J. Lo, Buzz, Monuments, and More!

Hey folks,

Well, what a week it has been! Let me start from the top...

On Thursday, I was fortunate enough to have breakfast with Buzz Aldrin. Every Thursday morning, staffers, interns, and a few members of Congress get invited to a speaker to talk about a certain issue or policy. It was pretty interesting. He was on the Apollo 11 mission and was the 2nd man to walk on the moon. (He was also the namesake for Toy Story's Buzz Lightyear)

Back in the office, I've been quite busy working on constituent mail and going to different policy briefings. The briefings are a great way to study-up on different issues. Working in the Capitol is really something! I really still have to pinch myself everyday! I work in the Cannon House Office Building. (which is technically across the street from the Capitol.) The days can be long sometimes (I normally work from 8:30am-6pm), but I really enjoy the work I do. The office I work in has a beautiful balcony that looks out over the street, with the Capitol on the left and the Library of Congress on the right. However, all the House and Senate Office Buildings, as well as the Capitol and Library of Congress, are connected by tunnels and subways. That way it is really easy for members and staff to walk from building to building for votes or meetings.

While this is really a neat feature of these historic buildings, it is quite a headache when trying to learn your way around the place. Walking back from listening to Buzz Aldrin speak, I attempted to find my way back to the tunnel back to Cannon. However, after encountering a few locked doors and descending down some strange looking tunnels, I ended up in the basement of the Library of Congress?! (which is clear across the street!) After walking around the basement for some time, I made my way upstairs to see noted author and primate scholar Jane Goodall signing books. By the time it was all said and done, I had to walk outside and go back across the street quite embarrassed and quite late.

That weekend, I met up with some Stonehill friends and we made our way around the National Mall. One of my favorite things to do in D.C. is to go see the monuments at night. It really is moving seeing them all lit up and looking out over the beautiful view. My favorite view in the entire city is on the far left of the Lincoln Memorial looking out. There you can see the reflecting pool, Washington Monument, and the Capitol. It is breathtaking on a clear night! On the right, you can some Stonehill kids spelling out the name of our 16th President!

The next day I went back to the Mall with my friends Sam and Diana to check out The National Archives (which houses the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution) and The National Botanical Gardens. The Botanical Gardens is one of the few places that I hadn't been before in Washington and I really enjoyed it. The flowers and plants were very colorful. That night, I went over to my cousin's apartment. His girlfriend made some chicken noodle soup and we watched the MTV VMA's and Entourage.

When the work week started, things really got going again. Today I gave my first tour of the Capitol. It's an awesome part of the job. Last Friday, I did a walk through of the tour route and took notes on what to point out and some history behind it all. I was a little nervous with the actual route. (As you read before, my sense of the direction in the Capitol is like a bloodhound's...) But I used that good ol' tourguiding experience from Stonehill to pull it off. But the tour itself was secondary to what happened while I was on it...

I was in a room right off the Capitol rotunda about to talk a little about a lifesize statue of George Washington, when a group of people came from the stairs leading above the statue down to the hallway I was in. Being in D.C., you get used people dressed nicely traveling in packs so I waited paitently for them to pass. When all of sudden, I saw a stunningly beautiful women in the center of the entourage...it was Jennifer Lopez!! She was dressed in a long pink dress and by her side was her husband, Marc Anthony. Both the two people in my group and I sat in stunned silence for a minute. I mumbled a "Good Afternoon, Jennifer." But I was still in shock. She is one of the last people I would expect to be there! It was the Capitol Rotunda! It's a place normally chock-full o'tourists! She just waltzed right on through.

Not five minutes later, as I was in the Capitol Rotunda, I saw a somewhat familiar face walking towards me. Sure enough, it was Senator Arlen Spector . I was quite a bit more confident in my greeting and got a pleasant response back from the Pennsylvania Democrat. J. Lo and Arlen Spector! Being the political nerd that I am, I'm almost as excited meeting Arlen Spector as I am J. Lo!

Honestly, I mean it when I say that everyday is something new here in Washington!

A special treat for all you out there in cyber-land! Announcing a new feature in the Gorm-zone: with every new post, I am going to take you on a virtual tour of the Capitol! I show you a small room or part of the Capitol and tell you a little piece of history or the stories behind it! Stay tuned in the coming days!

Alright, that's going to do it for me! Everybody take care and I'll be seeing ya!