To Infinity and Beyond!

Hey again folks,

I getting ready to start another week here in the nation's capital. However, I want to now look back at the last week and tell you about some highlights I had:

On Monday night, my friends Brenna, Jen, and I went to Georgetown to see former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. She came out with a new book recently and she was coming to the local Barnes and Noble to give a talk and sign some books. We sat in a crowd of people in the store's cafe to listen to her talk about her new book, which is about her pin collection and how, as Secretary of State, she used it to convey her mood or a certain message. She was extremely nice and personable, stopping to talk with many of those whose books she signed. It was a beautiful night in the District, so we then decided to go out for some ice cream.

On Wednesday, I had the chance to meet Helen Thomas. She is basically the dean of the Washington press corps. She has covered the White House since the Kennedy administration and has become a legend in both political and journalism circles. Thomas is famous for closing every presidential news conference with the words "Thank you, Mr. President." She still covers the White House everyday and is also 89 years old!

She gave a talk at American University and Brenna and I attended. She spoke of her almost 50 years covering the White House, how each president was different, and which ones she liked and which she didn't. She took lots of questions and was very witty. At the end, she stayed after and signed books and posed for pictures with those in the audience. She, like Albright, was extremely warm and kind to everyone. She wrote individualized notes in every book she signed and would chat with you while she did. It was a real treat to meet her.

On Saturday, we went to the Air and Space Museum. I hadn't been there in quite awhile and it was really neat. There is just so much to see, I feel that I need to go back. I really enjoyed the exhibit abou commercial air travel. Seeing Amelia Earhardt's and Charles Lindbergh's planes was pretty cool. We also got the chance to see an IMAX movie about jet fighter pilots. It was epic!

Now it's time once again for our virtual Capitol tour...

...our next stop is the famed Brumidi corridors. Our good friend Constantino Brumidi was known as the artist of the Capitol. (I talked about him a few posts ago.) He painted the tops of the hallways in the Capitol. Every few feet is another scene from American life. This scene below is of the Boston Tea Party. In the years since his death, new scenes, such as the Challenger explosion and moon landing, have been added by modern artists. It is really breathtaking to be walking through these hallways. I sometimes have to catch myself staring up at them. The level of detail is also second to none.

Also, here is a picture of the Senate subway system.

Today is Halloween!!! In the final stages of getting my costume ready, so I gotta run! Take care!

Gotta Love Sundays...

Hey folks,

Been a pretty hectic week here in Washington. I had some papers due early in the week and I'm finally getting the chance now to kick back a little.

I love Sundays. They're just so relaxing. The day usually goes a little something like this: wake up late, head to the bakery across the street for a little breakfast and a Washington Post, and spend part of the afternoon devouring both my breakfast panini and the editorial section.

Depending on how I'm feeling, I'll either take an additional nap (never can get enough sleep, right?) or head out and explore the city a little.

A few Sundays ago, I took a trip downtown to see a site that I had been dying to go for awhile: Ford's Theater and the Petersen House. Ford's Theater is self explanatory...at least I hope. But the Petersen House is a little less well-known. After Lincoln was shot at 10:17pm, the doctors that treated him at the theater were worried he wouldn't make the short carriage ride back to the White House or to the hospital so at around 10:45, they brought him across the street to a boarding house. He laid in the bed belonging to house's owner, Mr. Petersen, until he died at 7:22am the next day. It was such a tiny house and it was set up exactly like it was in 1865. So yeah, it was a little creepy.

On a slightly less morbid note, last Sunday, my cousin Eddie and I paid a visit to our uncle and aunt who live in Gettysburg, PA. Gettysburg is only about an hour and a half away, so we decided to make an afternoon of it and drive up to see them. As we drove up, we passed right through the town of Frederick, Maryland--the town that houses Camp David, the Presidential retreat. We hadn't seen them in quite a long time, so it was nice to spend a few hours catching up. They treated us to a nice lunch and we met some of their friends, one of which is an Arlington police officer. After dessert, we drove a little bit around the city and even got to see a few battlefields.

We came back pretty tired but luckily my aunt packed up some leftovers so at least we weren't hungry. :)

Tick-tick-tick-tick...

So I guess Andy Warhol was right when he said everyone would have their fifteen minutes of fame. Well for me, it certainly wasn't 15 minutes (more like 10 seconds) and I wouldn't even call it fame. But it was quite a Friday afternoon...

It was around 3pm and I was sitting at my desk when we heard at knock at the door to the bullpen. Though this was highly unusual I didn't turn around until I heard a booming voice from the doorway. He introduced himself as James Rosen from Fox News Channel He said he was doing a report down the hall and needed a young aide to help him out.The office was still razzing me about being on Leno the night before, so they volunteered me to go and help him out. I had no idea what I was about to do or how long it would take. Once I stood up, he looked at me and said "Ok then, lose the sweatervest." (So much for casual Friday...) "You got a tie?" he asked. I said I didn't but one of the coworkers pulled one out of his desk drawer. It was a beaut--like the kind Michael Scott wears on The Office--with the octagonal shapes and all.

I was quickly ushered by James out into the hall. He was doing an story on how the Congress is only working 2.5 days a week, when they said they were going to work 5 days a week. So Rosen took me to the empty caucus room where he planned to file his report for that night's Special Report with Bret Baier. He wanted to end the segment by pretending to preside over a fake congressional hearing.

And well you can see for yourself...(I'm at the end)

http://www.foxnews.com/video/index.html?playerId=videolandingpage&streamingFormat=FLASH&referralObject=10731435&referralPlaylistId=949437d0db05ed5f5b9954dc049d70b0c12f2749

Hello Mudda, Hello Fadda...

Hey folks,

Sorry I haven't updated in awhile but I've just been so darn busy these last couple days. Not only do I have my internship five days a week, but we are also required to take a class and volunteer once a week. Needless to say, I sometimes have some very long days.

I decided to do my volunteering with the Bob McDonnell for Governor campaign. He is running for the governor of Virginia. Every Tuesday night, I head over to Alexandria (which is the town next to where I live) and make phone calls reminding people to vote to about 2 hours or so. This past Tuesday they had former Redskins' players Dexter Manley and former NFL MVP Mark Moseley come and say hello to everyone working down there. The days can be long sometimes, but it's a great feeling to enjoy what you do...

Meanwhile, last weekend my parents came down for a little visit to check up on their one and only. It was really nice to see them and take them around the city. We used to come every year and our days we're filled with the folding and unfolding of maps and planning our days around our next tour. Therefore, it was such a change to just relax and take a stroll around the District. They came into my office on Friday and I gave them a nice little tour of the Capitol. When I showed them where I went for the Dome Tour, my mother got queasy just looking at it.

After work, we met up with my cousins Eddie and his girlfriend Ashley at a restaurant in Arlington. It was a great time! My parents hadn't seen them since last summer so there was a lot to catch up on!

The next day we walked around Georgetown for most of the day. Georgetown is a beautiful section of DC. It's filled with nice shops and restaurants. But my parents and I loved a place called Georgetown Cupcakes the most. The are well-known for their legendary cupcakes. It is a small place, so usually there is a line waiting outside just to get in. I highly recommend their red velvet or lemon raspberry cupcakes.

For dinner, I met them at Capital Grille. It's on Pennsylvania Avenue. The steak was so good. One thing about being in my family...you always eat well! "Ya gotta eat" is a oft-used phrase by my mom. After filling our bellies with steak and seafood, we walked back to their hotel on Capitol Hill. (Which, incidentally, was also being used by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that weekend.)

On Sunday, I took them down to Alexandria. Alexandria is a historic city in Virginia, located right on the water. Old Town is a section of the city where the cobblestone streets are lined with old shops and taverns. It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon, so we took our time and walked along the street. I stopped into a store that sold Irish trinkets, then a Life is Good store and my mother had to basically drag me out of both. We stopped for a late lunch at O'Connell's, an Irish pub in town. For dessert, after much convincing of my mom, we ordered a s'more platter. Even though my mom was the most hesistant to order it, she didn't seem bashful when it came! We polished that one off in about 5 minutes!

I had a class later that evening at the National Portrait Gallery. It was really a nice place. I'm usually not a big art guy, but since being down in DC, I've grown to appreciate it somewhat. I met up with my parents once again for a late dinner at the Capitol Brewery. Had some great bratwurst. (How often do you order bratwurst at a restaurant?!)

In the morning, I was off to work once again and they were off to the airport. It was really nice to see them. They really enjoyed taking in DC, yet again.

Unfortunately, I don't have any new pictures of the Capitol just yet for our virtual tour. But I'll head down today, take some, and post a little something later in the week!

In the meantime, I want to give a shout-out to my Yankees! They are heading to the American League Championship Series! (Better luck next year Sox! haha) Eddie and I are two transplanted Yankee fans and we sat on pins and needles during the first couple games!

In the meantime, take care and Go Yankees!