My internship is so full of perks, it's crazy! Yes, we do put in the work for it all, but at the same time it's interesting being spoiled so much in such a different way than I've ever had. There aren't big sports teams or fancy museums and such where I'm from, but still wonderful things to do all the same.
Well, I'd mentioned before how my boss seems to know EVERYBODY! And that's true. Well, here's some of the people I got to meet because of my boss....I took my friend Tiff and her daughter, Kylee and we had a grand time with the famous people from history and today.
Okay, so everyone in these photos isn't real... they're actually wax figures at Madame Tussauds. It was kinda creepy in a way, but we still had a grand time! Can you name them all?!? In this picture can you tell who's real and who's not? Hint: the lady in the back with the camera...isn't.
Snowmageddon....the biggest snowstorm in about 100 years to hit the Washington DC area!! (and no, I didn't name the storm myself). The communities aren't equipped for this kind of snow removal and people are going crazy, like it's the end of the world! As for me...I'm lovin' it!
Its been pretty cold here, but so deceiving because there's been no snow! Looking outside its looked like spring, but definitely doesn't feel that way. Well, now it looks like the winter it feels like, and its more like home besides! While most everyone else in the area is cursing the snow, I'm loving it! The people in my office are blaming me, because supposedly I brought it with me from Idaho....well maybe not, but I can't say I wasn't hoping for it.
After a day inside while it snowed my brother Scott did some very scientific measurements and came up with how many inches we had....here's the result, and it was still snowing!
We went out for a walk to see the beauty and enjoy the wonderful clean smell snow brings....here's what we found....
We also found a lot of people trying to bail out their cars in the parking lot, so we put off the walk and jumped in to help. They also helped us bail Scott's car out. We shoveled for at least 2 hours, getting 4 cars clear, and then felt it in our backs for 2 more days! The snow out here is HEAVY!!
After all the shoveling we took a walk to get some treats. For probably the only time ever, the streets weren't packed with cars and it was quiet! I love the peace a blanket of snow brings to the world, even for just a little while. Even though we were far away from our true home, it was excellent to relax and enjoy the beauty, the smell, the crisp cold, and peaceful night- a reminder of home- especially with my brother, who's such a great friend.
*Oh, and PS, the Federal Government has been closed since Friday, so I also haven't had to work since then! Love the snow! Love the break!
K, so I'm finally updating my blog so sorry there's so many posts all at once, but I just HAVE to write this last one!
Being here has been so so much fun! There's all sorts of fun activities and craziness at the Little Smith household alone, and then add on top of that the fact that I've finally made some friends who're interns like me and the opportunities my boss gives me....I'm loving life!
First off, the Little Smith's are soooo fabulous for letting me hang out with them so often. I just love to see them, talk and laugh with Scott and Kris, and play around with the little girls. We have a grand time! Plus, it's wonderful to be in a home where there's so much love and faith, and fabulous food. Thanks you guys! Love you! I wish everyone could be together so we could all get together, but I hope you all know I love you too!
Scott and Kris are Cub Scout leaders and last Saturday was the infamous Pinewood Derby! They were the judges, and took their job very seriously. If they didn't there would've been some upset boys....not to mention their fathers! It was actually pretty mild, but very fun to watch. Kris has a sweet Pinewood Derby shirt that I wish I got a picture of! You'll have to ask her to sport it for you if you want to see it I guess. Yes, she's that intense about it...
It's winter here, obviously, and has been super cold. Well, the outside finally looks like it feels...cold complete with snow!! It's hilarious how everyone out here goes crazy when there's even a chance of snow. Church was cancelled on Sunday for my whole stake because it snowed like 5 inches on Saturday, and the government has already given excused leave for tomorrow because a huge storm is predicted to start between 10 and noon, 1-2 feet are predicted and the stores are insane! I just laugh because it's nothing too different for me, but there is the fact that I don't have a car, so Scott's wonderful to watch out for me and give me a ride to his place in case the snow really does get crazy tomorrow. Even though it makes everyone crazy, isn't it beautiful!! These are pictures outside my apartment and on my walk to the metro.
Okay, last but certainly not least....Georgetown played Duke on Saturday and though tickets have been sold out since the beginning of December, on Thursday my boss told me he had an extra ticket and asked if I wanted to go. I didn't think it'd be even a question and almost jumped out of my skin!! I actually had a date that afternoon, and my boss had another extra ticket, so the lucky man who happened to ask me that day got to come with me! Not that I mean he was lucky for going on a date with me, but that he got to go to such a HUGE game! Georgetown was ranked #7 and Duke #8....it was an incredible game and the President of the United States even showed. The place was packed!! Evyone had so much energy, including the half-naked hairy man who danced on the stairs the whole game or the rival students trying to pick fights with one another. It was quite the experience and I was sooo torn most of the time about who to root for. My boss was there and is Georgetown through and through. But it was DUKE!! Turned out that Duke just got outplayed and the refs made a whole lot of unnecessary calls, so Georgetown won without too much contest, but it was still so much fun to watch them play! Woo Hoo!!
It has been a very eye-opening experience here, to say the least. I'm getting spoiled with the opportunities at my fingertips! Opportunities for work, through my boss, and simply being in the nations capital and a big city itself. My boss wants to make sure I "experience DC," so he has all these plans for me to do, outside of work. Most consist of seeing the sites and things, but also getting involved in the sporting events, performances at theaters, and other cultural events here. He sent my sister-in-law, Kristen and I to a Georgetown game a few weeks ago, and the tickets were so close that I could've went 15 or so rows down to the court and my Dad could've seen me on television, watching from home! It was my first college basketball game, live, and was excellent!! Kris and I even found some fabulous cupcakes afterward, though not as good as the ones in Rexburg.
Last weekend some friends and I were treated to a magic show. Yes, a real magic show. The magician wants the R&W to sell tickets for him, so in order to do that we needed to approve of the show. I've never had the job to be the critic in the audience....it was kinda fun! The tricks were sweet, jokes funny, and an all-around good time.
What really has blown my mind however, are the meetings we go to. There's almost always a fancy spread of food (if it's around mealtime) and they're typically in super nice conference rooms in very nice buildings. The architecture of the buildings alone impresses me, but then there's the powerhouse people who've been in their positions for 40 years... Last week, after a luncheon at the Verizon Center where we could eat and look out on the basketball court and watch the Washington Wizards NBA team practice and discussing sponsoring the Circus for children with cancer, and during a meeting with GE in an all-glass conference room, in a practically all-glass building, I sat there with discussions of celebrity golf tournaments and other events all around me, thinking to myself.....is this what I'm cut out to do? Could I live this lifestyle for the rest of my life? Could I work long hours and hold high positions in powerful companies and have anything I needed at my fingertips? Would I qualify for it? If so, would I love it? Do I fit-in in this environment? Is this who I want to be and what I want to do? Is this me?
The majority of the answers were no. Yes, I could take pampering...who can't at least a little? Yes, I can work hard and be a leader, but not the way that they are. I want to be a leader in my home first and foremost, on a community level next, and never really on the large corporate level, as fancy as it may seem. That's just not me.
My boss' job is incredible, and he's involved in many things that I love and would love to do. He helps a lot of people through the work he does, but he's more the manager of things. I don't want to manage it all, but want to be on the front lines- planning the activities and running them with 50 or fewer people at a time. I want to build a community and family feel among those who're participating. Sometimes it's hard being out here and keeping the perspective of what I really want. These things can just seem so appealing at times, and my desires so out of the ordinary that they don't seem so realistic.
But...... today I went to a meeting at the YMCA and not only connected really well with the people there, but felt at home with their mission and vision of building families and communities through recreation! As common as YMCA's are, I've never been involved in one, but it was so wonderful to be a part of it! We even did an experiential activity during the meeting, like you'd find in a recreation class. It was awesome. I commented at one point about how I felt society and families were falling apart, and the YMCA's could be a means of strengthening them and building community and family, not just membership numbers, and the President of the whole YMCA and the Chairwoman of this areas YMCA's told me right then and there that I was hired! haha, of course I'm not yet, but afterwards we all talked and they gave me their information so I could be in touch and hopefully get a job at any YMCA in the future. After all the fancy and showy stuff, which has been really neat and still things to learn from, it was wonderful to connect with an organization that reminded me more of my goals again!
PS....no I didn't take a picture of the incredible glass building and conference room....though I did think about it! haha
If you were in the R&W last week you would've heard lots of singing and eaten lots of cake. Randy Schools is my boss and it was his birthday! He is such a great man, I really couldn't have gotten a better person to be a mentor for my internship. He knows so many people (like Bill Cosby, Oprah, and a number of congressmen and women, ambassadors and anyone else), has been the president or chairman of many profit and non-profit boards, the man behind huge events and/or initiatives that bless the lives of thousands of people (like Special Love and building the Children's Inn so patients and their families can stay at NIH for free), and has been honored in the Washingtonian and many other places. And in talking to him you'd never know it. He's very down-to-earth and just a hard working and very giving man. Doesn't he look like such a sweet guy?!
Randy has helped tremendously with my experience here in DC. I'm practically his shadow and get to go to the whining and dining experiences as well as the hard working, get your hands dirty ones. In all places, when he introduces me, he has to tell everyone I'm from Idaho and laughs as he does. Not to mock, but because I'm the only one from Idaho he's ever met, and he's amazed I heard about the R&W at NIH from clear over there! He goes on and on about it, it's hilarious. Someday he'll take a trip and we'll show him the beauty, peace, and fun you can experience in the west!
