed up in costumes all over the place. Going on the Metro, you can see some pretty cool costumes.

After staying there for a bit, I headed over to see my friends at American University. I was pretty famished by this time so we headed to our favorite haunt: Z-Burger. It's a great burger place but its famous for it's over 50 flavors of shakes: from apple pie to chocolate mint. (and they taste EXACTLY like the real thing) Since we're regulars we've become pretty good friends with the manager. By this time, the beard to my costume was a little hot and I took it off, so he was a little confused as to who I was...

On Monday, I went to see the one and only....BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E-STREET BAND!! I prevously wrote how I had seen him in August in Massachusetts but this time I got to see him (for the 8th time overall) in D.C. He played the entire Born to Run album in the setlist and I was going nuts the entire night! He also played two of my favorite songs that I hadn't heard in concert before: Stand on It and Seven Nights to Rock. Then he closed it out with an old favorite: Wilson Pickett's Higher and Higher! Awesome! I can't believe he's 60 years old. It was so much fun and a great way to relax after working so hard during the week.

This ends Part 1 of the series. In the next post, I receive quite a surprise on Tuesday morning...