When you WISH upon a maintenance board...

The post previous to this one was regarding our housing situation, and the problems associated with it. Nothing is resolved, not at all, but, we did have a housing meeting with the owners of our building. We voiced our concerns to them, they pretty much said that while they are sympathetic, all we can do is put our complaints on the maintenance board, and hope for the best. Basically, they were saying that they have our money, so tough luck. Apparently, in talking to our program supervisor, MSU will be moving back to the Hotel in Arlington for coming semesters. If only we could have stayed there in the first place! I'm sure they don't have a rodent, roach, and mold problem. Oh, and here's the best part! We pay $1500 to live in a small room with 4 total people, in bunk beds. Apparently, we would also pay $1500 to live with just 1 other person in the same area. So, because we have 4, instead of 2, we are penalized by having less space, but pay the exact same amount...THANKS MSU for choosing such a great place to live! Location Location Location, right?

I officially began my run to the White House yesterday. I know I know, I am not 35 years old, so maybe I am getting a little bit ahead of myself, but, let me explain. I went RUNNING to the White House. It was a warm day, so I figured I would go and see what Barack was up to. I asked the Secret Service but apparently he was busy doing something.

Around 2 this afternoon, I will be taking off for Annapolis, Maryland to visit a midshippman. It will be nice to get out of the city, even if it is just for a little bit. I have been feeling a little stuck in the district, not in a bad way, it's just when you don't have a car, and can't get outside the beltway very easily, you start to appreciate your time away.

I have a mid-term paper due next friday, the same day the mom and pop show come to DC. I am about halfway done now, and hope to have it taken care of by tomorrow, just so I have nothing to worry about. I do have some other work to do for my professional development course yet, but I'll get to it.

Next up is my decision on New York and the Teaching Fellows. I don't know what I am going to do, and it's wearing me down slowly. I am not sure what I am going to end up doing.

Time for lunch,

Andy

NOT a WISH come true...

When I moved to DC, I thought things would be great. Living 2 blocks from the U.S. Capitol, within a 3 minute walk of a metro stop, and a great internship lined up. I thought, despite our housing (which is the subject of this post), that things would be great. I want to stress, DC isn't the problem here. The city is great, work is interesting (most days), and I am continuing to grow (though, not as much as I would like). I don't really have a game plan for next year, though ALL of you should know this by now, and I don't really know what to do going forward, but that is another issue for a later posting.

The problem right now is our housing. We are stating in D.C. Intern Housing. Washington Internship Student Housing. Sounds nice, right? IT'S NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you are ever looking for a place to stay in DC, don NOT stay here. I don't even know where to begin, but, let me try...

We pay rouughly $1500 a month, per person. For our location, it would be understandable if our place was nice, clean, rodent free, and large. It is none of those things, and there is where the problem begins. When I moved in to this place in January, I was shocked. I could not believe how bad it was. We have a room smaller than any room I have ever lived in by myself, but now I share it with 3 other guys. We have bunk beds (that fit none of us). We have an oven that has no insulation so it burns our cabinets. We have a love-seat for the 4 of us. There is closet space for perhaps 2 of us. There is no light leading down the steps to the basement where we live (and where any burgler could hide and rob us). The metal steps down into the darkness are rusted out, and feel like the whole in the middle of the main landing could give way at any time. I don't really know what to say. Mice, roaches, other creepy crawlers. And here's the kicker. As I mentioned earlier, we pay $1500 a month each. The place, according to similar housing in the area, should go for $1500 for ONE PERSON. We should, if the place was divided by 4, be paying $375 per person. The very worse part is that MSU isn't doing anything and doesn't seem to care about it.

The next problem. The housing people seem to be waging a war on us students because many on our program have called and complained. We can't do a damn thing about it, but they can make our lives miserable because we have no power. We all signed the contract (which was mandatory to live here). Our internet is not secured and slow as a result of neighbors poaching it, so we complained. One of the guys here plugged his XBOX into the modem (because you can play games online I guess), and we were busted. It's in violation of our contract. If we get caught again, they said they might kick us out. We aren't allowed to have alcohol, despite the fact that we are all 21. If we get caught, they could kick us out. We left a light on one time, they did a random inspection, and wrote us up with a violation. More violations could result in fines. For the same ridiculous price, we were supposed to be staying in a hotel (albeit in Virginia)! At least the hotel was nice (and w/ out mice).

According to fire code, allegedly, for our size room, we aren't supposed to have as many people in our room as we do. I don't know (halfway in) to our program what we can do, but something needs to happen. It's getting progressively worse. I don't think I really plan on going to law school anymore, but litigation at this point seems like something that should be pursued. And to be honest, I really hate all of those people that want to sue everyone for everything, but you have clearly not lived here. IT'S NECESSARY!!!!!!!!!!!! I think this is what they call the ghetto.

So, did we/are we getting screwed? Yes. Is there anything we can do about it? Probably not. Live and learn I guess. Just for comparison, my apartment in Rome, Italy, one of the most expensive, largest cities I have ever stay in, was on the 5th floor of a highrise, with large bedrooms, plenty of closet space, and 3 balconies... THREE BALCONIES!!!!!!!!

I really expected better from MSU on this program. It does not reflect well upon the University to put us, their students, in a situation like this.

Sparty has let me down.

Andy

Don't mess up...

When I was told at work to type up some graphics for a program airing later, I didn't think much of it. When I found out it was for President Obama's Unofficial State of the Union (first meeting of the Joint Session of Congress), I got worried. I mean, I don't know how many people actually watch the channel that I work for, but, I would think it is a fair number. I was instructed to, "NOT MESS UP!" No pressure, right? I kind of felt like I was having the training wheels taken off. Sure, people had to check my work at some point, but the fact is, I made it happen! I watched 44s address and smiled everytime I saw some of my work. Sure, it might appear to be a little bit dorky, but oh well! Don't judge!

This is my first post since Sunday, and really, I wasn't even going to post tonight, but, I figured a 3 day layoff was enough, you all probably miss me, right? Anyways, nothing really has happened, just work and class. I have a mid-term paper due next Friday, and will probably try to knock it out this weekend if I can.

I need to be honest right now. Things are becoming a lot like they were in Rome for me. Not in the sense that I was poor, and couldn't afford it, well, actually that is true here too, but I will explain what I mean. I am at that point, or have been for some time, where I am not a tourist anymore. There is still literally TONS of things I haven't done, haven't seen, and still need to, but I am fully invested here now. I live here, I work here, and I fail and succeed here.

On weekends, I would just as soon go for a nice run through the city, as opposed to going to another museum. Although, I will continue to go to the museums because a majority of them are free, and I am impoverished (I live in a one bedroom apartment with 3 other guys, it's bad). I have become a part of this place, for better or worse, and I don't feel the urgency to spend every waking hour with the tourists! I probably should though, I am only here for a few more months, then it's back to Michigan. Back to Farmington Hills. Back to reality. Even though I am working and living and studying here (kind of studying), I am not really part of 'life' yet. I don't have bills (or at least bills I pay), I don't get paid for work, and I don't have to support anyone. If I have learned nothing else in my time in Europe, and now in DC, it's that I really have had a great college experience. It has been a VERY unique 4 years. I almost transferred (twice), I rowed crew (don't miss 4 am practices), I switched majors (19342 times), I lived in Italy and travelled the world, I met my inner jew in Israel, and now I am in the nation's capital. In between all of that, I made some good decisions, some bad ones, and some that are still in limbo. What now?

This saturday I am headed out to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. I am visiting the Midshippman, the tall tree, the man, Mr. Jameeeeeeeeeeeezay Schrock. I am pretty excited to head out there and spend some time outside the beltway for a change of pace. I am definately going to have to buy some Navy gear!

That's all I have for now people.

My apologies.

Andy

I didn't really grasp the concept of graduation fully until this very afternoon. I mean, I knew it was coming, but I did not really understand that it was happening so soon! I was sitting at a Starbucks with a previously mentioned (see past posts) retired CIA operative who is determined to get students from undergrad to the real world with real experiences before they begin a graduate studies program. While he does stress the importance of a higher, higher education, he thinks that life is to be lived, then waste time on things like law school. As I sat there trying to sound intelligent (though I am not, nor do I claim to be), I thought this...

What is my next move? I know I know, this is really just a lame rehashing of previous posts, but I'm not very creative so I have to bring up old topics. If I ever were a writer, journalist, or real-life blogger, I would loser readership in no time, because, well, nothing I bring up is terribly exciting. Anyways, getting back to my thoughts...

I thought about law school. I don't really want to do it because, well, I don't think I would be happy. I don't want to be a teaching fellow because I don't think I am ready to be deep in the inner city of NYC while students throw desks and chairs at me (it happens to people, really) at the young age of 21. I don't think I am ready to come back home because what would I do there? School is over essentially. 4 years at college, and I've got nothing. It's not for a lack of trying. I think I took a course in pretty much every topic possible. I did not get to do great lakes sailing, however, and for that, I am deeply regretful. But, I digress. Really, does anyone know what they want to do? Or, is it more likely that people end up doing something they are good at, regardless of preference. See, I don't even know what I am good at! I sometimes wish I had really practiced guitar a lot, or piano, and become at best a backup player for some low-budget band. That is living, right? But, I don't know, graduation, and college seems to be one big scam. Again, this isn't a new idea from mean, this is all just recycled topics, but, it was a slow weekend.

In other news...I went grocery shopping at Target today. I bought frozen food because that's all I am capable of making. In a few minutes I am going to attempt to iron some pants, but am increasingly afraid I will burn them. I am really excited to eat my oatmeal in the morning, perhaps some peanut butter toast (though this will be happening at 6:15 am, which I am no thrilled about).

One thing I forgot, I went to the CHeesecake Factory this weekend for a REAL dinner, and I was completely satisfied. In case you want to know, I had Parmesan Crusted Chicken Romano, with spinach and artichoke dip, and some banana cheesecake...yum is all I can say.

Ok, time to de-wrinkle my pants...

Andy

p.s. Any life advice you might have would be great. I'm not sure who reads this anymore, but feel free to comment.

The Land of Lincoln!

Did any of you ever see the movie, 'That thing you do'? Well...sing along, then I'll explain.

You, Doin' that thing you do, Breaking my heart into a million pieces, Like you always do And you, Don't mean to be cruel, You never even knew about the heartache, I've been going through Well I try and try to forget you girl, But it's just so hard to do, Every time you do that thing you do I, Know all the games you play, And I'm gonna find a way to let you know that, You'll be mine someday 'Cause we, Could be happy can't you see, If you'd only let me be the one to hold you, And keep you here with me 'Cause I try and try to forget you girl, But it's just so hard to do, Every time you do that thing you doI don't ask a lot girl, But I know one thing's for sure, It's the love I haven't got girl, And I just can't take it anymore 'Cause we, Could be happy can't you see, If you'd only let me be the one to hold you, And keep you here with me Cause it hurts me so just to see you go, Around with someone new,And if I know you you're doin' that thing, Every day just doin' that thing, I can't take you doing that thing you do...

Wasn't that fun? Anyways, the reason I bring this up, and devoted so much of my blog to a song, is due to a part of the movie, actually just one line in the movie, that relates to what I did this afternoon. Lenny Haise, played goofily by Steve Zahn, said a line when the group played in Illinois. He said, "THE LAND OF LINCOLN!" In a minute when I get to the point of all of this, you might say to yourself, "why did he waste all of that time just to say one line, but, I don't care! I had my fun ;)

Getting to the point, and the subject of the blog posting, I went to the Lincoln Exhibit today at the Library of Congress. I got to view documents that were over 150 years old! I particularly enjoyed seeing the WANTED poster put out after Lincoln's assassination, and the $100,000 reward for the capture of John Wilkes Booth. I am finding a new appreciation for history being here.

Ok, so that was the reason for the ridiculously long intro, the LAND OF LINCOLN. It's because I went to his exhibit. In a round-about way, I made a point...didn't I?!?

Last night at class, we had a very interesting man come and speak with us. I first met this person at our welcoming reception as he sat down at my table, and he immediately made me terrified. A 39 year CIA veteran, Burton, (or 'Super Sniffer,' 'Magic Head,' and 'Weepy Boy Santos...anybody get that??), and he had much information to share. Burton worked to recruit spies, and did it very well, serving abroad for much of his time with the agency. We discussed at interrogation techniques, and ethical and moral dilemmas. He detailed intelligence gathering techniques, and what potentially could define America's image around the world. We talked Gitmo, waterboarding, and the U.S. policy. We talked Abu Ghraib, Iraq, and Afghanistan. We also talked about what to do after graduation...interesting...


Burton recommends NOT going straight to grad school after undergrad. He thinks everyone should joing the military, but, realizes that most of us won't so he offers this advice. "Join the peace corp, get a weird job, but whatever you do, get out of your comfort zone." I really took that to heart, because the last two years of my life have been outside my comfort zone. I lived in Rome, Italy, traveled Europe, went to Israel, am currently living and working in Washington, DC, and now I am looking for my next move. How can I next go off the map, without losing my mind or being miserable? Pessimistic much? haha


Anyways, tonight I am going out with some friends from work. It should be a good time; I feel like I have earned their respect ha! I mean, if they want to hang out, that's a good thing, right!?


I have officially run out of food again, I have nothing. It's struggles for me over here. I'm in a bad way. I barely have enery to run anymore, but I do, just not well, or fast. Maybe it's because we never have clean dishes or pots and pans, to cook in, or maybe because I buy crap, or maybe it's because I don't have time, I don't know, it's just not good!

ok, I'm off to have my remaining 3 pieces of bread...BYE!

Andy

p.s. I am having lunch with Burton Sunday afternoon!

Exhaustion, Republicans are stupid, and other ponderings...

As I sit to write this, I can barely keep myself propped up in the chair. I wake up too early, I go to bed too late, I work all day, and do work (sometimes) all night. If this sounds like I am complaining, well, I am, but, give me a break! I am 21! I'm still at that age where I feel like I can whine and it will be accepted (even though it totally shouldn't be!) I can't believe people actually do this for the majority of their lives! If it were up to me, everything would be scheduled like college. Wake up when you want, go and work for a few hours, come back home and eat ramen. I say ramen because, well, that's what us college kids eat, right? Anyways, I feel like I could be wayyyyyyyyy more productive in my day if I worked hard from 10am to 3 pm. I realize that is only a 5 hour day, but, imagine the possibilties! I would put my all into those 5 hours! As it is, I work 9 hour days, at times 10, and am always running around. As much as I like work, I look forward to my weekends ;) Ok, enough about work, and complaining, it's time to move on...

Republicans are stupid. There, I said it. We had a big debate last night in class regarding the current stimulus bill, and what it means for america. I may or may not have said that I think the Congressional Republicans are selfish, petty, and otherwise unbearable people. I didn't exactly say it that way, but... People were critizing President Obama for bullying a stimulus bill through congress. EXCUSE ME?!!? I think it is unfortunate that NOT ONE House Rat (I mean Republican voted for the bill. They are entitled to their opinions, sure, but to seem thrilled and celebrate their party unity as a result of it is just sad. I was equally disgusted when House Minority leader John Boehner threw the stimulus bill (all 1000 pages of it) down on the floor of the house in protest of its evilness. Really!?! Or, what about the fact that Judd Gregg pulled out of the Commerce Secretary Post after suddenly 'realizing he couldn't get along with the President enough to serve.' Are the Republicans that set on ruining Obama's Presidency???! Didn't they ruin enough during the last 8 years/??! I used to believe, as I'm sure Obama does/did, that bipartisanship could be a reality. But, now I am content with Obama putting on a good face to the public, asking for bipartisan support, having the Republicans cry about how unfare things are, and then Obama just ramming policy through the house and senate, courting only 1 moderate REpublican as is necessary. Ok, rant over.

As some of you know, I have been given an interview for a teaching fellowship position in New York City. I have been going back and forth whether or not to take the interview. After doing my research on the program, talking to participants (and dropouts), I am not sure if I am ready, at 21, to step into a situation of an inner-city NY school. The program has a 65% drop out rate during/after the first year, and things are in dire situations. There often is no paper for doing work on, no books for teaching with, and little training for unprepared (i.e. me) potential teachers. I really am stuggling with what I should do. If I don't do it, then what. Even if I do do it, there is no guarantee that I would be accepted. So, as graduation nears, I am increasingly more lost! Help!!!!!!!!!!

Well, folks, I'm about to pass out, so I will cut this off for now. I will of course keep you posted on my situation, and other DC (but PG) happenings.

Tomorrow, it's work, class, and weekend!

Andy

p.s. I am looking for some Nats opening day tickets...anybody want to go?!?!

President's Day??? Really DC???

I had a choice. Work President's Day, or not work President's day? I was given this choice by the place where I work (which can't be named) and obviously I decided to go in, to make that good impression, again. Being President's day, as it was, there was NOTHING going on. It was like a 'snow day' here in DC. It was almost eery as I walked across the Capitol, and NOBODY was out! Not a Senator was stirring, not even McCain! Well, to be fair, he was probably asleep.

For some reason I have been unnecessarily tired as of late. I get, well, 5-6 hours of sleep a night, which is poor at best, but not unlike high-school. I have officially succombed to the 'devil's sportdrink,' aka coffee. I drink at least 3 cups before noon. 3 cups after lunch. Then, I also drink water, to balance things out, from my new 32 oz. Nalgene. Needless to say, I pee a lot. But anyways...

I went to the museum of natural History on Sunday, I don't believe I have mentioned that in a previous posting. Considering this is just the 3rd post of the new blog, probably not, but I did go. For the ladies out there, I saw the Hope Diamond! Just incase my future girlfriend/wife might be reading this by chance, whoever she may be, you're not getting that rock! It's not that I don't/won't care, but I can barely afford to feed myself here! How would you feel about the ring from the cracker jack box??

I find myself sitting here, again at nearly 11 p.m. with a lot on my mind. Without going into too much detail (remember, this is the redacted/censored blog), I've got some decisions to make. I always think I have my life figured out, but something comes up that makes me question that. Even as I graduate in just a few months, wow, what am I going to do? What am I ready for? What am I not ready for?

Anyways, I have to go and make a crappy lunch for work tomorrow. Remember, poor college/working student.

Andy

p.s. Obama needs me to help him with the stimulus...I'm like his Charlie Young.

Train Rehabilitation?

It doesn't matter what state (or in this case, non-state) I am in, I can spend a lot of money at Target. I can buy nothing, and everything all at the same time! For example, did I need to buy paint-it yourself dinosaur statues? No, but they were in the dollar zone, and I wanted a fun Valentines Day Activity!

Another great part of going to Target is that they have food! I bought chicken, turkey, cheese, tea, ice-cream, apple-sauce, and well, a lot of other food items that led up to me not having to go grocery shopping tomorrow! YES! Though I will miss my Sunday morning Trader Joes stop.

This morning (getting to this blog title), I was supposed to go into Alexandria, VA for a Valentines Day 10K with a friend of mine from Maryland. But, the Washington Metro Association decided it would be a great time to do 'Train Rehabilitation.' WHAT!!!?? Do trains have issues that require rehab days?? Can't they just call it train fixing day?! The end result is that I was unable to make it to Alexandria. It would have required me to have a car that I don't have, and sadly I couldn't run. I did go running by myself later, but it was not the same as race mornings. I guess one consolation is this: they didn't even give out t-shirts, as advertised on their website. They gave out goofy hatS! $35 well saved!

As all of you know, I am sure, it is Valentines Day, and as I write this, I am actually preparing for a hot date! Ok, just kidding, but it could be true ha. I might be going out a little bit later, but we will see. I may just eat chocolates and call it a night. Lame?

I apologize for the shortness, and non-exciting-ness of this posting. It really has been a lazy weekend day.

I think I am one of the only ones who has to work on Monday, for President's Day, so tomorrow will just be another Sunday for me. Tune in for the excitement!

Andy

p.s. Strappy is the first to visit me in DC...that's messed up!

Let's try this again!

Ok, blog readers, here's the deal. As my new blog address suggests, this will be a documentation of my time in DC, but, PG. I'm not proud, I'm not happy, and I feel like I am cheating you all, the loyal readers, but I was just not comfortable with putting it all out there, with all of the world to see. I underestimated the tracking abilities of certain people, and I was caught. I was not punished, and in fact it was just a misunderstanding, but nonetheless, I had to do what I did. Regardless, I will try and make this fun for you all, but I can't make any promises that it'll be as entertaining as previous versions. I think you all will enjoy it, though! Post number #1, here we go!

Luckily for all of you, nothing really happened this week in the time I shut down the first blog. I worked, but did little else. I will just give you a quick update here. Now remember, PG.

I worked, I ran, I slept. Is that exciting enough for you?! I am not going to redact everything, but certain details cannot be revealed. If you really want to know things, you'll be forced to call me!

I just recently got back from lunch with LG. LG, just the initials here, was a friend I met in Rome, Italy, and haven't seen in 9 months! It seems like just yesterday we were all in Roma! But, she had to get back to Maryland, where she goes to school, so it was a brief lunch. But, we do plan on getting lunch again real soon! And perhaps go to a 'fun' hour and sip on glasses of water!!!

In a few minutes, I am leaving to go to the Washington Monument and ride the elevator up to the top! I would totally walk it, but they don't let you do that anymore...LAME!

Anyways, I just wanted to let you all know about the new blog, give you a little sample of what it will be like, and hope you enjoy.

A

p.s. Happy Valentines Day Tomorrow! Year 21 with no Valentine! That is sad for me haah!