My last day...

Today, as most you know, is my last day. I really honestly cannot believe that this time tomorrow I'll be in St. Louis. Its definitley bittersweet-I'm looking forward to seeing my family and friends back home but I don't want to leave DC and 510 C either. My last day of work was nice...the counsel's office bought me lunch and everyone ate together in the conference room which was nice. They gave me a really sweet card and I literally was holding back tears when I said good bye to them at 5pm. I am going to miss the people there so much and I hope some day to come back and work there again!

Tonight those few of us left at the house are going to go to a local pizza restaraunt for our "final meal" together. Then its back to packing for me... wooooot...

Anyway-I hope I get to see you all when I get home! I have many more stories than the ones told here in this blog to share!! Cant wait to see you all soon...

school searching 202

Well this was our last "official" weekend here with everyone, and it was pretty packed for me for the most part! Friday was our final exam in our seminar class, then we went out to lunch at the same chinese restaruarnt we went to the first night we were in town. It was weird to be back there and think of everything that has happened between that first night and now. Its so strange!!!

After we went to lunch, a group of us decided to go look around at the Library of Congress Jefferson building. I can't believe I walked past that building so many times and never went inside it until just now! It is one of the prettiest buildings in all of DC...the inside is just as gorgeous as the outside. I really liked it a lot, and kind of wished I could have spent more time exploring!

That night was the Nationals game our director promised to get us tickets to. They were playing the Pirates, who ended up creaming us 11-4. The game was so fun though, despite the crushing loss. We had fun enjoying the music and we even had a delay becuase of the power outage which gave us more time to make fools out of ourselves to those sitting around us. Being at that game made me miss St. Louis A LOT...I'd never been to a pro-game other than the ones in St. Louis, so it was weird to be there and not be at home. I can't wait to go to some Cards games as soon as I get back!

Yesterday my roommate Sarah and I decided to embark on an adventure out to Tenleytown to visit American University's law school. It was a very long adventure, let me tell you. We knew what stop to get off at to get to the school, but had no idea where the school was in relation to the metro stop. We ended up finding this delicious smoothie place and asked the people there how to get to the school. Turns out we had to take a shuttle to get there, but it would drop us off right in front of the school. Once we got there, we looked around the main campus (which is really pretty) but couldn't find the law school. Soon we realized that the law school wasn't on main campmus, but 4 blocks away. So we made the trek down a big hill to see the law school (which was really cool)...we walked around the building for a bit and then made the long journey home.

Today was GWU's turn...we obviously knew were that was so we found it pretty easily. It was a totally different feel than American, but I really liked it too. Both have positives and negatives, but I'd love to go to either school and would really love to come back to DC to live and work again some day!

Last few weeks...

Wow...its really hit me that I only have about a week and half left in DC...its amazing how fast the time has gone by and I have mixed feelings about departing this crazy city. I think I'm going to miss work A LOT...I really have enjoyed my internship so much-the people I work with are really awesome and have taught me so much not only about law and politics, but about what my potential is as a future worker of America (haha)...its strange to think when I leave everything will still go on, but I won't be a part of it...

This weekend is going to be fun though...Friday we have our "final exam" in our seminar class, and then our advisor is taking us out to lunch. I think after lunch I'm going to hit up the Library of Congress to see that...and then we are going to a Nationals game against the Pirates...should be a good time!

Saturday is law school day...my roommate Sarah and I are going to go visit GWU and American to imagine ourselves there one day...I also have to do some "souvenir" shopping so if you have any requests, get them in now.

Okay, bedtime for me...but I'll see some you all in a week and a half!!! Crazy!

Philly...

Hello all! Well, yesterday was an awesome day...long, but really fun. Our director took us all to Philadelphia for the afternoon to see the sites and eat some good food. It was quite the adventure to get down there...we left at 11:30 only realizing as we were packing up that we had 12-person van for 15 people...needless to say that was going to be a problem, so we had to call Enterprise (45 minutes away PS) to see if we could switch cars on our way out. Thankfully they had a van we could take and with two boys crammed in the trunk we made our way there. After picking up the new car, we thought we were good to go until we ran into loads of traffic. It ended up taking us about 3 and half hours to get there...but it wasn't too bad!

When we arrived around 3:15, we were told that we could walk over to Independence Hall and go through the building without tickets (we lost ours when we were an hour late), but first we should go by and see the Liberty Bell. Now, I think I had some ideas of grandeur about how the Liberty Bell looked...but I was surprised to find that it is now inside this small glass/concrete structure kind of hanging there by itself in the middle of the room...but it was still really really neat to see. It was cool seeing something you've seen in pictures all your life...and I got good pictures myself!



After the Liberty Bell we walked over and got in line to see Independence Hall...let me just say, I think seeing the inside of this building topped all! We walked in and went to the courtroom where the park ranger gave us the history of the building and the room. Then he told us to turn around and walk into the next room where the Decoration of Independence and the Constitution were signed...and AHH it was AMAZING! They even had the original chair-the "sun chair" as I call it-there...it put me into complete awe...being in the room where so much history happened was incredible. It makes me appreciate everything I'm doing back in DC...

When we got out of Independence Hall, we had just enough time to catch the last tour of the old House and Senate next door. We actually got to sit in the House chairs which was pretty sweet...we also got to go upstairs and see old Senate chambers and committee rooms...its strange to think how much its evolved since then...everything is so different now then it was back then.

By the time we were done with seeing the sites we were pretty hungry, so we walked down a few blocks to a very famous Philadelphia steakhouse called "Jim's"...and let me tell you, it was some of the best food I've had in a long time! I've never had a cheese steak sandwich before, so it was a fun experience! After dinner, we climbed back into the van for a much shorter ride home...

It was a long day but it was really really really fun to see everything! I've never been to Philadelphia before and to see the beginnings of our government really helped put DC into more perspective for me. I feel like this trip made everything come full circle...especially since its almost over I feel like I can look back at what I've done and feel really happy about everything I've accomplished. Anyway, back to homework, but I will keep you all posted on my last two weeks in DC! Miss you all!

Mid-week update!

So, I suppose its been "awhile" since I've posted (mom...) and not much has been going on, but I guess I'll post. Work has been really good-I can't believe I only have two weeks left. Its amazing how quickly everything has gone by...but soon I'll be back home in the STL ready for summer!

This weekend will be a wonderful trip to Philly to see Independence Hall (um, can't wait!) and dinner...I'll also be doing a lot of homework (again) since everything is due within the next few weeks...this Monday I have to give a presentation on DC voting rights, since DC currently does not have a senator or house member who can vote for citizens of the capital of the US...weird huh?

What else...not much to say really...just working and having a good time! I'll post again on Friday or Saturday with an update on my trip! Miss you all!

My future home...after I live in the White House...

Today was great! First off, the weather was really nice-82 degrees and sunny, so an excellent day to be outside. Our class took a trip to Mount Vernon, which i loved! It took us awhile to make it there; we had to take the metro to the end of the yellow line, then jump on a bus for about a half hour.

Once we made it there, we walked up around the property towards the mansion. The home is gorgeous, and the land is even prettier! I'd always heard that Mount Vernon had amazing grounds and I would have to say that I agree 100%! We waited in line for a bit to go tour the main house...but we had fun taking pictures and just seeing everything that was around the area. Once we got inside, I was blown away by how beautiful everything was. The main dining room was my favorite I think-I loved how it was decorated and how unique everything was...I would love to have my house look like that some day.

We saw the rest of the house-we even got to see the actual bed that Washington died in (a little morbid I suppose but still really cool)...then we decided to walk down to the old tomb and the new tomb. The old tomb (also called the 'family vault') was this old brick shed-like structure that Washington was originally buried in. It had a great view of the Potomac River, but was kind of falling apart so I see why he wanted to be moved. A short walk away from the old tomb is the new tomb where he and Martha are actually buried. It was a very humbling experience to see it and something I'm glad I got to do before I left DC.

The next part of our journey involved a trek down to the wharf which made me super excited for the summer and big bodies of water. We walked through the forests and farmland located on the grounds too, and by the time we had completed those activities we were pretty worn out. So we hopped on the bus for the long journey back.

This weekend will be like last weekend-I have a lot of homework to do between now and Friday, so it'll be taking it easy and enjoying the pretty weather! Next weekend we are going to Philadelphia to see Independence Hall-I am SO excited for that so it'll be a good blog post for sure. Miss you all...only 3 weeks left...

Senator Pitts is home!

So this weekend will be pretty chill, since my past 3 weeks have been insane (but so fun!)...but today was pretty sweet. Fridays are class days...today we had a mandatory speaker, so we traveled into the downtown area to meet with Barry Schumacher who is VP of APCO Worldwide, and does lobbying and government relations for some pretty big clients. He talked to us about the lobbying profession and how he got to where he is now. It was incredibly fascinating, and put some bugs into my ears about a possible future in that profession. I'd always thought about it, but I'd never really knew anyone who actually made a living from lobbying. But after hearing what he gets to do, and how he succeeded in it, makes me wonder if its something I'd love to do too!!

Well, after our speaker, one of my housemates who works for Senator Harkin took us on a tour of the Capitol! SO cool...we got to see some of the Senate buildings-which some of my housemates take for granted being in all the time...but I was extraordinarily excited to see it all! Oh, ps, they have a gift shop in the basement of the Senate buildings too...so I had to buy something!!! Then we went and saw everything the Capitol has to offer. We went to the crypt, the dome, Statuary Hall, saw all the important hallways and interesting architecture...my favorite place besides the dome was probably the Old Supreme Court Chambers...to see where John Marshall sat and heard cases was really cool! Maybe my high school dream of becoming a senator will actually come true?? Who knows?!

I can now say I've "seen" all 3 branches of government! Luke gave us all passes to get into the Senate chambers sometime when its in session, which I will definitely use. After experiencing all I have so far, its overwhelming how much I want to do with my life. I felt so "at home" at the Capitol and in those Senate offices. It was incredible to feel all the power that existed in those buildings just walking around the hallways! Who knows what I'll end up doing when I graduate, but I know that I'd be happy working for the government in that type of setting. I also love the RNC...which is a completely different experience with government. Its all given me a lot to think about, thats for sure.

Cait Comes to Visit!

This weekend, one of my best friends in the whole wide world came to visit me!!! Caitlin flew in Thursday night to a typical 510 C tornado of madness, which I tried to apologize profusely for...but is what has been and will be my life until May 11th! We called it a night b/c we were both pretty tired.

Friday we went to go see Arlington National Cemetery. It was pretty cold and kind of rainy when we started up, but it cleared up a lot when we got to the cemetery. Caitlin's grandmother is buried there, so we went and visited her, then saw some more sites and memorials that were there. We took a tour of Lee's home, which I didn't do the last time I was there, and I really enjoyed seeing it. The history there is fascinating...the original structure has survived so much, and although they are doing a renovation on it now, they are trying to keep a lot of the original material in tact. After that, we went back and chilled for the night...caught up on some movies...I recommend Enchanted if you haven't seen it-it was adorable!

Saturday was so fun! We decided to walk around the monuments and see everything, which was a good decision b/c it ended up being a BEAUTIFUL day (70 degrees, sunny...perfect!) My housemates and I had to introduce Caitlin to Tortilla Coast, a 510 C favorite. We had some good Mexican food, then went off on our journey! First stop was at the Capitol, then made the rounds around the Mall, saw the cherry blossoms and thought it was hilarious how many people were there-we couldn't even walk around the Tidal Basin. But it was so worth it to see everything! That night we saw Leatherheads, another good movie! It has Jim from the Office in it, so of course it was amazing...George Clooney wasn't bad either ;-)

Sunday we went to the most amazing church-the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception-on Catholic U's campus. We went to the noon mass which on the website was described as the "solemn mass with choir"...it was one of the prettiest masses I have been to in a long time! I really enjoyed going there...I think I'll have to go again before I leave! After mass, Cait and I went to Georgetown and ate lunch at Clyde's, which was a really good restaurant-very busy though. We shopped around for a bit, then headed back for some chill time and ended up watching LOTR until like, midnight.

I had a GREAT time this weekend-I miss Cait a lot so it was fun to see her, especially up here in DC! It was a good reminder of how much fun the summer is going to be...I hope I get to see her again in July for the big 2-1! But yeah, it was a fun weekend!!!

Cherry Blossoms!

DC is GORGEOUS right now! Yesterday after work, a group of my housemates and I decided to go check out the trees that are blooming along the Tidal Basin. AMAZING...everything was so pretty! The actual festival starts this weekend, so that'll be fun to go to as well. I love DC in the spring...its so pretty with all the different flowers and trees...its great. Enjoy the pictures! Caitlin gets here tonight so I'll have a fun weekend to talk about on Monday!

I <3 NY

This weekend was a BLAST! Ten out of the twelve girls in the house decided to take a weekend trip up to NYC to see the sights and spend some money. We crammed as much as we could into 3 days, and wound up seeing a lot more than I expected!

Friday we arrived on our bus around 1pm-ish, and checked into our hotel which was this really cool building downtown literally right across the street from Ground Zero. We could see the entire site from our 12th floor room and I have some really interesting pictures. Once we got all settled in, we decided to check out the downtown area and saw Wall St. and the New York Stock Exchange (I got a picture with the bull too)...then we walked down to Battery Park and saw the Statue of Liberty. We ate at this really good local pizza place, and then had to best dessert of the entire trip at Pinkberry, which is a frozen yogurt place that is AMAZING. Then we headed over to Times Square (where we almost were conned into buying tickets for a comedy club despite the fact we already had tickets for another one...it was interesting) and went to a comedy show...needless to say we were exhausted after a long day!!!



Saturday was just as jam packed! We all got up and went to Canal Street where I got some excellent knock-offs (Gucci and Coach...not bad!)...then we split up and the group I was with decided to go see Rockefeller Center and my roommate Sarah and I shopped in the NBC store (where I purchased a lovely Office poster...cant wait to put it up in my room at school!) and then we walked down 5thAvenue and then to Dylan's Candy Bar. Then we met up with the others at FAO Schwarz (which made me miss the one that used to be in the STL) and I went with some of my other roommates to eat at this really cool Irish pub and then went to the top of the Empire State Building (at night I think its the best!)...again, at the end, we were exhausted!



Sunday was awesome too...although I thought I'd be sitting that day out b/c I ended up waking up feeling like the world was spinning...but once I got outside it was so much better. My roommates Chelsey, Grace and I went back to 5th Avenue and popped into some of the stores...then we ended up meeting up with some other girls and ate at Serendipity 3! We thought we wouldn't get in...but we got to eat amazing food and have even more amazing desserts (if you are ever in New York, I highly recommend it!)


We had a GREAT time...I love that city...although I think DC is more like home for me!!!

WE MADE IT!

Okay so mission impossible wasn't so impossible after all! We left our house at 5:15...got to the Supreme Court at 5:25...and found out we were the FIRST ONES THERE! Our group got numbers 1-5 to get into the courtroom...excellent...

The 4 hour freezing wait was totally worth it...we all bundled up in our blanket (some how all 5 of us managed to keep warm under one blanket haha...the gaurds thought we were crazy)...the line got longer and longer as the morning went on. Okay, so I guess I should explain how getting into the Court works. There are two ways to get in to see oral arguments. The first (and legitimatley cooler) way is to be invited by the justices, or be special guests of someone getting sworn into the Supreme Court Bar that day. You get to sit in the cushy seats if that happens.

The public is a different story...you have to wake up early (or not so early, depending on how interesting the case is to general society) and wait outside on the plaza...nothing extremley exciting happens until about 7:30ish when they hand out "the numbers"...it helps the gaurds keep track of how many people in...but "doesnt garuntee a spot"...technically all 75 numbers could get in, or no one could get in depending on how many private guests come...but usually about 50 or 60 people make the cut!

As I said, we were numbers 1-5, so we had a good shot of making it...and did we make it! We had the best seats the public could get...front row (kinda haha) and we could see everything. At 10am on the dot, the justices entered the chambers...it was AMAZING to see these people in person! I mean, you see pictures of them and hear their voices in arguments and such...but to see them and see them grill the lawyers is great...just like the White House, you have so much respect for what goes on there...

The case we saw was Indiana v. Edwards...so fascinating, and pretty easy to understand. It was about a man (Edwards) who was judged to be comptent to stand trial, but was refused the right to represent himself b/c of his various mental illnesses. He was arguing that if he was competent to stand trial, he should be competent to represent himself...so today the lawyers argued various components to this case...what competency means....if it is fair to have two standards, or if there should be just one...what the responsibility of trial judges should be if there people such as Edwards are allowed to represent themselves...what happens if a trial becomes farsical...etc...

It was incredible to hear what the lawyers had to say and the questions that were asked by the justices...I loved it...its definitley up there with my White House journeys and now all I need to do is go see the Capitol and then I have all three branches of government covered!

So yeah, that was my morning...awesome...haha if you want to hear more let me know...I can tell you all about the trial in more detail...trust me! Miss you all!

Mission Impossible: Oral Arguments

Fact: It is 5am in DC
Fact: I am awake
Why? becuase my roommates and I are attempting to go hear an oral argument at the Supreme Court today...People start lining up at 5am or so, so we figured we'd join them...if we don't make the cut, we'll be in the 3 minute line

Fact: We don't want to be in the 3 minute line...so lets hope we make it!

I will update you all on the status of our mission after its completion. Thank you.

Happy Easter: The family comes to visit!

This weekend was great! Not only was it Easter (which I love), but my family came to visit me too! None of them but my dad have ever been to DC (and he hasn't been for quite some time) so I was able to take them around and show them all the fun sites. We accomplished quite a bit in their short time here...a lot of walking of course, which the bros weren't too fond of, but it was good exercise and we saw a lot!

Friday was their first full day here and of course we had to go do the important things in DC. We went to the Supreme Court and heard the lecture there about the main chamber...it was really interesting (again haha) and I think the boys liked it too! Then we walked to all the monuments-even TJeff and FDR-and my family had their first metro experience...I think they are still confused by it! It does take awhile getting used to though, so I will give them that. We had a pretty nice day to do all that walking...just a bit windy...but we all ended up getting sunburned, go figure.

Saturday was a new adventure for me too...we thought it was going to rain, but it ended up just being a little bit cloudy and cold, so we decided to venture to Arlington National Cemetery. It was really really interesting and exciting to see...it really put things into perspective too...and the history there is amazing! We took a tour mobile-bus thing around and heard all of the different stories and information about the different monuments and grave sites...it was very cool. One of my favorite parts was going to see the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown. The first time we saw it we were pretty far away, but my dad had us stay and we saw it up close the second time...very neat! After the tour, we walked a bit to see the Iwo Jima memorial-which was fascinating to see-and it was HUGE...I didn't realize the statue was that big.

After our trip there we went to Georgetown and walked around the campus...we picked up a few things at the book store too! (sadly, however, the Hoyas lost the next day to Davidson...sad) We went to dinner at a restaurant called 5-Guys, which has some amazing burgers and fries (recommend it to anyone going to DC)

Sunday was EASTER! We got up early and went to mass because later that day we were going to THE WEST WING! Yes, I know! I've officially been to the White House THREE times...and I can't believe how lucky I've been to have all of these opportunities. It was a gorgeous day...I think the nicest one (well, Monday was nice too I suppose)...flowers were blooming in the Rose Garden and we even caught a glimpse of the president's dogs! My entire family had a great time there...they were all very intrigued by everything...I think my mom and dad were the most amazed by it...my mom wants to come back and see the other side of the White House...so next time they visit (which they claim will be when I have a "paying job") we'll have to go.

We had a great Easter-very unique I would say...and we got our Christmas card picture taken care of early this year! Monday I took the day off work to hang out with the fam some more! We decided again that it was supposed to rain so we would go to the museums...it ended up not raining, but we went anyway. We walked to the Museum of Natural History first...the dinosaurs were awesome, but my absolute favorite part was the jewel collection they have there. I aspire to own half of that collection one day (a girl can dream, right?)...the favorite thing I saw there was a crown from Napoleon that he had given to his wife...amazing (I think my favorite word in this blog is amazing...so I apologize for its frequent use!)

Today I had work, so my family investigated DC on their own...we met for dinner at Tortilla Coast (right by the RNC actually!) and had a great dinner...it was such a fun weekend and a great Easter...it made me realize how glad I am to be going home for the summer...I love DC and I would love to come back someday and work, but I am definitely excited to be spending a few months in the STL! Miss you all-remember...write me!

Happy St. Patty's and Gun Ban Day!

Yesterday was St. Patricks Day...I know I'm a day late...sorry...I'll write in green to honor my heritage...(let me just say that being 20 years old on this day does not make for much celebration in Washington DC)...I did wear green though...

Anyway...today was pretty crazy around where I work...the Supreme Court was hearing oral arguments for the DC gun ban case...big deal (obviously...since it involves DC)...usually the lines to get into hear arguments are pretty moderate...but today was out of control! I managed to snap a few photos of the line on my way to work...

What else has been going on...hmm...not a whole lot I suppose...this weekend (other than Friday) was pretty chill...I think I'm gearing up for this upcoming weekend when my family is in town...we'll be doing a lot of sightseeing then...then the weekend after that is NEW YORK! I am SO excited...that'll be an exciting blog post (count on it)

Miss you all!