Freaking Leslie Knope

       I'm considering buying a fake engagement ring to wear around the office and other places where I would like to deter male interest. A middle-aged man in facilities asked me to join him for happy hour this Friday. I was polite and went along but (between you and me) I don't go into the office on that day. There were also some nice men in a truck the other morning who stopped to watch me walk across the street, giving me a friendly wink. Maybe I could flash a ring at them next time instead of my middle finger (I didn't actually do that, but I definitely thought about it).
       There have been a lot of fun things happening at the ABA. I attended a discussion panel on Tuesday night about clerking, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. "Have a passion for the law, not for the clerkship" and "Be who you are." These are a couple of quotes that I took away from the evening. I had never considered applying for a clerkship after law school, but it seems like a great investment in a legal career-- low in pay and exhausting, but still a good investment. Who knows? Maybe I'll be clerking for a US Supreme Court judge one day.

"A Conversation on Clerking" program at the ABA

       Yesterday, the ABA interns were introduced to all the different sections of the ABA and their directors. The director of Communications and Media Relations talked about her section's role in the ABA, and I was so intrigued. I have more experience in public relations and communications than I do in law, which is what I shared with her later. I look forward to learning more about that section of the ABA and meeting the people involved! There is always a need for attorneys who can interpret legal jargon into layman's terms for publications.
       My supervisor with the Commission on Immigration also likes to host "brown bags," where the interns can eat lunch and meet other ABA employees. The brown bag conversations have opened my eyes to the virtually limitless field of law. There are so many different careers in the legal profession, and you don't have to choose just one for the rest of your life. I love it! Brown bags also give us opportunities to meet visitors. Yesterday, we met an attorney from Russia who is visiting the ABA for a week or so to learn about the ABA and to build connections. Russia is currently in the process of adding the submission of amicus curiae briefs to their court system, which we have the states, so she talked a bit about that. Of course, I had to google amicus curaie briefs because I had no idea what they were. It was fun listening to the ABA attorneys ask the Russian attorney questions about their system and vice versa. Everyone was learning from each other, expanding on the weak points of their legal systems but also appropriately conveying a level of national pride.
       On a much more serious note, so many things in the office remind me of Parks and Recreation. There is an episode where Leslie Knope, a mid-level bureaucrat in the Parks and Recreation Department of Pawnee, Indiana, visits DC. At one point in the episode, Leslie feels overshadowed by the tall, powerful women of DC. I could empathize with Leslie Knope this morning. On the elevator I noticed that I was at least one foot shorter than every other "powerful" woman making their way up the floors. But I have learned from this character that there is no task too great. When Leslie sets her mind to something, she will do everything within her power (and even beyond her power) to accomplish it. She may be intimidated but she's freaking Leslie Knope.

Leslie's published book about Pawnee

  

The Air and (lack of) Space Museum

       I've gotten better at standing on the metro. Sometimes it's easy to stabilize and other times it's almost impossible-- it really depends on the driver. It was last Wednesday when I just about fell over on the train coming home from the city. It was really embarrassing and I laughed out loud at myself. I told a lady facing me that I was from Texas (as my excuse for not being able to balance well), but she totally didn't care.

       My site-seeing this week consisted of visiting the Smithsonian Castle and the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. The Castle is a great building to hit up as an introduction to the Smithsonian museums. It gives you a history of the Smithsonian's establishment and an introduction into all the other museums. Also displayed in the Castle are what they call "souvenirs," which are different from artifacts. They are objects (peculiar and spectacular) that had been collected by certain people in history, like things that marked important times in their lives. One souvenir that really caught my eye was a man's collection of American Presidents' hair. It was kind of creepy but also really cool. I stood there staring at the pieces of hair for a while, trying to picture what it looked like on that president's head.

       The Air and Space Museum was overwhelming and crowded. It was probably one of my favorite museums so far but I wish I could have enjoyed it more. I felt rushed because there were people everywhere, and I had trouble reading from all the noisy children. At one point, a goofy teenaged girl walked (though it felt like she ran) right into the back of me. Her friends were just laughing at her as she said sorry. I wasn't laughing.

       I visited FBC Alexandria this Sunday and met some really great young adults! They have events coming up and opportunities to build community throughout the week. One of those events is a Super Bowl party, and they are having a little worship service during half-time. That will be interesting.
       I'm at a really weird place right now. I'm not sure if it's loneliness, boredom, stress, or what. I think I just need friends up here. I emotionally recharge by hanging out with people that I enjoy, and I can only recharge so much around strangers and acquaintances. But I know that I am not alone. The Lord has led me to DC, and he is on this journey with me. He is always with me.

Habla Español?

       Monday morning I woke up bright and early for a day of museum-visiting and sight-seeing. I was dead set on checking out the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian so I hopped on the metro to L'efant Plaza, which was the sketchiest metro station I've been to thus far. There were people just standing around, and I had trouble finding the station exit. The police officers in the station did make me feel safer, and they were also easy on the eyes.
       Google maps failed me so I had to find the museum the old-fashioned way-- by wandering around, using context clues, and reading signs. Once I found the museum, it was close to lunch time. I'd heard that the museum served authentic American Indian food, and I'm always down for eating crazy new foods. I'm not sure what I ate, but it was delicious-- DEFINITELY worth the $20 I paid for it.

       After learning everything I could about South, Central, and North American Indian history I continued my trek down Independence Avenue. I passed the reflection pool and strolled around the Capitol building, taking lots of pictures. I kept walking with the hope that I'd eventually run into the Supreme Court building, and I did! There is a Supreme Court oral argument happening in February, and I really need to find out how to attend one of those. 

       On my way back to the sketchy L'enfant Plaza metro station, I walked through the National Museum of African Art. I didn't get much out of my visit because I wanted to get back to Springfield before dark. At least I can say that I went there. 

       We did something that was really cool at the ABA today. My boss gathered a few women who work in different divisions of the ABA to share with us interns about what they do. Immigration, human rights, death row project-- these are a few of the many branches on the ABA tree. After each woman shared, I was ready to commit my law future to their causes. I can't wait to see what the Lord will have me do! 

     In the last 2 days I have answered 4 hotline calls where the first phrase I hear on the other end of the line was, "Habla español?" The idea of carrying out a call is Spanish is super exciting, but I can't do it. I barely know what's going on in English because all of this immigration terminology is new to me. There's a goal: by the end of the semester, I will be able to conduct a detainee hotline call in Spanish. 

Contrition of a Maxxinista

       I attended South Run Baptist Church this morning! They had me at "south."The college group was wonderful, and I was challenged and inspired by the pastor's sermon. I was greeted and welcomed the moment I stepped in the door. "You're a visitor!" a man said. Gotta love small churches.
       After church, I planned on going to TJ Maxx. I had a gift card, and I really wanted some work-out equipment (thank you to the Nike Fit app for requiring kettle bells). I am no TJ Maxx novice. I like to hit up the Maxx once of week when I'm home, and I've been deprived of the spectacular shopping/scavenging experience for about 3 weeks. Well, more like 2, but I was experiencing symptoms of withdrawal nonetheless.
       I definitely got my TJ Maxx fix this afternoon. I'm ashamed to say that I attacked that place like a ravenous wolf. I grabbed a kettle bell and a yoga ball, but before I knew what was happening, I had swiped a buggy and was filling it with blouses and sweaters and more blouses. When I had sufficiently loaded my buggie, I ambushed the fitting room. My strategy is to grab everything and eliminate by trying things on.
      I narrowed my items down surprisingly well, and added up my purchases. Now, lately I've been carrying around cash- with my debit card for emergencies. As I loaded my purse this morning, knowing that I would be going to TJ Maxx, I purposefully left my debit card out. I had the gift card, 20 dollars cash, and a visa gift card (which ended up being empty).
       At the register, I realized that I didn't have enough dough. It was a big ordeal to cancel my purchases, remove items, and ring it all up again. I left TJ Maxx with everything EXCEPT what I had actually gone into the store to purchase. I was very disappointed in myself to say the least, and I was angry. There's nothing like standing at a register, long line of people behind you, without enough money to let you know that you have a problem. And I still have no kettle ball to work out with. I guess I could just use something heavy in the apartment.

       I made two big mistakes Friday morning. I sat facing the back of the metro and found myself reading about last week's metro accident. For most of the commute, I was a nervous wreck with motion sickness. Thankfully, my day at the ABA office was really great. I talked to more detainees and met some cool new people, including another Commission on Immigration intern. I probably won't make a habit of going in on Friday because I wanted to do absolutely nothing on Saturday. You guys won't get interesting blogs from me that way!

Metro, Selfless Women and The Least of These

       I have a love/hate relationship with public transportation. It took 2 hours to get home from the metro yesterday (when it should have taken less than an hour), and I found out today that I'm getting charged a few dollars more to ride the metro during the rush hour (which is, of course, when I go into DC). But I guess that's okay since my time on the metro is extremely entertaining. 

       I find human interaction very interesting so I simply observe. Some people give up their seats, others read their books, many listen to music, but most just stare into some distant realm. People respect your space, they accommodate for new passengers, and they quickly move out of way for exiting passengers. 

       The morning metro has a totally different vibe than the evening metro. Morning metro: fast-paced, jittery, and fresh. Evening metro: slower, calm, and tired. When I get up the guts to talk with someone on the metro, I'm always glad that I did. Yesterday, I talked to a man whose wife is from Kazakstan. We talked about travel and missionaries and culture. Another man asked me if I was done for the day, and I told him about the crockpot meal I had waiting for me at home. 

       I checked out the Smithsonian National History Museum this week. The most difficult task was actually getting to the museum. I got off the metro rail -Smithsonian (easy enough), but I ended up wandering around for about 10 minutes before I caved and used the GPS on my phone. I always try to get as far as I can without a GPS, which usually means I have to go even further to get back on track. There are 17 Smithsonian Museums in DC. I trekked to the National History Museum because it was the closest to the metro station, which was still further than I wanted to walk with the painful blister forming on my right heal. 

       It was cold and rainy outside so I ordered a coffee in the Smithsonian café. I was then told that I could't take the coffee (which was purchased inside the Smithsonian) into any of the Smithsonian exhibits. I took my time and enjoyed drinking that cup of coffee because it wasn't cheap. When I finished that, I unashamedly spent most of my time in the Texas portion of the museum. Why? Because I miss Texas, and because Texas history is the only history. I'm sure that if you went to any Texas museum they would let you take your coffee anywhere you wanted. 

       I also enjoyed the First Ladies exhibit, which discussed how each first lady made the unofficial position her own. Each first lady utilized her position as a woman and as a public figure to advocate for her causes.  First Lady Hoover, for example, always wore American-made clothing. During the Great Depression, she wore cotton dresses (even for special events) to promote the textile industry. She could have worn anything and she chose to wear cotton. I want to be that kind of selfless woman. 

       I met two other ABA interns today! Ashley (an undergrad from Virginia) and Joey (a third year law student from China). Joey, contrary to what you may be picturing, is a girl. Our bosses thought that both Joey and I were boys before our interviews. Surprise! 

       We got to hear some pretty cool stories on the detainee hotline today. One man called to request some information, and he started our phone conversation with, "Let me tell you my story." It was filled with gangs and violence and crime and fear and hope. 

       After our conversation, I gathered all the information he would need (and then some). I stapled the packets, stacked them in order, printed and signed the cover letter, and sent the giant manilla envelope to the boss's desk. I spent a good chunk of my morning doing all of this. It seems strange, but I became truly attached to that man and to his situation through the process. I asked my boss, Karen, about this. She said that detainees often become your good friends. One detainee calls our other boss, Robert, every week just to see how he's doing. 

       This internship is vastly different than anything I've experienced before. It's not through a ministry- it's not even in a Christian environment, but I feel so cared for and supported. The Lord calls us to help the least of these, and that's what all of us at the ABA's Commission on Immigration are doing. We are helping a very vulnerable group of people, and I praise God for such an incredible opportunity to glorify him. 

Weekend Tourist

National Museum of the Marine Corps, WWII Exhibit

       I discovered that I prefer visiting museums alone after spending the afternoon reading my way through the National Museum of the Marine Corps. I carefully read every tidbit of information displayed, watched every video clip, and walked through every simulation. I am sure that if you asked me any question right now about the Marines' involvement in any war since the start of America, I would know the answer.
       I left the museum and made a b-line to the movie theater. I just REALLY wanted to go see a movie, and I knew that everyone and their mother would be thinking the same thing on a Saturday night. Though I was somewhat insecure about seeing a movie alone, I boldly approached the ticket counter.
"One ticket for 'Into the Woods, please," I said.
"Just one?" the guy looked puzzled behind the counter.
       I thought about making it seem like I was meeting up with friends, but he pulled up the seating chart. The only decent seat left was a single handicapped companion seat. There was no way to recover from this one. I was very clearly alone.
       I sighed and said, "I'll take that one."
       My popcorn was almost gone before the movie started.

pic cred: Amy Brown

       I'm so thankful to Amy and Elijah Brown for letting me tag along with them this morning. Every D.C. tourist should at least visit the second largest cathedral in the United States, the Washington National Cathedral. If you get a chance, you should attend an actual service. This morning's service was a meditative experience with baptism, liturgy, and singing. 

       I decided not to take communion, however, because it involved drinking wine from a chalice. Contrary to what you may be thinking, it was not the wine that bothered me-- It was every person's mouth that touched the rim of the big silver cup and every person's saliva that floated around in the purple bubbles. The Browns pointed out that I could take the bread and forgo the wine, but what's the body without the blood? 

     

Do Not Make Eye Contact

       It was brass monkeys outside today, friends. Snow and ice and wind, OH MY.
       Today was my first day in the ABA office! My awesome bosses treated me to lunch and patiently walked me through some intern tasks. They say that the learning curve is a vertical line, which gives me hope. It shouldn't take too long for me to get the hang of things.
       I arrived at Farragut West with time to spare before I had to be at the office. I decided to grab some Starbucks (soy misto, of course). As I walked out into the frigid air- coffee in hand- I made the mistake of smiling at a seemingly homeless man standing on the sidewalk. The very kind man said as I passed by (in a voice very similar to that of Donkey from 'Shrek', "YOU are a sexy mother f@$%#r!"Oddly enough, I wasn't offended or upset. I was kind of flattered. Some guys just know what to say to make a girl feel good.
       Now that I'm sure you're judging me, let me tell you how the Lord spoke powerfully to me this morning. When my environment changes, I have a tendency to forsake the Lord. My distance from him causes me to question his existence. I've been fighting this tendency in vain the last few days. Thoughts of doubt have crept their way into my mind. With the time I had left before going upstairs to the office, I sat in the lower level of Washington Square and read a devotional by SheReadsTruth. I was moved to tears when I read these words:

"It is well beyond simply closing my eyes and almost tangibly feeling the sweet, near and warm breath of the Holy God surround me when I read my Bible… Sure, it's nice to feel warm and intimate. But I imagine there isn't one of us reading this today who hasn't hit the point in their lives where tender just won't cut it. We need something we can cling to. Something solid. Something that cannot be shaken. We need promises- both kept and made. We need to know that the Story we are staking our lives on isn't simply the words of man…" accompanied by 2 Tim. 3:14-17 & 2 Peter 1:16-21.

       Was there any better way for the Lord to say that he's with me? The Holy Spirits groans on my behalf- when my heart can't even articulate its brokenness. I may not know what I need but He does.
       My trek back to Springfield at the end of the day was piteous. I dropped a bunch of loose papers everywhere as I tried to enter the busy Farragut North station. I also got on the wrong train at Central Station. Somehow I ended up in Springfield with a new acquaintance from New Orleans. She owns a bakery in the city! Maybe she could hook me up with a job?

Lessons in City Lyfe

How long does it take to drive from Wichita Falls, Tx to Springfield, VA? It takes about 21 hours. There are few things I dislike most than being in the car for extended periods of time. Fortunately, I become slightly addicted… okay very addicted to the BBC show "Sherlock." Before we left the Falls, I purchased a 939 page collection of "The Greatest Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and my mind was gladly preoccupied for most of the drive.
My dad has been incredible in helping me. Today, we decided to check out the office where I'll be interning. At the metro station, dad had a bout with the walkthrough thingy. He tried and tried to enter through the exit. He ended up just pushing his way through. Since he didn't scan into the metro he couldn't leave the metro when we got off our stop. I was rather amused by the whole thing. Dad was not.
Somehow he did make it out of the metro. We walked to Washington Square, where the American Bar Association's offices are located. Here, it was my turn to be embarrassed. The entire front of the building is virtually a window, and I followed Dad through the revolving doors (also completely see through). He entered the building without a problem. I tried to exit the door too soon, ramming my face (and my tall soy misto) into an invisible wall.
We made our way up the elevator to the offices. We met my bosses who were warm and welcoming. As we stood in a circle talking, I noticed something most horrifying. Dad's fly was completely open. How long had his zipper been down? Did my bosses notice? How am I going to tell him? All questions that went through my mind seemingly simultaneously. At the first lull in the conversation, I couldn't contain myself. I told him through a giggle, and everyone let out a laugh. Crisis-slightly averted… embarrassment-not so much averted.
As we left Washington Square, a very nice man selling newspapers struck up a conversation with me. He was very helpful in directing me towards the monuments and the White House. "You know Tupac?" he asked me. "No, not personally," I said. Turns out, he was trying to sell me a homeless people newspaper. He showed me his printed bio, which was made up entirely of Tupac lyrics. Apparently, I'm oblivious to such ploys.
How to use the metro, how to distinguish between glass and air, how to walk down the street without being heckled. All lessons learned.