I got the internship!!

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Yep!! They e-mailed me Friday and congratulated me on my acceptance into the program. I am really psyched that I got in and have the opportunity to work so close to politics. The access I will have will be incredible. So excited!!

This weekend I slept in a lot to recover from three straight nights of work. But heck, I was earning money so I'm not complaining too much.

Today was soooo hot and disgusting. Walking around campus with a laptop, three notebooks, a water bottle, and all other miscellaneous items in a backpack did not help things. But I was able to escape the heat for a few moments when I had to travel through an underground tunnel from one building to another. I had heard about it before, but never had to use it. It was pretty chilly down there, but definitely a walk I'd take again if it gets back up in the 90s.

I was looking for this department that offers Pashto, the Afghan language, because I want to sign up for it in the fall. As I was telling the woman at the counter what language I was interested in, one of the workers in the office turned around from his computer to look at me. Haha! I guess they don't get that request a lot.

I have an interview tomorrow morning with a veteran who created a group on campus that brings other veterans together to talk and find resources for opportunities offered to them. I've been trying to get a hold of him for about a week now and just relieved to finally move on with this article.

Since I decided to stick with the internship, I'm trying to look for part-time work so that I can have some money this summer to spend. I e-mailed the local USO to see if they have any positions available and the woman who wrote back asked for my resume, so I am really crossing my fingers that I'll get it.

I also finally booked my plane ticket to see TR in the coming weeks. Pumped!! I haven't seen him since January 11th (wow, that really is a long time ago...) and we are both really excited to hang out for a week before I start my internship. It'll be fun to be "domestic" and get to know one another more.

And as a closing thought, here is a photo I took today of someone's car bumper. It made me smile for it's take on the peace sign and the simplicity of the idea. Love it!

If you haven't read...

Friday, April 24, 2009

the silly article by Tom Ricks titled "Why We Should Get Rid of West Point," now's a good time to do so because of the AMAZING response by West Point Cadet Tianyi Xin.

When I first came upon this article on Black Five, I could only imagine TR's reaction to it. A West Point grad himself, TR and I love the fact that he received a "community college education" at the most elite Army Academy in the United States. Yeah, nice parallel Tom Ricks.

Needless to say, the response by Tianyi Xin is well thought out and eloquently says "you have no idea what you are talking about, so shut your yapper." The last line in her response is by far the best I have seen in a long time. BURN! She is someone the world will be watching in a few years, I can tell you that.

Definitely a good read, especially if you know someone who graduated from West Point.

I'm going to bed. I have to interview a Major tomorrow for my veteran article and I'm wicked tired. I didn't get out of work until 12:35 am this morning.... Night!!

Jobs, Jobs, and More Jobs!

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

So after my classes today, I went to talk to this Major that is at the Army ROTC on campus to ask him for an interview for my article. I hadn't heard back from him in a while and wanted to meet him in person so that we could sit down and talk about setting one up. He was a really nice guy and gave me some information on the G.I. Bill and a source who looks like he will be able to help me a lot with my Veteran article. The interview with the Major will be at the end of the week and before then I have to send him my questions so that they can look them over. It's to be expected of the Army. But I'm really excited about giving the interview and learning more about what Veterans are doing to get back into school and how they are adjusting to their new role as a student.

TR also sent me an e-mail with a bunch of links to summer internships for next year with the government and one of them looks really interesting. They pay for my housing and travel and I get to work with people in the field. Exciting!

Right after the first e-mail, he sent me another one for a vacancy that closes tomorrow! Great timing, honey. He then proceeds to call me and pressures me into applying. So now I have to scramble around campus tomorrow to see if I can get my transcript asap (don't know if that will happen...). It's a nice paying job for the summer, not in my field of interest, but still a foot in the door. I'm still hoping to get the job where TR is now and waiting to see what the people for this summer's internship have to say about my interview.

Oh! I bought that SEAL t-shirt that I said I was going to buy in my last post. It should be at my house in about 3 days. Wicked psyched!! I had TR look at some of their other shirts and I might get him one in the future.

I also FINALLY got my fencing team jacket today! Hallelujah! We had to send them back because they didn't outline the lettering on the back of the jacket, the same mistake they supposedly made last year. Very frustrating! But I have it now with my name spelled correctly, so I am all set. It's just too bad that I am getting it at the end of the season because I really would have liked to have worn it in some of my past tournaments. Oh well. Just going to have to wait till next semester I guess.