Went to a briefing on the American Power Act this morning, then edited some legislative hearing transcriptions for most of the afternoon. Got invited to an ice cream social next week too...hopefully some high profile people show up! Not sure how likely that is though.

I'm learning so much from just being on the Hill, it's amazing. I come home every day with a better concept of what's going on in the political world - new bills that are being proposed, new amendments that were passed, new scandals (gasp) that unfolded in Congress the day before. It's pretty incredible how much you can learn just by listening to what's going on around you. I even learn things from our constituents! It's pretty nuts.

Also, I have discovered the best salad bar in the world. And surprise! It's in the basement of Dirksen (another Senate building). Who would've thought?

My colleagues are really fun, too...makes work even better than I imagined it would be. I absolutely love going to my job. Something i haven't had much experience with in the past (sorry Starbucks). Last weekend at Tyler's house, moving into the GW dorms on Monday. The short commute will be nice, but his company will be missed :(.

TGIF!

Another good day today - answered over 100 voicemails, which took up a good chunk of my morning. Part of my work consists of reading three newspapers each day... it's kind of tedious, but i'm much more aware of what's going on because of it! Can't really complain. Looking forward to a briefing i have tomorrow on the American Power Act.

Got to take a "VIP" picture with Senator Udall today... I'll post the picture here as soon as I get it back from the photographer! Had the opportunity to sit in on a presentation on Natural Gas and Renewable Energy today... kind of interesting. At least, it was for the first half hour :). Wrote a briefing on it for the LA (legislative assistant)... they don't have to go to any of the meetings when the interns are around. It works out well! Didn't have to do too much walking, which made my poor little feet happy (the blisters are starting to look more like small holes than anything else). Lots going on in the Capitol today - the financial reform bill is taking over!

Found out that the Senators have a private gym as well. How awesome is that?!

Second day interning was just as good as the first! Spent some of the day answering phone calls (which is incredibly interesting) and sorting constituent email. Starting to get to know the other staffers and interns... it's a fantastic group. A few of us went out to lunch today, which was delicious (chicken teriyaki, yum). Wrote a few letters to constituents too! I feel like i'm catching on pretty quickly. Really quickly. Looks like it's going to be a fantastic summer! Hoping to run into somebody famous by the end of the week...shouldn't be too hard :)

First day interning for Senator Udall! Rode the train into DC this morning...would've been lost if it weren't for the incredible large Capitol dome sticking up conspicuously over all the other buildings :). Today was rather nuts, but a lot of fun - learned how to answer phones, sort through mail, exit the Capitol in case of an emergency, make use of the underground subway (it goes between the buildings on the Hill) and avoid being identified as an intern. The latter was relatively easy - just have to turn your obnoxious red badge around once you're inside the building . Looking forward to the rest of the summer...the people are very friendly and I think I'm going to learn a  lot! Already contemplating a job in politics in the future. Who knows!!