The SOTU and Snow...

Hello to you all!


What an interesting and event filled week this last one was. Last last weekend I spent a good amount of time exploring the city some more, and got to hang a little bit with a great high school friend who goes to school in D.C. Georgetown is a really sweet part of town, and is crazy high-class and upscale!


This week was full of business and interesting events. The most interesting thing that happenned though was Wednesday night, in which I went to a TX State Society pre-State of the Union party, met tons of Texas congressmen, and then went out for Alexa and Zach's birthdays at this great pizza place called Matchbox.

The State of the Union itself is ridiculous tradition. And we can thank Woodrow Wilson for that. Back in the day, the President used to submit via writing a "State of the Union" address to members of congress and to the judiciary. Every once in a while, the President would address these other government members in person, but it wasn't super formal, and it certainly wasn't every single year in January. But I really don't like the SOTU as it has been the last hundred years. The applauding every ten seconds. The mass-like standing and sitting of the peanut gallery. The rockstar like worship of the President with his backup band, the Vice President and Speaker sitting behind him nodding approvingly and looking deeply interested. And worst of all, I can't stand the rhetorical nature of SOTU speeches. It's all fluff and no substance. And this is not just Obama. It's been like this for a long time. When was the last time a SOTU actually accomplished anything or left a positive impression on the American public that held over past one week? The executive branch of government is simply too large, with too much power, and is too worshipped. So no, I didn't watch the whole SOTU. Not worth it.


About now, I am realizing how negative I always sound in these posts. I don't mean to, and if you know me, you know how positive and loving I am. But I do realize there are many things here in D.C. that I simply don't understand or can't stand. As someone who respects our Constitution and someone that understands the pain of the American public, many things sicken me about our government. But there are some really good things happenning here, too. There are some really caring and genuine members of congress, staffers, and interns. And if you are going to make a positive impact on Capitol Hill, you MUST do it from the inside. People here simply don't respect your views unless you have been working in the political process in D.C. for some time. But I am very optimistic about my generation and what they will do for the American people and for the government as a whole. Reform is coming, and it will be LEGEN- wait for it...- DARY!


Today (Sunday), we checked out the National Zoo and got a great look of the Giant Panda that is soon to be shipped back to China. The whole zoo was so cool, and FREE (gotta love free museums in D.C.). We also experienced our first snow fall, and it came down hard. About 6 inches or so I heard. It was absolutely beautiful!

Lastly, a heary congratulations goes out to my dear friends Ryan Marcum and Kat Moffett, who recently got engaged. Congratulations to both of you!



Some recent pictures of happenings are below, and until next time...


The group at Alexa and Zach's bday dinner




Nate and I at the TX State Society reception


A cold day at the zoo




Peace and love,
-Noel

Cap Hill, Cap Tours, and the Cap Lounge

Well, one week in, one nice long weekend gone and I am back in the saddle for week 2. After a full week, I can now take a deep breath and say... "Well, okay... It's not going to be too rough." My office is starting to warm up to me, my work is getting more complicated and thus exciting, and I will be giving tours of the Capitol soon! So overall, work is getting better (even though I don't see myself working for a Congressman ever again), and I am starting to really feel comfortable here in D.C. I even got to go to a press conference with my congressman the other day. I took some pictures for his Twitter and Facebook accounts!

Also, this past three day weekend served as my first real chance to sight-see! I was able to check out most of the sights (the National Art Gallery is great for cool contemporary works), and even got to hang in some of the better local night spots with the really awesome, super chill other Tech students, especially this hip little place called Capitol Lounge (pool and shuffleboard? Yes, please).

Some of the deeper thoughts running through my head these past few weeks include the typical culture shocks, and some probably misplaced stereotypes. But it's worth it to vent, anyways.

-We aren't in Lubbock anymore. The people here, in general, are rude and don't give a flip about you or other strangers. But, that's business as usual in the East I guess.

-Capitol Hill runs on one thing. EGOS. It's all about ego and who has power. For the most part, all the staffers I have run into think they are hot stuff, or think they will soon be hot stuff.

-I'm afraid my fears about members of Congress are true... that they don't really know a whole lot about the things they speak on.

All the negativity aside, the experience, even though just two weeks in, is really great, and every once in a while some real hope filled moments creep in.

For example, I found a great great church already. National Community Church meets at various locations around D.C., but the one I went to on Sunday morning, at Ebeneezer's Coffee House (which NCC owns and operates), was awesome. There was great worship, a real Biblical message, a hip, young congregation, and a real passion for social justice that made me realize this was the church for me this semester. It's those moments you really have to soak in.

In future news, a bunch of us bought tickets for the Houston Rockets vs. Wizards b-ball game March 9, and I am super pumped to watch Aaron Brooks and the boys come to town and take care of business. And I'm hoping to go see Abbie over Valentine's Day in Chicago. And this weekend we are going to hit up Virginia (Pentagon, Monticello, Univ. of Virginia in Charlottesville,etc.). I'm pumped.

Below are some pictures... Have a great week and until next time...

Me, Shelby, and Laramie at the Capitol

Guns up at the Smithsonian

my best Nixon impression (scandal aside)

Peace, love, and God bless,

-Noel

Life in the Federal Gov't

Let's start this blog out by reminding you readers that I am certainly not an easily intimidated type of person. I am super confident, and very comfortable in my own skin and around people of all kinds. But the last two days of work have been nothing short of intimidating! To simply be working in the House of Representatives for a senior level congressman is intimidating. Add that to the fact that my office is full of Aggies who rag on me a lot for being a proud Red Raider, and you have an intimidating work environment. But I feel that I am starting to slowly but surely gain the trust and approval of those who work in the office with me, and hopefully that will mean that I can let my hair down a little bit and be able to be my comfortable confident non-restrained self around them. But besides being intimidated a bit, the work experience has been great so far. I am learning quickly how to do the typical office work needed to be done everyday, and I hope to show the staff that I can move on to more challenging and rewarding duties as they arrive.

The Tech house is located just 5 short minutes from the house office buildings, and that makes it the most convenient and easy part of the whole experience so far. To be able to walk to work and walk home for lunch is AWESOME and is saving me quite a bit of money! The people in the Tech house are good, down home Red Raiders, and it is nice to share some of the stressful and embarassing stories from the work day with other first time interns who have experienced the same experiences as I have the first two days.

On my floor, the 1st floor, we have:

Jett
Kat
Laramie
Jennifer
Alexa
Shelby
Zach

and upstairs are 10 or 11 more Tech kids. 19 of us in one building. Let the drama ensue!

So far, because it has been so cold outside (highs in the 20's), we haven't gone too much out on the town (I did buy groceries, explore the Metro, and find the nearest Target), so I don't have any great photos of the monuments or Capitol yet, but they will come soon.

Love you guys- thank you for the prayers and support- it is comforting to know that even when I am freaking out trying to make good impressions in the office, or gettting made fun of for being the low life intern Red Raider, I am loved and prayed for.

Peace and love,
Noel