(Intern Journal 2/4)
Today was more exciting than the last couple. Brenda and I went to get our badges first thing, then came back to the office. We both sorted faxes for a little while, then i got sent on multiple runs to the storage room to get office supplies. When i finished all of my runs i came back and had to sort a pile of paper a foot high by date, they included official papers and invitations to social event i didn't have time to read over the majority of them. My last hour was again sorting faxes scanned onto the computer and putting them in specified folders. The office told Brenda and I to go home around 5:45 so i met up with chad and sean in front of rayburn around 6, then we headed home.
P.S. (dc traffic suxx)
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Senior Post 4
(Intern Journal [first day])
My first day of interning was really fun. I arrived around 1:30, filled out some paperwork, and met the people in the office. Jeff showed me around and went over the ground rules, then sent me down to the basement with another intern to get supplies for the office.
Ashley (the intern who i followed for the first hour) showed me where everything way in the supply area downstairs, and gave me a brief overview of the office building we were in. When we got back Brenda had recently arrived and was being filled in by Jeff. Earlier Jeff had briefly touched on how to use the computer systems, and I got more extensive training from Ashley while Brenda finished her introductions.
I then started to sort faxes for about an hour...
Then chaos hit when one of the L.A.'s popped in real fast and told me to put together 3 pictures and some frames for the Congresswoman before she boards her plane to Colorado IN 20 MINUTES!!! it was a rush job, and luckily her plane was delayed 10 minutes (i dont know why) and after lots of bubble wrapping i finished with about 5 minutes to spare. I got to meet Betsy Markey for a breif moment and then she was gone.
At this point it was 4 o'clock, and i spent the next two hours sorting faxes. Afterwards i met up with my carpool (which went smoothly, everybody got out at the same time) and we headed for home.
My first day of interning was really fun. I arrived around 1:30, filled out some paperwork, and met the people in the office. Jeff showed me around and went over the ground rules, then sent me down to the basement with another intern to get supplies for the office.
Ashley (the intern who i followed for the first hour) showed me where everything way in the supply area downstairs, and gave me a brief overview of the office building we were in. When we got back Brenda had recently arrived and was being filled in by Jeff. Earlier Jeff had briefly touched on how to use the computer systems, and I got more extensive training from Ashley while Brenda finished her introductions.
I then started to sort faxes for about an hour...
Then chaos hit when one of the L.A.'s popped in real fast and told me to put together 3 pictures and some frames for the Congresswoman before she boards her plane to Colorado IN 20 MINUTES!!! it was a rush job, and luckily her plane was delayed 10 minutes (i dont know why) and after lots of bubble wrapping i finished with about 5 minutes to spare. I got to meet Betsy Markey for a breif moment and then she was gone.
At this point it was 4 o'clock, and i spent the next two hours sorting faxes. Afterwards i met up with my carpool (which went smoothly, everybody got out at the same time) and we headed for home.
Senior Post 3
(Intern Journal 3/17 & 3/19)
This week was fun, but it consisted entirely of phone calls.
3/17 - Had to call every county in Colorado's 4th district, and get email information for their county commissioners, as well as all the information I could on the Commissioner meetings (Time of Month, time of day, location). That took just about the entire day, with the end consisting of scanning a few items into the system.
3/19 - Spent the ENTIRE DAY, yes 1:30 - 6:00, calling EVERY SINGLE small business in Colorado's 4th district to see if they would give us their email so we could notify them about opportunites for grants and loans. As soon as 1/2 of the businesses hear me say "grants and loans" im sure they thought i was a telemarketer and hung up on me instantly. The other 1/2 who did want to take part were very thankful that we wanted to help them in this time of economic crisis, and expressed their appreciation numerous times over the course of the call.
Working on phone calls has definitely been more fun than what i have been doing previously, but I still need to talk to Jeff about the shadow day.
This week was fun, but it consisted entirely of phone calls.
3/17 - Had to call every county in Colorado's 4th district, and get email information for their county commissioners, as well as all the information I could on the Commissioner meetings (Time of Month, time of day, location). That took just about the entire day, with the end consisting of scanning a few items into the system.
3/19 - Spent the ENTIRE DAY, yes 1:30 - 6:00, calling EVERY SINGLE small business in Colorado's 4th district to see if they would give us their email so we could notify them about opportunites for grants and loans. As soon as 1/2 of the businesses hear me say "grants and loans" im sure they thought i was a telemarketer and hung up on me instantly. The other 1/2 who did want to take part were very thankful that we wanted to help them in this time of economic crisis, and expressed their appreciation numerous times over the course of the call.
Working on phone calls has definitely been more fun than what i have been doing previously, but I still need to talk to Jeff about the shadow day.
Senior Post 2
(Intern Journal, March 5)
Today I got into my office and was immediately given a giant stack of tour requests to sort first my month, then within the month by name. I got through one of the five months when Jeff reminds me that I have CRS training at 2:30, so I decide I'll leave 15 minutes before it starts so that I can make it with some time to spare. Well.... right as I'm walking out the door, one of my LA's tells me to drop off a paper to the Rayburn building while im out, but it needs to be delivered within the hour. Well I attempted to be super intern so i ran downstairs to the elevator over to rayburn, and found shea waiting for the elevator as well. I was there for about 8 minutes, not 1 elevator comming the whole time. I decide I'm going to run up to the 2nd floor to find the agriculture committee to drop this off, and it takes me up until about 2:25 to find the place, but there are 3 doors to get in and i don't know which open. 2 of the doors are locked, and i recognize that theyre heading into the committee discussion area. The last door was unlocked, and i followed a short hall into a sort of suite office space. It was completely empty. There was one door leading from the office into the chamber that was locked from outside, and wouldn't you know it, it was locked from in there too. I could hear voices in there and i was debating what to do, but i knew nobody was going to come into the office where i was. I decided to try the doors on the outside again, and i tried each door 3 times, and asked passing people if they knew how to get in (nobody did). It was now 1 minute till the CRS training started 3 buildings over, so i decided i better get over to that and i'd just drop this off afterwards, the CRS was only supposed to be 30-40 minutes. I walk past all 3 doors down the hall, and as soon as i pass the last one it opens abruptly, a short balding man comes out, looks at me, and says "YOU DROPPING SOMETHING OFF SON?". He then proceeded to snatch the letter out of my hand and dissapear into the committee room, which was again locked behind him(i tried it again). I stood there for about 10 seconds trying to figure out what had just happened, how he knew i was there, and how he knew that the letter was for the committee. Then i realized the time and sprinted up to the Library of Congress, but luckily the CRS training started 5 minutes late, at the exact time i walked into the room (some luck). That was the most frantic part of the day. I enjoyed a relaxing CRS training which took up a good 45 minutes. When i came back i sorted faxes and scanned them into the computer system (like i do every other day). Then for the last 45 minutes our office decided to take some time off and crash a reception for some free grub. Upon returning it was six and time to go, so i met up with my carpool and headed on home.
Today I got into my office and was immediately given a giant stack of tour requests to sort first my month, then within the month by name. I got through one of the five months when Jeff reminds me that I have CRS training at 2:30, so I decide I'll leave 15 minutes before it starts so that I can make it with some time to spare. Well.... right as I'm walking out the door, one of my LA's tells me to drop off a paper to the Rayburn building while im out, but it needs to be delivered within the hour. Well I attempted to be super intern so i ran downstairs to the elevator over to rayburn, and found shea waiting for the elevator as well. I was there for about 8 minutes, not 1 elevator comming the whole time. I decide I'm going to run up to the 2nd floor to find the agriculture committee to drop this off, and it takes me up until about 2:25 to find the place, but there are 3 doors to get in and i don't know which open. 2 of the doors are locked, and i recognize that theyre heading into the committee discussion area. The last door was unlocked, and i followed a short hall into a sort of suite office space. It was completely empty. There was one door leading from the office into the chamber that was locked from outside, and wouldn't you know it, it was locked from in there too. I could hear voices in there and i was debating what to do, but i knew nobody was going to come into the office where i was. I decided to try the doors on the outside again, and i tried each door 3 times, and asked passing people if they knew how to get in (nobody did). It was now 1 minute till the CRS training started 3 buildings over, so i decided i better get over to that and i'd just drop this off afterwards, the CRS was only supposed to be 30-40 minutes. I walk past all 3 doors down the hall, and as soon as i pass the last one it opens abruptly, a short balding man comes out, looks at me, and says "YOU DROPPING SOMETHING OFF SON?". He then proceeded to snatch the letter out of my hand and dissapear into the committee room, which was again locked behind him(i tried it again). I stood there for about 10 seconds trying to figure out what had just happened, how he knew i was there, and how he knew that the letter was for the committee. Then i realized the time and sprinted up to the Library of Congress, but luckily the CRS training started 5 minutes late, at the exact time i walked into the room (some luck). That was the most frantic part of the day. I enjoyed a relaxing CRS training which took up a good 45 minutes. When i came back i sorted faxes and scanned them into the computer system (like i do every other day). Then for the last 45 minutes our office decided to take some time off and crash a reception for some free grub. Upon returning it was six and time to go, so i met up with my carpool and headed on home.
Senior Post 1
(Intern Journal 4/22)
Today was a bunch of scheduling related tasks. I sorted schedule requests on and off all day. I made regret calls to people who had requested scheduling events which the Congresswoman could not attend. And finally I sorted out all of the requests that had to do with Congression Honorary Committees. I have sort have become the 'scheduler's intern', doing all the work that she needs done.
Today was a bunch of scheduling related tasks. I sorted schedule requests on and off all day. I made regret calls to people who had requested scheduling events which the Congresswoman could not attend. And finally I sorted out all of the requests that had to do with Congression Honorary Committees. I have sort have become the 'scheduler's intern', doing all the work that she needs done.
Current Event 4
Last week President Obama introduced his new appointee for the United States Supreme Court, federal judge Sonia Sotomayer. The appointing was positioned just after Congress took a week-long recess, to allow for Sotomayer to get into the spotlight with as little criticism from Republicans as possible. Her chances of being elected as a new court justice look good, as she is a favorite among democratic congressmen, who currently hold a strong majority in both houses. Now getting out into the spotlight for the first time (and with Congress coming back into session), Sotomayor will gain a good sense of whether or not her appointment will go through. Though right now thing are looking up, politics always has a way of shutting people down.
Current Event 3
Recently a France Air Jet went missing over the Atlantic Ocean. It was on its way to France from Brazil. Contact with the plane was lost when it reached the middle of the Atlantic. Brazilian military pilots report that they found plane seats, buoys, and other airplane debris yesterday on the course of the France airline. No signs of life were reported. Though without a serial number the debris cannot be confirmed as belonging to the airline, it is fairly certain that the plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, possibly due to bad weather. Though conditions were bad, with thunderstorms raging, the plane was supposed to be fit to endure lighting and other harsh weather conditions. The cause of the crash is still not completely known, but investigations on the matter will continue. Two passengers missing aboard the flight were American citizens, who had been living in South America for the last year. It is a truly tragic event, and hopefully further investigation will reveal the cause of this disaster.
Current Event 2
An appeals court on Sunday released reporter Roxana Saberi for charges of being a suspected spy for the united states. After being stationed in Iran to gather information, she was arrested under the suspicion of leaking privileged information. She was sentenced to eight years in prison, and had served out 3 months of her sentence before being able to appear before the appeals court. Originally arrested for buying wine(which is illegal in Iran) she was then charged with espionage. This case has earned her world-wide attention, and sheds light on the falsly accused reporter's dire situation. Hopefully she will soon be released and allowed to come back to her home in the United States.
Current Event 1
Obama recently proposed new gas emission requirements/goals for his presidency. By 2020 he wishes to reduce our carbon emissions by 50%, and creating stricter MPG for cars. 35 miles to the gallon will be the average within 10 years, even for trucks and SUV's. These emission requirements will force car manufacturers to make the average MPG of their vehicles at least 35 miles per gallon or face fines and penatlies(steep ones too). Obama is already starting on this plan and it will continue to develope throughout the course of his presidency.
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