This week I got my "you're all set to graduate in April (as long as you pass the classes you're in now)!" email. I'm 10% freaked out, 20% thrilled to make "grown up" money (hopefully), 30% excited to be out of school for the first time in 18 years, %40 stressed about finding some kind of employment, and 100% pumped to be part of the "real world."
When I was a kid I wanted to be everything from a teacher to a lawyer to a pediatrician to a lawyer again. I went into college knowing I wanted to major in political science but having no idea what I could actually do with my degree. Two years ago I decided to minor in social welfare and started interning at various nonprofits and foundations.
My time at my internships has really been more influential in helping me decide what I want to do with my life than my actual schooling has. My current internship has really changed my focus and made me love something I thought I never would.
All that said, I started to look at job sites in January and felt very overwhelmed. My plan was to move to DC and find a job at a nonprofit, get some experience, then go back to school (hoping that those working years would help me figure out exactly what I wanted to study). Well...things have changed yet again.
Two years ago I interned in DC and read and heard a lot about the Peace Corps. I love the idea of the Peace Corps but not the reality of being alone in one place for two years. That led me to discover Americorps. Initially I though Vista was more my speed (working for an agency for a year through the program) but my time at my current internship has convinced me that I could actually handle City Year. A week or so ago when I started to look at application information for City Year, I stumbled across a new program called Food Corps.
All that said, I am currently working on both City Year and Food Corps apps and hoping this all works out.
Has anyone applied for Americorps programs? Tips? Good resources?
I've always loved macaroni and cheese but grew up in a blue box household. My mom only ever made that mac and cheese in the Kraft blue box.
(I'm of the school that twists and shapes actually taste better)
Recently, Stacy mentioned on twitter that she'd made baked mac and cheese for dinner. My first question was "Will you be posting that recipe on your blog?" The answer, of course, was yes.
Around the same time (it maybe have actually been the same day), F posted a recipe on her blog for baked mac and cheese.
I took a quick survey of my family (who I planned to cook the mac and cheese for, if I did it for myself I was concerned about the quantity I would consume) and, while I knew they were not fans of spice (I'm not either), I was surprised to hear them say they perfected a mac and cheese without crunchy breadcrumbs on top.
So, for that reason, I went with F's recipe.
Yum, yum, yum! I had a few issues with mixing the milk and the cheese (my Velveeta did not want to melt) and made a nice mess but other than that it was easy and tasted awesome! The only thing I'd do differently next time is to buy a throw away pan to make it in because the dish I used is going to be a bitch to clean (it's soaking now).
What are your favorite mac and cheese (or pasta in general) recipes?
I've loved to read for as long as I can remember. When I was a kid and couldn't sleep (anyone who knows me knows this is a life long issue), my mom would tell me to read until I fell asleep. That ended pretty quickly when she realized I would stay up most of the night to finish the book I was reading. In high school and the beginning of college I didn't do much reading outside of school work because I had no time. In past years when I have had more free time (summers, for example), I was working and/or interning and just wanted to be lazy when I got home.
By my count (which is really my GoodReads account plus my fuzzy memory), I read about 75 books in 2010. I forced myself to spend most of my free time this past summer reading and it paid off. I also got a Nook this summer which helped! I know that my 2011 will be much busier than 2010. This semester I have 4 classes, an internship (which is sure to be exciting but stressful), work, will be graduating college in late April (which will hopefully lead to a grown up job in DC), and am in 2 weddings (maid of honor in one), so there will plenty of can't miss social events, too.
So, blah, blah, blah. The whole point of this post is my top 10 books of 2010. These didn't all come out in 2010 but I read them last year so I'm counting them.
10)
Commencment
9)
The War for Late Night: When Leno Went Early and Television Went Crazy
8)
Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang
7)
The Promise: President Obama, Year One
6)
Half the Sky
5)
Eighteen Acres
4)
First Comes Love, Then Comes Malaria: How a Peace Corps Poster Boy Won My Heart and a Third World Adventure Changed My Life
3)
The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University
2)
Goodnight Tweetheart
1)
The Hunger Games
So what were your favorite books of 2010?
I've decided to start doing Things I Love Thursday for 2 reasons: it forces me to post on Thursdays and I enjoy reading other people's "things I love Thursday" posts.
Peterbooke Dark Chocolate Toffee
So, yeah, this is my work but I never liked toffee before I had this and now it's my favorite thing we sell!
The current Senate in adorable form. It gets hard when you start trying to tell the white, gray-haired men apart but it's fun.
My new watch! I got the black one for Christmas and even though it's cheap (I told my mom I wanted one after seeing them for $12 at Hallmark), I love it! I haven't worn a watch in years and years but I'm obsessed with this one!
Cory Booker
This man is everything that is good about politics. He's been using twitter to help his constituents get out from under all the snow they've received in NJ while the Governor of NJ is vacationing in Disney (no joke).
And finally, Jason Mraz and Tristan Prettyman.
Years ago, these two put this song out. And they just got engaged! I feel like I know both of them (but obviously I don't) so I feel like my good friends are getting married! haha
As I posted previously, this week's Change Your Life challenge is "Ditch and Donate."
I try to periodically clean out my closet and reorganize and/or donate my clothes because I find that many of my things get pushed to the back of my closet and never worn. I cheated a bit on this challenge and starting the day after Christmas (it officially began the 27th) because I needed to put my gifts and the things I bought that day (I mostly got gift cards).
Let me also say that I dream about (and often read blogs about), being a minimalist. Right now I know that there is no way I have the will power for that but I hope that one day (maybe when I'm finally living on my own) I can manage it.
That said, I love this challenge and am glad for the push to do. I love seeing the blogs and tweets of other people involved.
The first thing I did was to go through my closet and pull out the things I never wear and know I will not be wearing any time soon. I found shirts and sweaters that I bought years ago that still had tags on them! Some of the clothes got moved to the front of my closet but most headed to Goodwill. I took a very large garbage bag over there this week.
I didn't even think to take pictures until I was in a rush and about to leave to drop the clothes off at my local Goodwill. As I previously posted, one of my New Year's Resolutions is to blog more and I'm learning things like "take pictures of everything you might blog about" are important rules in the blogging world!
A few days after I cleaned out my closest I decided to go through my boxes. Let me take a second to example that I am a bit of a packrat. I hate to throw out anything with any sentimental or emotional value so I have shoe box full of junk dating back to junior high. I finally forced myself to throw away the Christmas and Birthday cards that date back to 2006 (we're not talking about cards with nice, memorable messages or anything, just generic cards that say "Happy Birthday! Love, so and so." I also found a monstrous stack of movie stubs and concert tickets. The concert tickets went all the way back to my first concert (no joke, it was BBmak in 1999) and the movie tickets went back as far as 2001. Just about everything from those boxes when into the recycling bin or the trash can as they (clearly) had no real value to anyone but me.
I mentioned this when commenting on Monica's blog but I'm becoming increasingly concerned that I am only one serious emotional trauma away from being on "Hoarders." (And I'm only joking a little on that one.)
I also cleaned out my desk but found little to throw away there. That turned into more of a reorganization challenge!
My room still feels a little cluttered but I am planning to continue to clean things out every month or so to work on that issue!
An awesome post about a great way to manage shopping and sale emails without being tempted to buy things you don't need from Katie.
If anyone is still questioning why I adore Jimmy Carter, read this article.
Read Cory Booker's twitter feed to understand why we need more politicians like him. (Or watch "Street Fight," dude's a rockstar).
A cat puts on a bunny hat. Seriously. Just watch it.
We have a crisis of leadership in America because our overwhelming power and wealth, earned under earlier generations of leaders, made us complacent, and for too long we have been training leaders who only know how to keep the routine going. Who can answer questions, but don’t know how to ask them. Who can fulfill goals, but don’t know how to set them. Who think about how to get things done, but not whether they’re worth doing in the first place. What we have now are the greatest technocrats the world has ever seen, people who have been trained to be incredibly good at one specific thing, but who have no interest in anything beyond their area of exper tise. What we don’t have are leaders.
What we don’t have, in other words, are thinkers. People who can think for themselves. People who can formulate a new direction: for the country, for a corporation or a college, for the Army—a new way of doing things, a new way of looking at things. People, in other words, with vision.
Another awesome post from the Invisible Children blog.
I honestly cannot remember the last time I made a New Year's Resolution. I'm not a big New Year's girl (I usually just hang out with friends) and everyone I know who sets them usually breaks them within a few months.
All that said, I'm trying it out this year. I figured that with the big changes coming this year (hopefully I'll be moving and in a job after I graduate in April) it was time to give it a try.
My resolutions this year are:
1) Blog more (and with some regularity).
2) Say no more.
On that first point, I read blogs much more often than I write them and I'd like to change that. I want to improve my writing and I'm a big believer in practicing. I originally started this blog to post about political topics (and have done some of that) but my goal is to just post about everything and anything to get some practice. This semester will be crazy (school, my new internship, work, all these damn weddings) but I'm going to aim for updating at least twice a week.
The second resolution will no doubt be more difficult for me. I am one of those people who feels guilty about everything (thanks Catholic church!) and hates to tell people no. I always want to help people and make them happy and have a very hard timing not doing everything I am asked to do. Next month I will be starting my social welfare internship and I've heard again and again that the key to being an effective social worker is keeping yourself above water. I want to enjoy my last semester of undergrad while being productive and successful. I know that saying no when I am being stretched too thin means that I can be more productive and more helpful to others. The key will be figuring out the balance and getting rid of that silly guilt.
Anyone else making New Year's Resolutions?
After successfully completing the last challenge, it's time for the next one!
Who: YOU (and anyone else you want to encourage to participate!)
What: Get rid of AT LEAST 20 items that you own. Donate 10 and ditch (or throw away) another 10. Go for more if you want, but 20 is the minimum here, folks!
When: December 27th, 2010 through January 3rd, 2011
Why: Giving back is always important and meaningful to everyone involved, but this challenge begins right after the holidays. How many times do you get a slew of new gifts and realize you have no where to put them? This challenge will not only help you make room for your new goodies, but it will also encourage you to give back to those less fortunate who may not have gotten quite as many things for the holidays, if any.
Where: Your humble abode. Whether you're cleaning out your closet, dresser, pantry, that "everything" drawer you've got, your garage, it's gotta be something that you currently own but don't really need.
How: Go through your things throughout the week and figure out which items you own that you don't use or wear (or hell, maybe they don't even function anymore!) and set things aside. The challenge is come up with a minimum of 10 things that are still useable that you can donate to the less-fortunate and 10 things that aren't even worthy to be given away and belong in the trash. Obviously, this is the kind of challenge where "the more the merrier" and if you can come up with more items to donate or ditch, power to ya, we encourage it! But some of us may be a bit minimalist to begin with, so we decided to keep the minimum at 10.
Got questions about the "Change Your Life Challenge"?
Email changeyourlifechallenge@gmail.com with any questions or concerns you have.
Just the other day I was thinking I should clean out my closet before Christmas because I have so many things I don't wear or use. I did it a few months ago but I always find things that I don't need. If all goes according to plan next year, I'll be moving out of my parents' house in the Summer and there is no way I can take all of this stuff wherever I move into.
Anyway, I plan to do this (though I'll probably cheat a bit and work on it the day after Christmas because I have the day off) and everyone reading this blog should to! I plan to update more this time (the challenge last week fell during my finals, tons of work, and my cousin's wedding) both here on my blog and on twitter!
When I decided to do the Change Your Life Challenge I knew the first day would be the hardest. Not because it's the beginning but because Mondays are busy and long for me. I went with vegetarian because the vegan thing would be a lot more work during such a stressful week (my first final is coming up on Thursday).
I usually work 9-2, stop home for a bit then have class until 8:45 (which means I get home around 9:30). This typically means I eat nothing for breakfast, eat whatever junk I grab at lunch (especially during the busy holiday season), eat something little before class and end up picking up fast food after class.
I stopped at Publix on my way to work this morning (luckily I work right near one) and grabbed a few things. I picked up chocolate chip muffins (4 in the package, I shared with coworkers so I only have 1 left for tomorrow morning). I also grabbed a few lean cuisine meals that are veggie based.
Today I tried this one:
I liked it a lot but it wasn't very filling. Now I'm eating some tortellini with tomato sauce and Parmesan cheese.
The big challenge will come when I'm hungry after leaving class tonight!
I very much want to use this blog regularly but I often feel at a loss about what to actually write about.
Thanks to some of the lovely ladies on twitter, I have a new reason to post.
Every month, the group of us will be doing a different week long challenge and blogging and/or tweeting about it.
First up,
Who: YOU (and anyone else you want to encourage to participate!)
What: Eat vegan or vegetarian (your choice), every meal for a full week (ahem...that's seven days, not five!)
When: November 29th, 2010 through December 6, 2010
Why: The idea is not only to challenge yourself to eat differently for a week, but also to use this time as a mini-detox from the Thanksgiving festivities.
Where: Anywhere and everywhere you eat!
If you are ready to participate in this challenge, then email changeyourlifechallenge@gmail.com and expect a challenge email update soon.
Got questions about the "Change Your Life Challenge"?
Email changeyourlifechallenge@gmail.com with any questions or concerns you have.
If you accept the challenge, post the challenge logo on your blog and encourage more people to scurry over here and sign up for the challenge, too!
(Text modified from M and/or J)
My biggest goal for this Summer was to read more. I have always loved to read but have found that since starting college, I have had little time to read during the school year or the Summers I've taken classes. I also have a lot of free time at work during the Summer so I figured increasing the amount I read would be easy. I have been reading, on average, 2 books a week. I have spent quite a bit of time at the Used Bookstore (in fact, I'm the mayor of it on Foursquare!) I've also used Bookmooch (a book trading site) extensively.
Despite my very full bookshelf, I often find myself frequenting book stores. Whenever I am in Mandarin, I make a point of stopping at Barnes and Noble. I've been interested in getting an e-reader for a while but had planned to wait and ask for one for Christmas. Then, a few weeks ago, I was in Barnes and Noble and saw that they were dropping the price of their e-reader, Nook, and releasing a wifi only version (as opposed to their wifi and 3G version). I played a little with the display model in the store (not for the first time) and started to think I might just buy myself one now, rather than wait for Christmas.
Sure enough, I decided to order the Nook later that day. I was beyond anxious for it to arrive and I'm sure I drove everyone crazy talking about it! By the time my Nook had arrived I had already set up Calibre (a fantastic program for organizing non B&N ebooks) and filled it with books. I received my Nook last Thursday night. I flew through a few books within the first few days.
The Nook is perfect for taking to work. The size is perfect, it fits in just about any purse and doesn't take up much room. I love the inclusion of the internet browser, even though that was just an extra to me in buying it. I also have found myself using the soduku more often than I thought I would. The Nook is great for people who like to read more than one book at a time because it will remember the last page you read in every book.
Some resources for Nook owners:
Nook on Twitter
InkMesh (a great search engine to compare pricing)
Mobile Reads Nook Forum
Nook Look (this site has backgrounds and wallpapers to download)
NookBoards Forum
Free online book sites (mostly older books, as they are now in the public domain)
Readprint
The Online Books Page
Mobile Read
Project Gutenberg
I'm internetless while dog/housesitting so I figured I'd do one of these posts while I have internet access and get it all off my chest.
First up, the view from "my" office at my internship! It was really rainy yesterday and the blinds were down but here we go:
And, now on to the links....
A few links related to the Summit Series that went on in DC this past weekend(which I posted about here):
10 Big Ideas from Summit Series
DC10 Has Arrived by Sean Carasso, the founder of Falling Whistles
A few tv/movie related articles:
Where Are the Women Comedy Writers on Late-Night TV?
Geena Davis' research on women in film and television (PDF) (hint: It's not good for the ladies)
And last, but certainly not least, Bradley Whitford and Colin Hanks' new show premieres tomorrow night on FOX!
Another great post from Ben Casnocha: 50 Ways to Expose Yourself to Randomness.
So, I'm watching this funny little ImprovEverywhere video and, just as I'm about to close the page, I see my cousin! I called my mom and I'm pretty sure she thought I was crazy but she watched it too and said it must be her. Weird moment of the day.
From Politico:
Founder Elliott Bisnow, a 24-year-old Washington native and mastermind behind the Bisnow newsletters — which provide city-specific business news via e-mail — aims to gather some of the world’s top entrepreneurs and CEOs to, well, talk and have fun.
“The biggest difference between Summit Series and anything else — the biggest take-away,” said Bisnow, “is it’s all about friendship and fun and shared experience.” The Summit grew from a small skiing trip a couple years back, which he started simply by cold-calling up-and-coming CEOs.
“It’s all about collectivism, ‘how can I help you?’” Summit Series’ co-founder Jeff Rosenthal added.
The twice-yearly conference will draw 750 attendees and take place Thursday through Sunday at the JW Marriott. Various business leaders (and famous faces) will lead discussions on subjects ranging from relief work in Haiti to grass-roots fundraising to the power of storytelling to start-up investing. Attendees include musician John Legend, President Bill Clinton, Ted Turner, model Christy Turlington Burns, actress Kristen Bell, fashion designer Marc Ecko, the cast of MTV’s “The Buried Life" (sharing their stories at 1:30 a.m., another example of why this isn’t your typical business conference) and six NASA astronauts.
The official site
I LOVE this idea and have already been following the hastags on twitter: #summitseries and #DC10
I really enjoy listening to and learning about social entrepreneurs and this seems the perfect chance to do that. Tickets cost $3,500 and are invite only so it will be a long time before I can attend one of these events (this and TED are on my dream events list) but the idea is one I can't stop thinking about. Just today I was thinking about what a great experience How It Ends was last Summer and how much I enjoy the networking aspect of these events. I will actually be heading to Tampa after work tomorrow for the Florida Young Democrats convention and am excited to meet like minded Floridians!
Tonight I grabbed the newest issue of Folio Weekly and came across an article written by Julie Delegal so, instead of packing for this weekend's Florida Young Democrats convention, I decided to blog.
I thought Delegal's article on HB 1143 was right on and thought I would share some of it (I can't seem to find it online so I'm typing this from the May 11-17th issue of Folio Weekly).
"Crist has hundreds of thousands of reasons to veto HB 1143: hundreds of thousands of walking, breathing adult female Floridians whose party affiliations don't enter into the calculus of their private reproductive decisions. Retired columnist Ellen Goodman has written that one in three American women, between the ages of 18 and 40, have made the difficult decision to have an abortion. I'll venture to say that they didn't pull out their voter registration cards to do so, but they may need to pull them out at the polls this fall to keep their private reproductive decisions private."
"It's as if patients would have 160, mostly male, Florida lawmakers right there with them in their doctor's office, not only in the examination rooms, but in the accounting departments, too: HB 1143, if signed, would forbid companies that receive tax credits from offering employee health insurance plans that include abortion coverage."
"And if we open the door on OB/GYN visits, parity would demand we create a Viagra bill. If passed and signed by the Governor, the Viagra bill would require any man seeking treatment for erectile dysfunction to view (and pay for!) a video that follows a young sperm cell on its journey to babyhood. Conservatives love to blame the "breakdown of the traditional family" as the root of all societal evils, excepting those evils brought on by having to pay taxes, of course. But over the past few generations, we've witnessed the meteoric rise of the single-parent family. And notably, by and large, we're not talking about single father households. Women are already quite aware of the consequences of bringing children into the world, which is why they don't need to view (and pay for!) state-mandated ultrasounds to help them make their private decisions."
"But my Viagra bill would also include a stipulation analogous to the Stupak amendment to the national health care plan. Under Stupak, women who want abortion coverage as part of their medical insurance, whether subsidized by the federal government or not, must write an additional check for a separate abortion-coverage policy. Similarly, with my Viagra bill, those gentlemen who want to ensure continued function in their root delivery systems would simply write a check for the "Viagra rider." Sure, their employers would not about it. Privacy, schmivacy."
"But much like the oil spurting uncontrollably from beneath the ocean floor in the Gulf of Mexico, political pandering on reproductive issues has irretrievably polluted our process, and threatens to creep its slime more broadly, more insidiously and more damagingly than ever before....If we're going to have sensible leadership in the U.S. Senate, and if we want to keep the insidious spread of right-wing pandering out of the Governor's mansion, we'd better get cracking."
All that said, there is almost nothing that can get me to vote for Crist in November. I have emailed and called his office quite a few times regarding the bill but, at this point, what he does is totally unpredictable.
Meghan McCain and I disagree on about 99% of political issues but I have a lot of respect for her. I enjoyed reading her blog during the campaign and getting that behind the scenes perspective. I follow her on twitter and am bothered by the ridiculous attacks on her. But this column she wrote recently explains exactly why I like her so much:
Why I Hate the Politics of Hate
A few excerpts:
"Lately I’ve felt that the anger in politics is spilling over from the expected places—protests, partisan websites, talk radio—into everyday lives. The lines of social acceptability and just plain courteous behavior are becoming harder to define when it comes to politics, and for the first time in a long time I am truly concerned about where this fear and frustration in politics is taking us."
"I understand a certain amount of partisan pettiness, but what I don’t understand is why both politicians and pundits are not more vested in the next generation, in my generation, and the cultural and political climate they are leaving behind. It’s almost as if to be taken seriously in politics, a certain level of anger and incivility is required. I am not saying I am not angry about many things that are going on in this country, but I do believe we can discuss our differences with respect."
"This extremist shift is happening all over the country, and I can’t help think about the toll it is taking on the next generation of voters. For the first time in my life, I find myself disillusioned with the political process—something I always swore would never happen to me. And I am not ashamed to admit that this small feeling of disillusionment is scaring me. Because if this is how I feel from all of the rancor, I can only imagine how disconnected the rest of my generation must feel. If politicians aren’t inspiring people when they are young, what hope is there that they will care when they are older?"
Thank you Meghan McCain. Now if you could just convince your dad to change his positions on a few things....
I was just alerted (via twitter of course) of a fantastic chance to make a difference using just a few minutes of your time.
Simply go to this blog post and leave a comment answering this question: What book has had the greatest impact on your life?
For each answer (up to 1,000) a book will be donated to children without easy access to books. If you have a blog, blog about the contest and post a link and another book will be donated!
I'm a reader and reading has been a major part of my life for a long time so I love this idea.
PS-I picked "Charlotte's Web" as the book with the greatest impact on my life. It was the first book (well, real chapter book at least) I read all by myself!
I finished reading "You've Come a Long Way, Maybe: Sarah, Michelle, Hillary, and the Shaping of the New American Woman" today. I wrote a short review on GoodReads here.
This is pretty cool. These language courses were developed by the United States government and are now in the public domain. Great resource.
The First Lady's first tweet (via Ed Henry)
As always, my imaginary boyfriend Nick Kristof hits it out of the park again.
As I’ve noted before, there seem to be two Catholic Churches, the old boys’ club of the Vatican and the grass-roots network of humble priests, nuns and laity in places like Sudan. The Vatican certainly supports many charitable efforts, and some bishops and cardinals are exemplary, but overwhelmingly it’s at the grass roots that I find the great soul of the Catholic Church.
Transcript of Obama’s Remarks at U. Mich. Commencement
Another great speech from POTUS and Jon Favreau. My favorite parts:
The fact is, when you leave here today you will search for work in an economy that is still emerging from the worst crisis since the Great Depression. You live in a century where the speed with which jobs and industries move across the globe is forcing America to compete like never before. You will raise your children at a time when threats like terrorism and climate change aren’t confined within the borders of any one country. And as our world grows smaller and more connected, you will live and work with more people who don’t look like you or think like you or come from where you do.
On the fourth panel of the Jefferson Memorial is a quote I remember reading to my daughters during our first visit there. It says, “I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions, but…with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times.
When our government is spoken of as some menacing, threatening foreign entity, it ignores the fact that in our democracy, government is us. We, the people — (applause.) We, the people, hold in our hands the power to choose our leaders and change our laws, and shape our own destiny.
Government is the police officers who are protecting our communities, and the servicemen and women who are defending us abroad. (Applause.) Government is the roads you drove in on and the speed limits that kept you safe. Government is what ensures that mines adhere to safety standards and that oil spills are cleaned up by the companies that caused them. (Applause.) Government is this extraordinary public university -– a place that’s doing lifesaving research, and catalyzing economic growth, and graduating students who will change the world around them in ways big and small. (Applause.)
...government shouldn’t try to dictate your lives. But it should give you the tools you need to succeed. Government shouldn’t try to guarantee results, but it should guarantee a shot at opportunity for every American who’s willing to work hard. (Applause.)
Don’t narrow that broad intellectual exposure just because you’re leaving here. Instead, seek to expand it. If you grew up in a big city, spend some time with somebody who grew up in a rural town. If you find yourself only hanging around with people of your own race or ethnicity or religion, include people in your circle who have different backgrounds and life experiences. You’ll learn what it’s like to walk in somebody else’s shoes, and in the process, you will help to make this democracy work. (Applause.)
Here’s the point. When we don’t pay close attention to the decisions made by our leaders, when we fail to educate ourselves about the major issues of the day, when we choose not to make our voices and opinions heard, that’s when democracy breaks down. That’s when power is abused. That’s when the most extreme voices in our society fill the void that we leave. That’s when powerful interests and their lobbyists are most able to buy access and influence in the corridors of power –- because none of us are there to speak up and stop them.
What is certain -– what has always been certain -– is the ability to shape that destiny. That is what makes us different. That is what sets us apart. That is what makes us Americans -– our ability at the end of the day to look past all of our differences and all of our disagreements and still forge a common future. That task is now in your hands, as is the answer to the question posed at this university half a century ago about whether a free society can still compete.
I've decided (in an effort to blog more) that I'm going to do posts like this regularly (thanks @katelinnea for the idea!). I figure I'll just post article/sites I've found interesting recently.
House Foreign Affairs Committee unanimously passes LRA/Uganda bill
Yay! The last step is a full vote of the House. I can't believe it's almost been a year since How It Ends.
"Make A Difference" flyer
I love this, such a great idea.
Nice article on the FL Senate race with the advantages and challenges for each candidate from the NY Times.
This site lets you pick a word or activity or whatever and makes a playlist according to it. I haven't used it extensively but I like the idea.
Nice list of spring cleaning tools for your twitter from Mashable. I found it very helpful although I need to find an efficient way to go through the ridiculous number of people I follow and clean it out.
"Imagine if the Tea Party Was Black" - Tim Wise Really interesting article, I just finished my racial and cultural minorities class and Tim Wise's articles actually helped me understand the concepts of the class better.
Online advocacy wilts into slacktivism: Experts Not much to say beyond the fact that I'm not surprised.
And a funny video that explains why I hate the news:
Friday morning was another early day. We were on the bus to head to Langley before 7am. When we arrived we went through their (very thorough) security. After that we headed inside. I managed to forget the thank you treats we brought with us and rode in a CIA police car to get them. After that we had our meeting with Mike Ard, National Intelligence Officer for the Western Hemisphere. After that we visited their museum which contains artifacts from all different time periods (the war in Afghanistan had a very large section, for example). I have no pictures at the CIA because we could not even bring cameras into the building.
After leaving the CIA we headed back to downtown DC for the rest of the day. We had lunch on the bus and took a group picture in front of the White House (I'm squinting in every version I've seen):
We spent most of our day on Friday at the Inter-American Dialogue, a major think tank on Latin America. Our first meeting there was with four diplomats from the Brazilian embassy. This was probably the most interesting meeting we held the whole trip. We realized pretty quickly we probably should have tweaked our paper to remove more of the American bias before we handed it to the Brazilians. They had lots of tough questions and, honestly, we couldn't answer all of them. It was a pretty lengthy meeting but they provided us cookies and coffee before the next one which was nice. After that meeting we met with Peter Hakim, an expert on Brazil who runs the Inter-American Dialogue. This meeting was pretty laid back and he had lots of insights on Brazil and our paper.
After leaving the Inter-American Dialogue, we headed to the Hill to meet with the staff on one of our Senators. Senator Nelson's office is in the Hart building and as we walked in we passed Claire McCaskill's (one of my favorite senators) office (I also saw on the board that Sen. Feingold and Sen. Franken appear to have offices very close to each other which made me happy). Of course, Congress was in recess so we were not able to meet with our Senator but we did meet with his legislative correspondent for foreign and military issues, Yariv Pierce. He was so young he looked like part of our class. Another interesting thing about this meeting is the fact that two UNF students are currently interning at Sen. Nelson's office. The office looked like a NASA museum, there were pictures and models of space shuttles everywhere (Sen. Nelson was an astronaut, fyi). Our meeting went well, this one was similar to the meeting with the member of the NSC because he asked question that related to the way he writes memos for his boss.
Me with Senator Nelson:
After leaving Senator Nelson's office we drove to a few of the monuments and walked around. It was cold so we didn't take much time. We had Ethiopian food for dinner in Adams Morgan and two of my friends from my internship last year (one of whom went to UNF) joined us. Shannon (my roommate) and I were exhausted so we headed back to the hotel and went to bed. The next morning we took our time getting up and checking out then headed out for some sightseeing. It was incredibly busy all over the mall, as the Cherry Blossom parade was just ending when we got there. We spent some time at the Natural History Museum and the Air and Space Museum before Shannon and Tejas (another classmate who went with us) had to head to the airport. At that point I went and got my stuff and headed to where I was saying (with my friend Kari in Silver Spring, MD). Kari and were roommates last year when we were interning and now she is a social worker in Maryland. One of our other former roommates is in grad school at Galludat and came over for game night. We had a nice time and got to bed because we were planning a day trip to Annapolis the next day.
Sunday's weather was perfect for Annapolis. We walked around on the water, did a little shopping (I finally got sunglasses so I wasn't constantly squinting), had lunch (at a restaurant that had been on Man vs. Food and where John McCain had eaten during the campaign), and walked around the Naval Academy. It was a really beautiful day.
Boats:
My (ex)roommate Kari and I squinting in the sun:
Now I'm seating in Reagan National writing this and waiting for my flight. I always hate leaving DC and this time is no different. While I was here I found out I did not get the Summer internship at the White House that I applied for. I'm upset but I know it's for the best. I just keep telling myself that everything will work out. There is a reason I did not get the internship, just like there is a reason I can't graduate until Spring of next year. I just have to figure out what that reason is.
Update: Right after writing this, as I was coming out of the bathroom I saw Nancy Pelosi! All of the sudden I heard someone say "Madam Speaker!" and when I turned around, there she was (full pantsuit and everything). To me her height was more surprising then the fact she was flying commercial! She was at most, my height (5'2").
Also, one of my classmates managed to get a picture of our little run in with David Gergen (sort of). He's the one at the top (red tie) and I'm just to the right of the girl with the green bag (I was basically wearing all black so it's hard to see):
