Well, at least this past Monday in DC. What am I doing here, you ask? For those of you who don't know, I am currently working for the U.S. Senate office doing constituent services, meaning I help citizens who are having problems with federal agencies. It's a fun job, and I LOVE being so closely involved in politics. I got to come out to DC for some training on how to do my job better, as well as to get acquainted with DC's political and tourist workings so I can explain it to constituents back home.
Staring out the work week was Monday, which was AMAZING! Since the actual training didn't start until Tuesday, I had the day to meet my DC coworkers, get my Senate ID (which, PS, gives me access to some pretty cool places!), and get a taste of how the whole DC scene works. We had a little time in the morning, so we got to go to the Library of Congress and see some really neat things, there, including an original copy of the Book of Mormon!
Later in the afternoon, I was lucky enough to go to a hearing that my boss was participating in about some current controversial legislation. Not only was it fun to see how the hearing process works and see a number of prominent Senators speaking, but...wait for it...I was on C-SPAN! *See the arrow in the picture below, pointing to me sitting down.* Now to the average everyday person that may not mean much, but for a political nerd like me it's pretty darn cool! Click
here if you want to see the whole video - I can be seen at 27:27, 37:33, and 1:10:28. :)
After that we came back to the office, and not to much later we rushed with my boss over to the Senate floor in the Capitol for a role call vote - again, very cool! We got to see even more Senators there, including leadership from both parties (Senators Reid, Kennedy, and McConnell to name a few). It was so interesting to see how they actually vote and observe the comradery between the Members, even those of different parties.
Now it may not seem like much, but Monday really was one of, if not the the best work day of my life (
this was another cool day)! Since that time, I have done other fun things, like eat in the Senator's Dining Room and say hello to Senator McCain, but Monday has been the most fulfilling and exciting day by far. It's fun to ride the Metro into work, all dressed up in my business clothes. And I love walking around the Capitol amongst the folks who make such big, far reaching decisions that affect our country. I really love being a part of the process and seeing up close, firsthand how it all works!
