Mom & Roni Visit for Easter

           Last week was by far the strangest week of the internship because it seemed to alternate between situations of extreme boredom and extreme business. The week was slow, and yet went by very quickly in some unexplainable way.

            Monday was the first day of a 2 week Easter Recess and caused Cash and I to just about die from boredom. There was literally nothing for us to do all day except deliver the morning papers and sort the mail at 1 pm. Other than this, we sat at our desks, surfed the internet, read news and CQ Weekly Magazine, and did just about anything else to pass the time. All of the senior staff was out traveling and half the junior staff had also taken vacation, so the office was much quieter than usual. It definitely had a Recess feel to it. Surprisingly, however, the day flew by and was over before we knew it. We get off at 5 during Recess instead of 6, and while this is only an hour difference, it really does make the day seem much shorter.

            On Tuesday, Cash worked from 9 to 11 and then left for vacation the rest of the week. Kris unfortunately had called in sick, so I was left as the only intern in the office. Where this wouldn’t have been a problem at all the previous day, it proved to be extremely stressful this day. For some reason, everyone in the office seemed to need an intern and I found myself going to FedEx, going to pick up flags from Dirksen, dropping off flags at the Capitol, delivering a letter to the SASC in Russell, auto-penning a stack of congratulatory letters, working on a research project for the Press Shop, running an errand to the NRSC, and giving a Capitol Tour in the afternoon.  Because of all this, I didn’t have any time to complete my normal duties, like sorting mail or entering scheduling requests. I was literally doing something all day long and I think I maybe sat at my desk for an hour (at most) the whole day. Compared to Monday, it was a polar opposite and it was made worse by the fact that I was the only intern to do everything. Somehow, I survived it and was relieve to go to bed early.

            On Wednesday, Kris returned to work and we were able to spend the morning catching up on the mail and scheduling requests that had been left from Tuesday. After this, however, we found the day to be another calm and uninteresting day that passed without incident. Thursday also brought a very light day with even less work than Wednesday. On Thursday afternoon, Jaime arrived with Chick-fil-A for the entire office (those that weren’t gone on vacation), which we ate together in the conference room. It was a really nice treat, because Chick-fil-A isn’t anywhere in DC and she had to go to Virginia to get it. I hadn’t had it since I left Texas in January and had forgotten just how great it was. With a great bonus like Chick-fil-A, we were happily able to pass the rest of the day quickly by reading and the weekend arrived early. The week seriously had almost bipolar shifts in the workload and I’ve never seen that happen before. It made for a really strange week.

            On Friday, I was worried about Tuesday repeating itself. With Cash still out on vacation, Kris took the day off to travel to Boston with some friends for Easter weekend. For the second day in a week, this left me as the only intern in the office. Fortunately, I did not have another chaotic day and, in fact, got a very nice surprise. After delivering the papers and doing the morning scheduling requests, I was sitting at my desk catching up on news. At 10 am (after just an hour at work), Jaime came out of her office and told me to go home, since the office was so slow and there was no work to do. She told me that there wouldn’t be any need for an intern because the whole office would be taking a half day anyway and encouraged me to enjoy a three day weekend. I of course didn’t object and headed back home to call it an early weekend, pleased that I would not have to repeat the chaos of Tuesday. I used the extra time to clean up the apartment, do some much needed laundry, take a nap, and catch up on tv shows. It was a great, relaxing start to the weekend.

            On Saturday morning, I woke up very excited and took the Metro to Ronald Reagan National Airport. My mom and younger sister flew in to spend Easter weekend with me and I met them at the gate when their flight arrived at 10 am. We took the Metro back to Union Station and got them settled into the apartment before heading out to the Capitol. Christopher went to his brother’s place in Richmond for the weekend and graciously offered to let mom and Roni stay at our apartment so they wouldn’t have to pay for a hotel. I gave them the beds and slept on an air mattress and this allowed them to make the trip much cheaper and also gave me more time to spend with them. After getting them settled, we headed over to the Capitol, where I gave them a tour. Neither of them had ever been to DC before and they were excited to see the Capitol for the first time. After the Capitol we went to the Botanic Gardens on the National Mall, which I had never seen before. The interior of that place is incredible, with a large “jungle” in the middle and various exhibits around the edge depicting flowers, plants, and trees from various parts of the world. After the gardens, we went down to the Lincoln Memorial before going out to dinner. After dinner, we dyed Easter eggs just for old time’s sake and then settled in to watch a movie on Netflix.

            Sunday morning, I woke up early to cook breakfast, to prove to mom that I could cook. Fortunately, I didn’t mess anything up and it all turned out great. After breakfast, we went to the National Zoo in Adams Morgan. My sister is a huge animal lover and I knew she would love the collection of animals at the National Zoo. They have several animals that we don’t have in Fort Worth, like the panda bears, a whole pride of lions, and a leopard (Roni’s favorite animal). The weather was great and we had a really fun Easter at the zoo. I honestly can’t remember the last time we went to a zoo as a family but it hasn’t been since we were kids. The trip was really nice and I’m glad I got to spend the time with them just hanging out. After the zoo, we returned to the apartment to clean up before heading out to Easter service at Frontline Church. The service was great and very uplifting.

            Monday morning, we had to wake up a 4 am to get them packed and on their way. A cab picked them up at the apartment at 4:45 and I said goodbye before they headed off to the airport to catch their 6 am flight. After seeing them off, I crawled back into bed to sleep for a few more hours before getting up to go back to work. Overall, it was a great weekend with some really memorable experiences. It was great to be able to spend Easter weekend with family and to be able to show them around DC for their first time.

Sergeant Jackel & FC Dallas Game

Last week started out with a really cool experience for me. On Monday I got to do a tour for Sergeant Stephen Jackel and his wife. Sergeant Jackel is a Wounded Warrior from the US Army who lost his left leg during an explosion in Afghanistan. The Sergeant was riding in an armored vehicle which rolled over an IED, blowing up him and his men. During the chaos that followed the explosion, he found himself pinned by one leg with a fire starting inside the vehicle and most of his men unconscious. Ignoring the pain and position he was in, he used his free leg to stomp out the fire, preventing him and his soldiers from burning to death. While courageous and life-saving, this action cost him his leg, which had to be amputated due to severe burning. Now the Sergeant is part of the Wounded Warriors rehabilitation program at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. He is doing remarkably well with his recovery, already walking again with a prosthetic leg. He said he was confined to a bed for about two weeks and then spent about a month in a wheelchair, but with the encouragement of his wife and five kids (yes, FIVE kids), he started to walk again and now gets around quite well with the use of a cane. I really enjoyed meeting Sergeant Jackel and his wife and hearing about his incredible story. He is a true American hero who has sacrificed for our freedom and it was a real blessing to meet him. Speaking to someone like him really puts things into perspective by adding a face to the heroes we hear about all the time. Actually meeting someone who has sacrificed a limb while fighting to save his men gives you an idea of just how brave our soldiers are and really makes you appreciate what they do for us and for each other.

What was really impressive to me, though, was how selfless the Sergeant was. While we were talking about his experience, he told me that he would go back in a heartbeat if he was able, saying that while he didn’t regret what happened to him and didn’t really feel handicapped, he did feel bad that our men are still fighting and dying and he’s not able to be there with them. That kind of dedication has to be admired. I was also really impressed that every time during the tour that we passed someone wearing a veteran’s hat from Vietnam or WWII, he would stop to shake that person’s hand and thank them for their service. At one point, we encountered a group of junior medical officers from the Army, Navy, and Air Force who were on a guided tour of the capital as part of an educational course. Recognizing his prosthetic leg, one of the Army Captains asked Sergeant Jackel where he served. He replied by telling him who he was and that he had served in Afghanistan before losing his leg. Each of the officers then came by to shake his hand and thank him for his service and sacrifice. He accepted each handshake, saying “Thank you, sir” and “Thank you, ma’am.” He also told them how appreciative he was of their jobs because it was the excellent medical care he received that saved his life and allowed him to keep his second leg. This interaction between him and the officers was really incredible to watch and really heartwarming. I was also overwhelmed when the Sergeant finished the tour and told me how thankful he was for me leading the tour. He said that seeing the Capitol Dome, the Statue of Freedom, and the chambers of each house of Congress was really a remarkable experience for him and put into perspective the things he fought for in the Army and the reason he lost his leg. No one could blame this man for resenting the military or the government for the fact that an increasingly unpopular war caused him to lose a leg and suffer through thousands of hours of rehabilitation and recovery. But there was not a bit of resentment or regret at all in Sergeant Jackel and he was instead filled with pride for his service and love for his country. I have given several tours of the US Capitol since coming to work here as an intern, and will give at least a few more before leaving in May, but I know that this one was absolutely the most special tour I will ever give. I’m really honored that I got to be a part of this remarkable soldier’s visit to the capital.

On Thursday, the other interns and I were told to go to the Senate Chamber to watch a vote happen at 11:15 am. The vote was on a motion to invoke cloture on a bill which would end billions of dollars in tax breaks and incentives for oil companies. The bill had been blocked by a Republican led filibuster and a vote had been called to try and overturn the filibuster and dispose of the bill. We arrived in the gallery (feeling very important because we got to enter through a staff-only area on the opposite side of all the tourists there to watch) and took our seats in the gallery to watch the vote happen. After listening to a little bit of debate over the motion, the vote was finally called and senators began arriving to cast their votes. We watched as the senators made their way into the room, reported their vote to the clerk, and then began to talk and joke among each other. It was really interesting to me to see how civil and collegial the senators were with each other and how much they all got along. Even Senator McCain and Senator Kerry sat down next to each other and began to joke about something, talking and laughing together. It’s interesting to see how much politicians can talk about the opposing party in the media like they are an evil empire destroying America, yet then come together on the senate floor and behave like the best of friends. Seeing the voting process happen was pretty cool and in the end, the vote to invoke cloture failed 51-47, falling short of the 60 votes needed to overturn the filibuster. For now, oil companies will not see their taxes increase.

After a week that was mostly pretty boring and slow (except for the two events above), Friday finally brought the weekend and that meant it was finally time for soccer! FC Dallas happened to have DC United as an away game this year, which meant that I would get to see my home team play live at least once this spring. Even better, the Dallas game happened to be college night for DC United and we got discounted tickets! After work, I went home and changed, then met up with Chris and we headed out to the match. We took the subway to RFK Stadium and found our seats, excited to see the match. I hadn’t been to a live match in about 8 months, so I was really excited to see this one. Unfortunately, we didn’t see many Dallas supporters there. In fact, Chris and I were the only two Dallas fans on our side of the stadium and this earned us a lot of boos and calls to sit down whenever we would celebrate a great play or goal. We did see a few fans scattered throughout the stadium, but weren’t sitting close enough for them to be of any help to us, so we were left to contend with the DC fans all by ourselves. Fortunately, this wasn’t a soccer match in Europe and aside from some taunting and booing, the opposition supporters were actually pretty nice and talkative. We had a family with two little kids sitting right behind us and they had some really funny conversations about the game and the Dallas team which were amusing to listen too. Their dad was teaching them DC cheers and also teaching them to mock Kevin Hartman (Dallas’ goalkeeper), but you couldn’t help but love them even if they were on the wrong side. Unfortunately for us, the match didn’t turn out well. We went into the half tied 1-1, but everything went downhill from there. Hartman got injured making an incredible save, and we got nervous when he didn’t get up and in fact didn’t even move for about four minutes. Finally, he recovered and stayed in the game, but the injury obviously did something to his reflexes or awareness. DC rallied to score 3 goals in about a 10 minute time frame, and had taken a 4-1 lead with 15 minutes still to go. At this point, Chris and I bowed out, acknowledging defeat to our rowdy and excited neighbors and making an early start for the subway. As we were leaving the gates, we saw on the tv monitor that one of our players had received a red card and we were now down to 10 men. Really, the game couldn’t have gone any worse for us. Despite the awful performance, however, we still had a good time attending and seeing some live soccer.

Then on Saturday, I headed over to the Museum of American History with Chris and an intern from Florida who lives down the hall from us. The National Mall was packed with people and there were charter and school buses everywhere, parked at about five feet intervals the entire length of the mall. I’ve never seen so many school kids in one place and have come to realize that we are now in the heart of tourist season in DC. From here on out, I imagine that the National Mall and museums will be crowded every weekend. The cherry blossoms are beautiful, though, and I can see why so many people love to come see them. DC really is beautiful in the spring and I think this is probably the best time of year to be here. As for the American History Museum, I must say that I was extremely disappointed. The only thing I thought was really cool was the original American flag that flew over Ft. McHenry during the War of 1812 and inspired the Star Spangled Banner. The flag is huge (something like 30 by 42 feet) and housed inside of a very dark room in a massive glass chamber. It’s really cool to think about that flag actually flying over Ft. McHenry and being viewed by Francis Scott Key as he wrote the poem which became our national anthem. Other than the flag, there were several cool exhibits, but nothing that was extremely impressive. I guess I expected a lot more out of this museum, considering that it is our nation’s capital and you would think that American History would get more emphasis. This one doesn’t even come close to the Air & Space Museum or the Museum of Natural History and Overall, I was pretty disappointed with it.

Birthday Week

Ok, so again it's been a while since I updated this thing. Let me back up to 2 weeks ago (the week of March 18-24:

On Wednesday evening, Mercedes and I went to a reception after work (our second day in a row to go get a free dinner). This one was hosted by former Congressman Kent Hance, Chancellor of the Texas Tech University System, and the president of the universities and medical schools in the Tech system. There were a lot of Texas Tech interns and alumni there to mingle with, as well as several Congressmen from Texas. I got to meet Chancellor Hance and found him to be a nice, funny man with an obvious passion for Texas Tech. He speaks very highly of his faculty and students and loves his job. Since Texas Tech was one of the schools I was considering for law school this fall, I was grateful for the opportunity to introduce myself and speak with him for a few minutes. I also enjoyed getting to talk to some of the students and alumni about their experience in Lubbock. Additionally, I got my second free dinner in a row!

On Thursday, I was asked by our Education LA to sit in on a meeting with some representatives from Baylor University, including President Ken Starr. This was kind of a strange, yet exciting circumstance, considering that Baylor was the other university I was considering for law school. Having gotten to meet Chancellor Hance the previous evening, I was glad to be able to meet Judge Starr and speak with him about Baylor. He too, was a very positive and humorous man with an enthusiasm for Baylor. He provided us with an update on how Baylor University is doing, the projects they are currently working on (including a new football stadium), and their goals for the upcoming year. After Michelle told the delegation that I had been accepted to Baylor Law, they were all excited to hear whether I would be attending. I told them that they had a great school and I was considering them, but was also looking at one of their rivals, Texas Tech. Upon hearing this, Judge Starr informed me that Tech had a great law school, but quickly added that they also had a lot of dust, wind, and tumbleweeds. He assured me that I would be happier at Baylor. As they were leaving, I gave the delegation three copies of the Washington Times that we had in the office. Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III had made the front page of the Times because of his pro day workout the previous day and the interest that the Washington Redskins have in acquiring him in this year’s draft. They Baylor people were very excited to see this and appreciated the gesture of the free papers, even joking that I might have earned myself a scholarship with that move. After they left, Michelle told me that was smart to think of the papers and thanked me for giving them as a parting gift.

On Friday, I attended another luncheon briefing. This one was done by a healthcare advocacy organization and was about chronic disease (such as diabetes) in the US and what we can do to combat it. I found the information on wellness programs and disease prevention to be interesting and enjoyed another free meal (my third in one week). Then Friday afternoon I helped gather the last few signatures for a letter that the entire Texas Congressional delegation had signed onto, protesting the Air Force’s plan to move a squadron of Air National Guard C-130’s out of Texas and send them to Montana. To pick up the letter, I had to go to the home of an Army Lieutenant Colonel, who is the National Guard’s liaison to the Texas delegation. While waiting on his colleague to return to his house with the letter, I got to sit and visit with the Colonel for a little while and hear about some of his experiences in the Army. He is an intelligence officer currently assigned to Congress as the Texas National Guard Liaison. I’m always grateful for the opportunity to meet military officers and hear their advice, so I really enjoyed our conversation.

 Saturday was my 22^nd birthday and I had a great day! I slept in on Saturday, although my mom did wake me up with her traditional birthday phone call. Then I made breakfast and watched some of my favorite shows on Netflix. Saturday afternoon, the other UNT interns and I, along with one of the other interns from Senator Cornyn’s office, went to see The Hunger Games at the movie theater, then went to Hill Country Barbecue for dinner afterwards. I really liked the movie (though it wasn’t quite as good as the book) and had a great time hanging out with the interns to celebrate my birthday. The weekend included numerous phone calls, text messages, cards in the mail, and of course, facebook posts, so I got to hear from a lot of people back home. This was actually my first birthday spent outside of Texas, so far from my family and friends, but I have to say that I had a great time and really enjoyed the day.

Crazy Long Update: Part 2

This week I got my first major project and I’ve been working really hard on it. Doug came to me on Monday and told me he had a special research project for me regarding a defense/military issue. After briefing me on the details of what he was looking for, he asked me to do some research on the topic and create a one page brief containing background and analysis of the issue. He then asked me to formulate some policy recommendations and said that if I did a good job, my recommendations might be presented to the senator, to help form his opinion on what position he should take. I was very excited to have the opportunity to do some real work and especially interested in the topic I was researching. Doug asked me to have a rough draft ready by the end of the week, but I was extra vigilant and turned in my first copy on Wednesday morning. After looking it over, he said it looked good and that we would discuss it in more detail next week. Then he gave me another project, telling me that if I wanted to be a lawyer, especially a Navy lawyer, I needed to get used to balancing multiple assignments at the same time. Working on these two assignments with Doug and the rest of the defense team has proven to be time consuming, especially since I have to keep up with my regular intern duties as well. I don’t mind the extra work though, because it is interesting to me and it makes the days go by faster. Also, I agree with Doug that its good practice for the real world if I want to be an attorney. I really want to do well on this project because it's an opportunity to show Doug and Dave what I can do. Since Dave is a former JAG officer and Doug is a currently an active duty Naval officer, I will very likely be asking these guys to write letters of recommendation for me when I apply to the JAG Corps in the next couple of years. Now is my opportunity to earn those letters and convince them that I am a quality student and employee. I’m also really glad to see that they trust me with so much responsibility, though, and it’s really cool that the work I’m doing on this project will actually reach the senator’s desk and be used by him to formulate an opinion on the issue in the future!

Monday I spent most of the day out of the office doing another signature run. This one was particularly interesting, because on Tuesday morning I saw a news story on CNN about a letter that a group of Republican senators had sent to the White House. The story talked about the senators who had signed onto the letter and the fact that Senator Cornyn was the lead author. I soon realized that the letter they were talking about was the one that I had spent all day Monday collecting signatures for! I have to say that it felt pretty awesome to know I had helped work on something that was now being discussed on national news!

Tuesday morning, we had another Texas Tuesday Coffee, the event where constituents visiting D.C. have the opportunity to meet Senator Cornyn and get their picture taken with him. This coffee was the largest one we’ve done so far, with around 200 people in attendance. Needless to say, it took a large part of the staff to keep the event running smoothly and organize all of those people to get their photos done in a timely fashion and allow the senator to get on with his day. It was cool to see so many people in one place, so far from home. Right after the coffee event, I had a another tour scheduled, then it was back to work on my special projects.

Wednesday after work, Mercedes and I attended a reception for National Pi Day (March 13 = 3.14), being hosted by a nonprofit educational organization. Our Education LA, Michelle Chin, had been invited to attend and invited the interns to accompany her. Cash and Kris had other plans already, but I agreed to go because I was told there would be free food and I’m always up for a free dinner. At the last minute, Michelle was unable to attend, but told me to go anyway. I called Mercedes, who was just getting off work as well, and invited her to attend with me since it was an event for Congressional staff and she works for Congressman Burgess. I figured that since Michelle had RSVP’d a spot and was not attending now, it wouldn’t do anything to upset the number of people scheduled to attend. Mercedes and I arrived at the lounge to find the event packed with people. It was a relatively small room to begin with, and I believe the offer of free food attracted quite a few Hill staffers. Still, we got to enjoy some great pizza from a place in Georgetown and then had some chocolate silk and pecan pie that was excellent. I think receptions like these are one of the best parts about working on the Hill.

On Thursday I gave another tour, this time to a group of women from Houston. This was our 5^th tour of the week, which is equal to the combined number of tours we’ve given in the last few months since I’ve been here. You can tell it’s Spring Break and the tourism has picked up significantly around D.C. I don’t mind because tours are definitely my favorite part about the job and I really enjoy sharing the history of the Capitol and teaching Texans a little about how Congress works. I feel like I always do a good job, because I want to represent Senator Cornyn well and genuinely enjoy what I’m doing. On this particular tour, however, I had a lady who has taken several tours of the Capitol during her life. She told me at the end that this one was much more generous and comprehensive than any other that she’s ever been on and thanked me for taking the time to do a really thorough tour and make sure that they got to see everything they wanted to. She also said that I did an excellent job explaining the history and told me that she was going to write to the senator’s office to tell them how great their tour was. I really appreciated that and it made me feel great to know that I was doing a good job with these tours.

Christopher’s friend came into town Wednesday and they left together to spend an extended weekend in New York City for St. Patrick’s Day. As a result, I’ve had the apartment to myself and it’s been pretty quiet around here for the last few days. I’ve spent some of the weekend hanging out with Chris and Mercedes, but have basically just had a relaxing weekend to myself. After working hard on these research projects all week, I definitely needed the down time and have tried to make the most of it. I called mom on St. Patrick’s Day to wish her a happy birthday (I have never once forgotten mom’s birthday because it falls on a national holiday) and I made sure to wear green all day in honor of the event.

Oh, I also found out this week that I got accepted to Baylor Law School. I was ecstatic about that considering that I never thought I stood a serious chance there and I now have an important decision to make about where I will attend law school. I’m still waiting on one more school to get their decision to me and then I should make up my mind in the next few weeks.

Sorry for the length of these posts and I promise I’ll try to keep the updates a little more frequent in the future to keep this from happening again! Hope all is well back home!

Crazy Long Update: Part 1

Ok everyone, I just realized that I haven’t updated this thing in like three weeks! Sorry for the delay, it’s just been pretty busy around here and I completely forgot about blogging for a while. At the risk of making this post incredibly long, I’ll try to hit the highlights of the last few weeks and bring you all up to speed on what’s been going on. I’m going to split this post into two to help with the length, so be sure to read Part 1 before reading Part 2. Here it goes: 
 

Well, it’s now March and I’m finding that the excitement of the job has started to wear off a little bit in some ways. We’ve been at work for 2 months now and the internship is in some ways starting to just feel like work. I’ve noticed that it I no longer take time to stare at things like the Capitol Dome or the Supreme Court during my morning walk to the office and I’m starting to adapt to working in the Senate like it’s just a normal part of life. I even found myself impatiently waiting in a security line at the office building one day, thinking about how annoying it was that the “tourists” didn’t know how to keep the line moving efficiently. This is, of course, rather ridiculous considering that I’ve only been here two months myself and am in no way a local. Still, I am adjusting to routine life in DC and am no longer overwhelmed by everything around me. I’m not really sure how I feel about that.

As for work itself, the job is also becoming a little routine. Most of our responsibility revolves around entering scheduling requests into a database and sorting mail. While there are occasional research projects and briefings to provide some excitement, the everyday parts of the job do get a little old sometimes and I find that I have to remind myself of why I wanted to be here. While interning for the Senate really is a great opportunity and I am learning a lot, sometimes it does just feel like work.

The longer I’m in DC, the more I realize just how much I love living in the south. A couple of weeks ago, I attended a briefing for our Health Care LC. She couldn’t attend the briefing, but needed someone to go and bring the information back to her. The briefing happened to include another free lunch, so I of course didn’t mind going. When I got to the room, I took a seat and ate my box lunch while waiting for the briefing to start. People continued flowing in until it became obvious that there were going to be a lot more people than there were seats. As I realized this, an older lady came over to stand in the back of the room next to my seat. I immediately rose and offered it to her, volunteering to stand and let her have the chair. She looked at me like she was surprised, then thanked me and took a seat. I noticed a moment later that she was staring at me, so I smiled back at her. She then asked me, “Son, where are you from?” I replied, “Texas, ma’am.” Much to my humor, she responded “Oh, well that explains it. We have so few gentlemen left up here.” I couldn’t help but be amused by this and it really made me think about the differences between Texas and DC culture. It’s nice to see that Texas still has a reputation for producing gentlemen and I’m glad I could help continue this tradition. Still, it just seems sad to me that an old lady would find it strange for a male youth to give up his chair for her. I guess I think that should just be common behavior no matter what part of the country you’re in.

That Friday, Duncan Currie took all three of the interns to lunch. Duncan is Senator Cornyn’s speechwriter and is a really cool guy. He has a degree in History from Harvard and is a life-long soccer player (even having traveled to Europe to play in school tournaments), so we have plenty in common to talk about. Duncan took us to We the Pizza, which is a great local place that is extremely popular (and it deserves its reputation). During lunch, we got a chance to ask Duncan about his job and get a lot of general questions answered. He told us about his background, how he came to work for the senator and his impressions of the job so far. He’s only worked for Senator Cornyn since December and this is his first job on Capitol Hill, so he’s kind of similar to us interns in some ways. Our office manager told us that every member of the senior staff will be meeting with us at some point during the semester to explain what their job responsibilities are and answer our questions about specific jobs or issues. I’m really impressed that they take time to do this for each class of interns and I think that really says a lot about the quality of the people on Senator Cornyn’s staff. Duncan chose to do his meeting with us over lunch and was even generous enough to pay for us all. Everyone is so nice and helpful in our office and I really like everyone that I work with. I think we probably have one of the best offices on the Hill when it comes to people.

Last Wednesday morning I went with Senator Cornyn to a hearing being held by the Senate Armed Service Committee. The topic of the hearing was an update on the current situation in Syria and the possibilities for U.S. intervention. Testifying before the committee were Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey. I was so excited to be in the same room with two of the most influential people in the armed services and found the discussion on Syria to be very informative and interesting. I learned several things that I did not know before about the ongoing crisis there. I also learned a lot about the possibilities for US intervention, including an assessment of the different options we have on the table and the cost/benefit of each option from a strategic viewpoint. For someone like myself, interested in foreign affairs and international relations, this was really a great opportunity and I’m very glad I was invited to attend.

 Then on Thursday morning, I went with Kris (another Cornyn intern) to the Senate Judiciary Committee business meeting. Judiciary is the other major committee that Senator Cornyn sits on, so we got to sit up front with the senator’s judiciary staff, right behind the table where the senator’s sit! I have to admit, it does feel pretty cool to be able to sit at the front of the room like that and you definitely feel a lot more important than you are! The purpose of the business meeting was to markup some pending legislation and vote on whether or not to send some judicial nominees to the senate floor for a full vote. There were no witnesses or testimony for a change, just twelve senators sitting around a table talking to each other about legislation (while a room full of staff, camera crews, and interested bystanders observed quietly). This was a pretty cool look at a part of the legislative process that you don’t normally get to witness from the outside and I found it to be very interesting and informative.

 Last Friday, Dave Hanke took me out to lunch, along with Doug Ivanac. Dave is our Military Affairs Legislative Assistant and Doug is our Military Fellow from the Navy. We walked down the street to a Mexican food restaurant and spent the lunch talking about my career goals and life in the JAG Corps. Dave was an Army JAG prior to coming to work on Capitol Hill and he had a lot of really great information for me about what life as a JAG is like and what to expect during the interview process. Being a naval officer, Doug was able to weigh in with specifics about the Navy and what the interview and application process is like when it comes to getting a commission. I was very excited to have the opportunity to speak to both of them and hear their input on my career goals. Also, when I asked Dave if he was glad that he went to law school, I was happy to hear him say that it was one of the best decisions he made. So many lawyers I have talked to have said that they regretted going or would have done something different if they could do it over again. A few have even tried to talk me out of going to law school by telling me depressing tales of the horrors of law school and the miserable lives of attorneys. Dave said that the law isn’t for everyone and you have to really know that you want to do it. He said not to be disillusioned by what you see on tv or in the movies and don’t expect to make a lot of money or be a star in the courtroom. But if you have a passion for practicing law and a desire to use it in a positive way, than it can be a very rewarding career and can provide you with a lot of great opportunities, specifically in the JAG Corps. I was really encouraged to hear him say that and I think it did a lot for my confidence level going into law school this fall. Overall, it was a great lunch and they even paid for me! I can’t say enough how fortunate I am to have landed in an office with great people who have been where I want to go, and care enough about my future to take time to talk with me about it. This is definitely the most rewarding part of this internship experience!

 Last weekend was pretty relaxed, with a few new experiences. Throughout the last couple of months, we have made friends with the interns from Ohio State who are living in the same hall in our apartment building. They’re a bunch of really fun people and we’ve all enjoyed getting to hang out with them during the evenings and weekends. Unfortunately, Ohio State operates on a quarter system meaning that they have four quarters a year instead of two semesters. Because of this, they’re internships only last for the first quarter and they have to go home mid-semester to begin a new quarter. This Friday was their last day in DC, so we spend most of Friday afternoon and evening hanging out with them and enjoying our last day together. Saturday morning we said our final goodbyes to our Ohio State friends as they packed up their bags and moved out of the building, exchanging contact information and assuring them that we would continue to hate Michigan our entire lives (animosity for the State of Michigan was one of the first things they taught us, and we in turn taught them to hate the University of Oklahoma). After they were packed up, I decided to cook brunch and I must say that I did a great job with it. I made a great meal, consisting of a cheese omelet, sausage, toast, and even cooked bacon successfully for the first time on my own; though I burnt it to an inedible crisp on my first attempt and had to open the windows to ventilate the smell.

 Saturday evening, Chris Wilkes and I decided to head over to Georgetown and see that part of DC for the first time. We took a $1 bus from Union Station to Georgetown, enjoying the view of the city during the ride. After eating dinner at Five Guys for my first time (not great, I think I’ll stick with Whataburger), we proceeded to walk around the area and take a look at all of the shops and nightlife. There are a lot of shopping a restaurants to take in around that area and the place was definitely alive with weekend nightlife. Overall, it was a really neat area with a lot to experience, including some incredible musicians playing for tips on the street corner. The style of the roads and architecture reminded me a lot of New Orleans in some ways or maybe images that I’ve seen of France and other European cities. You can definitely see the European influence in the design and layout of the streets and buildings. We tried to stop by the world-famous Georgetown Cupcakes, but found the line wrapped around two corners of the building and decided that no one needs a cupcake that badly. We then walked through the campus of Georgetown University, which is incredibly impressive! The architecture is very old and very intimidating and it definitely has the feel of an elite university with an incredible amount of prestige. The area was very nice and a lot different than Capitol Hill, and I can see why a lot of people like to live over there. Though, I have to say that I still prefer UNT’s campus and our abundance of trees and grass, which seems to be in short supply up here. After leaving Georgetown, we walked back over to the metro stop, passing by the Embassy of Sweden on the way. Sweden has a beautiful, modern building, right on the waterfront and we decided that our relations with the Swedes must be pretty good for them to deserve such premium real estate. We finally caught the train home after an eventful sightseeing trip, passing by an Exxon on the way which was selling gas for $5.09 a gallon! I’m glad I live in Texas and don’t have to drive in DC!

 On Sunday, I slept until 12:30 pm and didn’t feel bad about it one bit! I needed the rest, especially after the clocks unfortunately rolled forward an hour. On a side note, I really hate daylight savings time, especially the part where the clocks go forward instead of back. Luckily I didn’t have to get up early on the day that it changed. Sunday afternoon, I was pleased to find that the FC Dallas (soccer) season opener against the New York Red Bulls was being broadcast on a tv station that we get here in DC. I was able to watch my team pull off a thrilling 2-1 win over New York to start the season on a positive note. FC Dallas happens to have DC United as an away game this year and will be coming to DC on March 30^th! Even better, the 30^th happens to be college night for DC United and college students can get sideline tickets to the game for only $20 each. Chris Wilkes and I have already bought tickets and my best friend from UNT is coming up to DC that weekend, so we’ll all be going to the game together. I’m excited that I’ll get to see Dallas play at least one live game this spring, even while I’m away from Texas! Another great service at Frontline Church wrapped up Sunday evening and completed another great week in DC!

Trip Home and Museums

This week was really short in terms of work, but was very eventful. As I mentioned last time, our office was closed Monday for President’s Day and I used the long weekend to travel home and visit family. I took off on Tuesday because the flights were too heavy on Monday and I needed the extra time to get back to DC. Coincidentally, this gave me an extra day to visit and I made the most of my long weekend. I flew back to DFW Friday night after work, and was picked up by my best friend at the airport. We drove up to Denton, saw the movie “Safe House” (which was great), and then spent most of the night hanging out with brothers at the Theta Chi House. Early Saturday morning, I returned to the airport to catch a flight to Louisiana, where my mom and Danny moved after Christmas. I hadn’t seen them since they moved, and was very happy to be able to spend time with them and see their new house. My dog was overjoyed to see me, and I was worried initially that he wasn’t going to let me spend time with anyone else, though he quickly lost interest in me after I quit throwing his toys. My grandpa took me to a casino for the first time in my life and this was great experience, despite the fact that I lost $60. Turns out I’m not a great gambler. After the weekend in Louisiana, I flew back to DFW Tuesday morning and spent all day Tuesday with my dad and sister in Fort Worth. I had lunch with my grandparents there (my dad’s parents) and got to catch up with everyone, which was really nice. Before heading back to the airport, I insisted that we go to Cousin’s Barbecue for dinner (where I used to work) and I got to experience real Texas barbecue, which I had so badly missed. Then it was back to the airport, where I boarded another flight back to DC. I got in around 11:45 and was back at my apartment around 12:30 in the morning.

    

At work on Wednesday morning, I was asked by our Education LA, Michelle Chin, to come downstairs for a meeting with UNT officials at 10:30. I was excited to meet some people from UNT and eagerly went down to the greet them. The meeting was with Dr. Richard Nader, the Interim Vice Provost for International Affairs and Dr. Gabriel Carranza, the Assistant Vice Provost for International Cooperation and a Research Professor in Biological Sciences. There was another man present as well, but he didn’t speak much at all and I didn’t get his business card. Dr. Nader and Dr. Carranza were here to discuss funding and grants for international programs and talked with Michelle about the current status of UNT’s international programs and international students. They were excited to meet an intern from UNT and wanted to hear about what I was studying and what I was doing with the NTDC program. I really enjoyed getting to talk to them and was glad Michelle invited me along to the meeting.

Wednesday afternoon, Doug asked me to attend a lunch briefing on his behalf with the Foreign Policy Initiative. The briefing was titled “Assessing Progress in Afghanistan” and was a look at the current state of affairs in Afghanistan and the success of international efforts to combat terrorism and establish a lasting democracy. The speakers giving the briefing were General Jack Keane, a retired Army 4-star General and expert on the Middle East, and Major Fernando Lujan, an Army Special Forces officer who had recently returned from extended tours in Afghanistan. Not only was this another free lunch, but it was also a really informative briefing on a topic of interest to me and I learned a lot. After the luncheon, I typed up a summary of the remarks made by the General and the Major, noting the highlights of their speeches and the conclusions that they and the FPI had reached concerning Afghanistan. Then I met with Doug later in the afternoon to give him my account of the meeting and brief him on what was said.

Thursday and Friday were pretty routine and uneventful and the weekend came quickly, especially considering that I only had three days of work this week!  On Friday, I had dinner with a fraternity brother from Denton who is now attending law school at the University of Pittsburgh. He called to tell me he would be in town for a conference and I was happy to meet him for dinner and spend some time catching up and hearing about how law school was going for him.

On Saturday, I slept in then headed out to the National Mall for an afternoon at the museums. I spent close to three hours in the National Air and Space Museum, checking out all kinds of aircraft and space vehicles. Coming from a family of pilots, I have some natural interest in this subject, but I really wished my dad and grandpa were with me because they would have absolutely loved the place! Actually, if they were with me I might never have gotten them out of there now that I think about it. I flew a full motion F-4 Phantom simulator and honestly have to say that it was some of the most fun I’ve ever had. The thing actually spins, climbs, banks, turns, and rolls, responding to whatever you tell it to do with the joystick. The first time I stood it on its left wing and pulled back to execute a sharp turn, I found myself actually on my left side trying to hold myself in the seat as the horizon zipped past me in a blur. I was held into the seat only by the restraints and could actually feel myself lifting as if I were in a real plane. There are no G-forces, obviously, because the simulator is not zero gravity or pressurized, but you do get to experience a full range of motions, including vertical climbs, turns, and barrel rolls (which I couldn’t get enough of). And yes, you actually can start to get lightheaded if you fly upside down for too long. During the six and a half minute ride, I managed not to crash and successfully eliminated 6 of 6 enemy fighters during dogfighting, making myself an instant ace. When I attempted my skill at landing an F-18 on a carrier at night, however, my luck ran out. After a quick tutorial on how to read the ball, control pitch and elevation, and follow the instructions of the LSO, I made my first carrier landing attempt. I completely missed the deck and flew right overhead, buzzing the carrier and never getting wheels down. My second attempt saw me put the tail of the fighter into the deck and go up in a ball of fire. The next several weren’t pretty either, but I finally managed to catch the emergency #3 cable and successfully land the fighter on my sixth attempt. Needless to say, I won’t be going to Top Gun anytime soon.

After the Air and Space Museum, I headed over to the National Museum of Natural History and proceeded to get myself lost in the exhibits there. I spent the rest of the day wandering around from hall to hall, examining the fossil structures of giant whales, dinosaurs, and various extinct animals. I checked out skulls and remains of early humans, looked at telescopic imagery of distant galaxies and nebulas, and even stood within an arms-length of a 45.5 carat diamond in the geology section. This diamond is well guarded, as you can imagine, but the sight of it was awe-inspiring. And I have to say that I began to think of all the heist movies I had ever seen, searching for a likely way to grab it. Fortunately, I’ve watched enough movies and read enough books to know that this particular diamond would be impossible to take without an experienced crew, a small fortune worth of equipment, and a few people cooperating on the inside. Also, I concluded that trying to sell the diamond on the black market would be near impossible without cutting it up, considering its size and original characteristics. All of this, combined with the thought of life in prison, encouraged me to abandon my diamond heist planning and continue exploring the museum. By closing time, I had to be told to leave, because I was still caught up in the ancient oceans display hall and had lost track of time. I still have a lot more museum exploring to do and I just hope I have enough weekends left to see it all! Fortunately, everything is paid for thanks to all of you working adults out of college who pay taxes. I appreciate it!

After the museums, I met up with my friend again and we saw Amanda Seyfried’s new thriller, “Gone”, over at the movie theater in Chinatown. The film was a pretty good thriller with enough plot to keep you interested and was a good end to the day. Sunday I slept in again, and then went to Silver Spring, Maryland for a meeting with Mike Kelsey, the pastor of Frontline, before the evening service. He wanted to meet with me to see how I liked the church and hear about my background and experience in DC so far. We met for about 45 minutes and had a great conversation. Mike is really a great guy with a great church and I’m very glad I found this place. After another excellent service, I met some more of the church members, including Matt and his wife Lisa, who sat next to me. Matt is a doctor and an Army Captain, stationed at Bethesda. I was excited to meet him and am quickly finding that DC is a great place to make contacts in the military! After church, it was home to watch the Oscars. Another great week in DC with many more exciting opportunities! I’m quickly getting used to life out here and finding that I’m adjusting really well. Though I still don’t see myself being out here permanently because I just miss Texas culture too much!

Work in the Senate

Life continues to go well in D.C. Work isn’t too difficult and is actually becoming more and more interesting as I get to learn and experience more. Cold weather set in this weekend, with a little bit of snow, but nothing too terrible.

Last Wednesday we attended a Texas State Society event after work, the Annual Salute to Congress. Texas Representatives were there along with Senator Hutchison and a lot of staff and interns. The event was very Texas themed, featuring free Tex-mex, Blue Bell, and Shiner Bock. The Representatives present each gave a short speech, as did Senator Hutchison, and it was a good way to mingle with Texans. Kay Bailey made a joke about Governor Perry during her speech that was a little shocking, but also pretty funny. The joke went something like this: “Every year I love coming to the Texas State Society Salute to Congress. This is really a wonderful event for 3 reasons. First, it’s a chance for us to come together and interact as Texans. Second, it’s a great excuse to enjoy some wonderful Texas libations. And third…..” (Here she paused for a long time until everyone started laughing; obviously mocking Governor Perry’s inability to recall the 3^rd executive agency he would cut during a presidential debate earlier in his campaign). After everyone got over the initial shock, the room burst into laughter. I personally couldn’t believe that a sitting senator would make such a public mockery of their governor, but I guess that’s what happens when you lose a bitter primary campaign.  

Last Thursday was Senator Cornyn’s birthday. The Chief of Staff closed the office a half hour early and we all went over to the NRSC office where we had a surprise birthday party set up. The senator arrived thinking that he was coming to a meeting and instead found all of his staff waiting to wish him happy birthday. In addition to cake and drinks, the staff had gone around getting some of the senator’s colleagues to record short messages for him and compiled a video that was very funny. Everyone’s been mocking Senator Cornyn recently for saying that 60 is the new 40 and several of his fellow senators joined in the humor. Their messages were all very good and inspired a good laugh for the staff. Overall the party was a great success and I think it really made the senator’s day.

One great thing about being an intern for the senate is the amount of free lunches that you get. There a crazy amount of luncheon briefings that take place on the Hill every week. A lot of these have important information for the staff, but a lot of times the appropriate staff members either can’t or don’t want to attend them. As a result, interns usually get invited to attend the luncheons in their place and bring back a summary of the information. Last Friday, Cash and I went to a briefing on entrepreneurial jobs in science and technology. Then Wednesday we attended one on nuclear power and the future of nuclear energy in the United States. Usually these briefings are done by scientists and they aren’t incredibly interesting (you can see why the staff doesn’t normally care to attend). However, any good college student can sit through an hour long briefing on ANYTHING if there’s a free lunch involved. We’re quickly finding that being an intern willing to volunteer for lunch briefings is a great way to eat every week while keeping your food costs down. And the food isn’t bad either!

This Thursday, we got a little bit of a surprise. While doing our morning work entering scheduling requests into our database, we suddenly heard a voice behind us say “Howdy!” Turning around we saw Senator Cornyn standing behind our desk (the 3 interns each have a computer and work station at a long, shared desk. We had been so busy working that none of us had even noticed the senator walking around upstairs (our office takes up 2 floors with an interior staircase) and talking to staff. We were pleasantly surprised by his improvisational visit and got to spend a few minutes talking to him. He was interested in where we were going to school, what we were studying, what our career plans were, and how we were liking the internship so far. I was impressed to see that he was willing to take time out of his day to talk to his interns and get to know us a little better. Definitely says a lot about Senator Cornyn and the type of guy he is. Honestly, I’ve really been overly impressed by his attitude towards his office and the effort he puts into his job. Senator Cornyn has a policy in his office that every constituent who writes to us receives a response, regardless of whether their letter is supportive or condemning. If you contact the senator’s office and include a return address, you WILL get a response from us. That’s really impressive considering the sheer volume of mail that comes in to the office. Our Legislative Correspondents do a great job working very hard to make sure that happens, and it’s just nice to see a senator who values his constituents that much. Senator Cornyn really understands why he’s in D.C. and who he’s working for.

On Friday, I got a really great experience. Dave Hanke is our Legislative Assistant for military and defense issues and is a former Army JAG. I told him the first week of the internship that I was interested in defense issues and was willing to help with any projects he had during the semester. This week he told me that some researchers from the Center for Security Policy would be coming into the office to present a report they had done on defense cuts and the upcoming military budget. He invited me to sit in on this meeting with him and our military fellow and I was really excited to be included in something like that. I got to sit at the table with these people as part of the Senator’s staff and listen to the researchers present their report, then listen to our staff ask questions and study the report. It was interesting information in a field that really interests me, so I was grateful for the opportunity.

The weekend was pretty lazy, due to the snow and extremely cold weather. I pretty much stayed indoors all weekend and watched Netflix, with one exception to go to church. The service was really good tonight and very fulfilling. John McGowan is a very passionate, gifted speaker and the current series on Jonah has been very informative and spiritually beneficial. There were 3 baptisms done tonight and it was great to be able to celebrate three new additions to the church family.

That’s about all I have for now. Hope all is well in Texas! I hear it’s “snowing” down there tonight, but I doubt it’s as cold or overcast as it is here. ; )