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!