"Is everything ok?" Tal asked as we approached the restaurant. I realized I was probably giving him a look that, while unintentional, was probably an accurate reflection of my mood.
"I'm really mad at you," I said. He'd kept me waiting for two hours. I kid you not.
"Are you just mad at me, or are you mad at me and other stuff too?"
"Nope, I'm just mad at you."
"Good. As long as it's just me," He played along. This is our typical banter.
"It is," I assured him.
"Ok." He held the door open for me.
"That and I hate my job."

Happy 4th of July, fellow travelers!

I realized today that it's been far too long since I updated, and especially considering that last update was a complete cop out (all pictures and a totally cryptic and possibly misspelled line in Hebrew) I really owe a nice entry.

I'm not actually in Yafo, contrary to what at least one of my friends inferred from the title of my last entry. For a little over a month now, I've been back here in the District of Columbia, having another crazy summer. I just finished an internship at Brit Tzedek v'Shalom, and I'm now working on the Hill.

I just went to add in one of my signature expository anecdotes that I later tie into the theme of the entry but use as an initial hook, when I remembered that an assistant in the office where I worked recently said, "It's very important that you don't blog about what goes on in the office." So instead I added an expository anecdote about how I feel about my job.

I was so excited about working on the Hill last summer. Actually, I'm realizing how jaded I've become about a lot of things between this summer and last. I walk around the Hill like it's normal, not thrilling as it used to be. It's just where I work. We were walking down the hall on the way back from lunch the other day, "we" being the group of interns from my office, and one of the other interns caught a glimpse of a committee meeting about to begin, congressmen and their staff arranging themselves in the stands. He gaped, google-eyed, and murmured, "Woah."

"You've never been to a committee hearing before?" I asked, immediately regretting it, realizing how obnoxiously know-it-all it made me seem. Of course he hadn't. None of these kids have ever worked in DC before, except the one kid I knew from high school who spent the beginning of the summer interning in our Senator's office. Nobody there has done what I've done. I don't want to be the obnoxious know-it-all, but I'm finding myself saying over and over, "been there, done that."

That's not to say this is not going to be enjoyable, because it definitely is, once congress comes back into session and things start to get interesting again. But it's certainly not working for Brit Tzedek, and it's certainly not working for NCJW, which I'm thoroughly convinced is the best internship in DC.

In any case, I know why I'm here. I'm going to make good contacts, impress the people I work with, and leave myself as many connections and options as possible for when I graduate. If I manage to write a cosponsor memo or attend a cool hearing or two along the way, so much the better.

DC, as always, is lovely. As I mentioned last year, DC on the 4th of July is INSANE, and though I woke up this morning with plans to attend a barbecue and picnic with my roommates and some friends on the Mall to watch the fireworks, I was more than happy to abandon them in favor of a lazy day and an amazing all-day Project Runway marathon. Score! I spend my days business casual, so I was not at all disappointed to stay in my pajamas all day.

I have a lot of goals in mind and I need to get organized and get moving on them. I'm working as Communications Director for Windows in their upcoming tour, and trying to get UPZ up and running in a more tangible way. I'd like to plan two Washington lobby trips in the next year--one with UPZ and one with CLPP, both connecting young activists with their elected officials in a way few of our generation ever experience. Five-College UPZ Alternative Spring Break, anyone?

This is further complicated by the fact that my computer died last week and as of yet there's no sign of life. Oy.

Ok. It's no longer the 4th of July. Back to the grind in the morning, so I'm off to bed.

~S

Labels: dc, usa