Pink Popcorn

That is what I am missing out on this year. For those who have never been to the Cherry Blossom Festival in DC, you need to go. Like right now.  From the Tidal Basin to the top of the Mall, you are completely surrounded by cherry blossoms. I'm pretty sure a group of us spent every spare moment we had at the cherry blossom festival.

Around this same time a year ago, I would be about ready to pack up for my Minneapolis work trip and then home. I was sorta ready to go home...and now that I am home, I want to go back.

I'm never satisfied.

Be jealous.

Best weekend ever. 

Friday morning, I headed to the Newsuem. It is one of the newer museums in DC dedicated to journalism/broadcasting. 

AMAZING. I highly recommend it. There is a pricey entrance fee but well worth it. Super interactive and such unique displays. 

I spent a good portion of the morning there and then went to class. 

Class was fine. Learned things.

Took a nap and then headed to Chinatown for SUSHI. 

We were early for our reservation so we explored Chinatown. The Chinatown in DC is tiny compared to a lot of cities but it wasn't bad. Found some pretttyyy interesting stores. 

Sushi is always good.

 {DC has the best food. Hands down. I have yet had a meal that I was not happy with. I'll probably starve when I get back to Utah from being so spoiled!}

Since we were there for Happy Hour, the sushi was cheaper! 

After sushi, we headed to Adams Morgan to see what was happening on a Friday night. We found some pretty cool stores, made friends with some tattoo artists, and stopped for a cupcake. {Duh.}

We had heard about a club/venue called 9:30 and stopped by to see the list of tours stopping by. 

Forever the Sickest Kids and Good Charlotte were scheduled to play that night and tickets were completely sold out. 

I have some of FTSK's songs but the only GC songs I know are from the radio. 

That being said, we were offered free tickets by a nice man {he was more than nice....and intoxicated.}

So we found ourselves in the midst of a Good Charlotte concert. 

The next day, surprisingly, I got up at 8. 

{Since being in DC I can wake up early. I KNOW, crazy.}

Subwayed to Eastern Market. Still my favorite place in DC. 

They have this little side restaurant that makes Blueberry Buckwheat pancakes. Get there early or else you will be waiting in line for 45 minutes, they are that good! 

After breakfast with some of the BC kids, I met up with my roommate at the Holocaust Museum. 

You can just tell that the architect put a lot of thought into the design of the building. The museum was very educational, but it was also very...heavy. All the pictures and video clips showed the ugliest acts of the human race so plan something happy afterwards. 

For example, like Dim Sum! 

The dim sum was somewhat Americanized but it wasn't bad. They had some traditional dishes and it was all very fresh. 

Did some shopping, and now I am heading out to celebrate a friend's birthday! 

LOVE DC. 

Bohemian Caverns

**I am already pretty selective with what I write on public domains. Most of the time I edit/omit/leave out/revise the things that I put on this blog because of various reasons that pertain to privacy of others and myself. However, due to the fact that I am now a government employee that comes in contact with a lot of classified material and attend sensitive meetings I am legally not allowed to share details with anyone outside of the permitted group. So if some of my posts about my adventures in DC seem somewhat disoriented or confusing, do not worry it is not because I am a horrible writer {or is it?..} but because I can not share everything I want to. That being said, I have now given myself the ultimate excuse to be a horrible writer. **

This week started off slow due to the fact that I was sick. 

Monday was MLK Day so no work! But I got sick and stayed home the entire day..hoping I would get better for work on Tuesday. 

While I enjoy working full-time it can be quite painful {especially since I am working 40 hrs and taking classes}. It takes me about 30 minutes to commute to work. I am usually at work at about 7 am. This means that I have to leave my apartment by 6:20 ish {planning ahead}. It isn't like I can just wear whatever I want to and look all gross. Nope, I have to wear business attire and make myself look presentable so that means I have to be up no later than 5:45. I can't remember a time that I had to consistently wake up that early! 

It doesn't help that DC is freezing cold. The cold isn't snow-winter-chilly kind of cold.

OOOHH no. It is this biting-down-to-your-bone-freezing-blast-of-wind-cold. I have gotten in the habit of wearing a hat, scarf, and gloves out everyday and I still come home not being able to feel certain parts of my body. 

So getting to work is slightly painful...

NDU is located on Fort McNair which has been the headquarters of the U.S. Army Military. Many high ranking military leaders actually live on this base including many four star generals. As you can imagine, security is pretty tight. The first day of work John and I got off our metro stop and a car was there to pick us up. We wouldn't have been able to get in without a CAC {security badge}. That first week of work was just filling out application after application, security check after security check. 

I had to list every thing I had done in the past seven years. This included the places I lived, schools I have attended, jobs I have had, friends I was in contact with, family members, places I had traveled...I was shocked they didn't want to know how often I ate oatmeal for breakfast or how many times I took the bus. 

They needed detailed information on every single subject...it was slightly ridiculous!

We finally got on the network and was given security badges. Each section of the buildings require swiping your badges and entering your social security number for the doors to unlock so as you can see, not having those badges made it difficult to get anything done. 

Fort McNair is old but very pretty. The area is spacious and hosts a myriad of different colleges, departments, and offices. I didn't come from a military background unlike my co-worker/intern who is in the ROTC himself so I have very little understanding of the ranking system let alone the different types of tanks/planes/guns. It has definitely been a great learning experience and eye-opener. I never knew how large the DoD {Department of Defense} and how many committees/programs/sections they have. It is so fascinating to be able to witness how this large facility functions.

One of my favorite things about the base is that President Obama and several members of the cabinet come to the gym facilities pretty often. 

The incident where Obama needed 12 stitches after being elbowed at a friendly basketball game happened at my work! 

Anyways, I was sick up until Thursday where I slowly started feeling better. It was just in the nick of time because the weekend was about to start! We had guest lecturers on Friday for class so we had to travel to the hill. 

There are three buildings that hold the Reps. Depending on how long you have already been in office, you get to be in different buildings. We toured Rayburn which holds the oldest and more experienced Reps. We got a lunch break and then continued to AEI. It is a non-partisan think tank.

While I would love to tell you how much I respect and enjoyed the guest lecturers, I can't mention them let alone what we discussed but be assured that it gave me a lot to think about :) 

Now that class was done and over with we had the rest of the weekend to explore! The roommate and I went to Georgetown to meet up with some other DCians for cupcakes. 

You thought Provo had it bad with all the recent outbursts of cupcake businesses? The East Coast is obsessed with these things. There are cupcakes everywhere! 

Georgetown Cupcake is pretty well-known and everyone highly recommends it so we decided to give it a try. To be honest, I was sorely disappointed. The cupcake was good but it was average. Nothing special. The frosting was too thick and because it was so popular the area was so crowded that it was hard to enjoy my visit. I doubt that I will be visiting again. 

We then headed to the Kennedy Center for a piano performance. The artist was Francis Farewell Starlite. 

That's right. 

He came onto the stage in complete black and wore Ray Bans the entire night. He was very...unique. 

His music was different but oddly enough, I really enjoyed it. He was very good on the piano and wrote most of his music so overall it was good performance. 

We got to meet him after the show and had our picture taken with him. He even signed my program. Up close, he looks so much like Edward Scissorhands and we all know how I feel about him.... 

After stopping at a quaint french cafe for hot chocolate and french bread {YUM} we decided to find a good jazz club. After several failures, we stumbled upon Bohemian Caverns.

Last night's performance consisted of a piano, drums, the bass, and saxophone so not a whole orchestra like the picture says but the interior looks exactly like it. 

It was great jazz music and we stayed until the very end. It will definitely be a frequent stop of mine. 

We headed back to the Barlow since it was getting late. When we arrived home, Tanner and I found the rest of the gang eating ice cream, playing ping pong and chatting. The boys pulled out their mattresses and decided to have a giant slumber party. Even though I went to bed, I guess they stayed up until 4 am chatting.

And they make fun of girls for being girls!
It is so nice that everyone gets along with everyone. 

 I am hoping to visit the National Cathedral tomorrow after church. I have heard that it is gorgeous and that they have mass at four every Sunday. I have always wanted to experience something like that. 

Now I am hoping to start on my homework that is due this week!

"The sky is my roof "

With the first week of DC done with, I am finally starting to settle in. The week has been crazy! The transition wasn't too bad but I am still exhausted from all that is going on. 

Work is still relatively new to me but we have most of the procedures and timing down. Security checks are being a pain and taking forever so we can't really do much around the building when we don't have our badges. DC is beautiful! I am loving every single minute of this city. Everyone is so polite and the metro is so accessible and easy to use.

NDU has a nice office and I love going to work. John, my co-worker, is such a gentlemen and {haha} really tries to take care of me. This is the main building at Fort McNair. This is where I spend most of my days.
In a later post, I'll tell ya all about the area in which I am interning for. It is pretty intense!

Even though I have to wake up {SUPPPPER early} DC is so pretty even at 6 in the morning! This is what I see every day while I commute to work :) Aren't all the buildings just so pretty?

One night as I was heading home from work, I got to see Obama traveling back to the White House. If every time I moved from one location to another and it involved a helicopter circling above, ten or more motorcyles,  two ambulances, ten secret service vehicles, and hundreds of police officers blocking traffic...well I just wouldn't go anywhere! But that is what happened. I was standing several feet away from his car and it was probably the closest I will ever get to President Obama!

After we got out of class on Friday a group of us went exploring. We were able to go to the top of Washington Monument and visit the Smithsonian. After dinner we went to this little cupcake shop called Baked and Wired {pretty clever huh} and it was soooo cute! Everything is reasonably priced {for being in Georgetown} and there was live music and poetry reading. The cupcakes were also divine. 

After sleeping in {I woke up at 10...It is shocking that I can call that "sleeping in"} I got ready to go to the Eastern Market. 

Next to BYU and Saint-Emilion {France}, the Eastern Market is right there on the list of my favorite places in the world. It is this retro and cute little farmers market with a small flea market section. There is fresh produce and handcrafted gifts for sale. 

I bought a Cuban sandwich {delicious, I highly recommend it!} for lunch while I sat and listened to a group of locals play jazz music. Little kids played in the square while joggers ran past with their dogs. The shops were all locally operated and owned. We met a wonderful Turk who shared with us his life story. He was born in Turkey but went to school in Scranton. He has four daughters and now owns a rug selling shop in DC. He loves to travel and has been to over 77 countries. When we asked him what his favorite place is he replied, "I am a nomad. I go where God wills me; the sky is my roof."  

After purchasing an Indian scarf and some freshly made kettle corn, we gathered in this cozy coffee shop with our peppermint tea and hot chocolate to chat. It was absolutely wonderful; a group of friends just snacking on popcorn and sipping on warm drinks while discussing politics. 

We made a quick trip to a nearby mall to meet up with some friends and also do some {ahem} shopping. I went back to the apartment to meet up with my roommate, Alexis, to grab dinner. We tried out a local Vietnamese restaurant and had pho. I love pho and this restaurant was very reasonably priced. We strolled around Georgetown and ran into some friends. We stopped by Baked and Wired again {I am becoming a regular there..} and headed home.

A group of us changed into pajamas and got comfy to watch Inception.

The next morning we woke up early to get ready for church. My singles ward is located at the Chevy Chase chapel. The building has this high vaulted ceiling with large windows in the Sacrament room so natural light fills the area during the day. Everyone in the ward was very nice and welcoming.  

Also, I discovered the gym at the GW {Gdub...George W....George Washington...call it what you want} University and have become a gym rat. I have gone every night except Saturday because they close early. It is crazy because I have become so addicted! It has all the gym equipment you can hope for with a nice locker area and swimming pool. Free weights room if you are interested in that kind of stuff and tennis/badminton courts too!

Overall, it was an amazing weekend in DC. I wake up every morning excited because I am absolutely head over heels in love with this city and it has only been the FIRST WEEK! 

First Day in the District of Columbia

My first day was looooonnng. First off I checked into my apartment at around 9 pm on Sunday night so I quickly unpacked and got ready for bed. I was in my seat by 8:35 for our first day of orientation. We met our professors and did a bunch of DC stuff. 

At around 1 John, my co-worker who happens to be studying at BYU, and I went to NDU. The office is beautiful and the staff or co-workers are so funny and friendly. We did a bunch of paperwork and in-processing things so there wasn't much "work" done today. 

I got home around six and then proceeded to buy groceries. The woman working at the CVS store was so nice as to help me double bag my groceries so that they would, in her words, "double bag vely strong". Then I proceeded to FHE where we met with other people in the ward, played games, and had pizza. 

After the FHE group subdued, we all sat around the lounge in front of the nice flat screen TV and watched the BCS National Championship game. I only watched the 1st quarter since I am suppose to be out the door by 6:15 tomorrow morning. Kill me now! I am working 10 hours every day and taking 12 credits so we will see how well my body agrees with that. 

The best part of my day? 

Being in DC. After being in classes all morning, around early afternoon we finally got to venture out into the city and it hit me.

I am living here now. 

The city is gorgeous and the people are so friendly. The transportation is so clean and effective and while things can be pretty pricey, the food and shopping is amazing. 

Best best part of my day?

Not only do I get paid for this internship but I also get to travel. I am leaving Feb. 1-6 to San Francisco with the office. All expenses paid. Flying private military charted planes. Getting paid over time. No biggie. 

Then that following weekend I am traveling to Philadelphia for work. 

Then for our PLSC classes I am taking we will be taking weekend field trips to Harper's Ferry and Gettysburg. 

Did you know that it is the 150th anniversary of the Civil War? Gettysburg will be HUGE this year. 

They {work} are thinking of putting me on another trip....I want to go on this one the most but it is still in the works. I will let you know more of it when it comes up. 

This was a quick update. Much more to come! Tomorrow I get to meet the entire group of International and Counter terrorism military fellows.

Wish me luck!