We got a lovely layer of snow on Saturday night, and it's good that it came on Saturday night because on Saturday morning my car battery decided to die. But it was nothing that couldn't be fixed with some jumper cables. Four of us young intern types-Rami and roommate, Fatema and me-celebrated Fatema and Mayank's Indian hertitage by eating yummy Indian food near the Capitol. We continued our celebration by walking home in the snow and trying not to slip.
I continue to search for a church and yesterday visited Mclean Bible Church, whose size is astounding. They have a parking lot bigger than Colorado Springs' shopping mall. They even have a Starbucks. I felt like I was going to a football game. But after I got over the initial shock, I did enjoy the service. Energetic and focused, with plenty of opportunities to get plugged in. Seems like they take discipleship seriously. After three weeks of looking at churches, I'm tired of hearing, "Jimmy Carter visited this church in 1982!" and "Clinton once took communion here!" and "Oh, the pastor and the Reagan family go wayyy back." It's nice trivia, but it doesn't affect my walk with God. And although I respect the office of the Presidency, I am pretty sure the office doesn't contain an inherent spiritual authority...in other words, why should I care where he goes to church? So it was nice to visit a church that emphasises God's relationship with us normal people.
I really don't know how to feel about this. Liberal causes or no, Heinz is still my ketchup of choice.
Microsoft really is taking over the world...
Dave Barry fans, click here!
Monday, January 31, 2005
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
Small World
In an odd moment of deja-vu, I looked across the room at our intern meeting yesterday and saw a guy who lived on the same floor in my freshman year dorm. What are the chances that after 5 years of incommunicado, we'd leave LA and USC and both end up at the same DC think tank? Small world.
Other evidences of a small world: my friend also shows up for a DC internship, I learn that three students I met in Beirut are here, and another USC chum is headed here for a Real Job (one that pays.)
For the fashion-minded. Maybe more for those who aren't.
They had better not mess this up. The books are near and dear, a series that I still read through every year and it still somehow evokes all things childhood as well as stirring up my imagination.
Other evidences of a small world: my friend also shows up for a DC internship, I learn that three students I met in Beirut are here, and another USC chum is headed here for a Real Job (one that pays.)
For the fashion-minded. Maybe more for those who aren't.
They had better not mess this up. The books are near and dear, a series that I still read through every year and it still somehow evokes all things childhood as well as stirring up my imagination.
Monday, January 24, 2005
The Good News
...is that I was accepted to one of the grad schools I applied to! So, maybe London, this time next year! Now I just have to wait for the others. They tell me in 8-10 weeks, which by the time of this posting is 7-9.
Bhutan bans smoking, and here's the best simile I've heard all month: If Bhutan were a celebrity, it would be Johnny Depp—reclusive, a bit odd, but endearing nonetheless.
Trader Joe's is here! Only 4 miles away! I'm ecstatic! If Trader Joe were a real man, I would marry him. Except I kind of picture him as old and gnarly and maybe not the marrying type. (But very healthy, because he eats good, organic food.)
Jim Carrey should have gotten an Oscar nomination for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. And Aviator got 11 nominations? What is that? Titanic already got 11 awards. Give someone else a chance, DiCaprio!
Bhutan bans smoking, and here's the best simile I've heard all month: If Bhutan were a celebrity, it would be Johnny Depp—reclusive, a bit odd, but endearing nonetheless.
Trader Joe's is here! Only 4 miles away! I'm ecstatic! If Trader Joe were a real man, I would marry him. Except I kind of picture him as old and gnarly and maybe not the marrying type. (But very healthy, because he eats good, organic food.)
Jim Carrey should have gotten an Oscar nomination for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. And Aviator got 11 nominations? What is that? Titanic already got 11 awards. Give someone else a chance, DiCaprio!
Saturday, January 22, 2005
On a Serious Note
Click here or here for scary international rumors, which you probably all heard about on Inauguration Day. Do we really need to worry about Iran?
For a bizarre story about terrorist weddings in Syria, who claims to have nothing to do with terrorism, click here. And speaking of terrorism, here are some recent poll results for those of you interested in democracy and the Arab world. Not light weekend reading, but it's the sort of information that might prove your sophistication at your next cocktail party. Speaking of Arab democracy, Palestinian women won 51 seats in the recent election, which is cool.
And since we're in a sober mood already: yesterday we said goodbye to Lisa the Magnificent (I apologise for the half-closed eyes, Lisa! It's the best picture of us all!) who is going back to the Cold North (even colder than here!) As you can see in the picture, we make a good team. Loay was, sadly, in the Cold North already and could not be in the picture with us.
For a bizarre story about terrorist weddings in Syria, who claims to have nothing to do with terrorism, click here. And speaking of terrorism, here are some recent poll results for those of you interested in democracy and the Arab world. Not light weekend reading, but it's the sort of information that might prove your sophistication at your next cocktail party. Speaking of Arab democracy, Palestinian women won 51 seats in the recent election, which is cool.
And since we're in a sober mood already: yesterday we said goodbye to Lisa the Magnificent (I apologise for the half-closed eyes, Lisa! It's the best picture of us all!) who is going back to the Cold North (even colder than here!) As you can see in the picture, we make a good team. Loay was, sadly, in the Cold North already and could not be in the picture with us.
Thursday, January 20, 2005
Lisa and Our Cube
This is our Cube where do our important Thinking. It looks small in the picture because it's small in real life. We prefer to think of it as "cozy."
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
The Perks of Popedom
In Popemobile news, Ferrari is going to give a new, scarlet red, Ferrari Popemobile to il Baba to celebrate his 26th anniversary in the Vatican. Michael Schumaker, a German world champion race car driver, was honored with a high vatican medal during the meeting. The Pope also got to play with a model of the Ferrari F1. It's good to be Pope.
If you, like I, are interested in things religious and humanitarian, NPR just did a story on it.
The Internet Monk put this into better words than I ever did.
If you, like I, are interested in things religious and humanitarian, NPR just did a story on it.
The Internet Monk put this into better words than I ever did.
Sunday, January 16, 2005
Captain's Log
Some people doubt the virtues of the LA freeway system. (Yes, it does look complicated.) Stop griping. In LA, when it says, for instance, "Harbor Freeway" and there is an arrow pointing down, it means that if you stay in the lane directly below the arrow, you will end up on the Harbor Freeway. Not so in the East. Here, the arrow pointing down means, "If you continue on this road, there will eventually be an exit, either on your left or your right, that will eventually lead to the place on this sign. It may or may not be a continuation of the lane you are in. But keep driving straight." Also, the freeways in LA are substantial: they go at least a few miles and end up at a Real Destination with Clearly Marked Intersections and Exits. The freeways here sort of...get you there...indirectly...they sort of start and end randomly... The signs are in a hard-to-read light-brown-and-white, the typeface is small and condensed, and the signs aren't posted nearly as often as they ought to be. Now, I don't mind the driving here and I have pretty much gotten the hang of My Neighborhood and downtown. You get used to it. But Lisa and I think that as Americans migrated West, they gradually worked out the freeway kinks that are evident in Eastern freeway systems. (This morning my "30 minute" drive to church turned into an hour. I got lost about 6 time and made about 5 concentric circles around Arlington. And I'm a decent driver. I can follow directions, at least.) Again I say to you Westerners: appreciate what you have.
Restaurant Week! The Italians are a beautiful people, and I have three evidences: lobster ravioli, cannoli, and cappucino that is half foam. And the others in the group had risotto di frutti mare (risotto is pure culinary brilliance, in my opinion) and fried calimari. In heaven, chefs are from the Mediterranean. They might even all be Italian.
Our small, tight group of four hardworking interns (ok, three interns and a hardworking fellow) is about to disintegrate as Lisa leaves us to go pursue studies back at university (She'd rather attend classes than help us change the world! Psh.) Loay is also leaving, for Egypt or something. They think Rami and I can survive without them! We'll just see about that. I have never, ever in my life met someone who can swill coffee the way that Loay can. He's the true Mr. Coffee. And none of the sissy, sugary, foamy stuff either: straight, black. (Foam is my favorite part of the coffee experience!) He is trying to cut back - yes, cut back - to 8 cups a day. From 16. It's superhuman, I tell you.
The National Gallery of Art has a magnificent exhibit of Middle Eastern art. Go! It's free! And it's absolutely fascinating. Lisa and I were in awe of the pieces they had. I remembered why I majored in history, and I add to my Resolutions: Go to all the free museums in DC, every week. (Well, I can't manage ALL of them in one week, but you know what I mean.)
Restaurant Week! The Italians are a beautiful people, and I have three evidences: lobster ravioli, cannoli, and cappucino that is half foam. And the others in the group had risotto di frutti mare (risotto is pure culinary brilliance, in my opinion) and fried calimari. In heaven, chefs are from the Mediterranean. They might even all be Italian.
Our small, tight group of four hardworking interns (ok, three interns and a hardworking fellow) is about to disintegrate as Lisa leaves us to go pursue studies back at university (She'd rather attend classes than help us change the world! Psh.) Loay is also leaving, for Egypt or something. They think Rami and I can survive without them! We'll just see about that. I have never, ever in my life met someone who can swill coffee the way that Loay can. He's the true Mr. Coffee. And none of the sissy, sugary, foamy stuff either: straight, black. (Foam is my favorite part of the coffee experience!) He is trying to cut back - yes, cut back - to 8 cups a day. From 16. It's superhuman, I tell you.
The National Gallery of Art has a magnificent exhibit of Middle Eastern art. Go! It's free! And it's absolutely fascinating. Lisa and I were in awe of the pieces they had. I remembered why I majored in history, and I add to my Resolutions: Go to all the free museums in DC, every week. (Well, I can't manage ALL of them in one week, but you know what I mean.)
Friday, January 14, 2005
Dress Code
As an LA transplant, I find it fascinating that people wear business attire all day, every day. You can go anywhere in a suit and not feel out of place. It makes dressing easy (none of this ambiguous “business casual” or “casual dressy” or worse, “urban chic,” which I think means, “black.”) Also, long black coats are not only acceptable, but encouraged, and it’s hard not to feel chic in a long black coat.
I got a good 15 minutes of exercise Thursday morning when my trusty D6 bus got a flat tire on O and 22nd street, which is at least 10 miles from K and 18th. Well, no, it’s about 10 blocks. But it feels like 10 miles when you’re wearing 3 inch heels and you’re late for work (but at least I had a good excuse.) I vowed to catch the earlier bus from now on.
One thing to be aware of when considering internships is the amount of coffee-making-Xeroxing-stuffing-envelopes you as the intern will be privileged to do. I love my job because it’s fascinating, but also because I don’t do any of that. I do actual substantive research, and I talk to actual important people, and I go to actual cool places (like the CNN News station next to the Capital.) It’s Networking Central. Plus, I get to read about what’s going on in my favorite places and I’m surrounded by people who are equally excited by it.
The Inauguration preparations are getting visibly more urgent. All kinds of activity goes on from 1500 to 1700 Pennsylvania Avenue, and most of them involve blocking the street with unsightly machinery and making new pedestrian walkways with chained barriers. And I mention again: we get the whole day off work.
Graduate program applications are FINALLY done, paid for, stamped and sent in. Time to sit back, relax, wait for their April decision, and not worry (too much) about what happens after May 20. Thanks! Thanks! to all my professors, TAs, and bosses who wrote letters of recommendation for me and to friends and family who had to listen to me talk about these applications for the past two months. I appreciate it greatly.
I got a good 15 minutes of exercise Thursday morning when my trusty D6 bus got a flat tire on O and 22nd street, which is at least 10 miles from K and 18th. Well, no, it’s about 10 blocks. But it feels like 10 miles when you’re wearing 3 inch heels and you’re late for work (but at least I had a good excuse.) I vowed to catch the earlier bus from now on.
One thing to be aware of when considering internships is the amount of coffee-making-Xeroxing-stuffing-envelopes you as the intern will be privileged to do. I love my job because it’s fascinating, but also because I don’t do any of that. I do actual substantive research, and I talk to actual important people, and I go to actual cool places (like the CNN News station next to the Capital.) It’s Networking Central. Plus, I get to read about what’s going on in my favorite places and I’m surrounded by people who are equally excited by it.
The Inauguration preparations are getting visibly more urgent. All kinds of activity goes on from 1500 to 1700 Pennsylvania Avenue, and most of them involve blocking the street with unsightly machinery and making new pedestrian walkways with chained barriers. And I mention again: we get the whole day off work.
Graduate program applications are FINALLY done, paid for, stamped and sent in. Time to sit back, relax, wait for their April decision, and not worry (too much) about what happens after May 20. Thanks! Thanks! to all my professors, TAs, and bosses who wrote letters of recommendation for me and to friends and family who had to listen to me talk about these applications for the past two months. I appreciate it greatly.
Monday, January 10, 2005
"...What exactly do you do?"
What exactly I do is: research current events in the Middle East, give my research to my boss, who gives it to her boss (who is actually everyone's boss) to do Important Things with. Like hold conferences. And publish articles. I'm really an intern, an unpaid one, but I love this work, and it's never boring because I'm researching what I'm really interested in. Plus, I get to write short articles about interesting things, like the afore-mentioned Middle East Superheroes.
Required reading for those of you who don't want to give up your Dior while working for world peace. Or for aspiring Miss Americas.
I have often wondered this.
A perk of working in downtown DC: We get MLK, Jr. Day off (Monday) AND the day of the Inauguration off (Thursday)! Another perk: Restaurant Week, where any three course dinner in one of DC's best restaurants is 30 dollars. Anyone who knows me know how I love food: this is understandably Very Exciting, so expect a post about Food next week sometime. (Do any of you ex-DCers have recommendatios for expensive restaurants?)
Required reading for those of you who don't want to give up your Dior while working for world peace. Or for aspiring Miss Americas.
I have often wondered this.
A perk of working in downtown DC: We get MLK, Jr. Day off (Monday) AND the day of the Inauguration off (Thursday)! Another perk: Restaurant Week, where any three course dinner in one of DC's best restaurants is 30 dollars. Anyone who knows me know how I love food: this is understandably Very Exciting, so expect a post about Food next week sometime. (Do any of you ex-DCers have recommendatios for expensive restaurants?)
Sunday, January 09, 2005
Week One
I've been a whole week in Washington, DC, now, and I think I've managed to figure out where I live, where I work, and where to buy food. It's nice and chilly, just cold enough to wear tweed, while LA is hardly ever that cold, and I like the fact that I can take public transportation everywhere while wearing tweed. I do, however, miss the palm trees. And cheap(er) sushi.
This made my day: new Middle Eastern Superheroes! If I had a paid internship, I would buy an issue.
This made my day: new Middle Eastern Superheroes! If I had a paid internship, I would buy an issue.
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