Final Farewell

Well kids, the time has come. I said my goodbyes to DC and I am now back at home in middle of nowhere, PA. It feels good to be home with family and friends, but I will definitely miss the city. I had a great summer and I learned a lot along the way. I hope you all got a few giggles out of my experiences, and thanks for letting me whine to you for the last 10 weeks.

In a few more weeks I'll be back at Cal for my final semester. (When did that happen?) Until then, I'll be relaxing on the beach for a few days in between being penned up like a hermit studying for the LSAT. - One month away, wish me luck!

Here are a few parting photographs that I was too lazy to post before. - From Arlington, the Woodley-Park Zoo, the U.S. Capitol Building, and the D.C. Botanical Garden.





Thanks for sticking with me this summer and reading my blogs. I've had a great time running around D.C. and working with BKTC. If anyone gets in any trouble and is in need of a good defense attorney, give them a call. Those kids know their stuff.

Enjoy the rest of your summer! I know I will, beach here I come!

I lied, You get 2 more posts instead of 1

Here is another cranky metro story for you as a goodbye treat. I was sitting on the metro last night, on my way to meet up with my roommate for happy hour. I was sitting in front of two guys, who just may have been the snobbiest guys I've encountered in D.C. The worst part, they were arguing about Supreme Court cases. Who does that? They were arguing about the Supreme Court case from the 80's involving the Pentagon Papers and the Washington Post. They were loud and annoying, and they were not even correct. At all. For the two obnoxious gentlement on the metro who insist on being loud and geeky, allow me to provide a history lesson, the newspaper was not the Washington Post. It was the New York Times. The guy's name, not Miller. His name was Sullivan. Thus - N.Y. Times v. Sullivan. And oh hey, it didn't occur in the 80's during the Rehnquist court (are you kidding me?) either. Try taking it back 2 decades to the Warren court. And the ruling you are guaranteeing that the Court made, hope you aren't betting anything big because you are entirely wrong about that too. -Now, I'm not sure what is worse. The fact that they were nerdy enough to fight about this on the metro, or the fact that I am nerdy enough to know what they were talking about, know it was wrong, and know the correct case info. (Kudos to you Dr. Smith, job well done.)

Did I mention the Metro?

Well kids, the time has finally come. Today is my last day of work, which is kind of hard to believe. I am anxious to go home to my puppy... I mean family and friends. (Don't worry little buddy, get the Frisbee ready, I'll be home soon! And yes, of course you can take up my entire bed, leaving me only two inches of space.)

Things I will not miss:
the metro, swampy heat, the metro, blisters on my feet, the metro, canned soup, the metro, having no money, the metro, having no time to eat or sleep, the metro, arrogant jerks, the metro being late, the metro having no air conditioning when it's 95 degrees out, the metro getting stuck, the metro costing a fortune, the metro workers being rude, my metro fare cards being demagnetized and deleted.... have I mentioned the metro?

However, I will miss the city in general. I'll miss being able to walk everywhere, I'll miss my office and learning new things, I'll miss crazy people in court, I'll miss my awesome boss, and I'll miss my roommates - including learning crazy words like Garberator (that's a garbage disposal to you common folk) from my Canadian roomie.

This summer has been stressful and tiring, but has been a truly awesome experience. I've learned a ton and made some great friends along the way. Today is filled with packing (yikes), cleaning (double yikes), and saying goodbyes. - Don't worry though, I'm not saying goodbye to you just yet... you'll get one more post out of me. Yes one, don't be greedy.

Your Mom Has Wireless Internet.

For anyone who is in need of hilarious entertainment, I highly and enthusiastically recommend visiting http://dcinterns.blogspot.com/

It is a blog where people post about the ridiculous interns running around D.C. - I am not on here, but let's be honest... I'm not out of D.C. yet.

These posts are hilarious, and I assure you, that these things really do happen here and idiots really do say the things you read. Please visit and take a peak into what I have to see and listen to on a daily basis.

My favorite quote so far, "Your mom has wireless internet."

Sidewalk - 1 ; Bandalino Pumps - 0

They just don't make shoes like they used to. I have truly destroyed every pair of shoes I brought with me this summer. Granted, I suppose high heels aren't really made for walking 5 miles a day. But still! I was on my way to work yesterday after my meeting on Capitol Hill and my Bandalino shoes gave out. Yep, I snapped a heel. I really didn't think that ever happened to anyone. - I know what you're thinking - Sure it could happen... but never does. Oh, it does ladies and gentlemen. It sure does. So yes, I was hobbling around the streets of D.C. in my skirt-suit until I found a CVS and bought super glue to piece myself back together for work. (PS - this only fixes the problem for about 15 minutes.) and now I have no black heels for work. Boo.

Winding Down

Sorry for the delay in posting... the internet in my apartment has been anything but friendly and cooperative lately. I have a few pictures and things to post from last weekend, but you'll just have to wait for those until my internet gets fully functioning again and I can post it from my home computer.

This has been an average week, but things have been picking up while I have been hustling around trying to finish assignments before I leave next week. - Next week! When did that happen?!

Most of my time has been spent on finishing up my portfolio for The Washington Center... only one more page to go! I had my Public Policy Dialogue meeting on Capitol Hill yesterday. It's just another program requirement, I met with an aide in Senator Casey's office. It was an interesting experience I suppose, not quite what I had expected though.

I'm planning on doing some final sight-seeing this weekend. Then next weekend will be full of packing, cleaning, and saying goodbye.

Less than 3 weeks to go!

Yesterday I had a meeting with an aide in Congressman Murtha's office for the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Advocacy group that I have been working with. I was accompanied by two other students, and we gave a brief presentation on our group's core beliefs and urged Congressman Murtha to support our cause. The meeting went really well and it was exciting to be meeting on Capitol Hill and lobbying with Congress. (or staff members anyway)

Today I had my midterm evaluation at work (only a little late.) It went really well and my boss gave me some great feedback about my previous weeks. Currently I am working on about 8 different cases at work, as well as finishing up assignments for my portfolio that is due at the beginning of August.

My roommate from Cal came to visit last weekend. It was so wonderful having her here. It really helped lower my stress level which was possibly the best gift in the world. (Thanks H!) I also got to see my family. One of my brothers just moved to Baltimore so I helped move him in to his new place... by that I mean I showed up as soon as the truck had been unloaded. (Good planning, I know.) It's hard to believe that was just last weekend, it seems like it was months ago. I'm excited for the upcoming weekend, I don't have very many left!

I can see why he'd think I was a ninja.

It has been another busy week. At work, I've been doing a lot of work involving getting guardians appointed to adults who are deemed unable to make their own medical decisions. Yesterday I had to run around to get forms signed and notarized, and then I accompanied the attorney of the case to the courthouse to file for an emergency guardianship appointment. A note about the courthouses in D.C. - if anyone needs to be there for a hearing or anything else, make sure you get there early because you do have to go through security... and I think they like to pretend it is an airport because they take it a bit too seriously. I've never had a problem with security before, but yesterday the guard made me practically empty my bag because he was seeing something suspicious on this little x-ray monitor. For everyone who doesn't know me, I carry a very large bag that contains most of my life, so this wasn't a quick process. The item he was so suspicious about... was not a knife, or a sneaky set of nunchucks... it was my set of keys. Keys sure are suspicious, bet no one else ever carries keys in their bag. I guess I should leave them in the office today because I will be going to a court hearing this afternoon and I think I'd feel guilty holding the attorney up again today.



It has been a really good experience working on these cases this week because even though it isn't an area I would want to work in full time, I definitely want to do pro bono work on the side when I have my license. So it has been a good opportunity for me to learn about ways I can help the less fortunate later on... plus all of the field trips get me out of the office for a little while :)

Eastern Market

Last Sunday I went to a place called Eastern Market. I highly recommend visiting to anyone who has the opportunity. It is an awesome outdoor market that I bought a few paintings at. It is like a giant outdoor flea market, but instead of people selling junky old stuff that no one wants, it is full of artists selling their creations. There are a ton of artists selling paintings, drawings, and various things like that but there are also people selling pottery/ceramics and blown glass. There are even a lot of people selling beautiful antique wooden furtniture and little wooden carvings. The best part is you get to haggle the sellers on their prices which is always fun. I bought two paintings off of one of the artists there. He is incredibly talented and creates beautiful pieces. I could have bought everything at his booth - especially because he was very nice and let me talk him down big time on his prices. Here is a picture of one of the paintings I bought to help me remember my time in D.C. (don't mind the picture quality. I'm too lazy to take a better one... and no this is not hung very crookedly on the wall, it is just sitting on a table and I took a crooked picture.)

"You've taken a lot of bites out of this apple, and now there is nothing left but the core."

On Friday I spent my entire morning in court awaiting the hearing my boss had for her nutty case that I mentioned previously. We ended up waiting 3 hours for our hearing to be called before the court because the court's docket got a little over-booked that morning. So I sat in the court room with my boss from about 9:30 to 12:30 waiting. I'm really glad we had to wait though, I got to watch and listen to a bunch of cases. A lot of them were sentencing hearings for criminal cases. The first one I heard involved the sentencing of a 65 year old man who had been convicted of buying and possessing child pornography. It was interesting but definitely hard to listen to at times, especially when the judge began reading statements made by the victims (the 8-10 year old children who were abused and photographed) and their parents. The next criminal case I heard involved a large man from El Salvador who had acted as the enforcer to a group of men who made a business out of dealing cocaine and selling illegal guns. This enforcer was charged with several counts, including being an illegal alien in possession of an illegal firearm, drug charges, and selling sawed off shotguns.

The judge was a no-nonsense guy which made all of the hearing interesting. He called people out on their garbage stories and statements. A funny example was a guy who had been recently released from prison after serving time for drug use. A month following his release he tested positive for marijuana in his drug test and back he went. At the hearing his attorney argued that even though he tested positive he didn't smoke marijuana, he just came in contact with it. This defendant decided to take the witness stand and I have to say this was a poor decision. It all would have went much better if he had just kept quiet. He said he walked into a room of his house where his kids and their friends were smoking pot and he took in the second hand smoke then immediately left. Well, that started a whole new mess for him and his family. But basically, the judge flat out told the guy he doesn't believe he didn't use the drugs again and sent him to prison for a weekend to think things over.

The title of this post is a quote from this judge when he was talking to a repeat offender who had come before this particular judge 9 times. As for our hearing, it went pretty well. We got about half of the plaintiff's charges dismissed. A thing about this plaintiff - she is acting as an attorney pro se, meaning she is representing herself. Not the best idea because none of the motions she files are correct and none of her charges are even applicable in the state of Virginia. The judge told her she needs to consult with an attorney and refile things correctly or he will throw the entire case out. Let's just say the plaintiff did not take kindly to this advice and did not hold back from telling the judge just what she thought. It was definitely an interesting learning experience and the highlight of my week. I'm a little sad about the fact I won't be here for the next round of hearings for this case, I know they certainly will be better than any prime time tv drama. It's too bad they don't allow food in the court house, because these hearings certainly would have matched well with a tub of popcorn and unlike movie tickets, they are free to the public.

It's a Sunshine Day

I just wanted to take this opportunity to let everyone know that I have had a wonderful morning on the metro. Don't worry, that isn't sarcasm you are sensing. It is a beautiful sunshine day; I actually got a seat on the train - shocking. The train was not crowded at all - ludicrous. And the driver of the train was possibly jollier than Santa. Normally the train conductors are grumpy and yelling about passengers being near the doors or inaudibly mumbling about the next stop, but not this fella. He was cheery and welcomed everyone on board at each stop. He was enthusiastic and made everyone smile. When people got off the train he wished them a beautiful and safe morning. He rubbed off on the passengers too, no one was dishing out death stares or shoving or stomping on toes. And, I shared a seat with a nice old gentleman who wished me a wonderful day when I got up from my seat to exit the train. I got off the train and exited the metro station and there was a man singing pleasantly on his guitar and people were happily accepting the pamphlets that volunteers were passing out, rather than giving mean looks and stomping away as usual.

I'm not sure what is going on today, but it has been the most pleasant morning I have ever experienced in D.C... possibly the most pleasant morning I've ever experienced anywhere. So I hope you all have a wonderful morning as well. I just wanted to let everyone know that people in D.C. aren't always cranky and the metro can be a pleasant place. And I wanted to let everyone know now, at 9 AM, before a long day makes me grumpy and bitter :)

We're Half Way There...

It's hard to believe another 4th of July has come and gone. When I was younger I always hated when the 4th of July rolled around. I loved the celebrations, but beneath the fireworks and picnics was the dooming fact that summer was half over. After the 4th of July, summer is gone in the blink of an eye and it's back to school we go. These days I don't hate the end of summer quite as much as I used to... probably because I don't get to lay around by the pool all day anymore. That ended sometime in high school, gotta feed that bank account.

The 4th of July this summer does signal my half-way point in D.C. Only 5 more weeks to go. It has been flying by so fast. Last week was a fun work week for me. My supervising attorney let me tag along with her to a court hearing on Wednesday. I got to sit in the Judge's Chamber for a meeting between the judge and opposing counsels. I really wish there was no such thing as privileged information because this case we are working on is probably the most entertaining thing in the world. People can't write fiction this good. You know what they say, there's nothing stranger than people. We will be returning for another court hearing this Friday so that should be interesting. Other than attending court, I have been working on getting some documents together for some other cases. I've also been trying to hunt down a doctor who may or may not have run away to the Caribbean... I wouldn't mind taking a trip and hunting him down in person - expenses paid by the firm, of course :)


As for the 4th of July Celebrations that I had mentioned earlier, I did have a fun weekend celebrating Independence Day in the nation's capitol. My boyfriend and I went to the parade in the morning and then went paddle boating around the Jefferson Memorial (view pictured on the right.)

At night everyone gathers at the National Mall (and I mean everyone, it was definitely crowded) and they shoot fireworks from the Lincoln Memorial. We watched from towards the back so we could have a quit exit and beat the crowds... and by that I mean my boyfriend pulling my arm out of its socket while he dragged me through a crowd for over six blocks to the transfer metro station. It did pay off though, we beat the crowd so mission accomplished.


I hope everyone had a fun holiday weekend. For everyone who was unable to watch fireworks in the nation's capitol here is a little recap of them for you.

Squirrel!

Another busy week has flown by. Work was hectic and bustling as usual, but I did get to do some interesting things. The thing that was probably the most interesting was sitting in on a meeting. I know that sounds dull but the nerd in me really enjoyed it. Every few weeks my firm has a brown bag lunch in one of the conference rooms. During this lunch one of the senior partners gives a little lecture to the associates. The one I sat in on was a lecture about depositions. He gave tips on how to always be in control at a deposition, regardless of which side you are on, and he had a lot of life stories to go with them. He also gave advice about what types of questions you should always ask during a deposition, and what questions you should never even think of asking. He also gave pointers on how to make your opposing counsel look like an idiot in front of a judge which was hilarious coming from a senior partner. I also found out that I will be attending a few court hearings coming up so that will be exciting.

Last night I attended a session for the Israeli-Palestine Peace Advocacy Project (Yes, my Friday nights are pretty wild and saucy... I know... I know. Be jealous.) It was interesting to say in the least. People got a little too heated for my taste, mostly because people didn't seem to even understand what they were yelling about. Call me crazy, but a group that has the purpose of lobbying on Capitol Hill isn't going to be neutral. If you are neutral you have nothing to lobby about... but maybe I'm just crazy.

Today I went to a law school forum near the Woodley Park Zoo. It was incredibly busy but I got a ton of information and law school applications. It was probably a mistake though because after being there, the list of schools I want to apply to pretty much tripled; and application fees are not cheap. I also visited Union Station, which is probably the prettiest metro stop I have seen so far, and wandered around a few shops. (Don't worry bank account, I didn't buy anything.) Tonight my roommate and I went to a movie theater in Bethesda and saw Pixar's Up. Excellent movie, but it was heartbreaking, I'm a sucker though. I really recommend that everyone see this movie, if for nothing else... you will come out of it understanding the title of this post.

I'm sure most of you have heard about the metro accident on the red line yesterday. I know my friends and family were concerned when they heard the news because they all know that I live near and am almost always traveling on the red line. It was a terrible accident and I will be praying for all those who are affected by it. After an incident like that you would think people would be more cautious regarding the metro. You'd think that, but I'll tell you it is entirely untrue. Most people are just angry that the crash messed up their schedules. There are now less trains on the tracks, meaning the ones that are running are fuller. I was on the metro this morning, and my car was jam packed like sardines in a can. (I actually have never once seen sardines in a can so I'm just assuming that phrase is accurate and they are packed in there good and tight) Anyway, you would think that after yesterday's tragedy people would be more mindful and try to be safer on the metro.... yeah, no they aren't. Too many people were trying to push their way into the metro car this morning; Doors were closing on people and they still didn't view this as a reason to get off and wait for the next train. So what happened? They broke the doors. They broke the doors so we all got trapped in a tunnel for over a half hour, standing so close to one another that no one could breathe, let alone shift positions. Longest half hour of my life. And what does this result in? It results in one less train on the tracks until they fix the doors; thus disgustingly over crowded trains and rude riders.

7 Weeks to Go

It's hard to believe I leave DC in just 7 weeks. Then again, it feels like I have been here for months and months already. Now that I'm all settled into a routine it feels like I've been living here for a lot longer than just a few weeks. Work has been going well, I was able to attend a deposition of a doctor who will be used as a witness for a trial coming up. It was really interesting to sit in on the deposition and listen to the types of questions being asked and hearing the attorneys objecting to various lines of questioning. After the deposition I was asked to write up the summary and my impressions on the doctor's effectiveness. Aside from that I have also had a few other researching assignments and plenty to keep my week jam packed with things to do.

My family came to visit me this weekend which was a lot of fun. We went to the National Museum of American History, which is a massive museum. There are 3 floors packed with exhibits and we actually only were able to see the ones on the first floor so I will definitely have to return. You could easily spend a few whole days looking around in that museum. They have exhibits of all types, ranging from 1950's kitchens to engines to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and everything in between. It was nice getting to see my family and take them around the city for a little while. And my darling mother brought me more clothes and treats, she takes care of me. (thanks mom!)

Tonight I am playing catch-up and finishing up all of the homework and assignments I have been putting off all week (imagine that.) It's been a busy week as usual, so Sunday nights are usually my crash and recharge nights, so I'm looking forward to curling up with a book or movie after I'm finished with my work. I need to be well rested, tomorrow I have Career BootCamp - serious business I know, I'll keep you posted!

As a side note:

"Any man can be a father, but it takes a special person to be a dad."

Happy Fathers Day!!

Lord Stanley, Lord Stanley..

I had a fantastic weekend that went by entirely too fast. Not only did my super sweet boyfriend drive out to visit me, but we got to watch the Pens bring the Cup back to Pittsburgh. I can't think of a better start to a wonderful weekend than that. On Saturday we went to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. They have planes hanging from the ceiling and tons of exhibits about the progression of flight technology which was interesting. One of my favorite parts is the exhibit that lets you walk in part of an airbus plane (maybe that's what it's called?) and see the cockpit. There are five million buttons, I don't know how the pilots don't accidentally push the wrong one. I know I would and probably sink the whole plane into an ocean somewhere just because I wanted to see all the pretty buttons lit up. Future note, don't let Kelsey fly any planes.

On Sunday we went to the National Aquarium which was a lot of fun. The aquarium is located in the same building as the Department of Commerce which is kind of odd I think. The aquarium was a little smaller than you'd expect since it's in the nation's capitol, but it was still pretty awesome. I could watch fish swim all day; this aquarium has a lot of different types of fish and there are also little frogs and a few snakes as well.

I decided last Friday that I was going to start buying weekly metro passes to save some money. The pass is definitely a lot cheaper than paying for each ride. Somehow my fare card got demagnetized (now I know not to let it float around in my purse freely). So I can't feed my card through the turnstile machines like everyone else. Instead, I have to go through the emergency exit gate and show my pass to the person working the metro booth. At first I thought this would be a good thing because I could skip the line at the turnstiles and sneak through the emergency exit... and a lot of times it works just fine because most of the workers don't even look to see that I'm holding up my pass anyway. But this morning I ran into a worker who did care. He cared a lot. He felt the need to inspect my pass and ask me questions for about 15 minutes until I told him I didn't have time for his issues because I was going to be late for work. I'm hoping I don't run into any more of those picky workers because that will get old really fast and I have to put up with it until Thursday when I get a new pass. This would happen to me... I've got that old fashioned Keller luck (thanks Dad.)

The Devil's Playground

Sorry for leaving you all hanging this week. Its been really hectic lately. They've been keeping me busy at work with various projects. I have also been reading some cases and writing briefs for my night class. I promise I should have some interesting things for you to read this weekend, I have a tall and handsome guest that I'll be touring around the town with (Don't tell George.)

As a side note, I will vent a little and fill everyone in on something that has been bothering me all week. After a long day at work I come home, make dinner, do some homework and reading and then go to the gym in my building. I don't know when I missed the memo that the gym is apparently equivalent to a play ground for toddlers. Yes, a few residents of my building take their kids in the gym and let them run around like demons. So I am unable to use the equiptment that I want because there are kids crawling all over it. It wouldn't be so bad, except these children are not even being supervised. While mommy or daddy is over in the corner working out or in most cases just gossiping with neighbors, their children (and by children I mean 5 year olds) are playing on the treadmill. They jump and roll around on a moving treadmill. So I can't even focus on my workout because I feel like I have to babysit these kids because apparently no one else is. And when I got out a mat to do some floor exercises, one of the kids dove on top of it and screamed that it was her mat. So I got another one out and began exercising, and she was just staring at me and saying she could do it better. Well be my guest little one. My boyfriend would say I'm mean and that I hate children; I promise I don't hate children... I just want to enjoy my workout time.

ahh.. I feel better now.

Call Me Mrs. Clooney.

Friday was the longest day of my life. I put in a solid 10 and a half hour day at work. I had a really interesting day at work though and got to work on some awesome projects for several cases. I did get into a major fight with the copy machine, I was one hundred percent ready to she-hulk that machine out of the copy room and out the window so that I could watch it fall to the sidewalk from eight stories up with pure joy. For anyone who has ever seen the movie Office Space, I was envisioning the scene where they destroy their office printer in the field because I would absolutely love to demolish this copier.

Today I played tourist with one of my roommates. We went to Ford's Theater to see the site where President Lincoln was assassinated. The theater was so much smaller than I had imagined it to be. It was very interesting though because you sit in the actual theater and a historian stands on the stage and tells the story of how Lincoln was killed.



The area in the picture is the President's Box at Ford's Theater. The historian said the box is decorated exactly how it was decorated the night the President was shot. I definitely recommend visiting this theater at some point because it is so interesting to hear the details of the assassination.

After Ford's Theater we went to Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum and the National Museum of Natural History. The museum has so many things to see that it is a bit overwhelming. I really enjoyed the dinosaur and gem exhibits but I could probably have spent an entire day there.

Oh, I forgot to mention. I ran into George Clooney earlier this week. We bumped into each other at Dupont Circle and got to chatting. He is the nicest man and so charming. We met for dinner tonight and he held my hand for most of the evening. Yeah, we are pretty much a couple now.

Its true... I swear...

The Devil Designs Prada.

My second day on the job was a lot more interesting than the first. I was originally planning on only working until noon and then visiting the Supreme Court, but I ended up working a full day instead. One of the attorneys who skipped out on the golf outing let me work with him all day on medical malpractice cases and preparing for an upcoming firm audit. I got to see finalized depositions and read through attorney notes and correspondence files, which I loved because I'm a nerd. The day was definitely hectic and showed me what its like to work under deadlines for the court, but I loved the hustle and bustle of it all.

And on a tastier note, since only the attorneys were allowed to attend the golf outing and picnic today, the firm bought pizza for all of the poor suckers stuck in the office all day. And by pizza I mean about 10 different types of gourmet pizza, that was by far the most delicious pizza I've ever tasted in my life. Fresh spinach, portobello mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, mozzarella and goat cheese... after today, I'll never be able to choke down pizza hut ever again... well that's not true, but it was fantastic.

I've been in DC for about a week now, and I'm convinced. I'm convinced that every pair of shoes I own, aside from my trusty flip flops, were undeniably designed and created by the devil. Call me ridiculous, but I just can't do the whole sneaker and pencil skirt thing. I just can't. My poor feet will never forgive me after this summer. Maybe when I'm finished in DC I'll use my blogging money to get a massage and pedicure... hmmm... not too shabby.

One day down,

I survived my first day as a DC intern. As I mentioned before I'm working for the Bonner Kiernan law firm which handles many different types of defense liability cases. The office is extremely nice and spans two floors of a huge building on 20th Street off of the Dupont Circle metro station. Today I got a tour of the building and was introduced to most of the 30+ attorneys in the office. I was a bit surprised because many of the attorneys are only in their late 20's which is very different from the old men I was imagining. I did meet some of the main partners of the firm, all of whom were very nice and chatty. I was proud of myself for not getting lost and being late for my first day, which is something that normally always happens to me - I guess it helps I left over an hour early just to be safe. The first day was a little slow since my boss was out of the office for most of the day and wasn't able to show me too much today. I'll only be working a half day tomorrow because all of the attorneys will be out of the office for a firm wide golf outing and picnic. (sadly interns are not invited - I hate golf, but I do love picnic food.)

After work I headed straight to Virginia which is where I have to go for my night class. My professor is much more laid back than I had expected, and we actually were finished an hour and a half early. I appreciated getting out early after my busy day of work because after class I still have an hour commute back to my apartment in North Bethesda. Mondays I won't be getting home until 10:30-11 so I'll be stumbling into my bed after a busy day of work, seminars and class. My class will involve a lot of work but it seems like it will be pretty interesting and I think I'll enjoy it. My professor has a ton of work experience and I think I'll learn a lot from her, even if it is a little rough along the way.

Overall I think my first day went really well. I got my keys and official passwords and codes for work, and I get my own desk and mini office which is really nice. There is one other intern working with me, he's a bit more on the quiet side than I am, but he seems nice. I'll break him out of his shell sooner or later. I think I might visit the Supreme Court tomorrow after work since I'm getting out early. Stay tuned to hear about the rest of my week!

DC meets KK

Greetings from the nation's capital! For those of you who don't know me, I'll start this blog with a little introduction of myself. Like many other college students, I bounced back and forth between what I wanted to major in and ultimately do with my life. I came to Cal in 2006 majoring in secondary education for English and Spanish, but after a year or so I decided to follow the great American way and change my mind. Now, three years later I am currently a senior majoring in political science/pre-law with a minor in justice studies and will be graduating in December - however more specifically, at the moment I'm just a blonde trying to figure out the metro and find my way around this bustling city. (Just kidding, it is so much easier than I had anticipated.) I'm interning with a private law firm, Bonner Kiernan Trebach & Crociata. This firm specializes in strictly defense litigation for numerous different types of practice groups. I couldn't be more excited or ask for a better job experience. I'm not entirely sure about what area of law I would like to work with in the future, which is part of why I like the idea of interning with this particular firm. BKT&C covers so many different aspects of law and will provide me with a great background and understanding of what lies ahead at law school and future careers. I'm a little nervous for my first day, but mostly I'm just excited.

I'm living with three other girls in North Bethesda and our apartment is much nicer than I expected it to be. (About a million times nicer.) However, there always has to be atleast one aspect that keeps things interesting. In our case, it is our dishwasher. It does its job, but it is by far the loudest thing I have ever heard, and it runs forever. I don't think words can describe these sounds, but we are fully expecting the neighbors to file a noise complaint before all is said and done. I have been doing some sight-seeing over the last few days and getting a bit more familiar with the D.C area. So far, I have toured around the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, WWII Memorial, the Korean and Vietnam Memorials, the FDR Memorial (which was probably my favorite) and the Jefferson Memorial (which is about 10 million miles out of the way, but worth it I suppose.) I've been looking into doing some visits to some local law schools since I plan to send out applications in the fall. There are about a million things to do, but I think I'm going to have to pace myself a little bit better. I'm already exhausted and I haven't even begun my internship and other assignments yet.

I start my internship on June 1st so I'll fill you in on what my duties will be and a bit more about how the firm is structured. In addition to my internship, I will be taking a class,Our Living Constitution, on Monday nights, and will be attending various lectures, seminars, and events through the Washington Center. In between all of these things I will be doing a lot more sight-seeing, so keep checking back to see pictures and stories about my job and places like the Holocause Museum, Arlington National Cemetery, the Smithsonian Institute, and various other places throughout the National Mall.