Tuesday, May 31, 2011

The Triumphant Return!

I realize I've been MIA the entire month of May, and I regret that.  I wish I could say I was terribly busy and I had a lot on my plate and I've been doing amazing things, but that's not entirely the case.  I've just allowed it to slip my mind, it seems!  And my only good excuse was finals and moving into my summer housing, really.  So... sorry!  As a summer resolution, though, I'm promising myself and you, the faithful readers, that I'll be more present.  Promise!  


Since I have to start my reemergence into blogging pretty slowly, I decided to re-post something that a friend showed me on another blog site.  We just thought it was so sentimental and nice and it really defined the DC experience.  This makes me particularly happy since I'm spending the summer here!  Wooooo!  Fun for all!  

So it's a bit of a cop-out, but I really like it anyway and I wanted to share.  It also relates a bit more to people who come here AFTER college, but coming earlier just makes the experience all the better, right?  Right.  So read on, friends.

How To Live In Washington DC
MAY. 18, 2011 By CLARISSA RAMON

Get accepted into a “competitive” fellowship or internship or entry level lobbying position – whatever. Think this is it: it’s only a matter of time before you are saving the world (or securing a “real” job). Look on Craigslist for an apartment… see that the price of a one bedroom condo by the Capitol is $2700.00. Silently squeal to yourself. Look farther way. Google Shaw-Howard. Look closer. Spend 2 weeks scouring Craigslist, emailing friends and distant cousins. Find a bedroom in a house in Maryland, or a couch with a friend in Columbia Heights. It doesn’t matter, you’re moving to DC.

Spend the first few nights getting to know your fellow fellows, classmates, or co-workers. Ride the metro for the first time in your life. Go the wrong direction. Have people from NYC scoff at you for being confused. Go to Adams Morgan and be surrounded by the exact same crowd as college. Take too many shots, eat at the McDonalds with a security guard and cab it back to safety. Look at your bank account and realize you’ve spent $200 that week on tennis shoes, a plastic drawer set, pad thai, metro fares, cabs, alcohol, brunch, an umbrella, Tylenol, toothpaste and a new suit. Silently kick yourself.

Learn to take the bus. Put yourself on a budget. Visit Safeway and realize that you can’t stuff your trunk with a month’s worth of Ramen noodles and Capri Suns. Buy a goofy cart, fill it with groceries, try to include something healthy. Realize you’ve lost 10 lbs from walking so much. It’s the end of summer and your shirt is sticking to your back and your feet are swollen. Think about how you would do terrible things to get access to a rooftop pool.

Visit the Holocaust Museum. Cry.

Make friends fast. Everyone is friendly. Everyone is from somewhere else. They are away from home for the first time like you, or coming from a 6 year grad/law school program where they helped with AIDS research. Whoa, people are smart in DC. Clutch your B.A. in Political Science, or Government, or History, or Women’s Studies for dear life. Drink with Republicans. Make out with Liberals. See more diversity than you ever have in your entire life living back home.

Have your first day on the “Hill.” Realize that people come here for very different reasons. There is someone on the other side, from the other “party” who exists solely to combat everything you believe in. Spend half your time answering phones, meeting people for coffee, getting recommendations from others about how you just have to talk to so and so. Email them for coffee. Realize you probably have an addiction. File paperwork, run errands, respond to letters, work late. Think how recess is the best thing ever. Give a tour. [BS] your way through. Realize that your 8th grade history needs to be refreshed. Who put people like you in charge? Realize that the people “in charge” are in the committee room next to you. Walk past John Boehner. Realize you have absolutely nothing to say to John Boehner.

Go to a “networking” event. Drink too much wine and eat too many hors d’oeuvres. Listen to the person speaking incessantly about themselves and what they do. Want to punch them. Want to jump out the window. Leave feeling defeated. After meeting 100 new contacts and handing out dozens of cards, realize you have not had a substantial conversation in what feels like days. (Later, after your 37th reception, you have perfected it to a science. Drink 1 and half glasses of wine, skip the food, collect 5 cards, leave early and go to a bar.)

Have nights where you have absolutely nothing to do. Feel lonely. Call home. Skype with a friend. Wonder what the hell you ever came to DC for.

Pass by a homeless person on the way to the metro. Realize that for being the capitol of the country, there is a lot of disparity. Read about the poor education system. Notice that most of the Senate staffers are white. All of the service workers are not. Feel disconnected to the reason you came here. Get frustrated with D.C. traffic, slow metros, bad neighborhoods, expensive cost of living, and overall insanity. Wonder if going through a metal detector everyday is healthy for you. Feel guilty and powerless. You are not saving the world. You have not found a job.

Realize that you are among your peers. Even though you are surrounded by people of privilege, you still feel like you’re in the right place. Have your party lose the house and have you’re world flipped upside down. Life here is cyclical. Parties switch. Power shifts. Become jaded with politics. Wonder if you even matter, if anyone’s work even makes a difference. Read a bill that you helped draft. Think you just helped save a tiny piece of the world.

Work with different types of people. Feel pressured to get more education. Realize that people here are just the same as the ones back home, just better at hiding it. They creep slowly into debt, live in places like Rossyln or Silver Spring and try to live off $30 K a year whilst paying for $30 brunches. Meet lots of douchey law students or worse: pre-law students. Go to a rooftop party. Visit an apartment that costs more than your parents house. Go to the W and sneak onto the rooftop. Drink $20 jack and cokes. Hate yourself. Party with people from Chicago, LA, and Texas. Meet people who intern at the White House. Become annoyed with people who intern at the White House. Your 8 months here have made you more judgmental. Become less trusting.

Gain back the 10 lbs you lost and then some over winter. See snow for the first time or the 25th time. Get a winter boo. Lose the winter boo. Go on dates, meet people, hook-up. End your pseudo relationship back home. See couples on the street and stare at them like zoo animals. Everyone is too young for that here. Not really, just more self involved. Question your life path. Consider letting pseudo girlfriend/boyfriend visit. Discuss relationships and sex with your new girlfriends/guyfriends over Ben’s Chili Bowl at 3:00 am after a night of debauchery. Stop questioning your life path.

Get invited to a gala or staff your boss at an event. See people you only see on Huffington Post, New York times or CNN up close. Realize you are in the center of it all. Hear the President speak. See the crowd move. Shake his hand. Stare at hand. Call your parents.

Pause on a beautiful spring day. Smell the cherry blossoms. Think: Damn, I live in D.C 


Source: http://thoughtcatalog.com/2011/how-to-live-in-washington-dc/

Sorry I took the lazy way out for this one, promise I'll have a super-awesome comeback to follow!  Really though, I'm gonna be all on it.  In the meantime, email me!  Shireens@gwmail.gwu.edu




Thursday, May 26, 2011

Summer Internship Begins!

Hi everyone!

As I get settled into life at home, lounging around is starting to cease as my summer internship starts. Though it's only 2 days a week, it ends up being very time consuming and getting up early is something I am not yet used to :) I am working as an Action Center Intern for Mercy Corps, which is a global aid non-governmental organization that works in countries that have experienced natural disaster or conflict.


The Action Center is a way for Mercy Corps to expand on their love for global engagement. Mercy Corps is trying to make it a hub for activism in Portland, Oregon, on issues that Oregonians and citizens worldwide face. There are museum-quality multimedia exhibits and this summer, the Action Center is running some summer programs that I will be helping with. I am really looking forward to it!

Because this internship is only 2 days a week, I am going to be taking advantage of a few other opportunities at home. I'll keep you all updated!

marisaw@gwmail.gwu.edu
- Marisa

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Home Sweet Home!

Hi everyone,

Sorry for being so MIA lately! After finals, I haven't had the energy to even look at a computer screen or type out coherent words :) Now, almost 2 weeks later, I am getting back into business and looking forward to hearing from all of you and your decisions that you've made whether it be to come to GW, to sign up for a co-curricular program, or to live in Madison Hall.

So what have I been up to since finals? Well, I flew immediately to Los Angeles to meet up with my best friend from home and we spent the next week driving up the coast on Highway 1 and Highway 101- the scenic routes up the ocean to Portland, Oregon! I thought it would be fun to share some pictures:

Sketchy little bridges were part of the drive
Climbing up a mountain in a Mini Cooper is difficult
Waterfall into the ocean
Monterey Bay Aquarium
The Mystery Spot in Santa Cruz! Look it up, very cool
Museum of Modern Art San Francisco (this is a matchbook!!!)
Fortune Cookie Factory, San Francisco
Golden Gate Bridge!
Elk on the road in Northern California!
Since the roadtrip, I've been relaxing, babysitting, catching up with friends and setting up my internship. I'll tell you all about it soon when I know more information!!
As always, send me your questions! marisaw@gwmail.gwu.edu
- Marisa

Thursday, May 12, 2011

the next steps

So I know many of you are dying to know what I have planned for post-graduation life.  Well, worry no more!  I am here to tell you!

I have been offered a position at Defenders of Wildlife as a Member Services Coordinator!  This job will put me at the front lines on ensuring the 500,000 members of the organization are happy and get their feedback on the organization and what they want to see done. I am so happy to become a part of the team at Defenders and will work as hard as possible to ensure my job is done to its fullest potential.

I am excited to still be in DC for a while more and being in the general GW area.  This was I can still see friends, go to events, and who knows, go to grad school!!

Grad week events are at their peak! Today I went to a ceremony for student leaders, a meeting with board of trustee members including Kerry Washington, and the Senior Class Gift Presentation and toast!  Tonight the fun continues with the Zero Year Reunion!!

I will be back a handful of times before I say my goodbyes but please keep reading!!

Until next time!

Kim

Monday, May 9, 2011

Finally made it to the top...

...of the Washington Monument that it.

Saturday I went with the majority of my House Staff team to the top of the Washington Monument!  A note on my bucket list for quite some time.

It was great to see the city from the tallest point of the District.  No matter which way you were facing you could see monuments, memorials, distinct buildings, and more. Now there is not much more I can say in words about the top of the monument, but I have posted a bunch of pictures below.

If you are interested in going to the top check out the National Park Services Website at this link to find out how to get tickets!





Until next time!
GRADUATION IN 6 DAYS!!!

Kim

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Storage Unit

4 exams down, 1 to go! 4 more days until I leave for home and summer! Looking around campus, it is extremely evident that it is the end of the year. Families are busy moving out their students, loading up the mini vans and Uhaul's. People seem to be in happier moods (well, once they are officially done with finals that is) because of the impending summer vacation and the finally warmer weather. My dorm room is already emptier since one of my roommates moved out yesterday. It was kind of sad since we won't be living together next year. My other roommate, as a type of parting gift, made both of us friendship bracelets, which was very sweet. So now all 3 of us wear one (all different colors though) and its really cute if I do say so myself.
my friendship bracelet from the roommate
On another note, in order to reduce the amount of stuff that I am bringing home over the summer, I am storing some items in a storage unit with some of my friends. Since we are splitting the storage space, it is not too expensive. A lot of people that I know who live pretty far away end of renting a storage unit because it is easier and probably cheaper than shipping it all home and then back out to DC in the fall (since they fly to and from school). Even though I am traveling home by car, I figured it was smarter to place all of the things that I do not need at home over the summer in storage so I don't forget it in the fall.

Feel free to email me with any questions! cbgraf@gwmail.gwu.edu

-Christie

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Grad Week is Approaching!

With all of the excitement of the celebrations at the White House, there is another celebration I am looking forward to...GRAD WEEK!


This is a week that gives seniors and graduating Master's students a way to blow off some steam before entering the "real world."  The Senior Class gift is presented, there is a trip to Atlantic City, Senior Nights, and even a Zero-Year Reunion.  All of these events give friends a final chance to say goodbye and celebrate the great achievement they have accomplished, graduting from college.

The celebration has already begun!  This past Monday the Student Acitivities Center hosted a Food Truck Fiesta bringing about seven food trucks on campus and giving all graduating students a $2 off coupon to some of them!  Food trucks ranged from empanadas, pizza, cupcakes, and pies!  It was a great way to take a break from work and grab a quick, cheap, great lunch!

The Senior Class Gift is also a huge part of wrapping up the school year.  This year the theme was "Live up to the Challenge."  All seniors had an opportunity to give their class gift to their organization, department, school, or any other entity of the university while the Luther Rice Society matched the gifts.  This year the matched gifts are going to the Ron Howard Emergency Scholarship Fund.  This scholarship allows students to apply mid-semester is their financial situation changes drastically for example if a parent loses a job or there is an illness in the family.  I think this is a great way to give back and ensure the best students are able to stay at GW, despite obstacles.

I will be sure to keep you all updated on events throughout the week!  Hope your year is wrapping up well, don't forget to finish strong!

Until next time,
Kim

Monday, May 2, 2011

Big Excitement in DC

I am sure you have all heard the big news from yesterday involving the death of Osama bin Laden's death by now. Last night in DC was absolutely crazy. When the news broke, I was checking my facebook and my news feed was completely taken over by people's statuses regarding the event, which is how I found out. Then, when my roommates and I learned that everyone we knew was going down to the White House to celebrate, we decided that we could not miss out on something so historic. So, as a result, we immediately stopped what we were doing and ran down to the White House. And by ran, I mean SPRINTED, even though I was in my sandals and one of my roommates was sporting her slippers. Public reactions here in DC were so contagious. Once we arrived at the White House, we were greeted with more people than I could count. The crowd was so enormous that I could not even see where it ended, and people were still flooding in. We were by no means the last people to arrive. Being in DC and at the White House during this was truly the most exciting thing that has happened since I began attending GW. I would say that majority of the crowd was GW students, but I know that students form nearby American University and other schools soon traveled in as well as some people dressed in business attire. There were camera crews everywhere and I had some friends who received texts and calls from people saying they saw them on CNN or some other news channel. In fact, one of my friends was browsing pictures today and spotted me in the crowd in a picture by the Huffington Post. Here is the link (I am a little to the left of center, wearing a navy blue sweatshirt with a #7 on the sleeve-you really can't miss me): http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/02/osama-bin-laden-dead-celebrations_n_856380.html#s272629&title=Obama

Also, this is absolutely unbelievable: I am skyping with Vickie (my sister) tonight and she informs me that my roommates and I (well me only kind of) are on the front page of my hometown newspaper, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel! She saw it while at work today and freaked out! One of my roommates, MJ, is front and center, wearing a pinkish long sleeve fleece and my other roommate, Tina, is directly to her left (you can see her arm with her bracelets). And I am a bit more hidden. I am behind them and to the right of MJ, between her and the flag to her right (you can see my arm holding up m wallet and half of my face). What are the odds that my roommates (and me partially) made the front page of the newspaper all the way back home in Milwaukee! Absolutely crazy. And of course, it's only fitting that MJ is the one front and center and not me since it is my own newspaper. haha. Trying to find me is like playing where's Waldo, but it can be done. 

It was completely overwhelming and I do not think that I could describe the atmosphere adequately, so I think I will just let my photos and videos that I took speak for themselves. One of my favorite videos that I posted below is the "Cancel Finals" one and Geraldo Rivera, who is also in a picture below, commented something along those lines while interviewed, saying GW should cancel finals for today, which of course they didn't. But it was cool that he made a comment on our "Cancel Finals" chant.
My roommates
Me and some friends
HUGE crowd
I caught Geraldo Rivera coming out of the White House!
    Feel free to email me with any questions! cbgraf@gwmail.gwu.edu

-Christie

Where else in the world but GW? (5/1/2011 edition)

  "OBAMA GOT OSAMA!"--impromptu rallying cry

Yesterday, the President announced that U.S. Navy Special Operations Forces (SEALs) infiltrated the nation of Pakistan and killed the infamous terrorist leader, Osama bin Laden, in a compound within sight of Pakistan's military academy.

I was completely overjoyed when I heard the news--this proves that despite the profound bitterness of loss, there can be justice done in this world for the sake of the innocent slain. Ultimately, this battle isn't about killing the man: it's about killing his ideas and letting the people of the Muslim world chart their own future--a future without his hateful influence or that of his followers.

If anything, this may prove the nail in Al Qaeda's coffin. They've been going downhill since we first invaded Afghanistan, and while there are now more terrorist organizations, they're smaller, fractious and often on the defensive. There won't be a "clean" end to this war--not like Hitler shooting himself, or the Emperor surrendering, or Sadaam being dragged out by his beard--but this victory is a powerful message and a symbol both of the rightness of our cause and of the implacability of all our people.

We shouldn't rejoice in the act of killing, but we have every right to rejoice in this important victory. In this ideological battle, a "symbolic" victory is as real as a traditional one on the battlefield--and that's exactly our armed forces just scored. Most current GW students vividly remember 9/11, and while this won't bring back those who died it meant a lot to a lot of us here.

The photos on the right side of this post were taken in front of the White House between 10:00PM and 12:00 midnight yesterday, May 1, 2011. (The ones on the left are of the statue of G-Dubs himself standing in University Yard on H Street between 20th and 21th Streets.) Other DC schools had to pay for taxis since the metro was shut down by 11:30, but at GW we just walked--and way outnumbered everyone else there in front of the White House. I went down there with a bunch of friends, and it was really something. It's hard to quantify the value of this kind of experience, but it's safe to say it's one of those only-at-GW things all of us will remember.

Adam

--
Questions or comments about anything GW-related? Send them to me at ash1290@gwmail.gwu.edu.
Photos courtesy of  fellow GW student Monica Parshley. Yes, that man is dressed as Spiderman.

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Last Sunday on Campus!

As the semester is winding down, I am cramming to get everything in before I head out! There are so many things to do, so many chemistry problems to practice, and a lot of food in my kitchen that I need to eat.. thankfully, all of my friends are helping me out on the last one because I agreed to make them a taco extravaganza tomorrow night to get rid of lots of my goodies :)

Some highlights of today included the Panhellenic Association (basically the sorority council) giving out free Georgetown cupcakes on campus in Kogan Plaza. It was a really great way for them to reach out to the community and they had little fondant circles on top with the Panhel logo. I didn't have my camera but they were similar to this one :) I had a caffe mocha cupcake.
The weather is not the greatest out but that is more conducive to studying in my opinion! I've had some great emails lately so keep them coming! marisaw@gwmail.gwu.edu
- Marisa

GW Baseball Victory over Dayton!

Yesterday GW Spirit arranged for buses to take fans to the GW Baseball game at Barcroft Park (about a 15 minute bus ride) vs. Dayton. Naturally, since my friends and I are baseball fans, we attended. Plus, the added incentives of free food and warm sunshine didn't hurt either. A decent amount of people went, mostly athletes though (they are usually majority of the fans at any GW sporting event). It ended up being really fun with beautiful weather, sunny (I got some sunburn unfortunately) and roughly 70 degrees, and a GW victory! You can read gwsport.com's recap of the game here: http://www.gwsports.com/sports/m-basebl/recaps/043011aad.html
flyer for the game

action shot


another action shot

gw victory!
final score
(*all photos courtesy of Mac)
Feel free to email me with any questions! cbgraf@gwmail.gwu.edu
-Christie