Life Plans!

It's official. I'm going into social work. At least I hope so. I still need to get into the program at the U and that won't be decided for a while, but that's what I'm planning on. The U is really the only place I'd want to go. Utah State's program isn't credited yet, I have absolutely no desire to go to BYU, UVU, or SUU, and none of the other programs in neighboring states look that appealing. My friend Bryan has a couple friends visiting out here right now and one of them is finishing up her second year in the program at the U. She said as long as I write a good sob story and have good grades I shouldn't have a problem getting in so hopefully that happens. So yeah, right now I'm just trying to figure out if I can save enough money while working and living in Logan or if I should just move back in with my parents. Moving in with my parents makes a lot of financial sense since I want to pay off my loans before I go back to school, but Logan is just so much fun and all my friends are there. I'll probably just end up living in Orem but going up to Logan 3 out of 4 weekends...

On a random note, I finally bought my cap and gown for graduatin. $37ish, but whatev. Weird taht in just over a month I'll be a college graduate. I don't feel old enough for this stuff...

Life plans?

So I may or may not have decided to do with my life. I think I'm going to be a social worker. My friend John has on occasion mentioned that I should look into it so it's always been in the back of my head. It was moved to the forefront recently when I was talking to my friend Bryan about not knowing what I want to do. I told him that when it comes right down to it, I just want to help people. As long as I feel like I'm helping people I can be happy in my choice of career. He asked me if I had considered social work and I told him that I kind of had. I started thinking about it and reading my patriarchal blessing and it just makes sense. More sense than anything I've come up with so far at least. The U has a master's program where I could get a MSW with an emphasis in international social work. With that emphasis I could work with refugees or even work abroad if I ever wanted to. At the same time, with the master's in social work, I could be a regular social worker anywhere. Seriously, anywhere I go I can be a social worker. With the jobs I was looking into previously, it wasn't like that at all. So I'm getting pretty excited. I think I'm going to go home after my internship, find a job related to social work, work for about a year and pay off my student loans (easy to do if I maybe move back home - are you down with that, Mom?) then start school in the fall of 2010. I just need to make sure I apply other places too cause the program at the U had 300 applicants this last year for 120 spots. Kind of intense, but that would be my first pick at this point. The more I think about this, the more I like it.

Hilarity

Updates and Struggles

The last couple of weeks I've been going to Bible Study on Fridays during lunch with my friends. The Senate Chaplain, Chaplain Black, teaches it and it's totally awesome. There have only been a couple of things I haven't agreed with that he's said and everything else is amazing. I took notes today and will from now on because he is just so fantastic. Plus, they feed us which is why I was convinced to go in the first place. There's an institute at 12:30 but apparently Chaplain Black is better. I still feel like I'm getting spiritual nourishment.

I had a friend visit from Saturday to Wednesday. Kayla (who I know from Utah State) came with her friend Fish (Felisha) and it was so totally fun. I wasn't able to get much work off - just Tuesday afternoon - but it was still awesome. We played frisbee with everyone, went shopping, ate out, and I stayed home while they saw all the monuments (I'm experiencing some monument fatigue). It really was awesome having them here. It's always a lot of fun when old friends get along well with new ones :)

So I'm having a struggle and if any of you want to give me some advice I will more than appreciate it. I've been trying to figure out if I want to go back to Utah and get a job in Salt Lake or stay here. Or even go somewhere like Colorado or California. Here is my dilemma. I do love it out here and I think as long as I could buy or rent a car and travel over to West Virginia or something every now and then I could handle the big city. However, I really don't think I'll enjoy this place NEARLY as much without the people who are here now. And granted, I'll meet more people, but it seems weird that I'd get along with them as well as I get along with some of the interns here. I feel like I really lucked out with this group. Plus, another strike against here, I really like my family and I'm missing my nephew and niece a ton. Not that I don't miss the rest of my family, cause I totally do, but for some reason it's harder with Taz and Elliott. I look at pictures of them posted by my sister and sister-in-law and I just want to go home for those few minutes. And as for the rest of my family, I get along with all of them really well and I consider some of them my best friends. I miss hanging out, watching movies, and eating Sunday dinner. But then I remember what I want to do for a job and possibly a career and I realize that the only opportunities for me are in big cities like DC or NYC. Places closer to home like Denver and San Diego are options too, but I feel like if I get a job not in Utah, it's going to be here since I'm here now and making contacts here. Boo. I just hate making decisions.

I'll end on a happy note. I might to to West Virginia again tomorrow! WOOT!!!

Best Birthday Eve Ever!

Two very exciting things happened to me today. The first is I got to talk to my friend Nate Nash who just got home from his mission in New Jersey. He was one of my closest friends the first couple years of college and it was SO good to talk to him. He didn't seem awkward at all which was a bonus. Doesn't mean he isn't awkward, but our conversation was a good one. I'm so crazy excited to see him in April.

Second thing. Wait for it... I FREAKING SAW BRAD PITT IN PERSON!!! He was on The Hill today meeting with Reid, Murray, and Pelosi to talk about his organization that builds low income and sustainable houses in New Orleans. All day long I was joking with a few people about stalking him then one of my friends over on the house side found out that he had a meeting with Pelosi in her Capitol office at 3:30. I left my office at 2:40 to meet a few friends in the Crypt and figure out where to go from there. I didn't tell anyone in my office where I was going because, let's face it, going over to the Capitol to see Brad Pitt is a little stalkerish/creepy/something a teenager would do. Anyway, we made our way up to the Rotunda which is close to Pelosi's office. We were standing around for about 10 minutes figuring out the best place to be to see him when all of a sudden he walks into the Rotunda from one end (surrounded by his entourage) and out the other and into the corridor leading to Pelosi's office. He was about 20 feet away from me and I stared at him for about 30 seconds. Unfortunately we weren't expecting him so soon so none of us had our cameras ready which sucks. But holy crap was he attractive. He was shorter than I expected him to be (which, let's face it, I was more than ok with - I'm a fan of shorter guys) and just so incredibly good looking. He had a goatee (we all know I love facial hair) and was wearing a very expensive looking suite that was extremely well tailored and a vest under his jacket. I swooned. He was walking briskly so I didn't have the guts to go ask for a picture or an autograph but that's ok because I still saw him. I was shaking for a good minute afterwards as well. Oh so fantastic. I've had great birthdays the last couple of years. Last year I met Bret and Jemaine from Flight of the Conchords on my birthday and this year I see Brad Pitt the day before my birthday! Can life get any better!?

Mardi Gras and Other Adventures

Mardi Gras this year was super fun. Granted, it wasn't an amazingly awesome time at Utah State, but it was cool for the short notice we had. We decided to have purple, gold, and green food since we didn't really prepare anything else. On our way home from work Mike, Bryan, and I stopped off at Rite Aid to see what we could find. I didn't get any inspiration since the Rite Aid in our basement sucks so I took comfort in the fact that the guys had food coloring. When I got to their apartment and started looking around, I found that they only had blue dye. I put it in the lemonade which turned it green. The pancakes I made turned out to be a very pretty blue that we ended up calling purple. When the pancakes got cooked they turned that golden-brown color pancakes turn so there was the gold. I still wasn't 100% satisfied, so I added more to my milk and called that gold as well. We ate pancakes and bacon and watched Arrested Development. It was awesome.

Another adventure I had recently was a trip down to Williamsburg and Jamestown. It was all pretty and colonial. We rented a car again (Prius upgrade for $7) and left DC around 7:30. Williamsburg took a couple of hours to get to so by the time we left there it was about lunch. After eating we took the ferry (Prius and all) over to Scottland island. Even though it was all cold and rainy, it was way super pretty. We just drove around for hours enjoying the scenery and the company. After a while we decided to head down to North Carolina for some dinner for the heck of it. We wend just over the border to Rowanoke and ate at this really crappy road house place. After dinner we just headed back up to D.C. cause it was pretty late by then. All in all though, it was a really fun trip.

Countdown Races Sing This Song...

So this Saturday was a great day. My friends Bryan, Mike, Jed, and I drove to Charles Town, West Virginia and went to the Race Track. We got a reservation for the high class buffet and pretty much stayed there from 5:30 to 10ish. So much food equals awesome. We also made a few bucks so that was sweet. I can see how betting at the race tracks can get super addicting. The only lame part was during the last race one of the horses stumbled and broke its legs and they had to put it down right there on the track. That was kind of a downer.

The ride to the race tracks was the best part. West Virginia is just like John Denver said - almost heaven. The only way it would have been more perfect is if the "mountains" were really mountains. I could so totally live there. I don't know if West Virginia really was exceptionally beautiful or if I really, really, really miss the mountains and open spaces, but I loved West Virginia so crazy much.

We rented a car and the guy upgraded us to a hybrid so we went well over 200 miles on 5.8 gallons of gas. It would have been more if I had driven since Mack taught me well in the ways of hypermiling. It actually bothered me a little how fast Mike was accelerating and braking.

It took us a while to get out of the city because we only had google's very un-specific directions on Bryans BlackBerry but once we did it was beautiful. We got out at one point and wandered around this little river and took pictures on the bridge. This place really was great. Beautiful, open, quiet, but within an hour drive of DC. I'm totally going back.

We also went to Harper's Ferry on the way there and wandered around. There were some awesome shops and it was just a fantastically quaint little town even though most of the town was little museums and historically preserved exteriors that changed their interiors into bathrooms and stuff. I did get a fantastic hand made mug. Their website is www.westwindpotters.com. It's a crappy website, but I'm pretty sure you can buy stuff online.

Glories of the Flea Market

So a few of us went to the flea market this past Saturday in Eastern Market. It was one of the most incredible places I've ever been. I got a few cheap things and one pretty expensive one that is hanging above my bed right now and that I'm going to love forever. This guy's paintings were so amazing - totally knocking off Van Gough but putting fantastic scenes in the art. Starry Night is my favorite painting of all time and DC is one of my favorite places of all time, so this was something I just couldn't pass up. Although because of that purchase I won't be able to get anything else for a while even though my friend and I decided that going to the flea market for breakfast every Saturday was going to be a ritual (apparently they have great breakfasts).

On a more random note, I'm going to the airport in a bit to go pick up my friend James. He's staying with me till Tuesday and I'm totally stoked. We get work off on Monday and I got Tuesday off as well so this will be a nice long weekend.

Life in D.C.

Sorry about the lack of posts. Hopefully I'll be better from now on - especially now that I have more to write about than just college life in Logan.

I've been here in D.C. for over a month now, and I'm loving it. I'm living in Arlington, Virigina in Crystal City. The metro is just about a 7 minute walk from my apartment and from walking out of my apartment to walking into my office is about a 40 minute commute. The apartments are the nicest I've lived in as a college student. I have a freaking dishwasher again!! That has been one of the best things. The apartments are really big and we don't have to pay utilities. It's awesome.

So here is a day in the life of Jenna: I wake up M-F at 7. Take a shower, get ready, and leave by about 8:15. I usually have to wait a bit for the yellow line to get there and while I wait I usually bump into someone else I know who is going to work. I used to take the metro to Union Station because that's closer to the Senate side, but it turns out that even though the Capitol South stop is a longer walk, it's a prettier walk, faster all around, and 30 cents cheaper. On my way to work I pass all of the House buildings, the Capitol, the Supreme Court, and the Library of Congress. I get to work around 9, take an hour lunch around noon, and get off for the night at 6. I come home, eat a little dinner, and go downstairs to the guys apartment (I still enjoy the company of guys better). Mondays we'll go to FHE and/or half price burgers at the sports pub, Tuesdays have become pupusa night at the Salvadorean resaurant close by, Wednesdays are Costco night, Thursdays are karaoke at Bailey's, and Friday we usually go out. But I generally don't go back upstairs to my apartment until I go to bed, even if we don't do anything. Saturdays we generally spend all day and most of the night out and Sundays are generally spent relaxing at home (or downstairs in my case) or at a museum or something. All in all I have a pretty busy schedule and it's awesome. I'm loving it.

For sure the best thing here are my fellow interns which is why I don't think I'd enjoy it as much as I am if I stayed out here. There are 5 apartments of interns here from USU, ISU, Weber, SUU, and UVU (all of which rent the apartments from Utah State) and I spend most of my time hanging out with 2 of the apartments (neither of which are mine for some reason). It really has been great.

Alright. That'll be all for now, but I'll try and keep this more updated with my life here back east.

Internship and my Mac

I don't write in my journal anymore and I don't post on my blog. Not good.

My internship is increasingly getting closer. I've applied to a bunch of places so far: Harry Reid, Jim Matheson, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Institute for Policy Studies, the Atlantic Council of the U.S., the Hudson Institute, and Amnesty International. There are still several more that I want to apply for but as of now I'm hoping for either Harry Reid, CSIS, or Amnesty. I'm getting pretty excited - not for whatever comes after (cause I have no idea) but for the internship itself. The best part about preparing for this is I'm going to need to buy clothes soon. This is also forcing me to start wearing make-up. I decided I can't be professional without it so for several days in a row now I've been wearing foreign elements on my face.

I bought a MacBook about a month ago and he's a beauty. I named him Quincy and this is a love affair that will never end. At least with Macs in general. It was expensive, but oh so worth it. I'm never going back to a PC. I keep discovering amazing things about this computer. The other day I clicked on "Front Row" not knowing what it was. Basically I can watch movie trailers to my heart's content as well as videos I have on my computer. There are many other elements to this application, but really I just use it to watch trailers. I have been introdiced to several films I really want to see now because of that. I LOVE MY MAC!!

I have many other things I could say but as a college student, I need to read (then write a paper, read some more, write another paper, then skim through a book as I write a paper).