Hello Everybody, the clock is officially counting down the days we have left here in Washington D.C. This semester was an event that I had been planning since fall of my sophomore year (2008). Now I have less than a month left. With fall 2010 class registration around the corner I've had to do some deep thinking about how'd I be spending my time post-graduation.
I know what Americorps program I want to do after I graduate. It's called Americorps NCCC, or the National Civilian Community Corps. For ten months, I would perform team-based service projects in five different areas: natural and other disasters, infrastructure improvement, environmental stewardship and conservation, energy conservation, and urban and rural development. I'd be based out of one of five different campus locations and travel to the 10-15 states in my region. I would be trained in CPR, first aid, public safety, and other skills before beginning my first service project. Like I said it's a ten month commitment chalked full with benefits. The biggest question is should I do it immediately after I graduate in the spring or wait till fall of 2011. Well for now we've decided wait till fall of 2011 so I can take some essential courses that I need prior to graduate school like foreign language and economics back at home in Missouri. Then hopefully I'll be able to apply for graduate school and start that journey fall of 2012. Right now, I've done some looking at American University and their Masters of the Arts in International Development. I'm hoping that this 10 month stint in Americorps will help confirm my beliefs that I want to start a career in international development. So for the past week most of my thoughts have been focused on the next two years of my life.
Work-wise things haven't been too crazy these last two weeks. Two weeks ago when my boss was in Paris work was at a minimal for me so I got to come in late and leave early. This last week has seen me do work on the Threat Assessment. Three weeks ago I had sent out a draft of the Threat Assessment to a panel of our experts and now they are responding back to us with their thoughts, opinions, and corrections. I've been working to expand on some parts of the report. For instance, I've help expand a section of our report on Pakistan's nuclear arsenal and the threat of those falling in the hands of extremists or the threat of a nuclear conflict with India. Hopefully some of my language will be used for the report, but my boss was bogged down in fundraising last week so he couldn't focus too much on the reports. If I'm lucky, I'll get to continue working on the threat assessment and writing for it so I could possibly get my name in the back of that too. Work is unfortunately winding down as well. I only have three weeks left which is a bummer because I like doing what I'm doing.
Socially, we've had some fun experiences. I went to my first opera two Fridays ago. Porgy and Bess is the name. It's an American classic which is okay but it's not like Italian or German opera which I think I might like better. Though the opera itself wasn't intolerable, it just wasn't my thing. Though it is nice to say that I've been to one at the Kennedy Center. We have also found a new bar in town called McFaddens and we've been to it three times this last week including a Tuesday night visit. We've also done a lot of walking around the city. After all the protesting two weeks ago the city has become a lot more friendly thanks to the Spring Blossom Festival. This weekend was very packed with people coming to see the Japanese Cherry Blossoms blooming along the Tidal Basin.
I'm going to have to start working on some of my papers for my courses soon. I think I'll start writing my big research paper on NATO and Europe tomorrow. The semester has definitely gotten better thanks to the 21st birthday, but I can't believe I've been here so long already and that it's almost over. Going into the new year 2009 I had the goals of finding a summer job, finding a summer volunteer program, finding someone to sublease for me when I leave the next spring, and finding an internship for my semester. Now at the start of 2010 my goals are bigger. Find an Americorps program, find a graduate school, find out what you want to do with your life. What a difference a year makes.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
Yay for Health Care!!!
Hey Everybody! Democracy's kicked in!
So big weekend here in D.C.
Like it or not reformed health care is here. Meh, with my internship keeping me focused on Afghanistan. I really don't care. But I do understand the historical implications of this event and it's been interesting none the less.
Take this last Saturday for example. So, friend and I decide to go walking to Capitol Hill. We wanted to take a look at the TEA protesters and do some reading/work outside. Well on our way there, we got stopped by a bigger, more impressive protest at Dupont Circle. The anti-war protest was hoppin! The anti-Bush, Cheney, Israel, Afghanistan, Iraq, even Haiti protesters were out and about. Many of the signs we saw attacked the cost of our deployments overseas, more so than the casualties taken. Lots of antisemitism (and I hate using that cliched word, but it applies here), anti-government, and anti-war. Though I obviously don't stand for anything they stand for - although I liked "Drop Tuition, Not Bombs!" - it was really cool to see a protest and democracy in action. Reports put this turn-out relatively low at 2,500 people. When we got to the White House we saw some remnants of protesting going on there as well.
We got to Capitol Hill to see protesters yell "Kill the Bill," but it wasn't as impressive. I think we got there late. Still interesting nonetheless. Yesterday, there was also an immigration protest yesterday as well. I didn't see that one, but I guess it was protest weekend in Washington D.C. Sunday night I did see the new Matt Damon "Green Zone." I liked it too. Though at first I thought it was going to be overly political and annoying (Matt Damon's character wouldn't shut up about the "intel" being bad), it turned out to be a nice political thriller. There were the basic messages of the critical mistakes preceding the invasion, chiefly the bad intelligence that led us to war. That was to be expected and since it's really fact to begin with it didn't bother me. The "Bourne-esqueness" of the movie overshadowed the politics in it and I'll actually probably buy it when it comes out. Go see it for a good action thriller and nothing more. You'll like it that way.
Probably my toughest week at work this week.I’m still doing a lot of significant, substantive work, but since my boss was leaving for France on Friday, I was under the gun the whole week to get both the supplement and the NATO Threat Assessment as finished as possible. I also had to help look up information on all my boss’ meetings in France as well as metro information. With him being gone for a week he wanted to have all the writing done in both reports so for this week we interns only have to do proofreading. What made this tougher was the type of statistics I had to look up and compile for the Threat Assessment. They were economic import/export numbers between NATO members and Central/South Asian countries. There was a lot of adding/subtracting and number crunching to get the most accurate numbers in my boss’ hands. It was just stressful. I did get to drive around again which was kinda stressful, but only because I had to pick someone up, a former German military officer, but he didn't show. I also drove my boss to the Treasury and one of his aids to Capitol Hill. Driving around the city isn't hard at all; I like it. And I also like knowing how to get to places and discovering where everything is.
This week looks to be more quiet since my boss is gone. He said I could come in late and leave early if I'm struggling for things to do. That's about all I know. I'll try to get pictures of some of the rallies up here sometime. Thanks for reading!
So big weekend here in D.C.
Like it or not reformed health care is here. Meh, with my internship keeping me focused on Afghanistan. I really don't care. But I do understand the historical implications of this event and it's been interesting none the less.
Take this last Saturday for example. So, friend and I decide to go walking to Capitol Hill. We wanted to take a look at the TEA protesters and do some reading/work outside. Well on our way there, we got stopped by a bigger, more impressive protest at Dupont Circle. The anti-war protest was hoppin! The anti-Bush, Cheney, Israel, Afghanistan, Iraq, even Haiti protesters were out and about. Many of the signs we saw attacked the cost of our deployments overseas, more so than the casualties taken. Lots of antisemitism (and I hate using that cliched word, but it applies here), anti-government, and anti-war. Though I obviously don't stand for anything they stand for - although I liked "Drop Tuition, Not Bombs!" - it was really cool to see a protest and democracy in action. Reports put this turn-out relatively low at 2,500 people. When we got to the White House we saw some remnants of protesting going on there as well.
We got to Capitol Hill to see protesters yell "Kill the Bill," but it wasn't as impressive. I think we got there late. Still interesting nonetheless. Yesterday, there was also an immigration protest yesterday as well. I didn't see that one, but I guess it was protest weekend in Washington D.C. Sunday night I did see the new Matt Damon "Green Zone." I liked it too. Though at first I thought it was going to be overly political and annoying (Matt Damon's character wouldn't shut up about the "intel" being bad), it turned out to be a nice political thriller. There were the basic messages of the critical mistakes preceding the invasion, chiefly the bad intelligence that led us to war. That was to be expected and since it's really fact to begin with it didn't bother me. The "Bourne-esqueness" of the movie overshadowed the politics in it and I'll actually probably buy it when it comes out. Go see it for a good action thriller and nothing more. You'll like it that way.
Probably my toughest week at work this week.I’m still doing a lot of significant, substantive work, but since my boss was leaving for France on Friday, I was under the gun the whole week to get both the supplement and the NATO Threat Assessment as finished as possible. I also had to help look up information on all my boss’ meetings in France as well as metro information. With him being gone for a week he wanted to have all the writing done in both reports so for this week we interns only have to do proofreading. What made this tougher was the type of statistics I had to look up and compile for the Threat Assessment. They were economic import/export numbers between NATO members and Central/South Asian countries. There was a lot of adding/subtracting and number crunching to get the most accurate numbers in my boss’ hands. It was just stressful. I did get to drive around again which was kinda stressful, but only because I had to pick someone up, a former German military officer, but he didn't show. I also drove my boss to the Treasury and one of his aids to Capitol Hill. Driving around the city isn't hard at all; I like it. And I also like knowing how to get to places and discovering where everything is.
This week looks to be more quiet since my boss is gone. He said I could come in late and leave early if I'm struggling for things to do. That's about all I know. I'll try to get pictures of some of the rallies up here sometime. Thanks for reading!
Monday, March 15, 2010
Vingt-et-Un!
Well the twenty-first has come and gone and it couldn't have gone any better. Saturday night was fantastic as four of my JMU pals came up and everyone plus some friends from Butler University came out to Dupont Circle to celebrate my birthday. It was an extremely fun night. The next morning I woke up (feeling surprisingly well) and opened up some great presents from the family and even got a couple from the friends here. Despite not being able to be with family this was an excellent birthday. I have some videos but they are taking forever to add on here. I'll try facebook later.
Last week saw some more substantial work on the supplement at the Center. Ryan's been making me add more to it due to the amount of calls he's getting from the embassies. That and a trip to the Turkish embassy made him rethink how much detail he wants going into the report. Hopefully, I believe it is almost done and should be released online by the end of the week. Now I'm switching over to reviewing the second report, the NATO Threat Assessment. The first half of the report is due out by the end of the week. Ryan wants to get it out before he makes this trip to France next week. There's a lot that needs to be done in a short amount of time, but I like all the work I'm doing. Writing in the supplement has been great and I look forward to seeing that end result.
He's an interesting story from last week. So on Wednesday last week I had to drive Dr. Abshire to the Federal Reserve to meet Chairman Bernanke. I haven't driven since I've been here and the amount of driving I've done in inner-city DC is limited as is, but I've done plenty in St. Louis. Traffic doesn't bother me as much as trying to figure out where I'm trying to get to. So I ran home to get my GPS and a pair of Aviator sunglasses as a co-worker suggested I should wear some when I'm loitering around the Reserve waiting for the meeting to get over with. That way I'll look more like a bodyguard than just an intern in a nice car. And a nice car it was! Dr. Abshire has a tan Cadillac worth more than my life and I had to drive it in DC. So anyway, I was able to make it pretty easily to the Federal Reserve to drop him and one of his assistants off. The hard part was finding a place to park for an hour, but fortunately I did and it was two hour parking so I was okay. I did look completely awesome though. In a Cadillac with gold framed Aviators on, a tie, navy blue blazer, and khaki pants completed the ensemble. I pretty much looked amazing. Anyway, I picked him up and drove back successfully without getting a scratch on the car. And I'm sure I've earned myself driving privileges for the rest of the spring.
So I talked about this week for work. I also have a five page paper due on Friday. I'll start on that tomorrow. Class is taking a trip to USAID on Friday so I'm planning on asking a lot of questions and I might even pack a resume. I need to get a better idea of what Foreign Service Officers do though before I start looking for a job there. I know they get a pretty bad rep here, but let's be honest, the whole diplomatic field gets a bad rep here, it doesn't matter who's president. Wednesday we have class so we really can't go out to celebrate St. Patrick's Day after work, but we might go after class for a drink or two. I'm exciting I now get to join my friends when they go out to bars on the weekends. That will help me relax and be more social on the weekends. So now I'm going to watch the first episode of The Pacific online. I've known about this show since I was in high school, learning about it in the fall of 2006. It was originally suppose to be out last summer, but got pushed back. I always wondered where I would be and what I would be doing when this show came out. Never thought I'd be in Washington D.C. working as an intern. Hope everyone has a good week and thanks for the birthday wishes.
Last week saw some more substantial work on the supplement at the Center. Ryan's been making me add more to it due to the amount of calls he's getting from the embassies. That and a trip to the Turkish embassy made him rethink how much detail he wants going into the report. Hopefully, I believe it is almost done and should be released online by the end of the week. Now I'm switching over to reviewing the second report, the NATO Threat Assessment. The first half of the report is due out by the end of the week. Ryan wants to get it out before he makes this trip to France next week. There's a lot that needs to be done in a short amount of time, but I like all the work I'm doing. Writing in the supplement has been great and I look forward to seeing that end result.
He's an interesting story from last week. So on Wednesday last week I had to drive Dr. Abshire to the Federal Reserve to meet Chairman Bernanke. I haven't driven since I've been here and the amount of driving I've done in inner-city DC is limited as is, but I've done plenty in St. Louis. Traffic doesn't bother me as much as trying to figure out where I'm trying to get to. So I ran home to get my GPS and a pair of Aviator sunglasses as a co-worker suggested I should wear some when I'm loitering around the Reserve waiting for the meeting to get over with. That way I'll look more like a bodyguard than just an intern in a nice car. And a nice car it was! Dr. Abshire has a tan Cadillac worth more than my life and I had to drive it in DC. So anyway, I was able to make it pretty easily to the Federal Reserve to drop him and one of his assistants off. The hard part was finding a place to park for an hour, but fortunately I did and it was two hour parking so I was okay. I did look completely awesome though. In a Cadillac with gold framed Aviators on, a tie, navy blue blazer, and khaki pants completed the ensemble. I pretty much looked amazing. Anyway, I picked him up and drove back successfully without getting a scratch on the car. And I'm sure I've earned myself driving privileges for the rest of the spring.
So I talked about this week for work. I also have a five page paper due on Friday. I'll start on that tomorrow. Class is taking a trip to USAID on Friday so I'm planning on asking a lot of questions and I might even pack a resume. I need to get a better idea of what Foreign Service Officers do though before I start looking for a job there. I know they get a pretty bad rep here, but let's be honest, the whole diplomatic field gets a bad rep here, it doesn't matter who's president. Wednesday we have class so we really can't go out to celebrate St. Patrick's Day after work, but we might go after class for a drink or two. I'm exciting I now get to join my friends when they go out to bars on the weekends. That will help me relax and be more social on the weekends. So now I'm going to watch the first episode of The Pacific online. I've known about this show since I was in high school, learning about it in the fall of 2006. It was originally suppose to be out last summer, but got pushed back. I always wondered where I would be and what I would be doing when this show came out. Never thought I'd be in Washington D.C. working as an intern. Hope everyone has a good week and thanks for the birthday wishes.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Week Eight (Last Week)
Well these weeks at work seem to be getting better and better as they progress. Last Monday my boss asked me if I wanted to write in the supplemental update for our first report. So all of last week I was writing in the supplemental update.
Really what we are trying to do now is to continually update Allied contributions to the Afghan war as they come. We sent out reports to all the embassies and a fair amount have gotten back to us with some of their own numbers that we'll use in our supplement. What I did was add a "Recent Actions" update to every NATO country. The last week in February all I did was find news articles on allied contributions so I put all the updates I had into the report. Then I was able to write a little bit in the "political background" section which is really an analysis of a country's political situation. It was difficult writing on the Netherlands section as they have a big mess on their hands themselves.
I also completely wrote a new section on non-NATO ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) contributions to the conflict. So for Australia (non-NATO ISAF member) I wrote about their contributions and how they are planning a pull-out in 2011 (I think) and how their top general believes they could contribute an extra 6,000 troops when and if the Dutch leave.
Anyway, we've got the think mostly prepped we just need to fix the table of contents. However, for my efforts my name will get to go down in "Project Staff" instead of CSPC Interns in the "Thanks" section. So yeah, I'm going to get a report with my name on it. Yeah, yeah. This one will be strictly online and will be updated continuously as changes occur. So that was work last week for me; I was making a real solid contribution to the Center's efforts.
I was also busy last week for school. My friend Jeremy and I had to give a presentation on Friday over the humanitarian crisis in Burma (Myanmar), whatever. That took up a lot of my time at night last week as it is still really hard to get work done here. However, we got it done and my teacher said we gave a good presentation.
This weekend we had highs in the 60s so a lot of walking was in order. Saturday saw us going to the Jefferson and FDR memorials on the south side of the National Mall. Sunday we walked Massachusetts Ave to see all the embassies on Embassy Row. I'll try to get pictures of that up sometime soon. I was impressed with the Turkish embassy the most out of the ones we saw. I also had lunch with a good friend of mine from Moberly on Saturday morning, Mr. Sam Richardson. He was in town working and called me up so he took me to breakfast at the fancy Wardman Park Hotel. We had a great breakfast and a quick two hour conversation. It was nice to see a familiar face.
Ummm, we switched up our workouts at the gym so my body has been killing me, but it is paying off going to the gym pretty consistently. We should be going every day this week because its technically spring break so I don't have classes on Wednesday or Friday. Ironing is improving now that I discovered using even the little ironing boards make things easier. Cooking continues to be a plus, but I'm still only cooking the same thing: chicken, rice/pasta, and green beans/corn. It doesn't bother me though; I typically eat around 10:00 after I've worked out and ran so at that point I'll eat anything.
So the big news: five more days and then I turn 21. This is turning out to be the event of the semester for everyone as my friends really can't wait for me to be able to go out on the weekends or go out to happy hour. Also, many of my JMU friends are coming by to for dinner and for the "zero-hour" festivities. I honestly can't believe it's been eight weeks. Technically, I've only worked six and half weeks. First week was only half a week because I started on Wednesday and we had that snow week a month ago. Spring semester has always flown by and when your at work every day till 5 the days go even faster than at school.
Can't think of too much else to say. I'm excited baseball is starting soon as always. GO CUBS!!! I'll try to get one post in before Saturday but if I don't I promise I'll do one Sunday. Also, I'm really exhausted and it's almost bed time so I'm not going to read this over. I'm sorry if there are any mistakes. Thanks for reading again.
Really what we are trying to do now is to continually update Allied contributions to the Afghan war as they come. We sent out reports to all the embassies and a fair amount have gotten back to us with some of their own numbers that we'll use in our supplement. What I did was add a "Recent Actions" update to every NATO country. The last week in February all I did was find news articles on allied contributions so I put all the updates I had into the report. Then I was able to write a little bit in the "political background" section which is really an analysis of a country's political situation. It was difficult writing on the Netherlands section as they have a big mess on their hands themselves.
I also completely wrote a new section on non-NATO ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) contributions to the conflict. So for Australia (non-NATO ISAF member) I wrote about their contributions and how they are planning a pull-out in 2011 (I think) and how their top general believes they could contribute an extra 6,000 troops when and if the Dutch leave.
Anyway, we've got the think mostly prepped we just need to fix the table of contents. However, for my efforts my name will get to go down in "Project Staff" instead of CSPC Interns in the "Thanks" section. So yeah, I'm going to get a report with my name on it. Yeah, yeah. This one will be strictly online and will be updated continuously as changes occur. So that was work last week for me; I was making a real solid contribution to the Center's efforts.
I was also busy last week for school. My friend Jeremy and I had to give a presentation on Friday over the humanitarian crisis in Burma (Myanmar), whatever. That took up a lot of my time at night last week as it is still really hard to get work done here. However, we got it done and my teacher said we gave a good presentation.
This weekend we had highs in the 60s so a lot of walking was in order. Saturday saw us going to the Jefferson and FDR memorials on the south side of the National Mall. Sunday we walked Massachusetts Ave to see all the embassies on Embassy Row. I'll try to get pictures of that up sometime soon. I was impressed with the Turkish embassy the most out of the ones we saw. I also had lunch with a good friend of mine from Moberly on Saturday morning, Mr. Sam Richardson. He was in town working and called me up so he took me to breakfast at the fancy Wardman Park Hotel. We had a great breakfast and a quick two hour conversation. It was nice to see a familiar face.
Ummm, we switched up our workouts at the gym so my body has been killing me, but it is paying off going to the gym pretty consistently. We should be going every day this week because its technically spring break so I don't have classes on Wednesday or Friday. Ironing is improving now that I discovered using even the little ironing boards make things easier. Cooking continues to be a plus, but I'm still only cooking the same thing: chicken, rice/pasta, and green beans/corn. It doesn't bother me though; I typically eat around 10:00 after I've worked out and ran so at that point I'll eat anything.
So the big news: five more days and then I turn 21. This is turning out to be the event of the semester for everyone as my friends really can't wait for me to be able to go out on the weekends or go out to happy hour. Also, many of my JMU friends are coming by to for dinner and for the "zero-hour" festivities. I honestly can't believe it's been eight weeks. Technically, I've only worked six and half weeks. First week was only half a week because I started on Wednesday and we had that snow week a month ago. Spring semester has always flown by and when your at work every day till 5 the days go even faster than at school.
Can't think of too much else to say. I'm excited baseball is starting soon as always. GO CUBS!!! I'll try to get one post in before Saturday but if I don't I promise I'll do one Sunday. Also, I'm really exhausted and it's almost bed time so I'm not going to read this over. I'm sorry if there are any mistakes. Thanks for reading again.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
“White Horse?”
Scene from Armageddon:
Harry Stamper: Um, Bear would like to stay at the...
[tries to read writing]
Harry Stamper: "White horse"?
[looks up at Bear]
Bear: White, *House*. White House.
Harry Stamper: White House. Yeah, he'd like to stay in the Lincoln bedroom of the White House for the summer. Stuff like that.
Truman: Sure, I think we can, uh, take care of... some of that.
Sorry, Armageddon has been cycling through FX recently and I figured this quote applied.
Anyway, Ryan (my roommate), Matt (my suitemate), Amber (my friend), and I (myself) went to the White House today. Matt works for an Ohio Congressman and was able to book us last minute on the standard tour that goes through the White House. So after rising bright and early this morning we hobbled on over to the White House for an 8:30 tour. Fortunately the day is beautiful and even at 8:00am it was sunny and 30 degrees. So we began our visit at the Visitor Entrance building which is on the East side of the House. For the time we were on the first floor we passed the Library where Obama would give an interview for like 60 Minutes. We also passed the Vermeil Room and China Room. In this first corridor before we went up the stairs to the East Room I found what is probably the most hilarious thing in the White House, this Painting (note that I couldn't take any pictures so these are off the internet and you can click on them to get a bigger picture):
I find this Painting hilarious (and creepy) to me for multiple reasons. 1. It’s a painting of Hillary Clinton. 2. She looks creepy. 3. It’s a painting of Hillary Clinton. Now honestly it’s not because I dislike Hillary Clinton, it’s just that the painting feels “out of place.” Yes there are other paintings of first ladies in the White House, but she was just so recent that I wasn’t expecting a painting. Anyway…
So we go upstairs and move into the East Room:
This is the largest room in the White House and the President uses it for receptions, ceremonies, press conferences, and other events. Just last night Obama used it to sign an executive order strengthening the long-standing White House initiative on historically black colleges and universities. Now in this room is this famous painting:
I recognized it and wanted to know if that was the original. Uniformed Secret Service agents were in every room willing to answer questions so I asked and found out that this is one of the original eight that Gilbert Stuart painted, but more importantly it is the one Dolley Madison saved when the British burned the White House in 1814. Dolley had to have had some help or she was an iron woman because this is a huge 8 by 5 painting. Needless to say it was cool seeing that painting. Moving on…
Next room was the Green Room:
This was Thomas Jefferson’s dining room and it is now a parlor and is used for receptions.
This room is the Blue Room:
It is often used by the President to receive guests and is dead smack in the middle of the White House on the second floor. Outside is the South Portico and the view from what we could see is amazing. So whenever you’re watching a movie that shows the White House it’s the one in the middle of the rotunda. Coolest room by far. It’s blue, obviously, and houses the Christmas tree during the winter.
Fourth room, Red Room:
It’s used for small receptions, apparently the first ladies like it. John Adams used it as a breakfast room. It’s red.
Final room is the State Dining Room:
This can seat 130 guests and carved into the fireplace mantel is this quotation from John Adams: “I pray Heaven to bestow the best blessings on this house and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof.” Now in this room is famous painting number two:
Now I didn’t get as much background on this as I did the Washington one but it was bequeathed to the White House in 1939 by the widow of Robert Todd Lincoln, the President’s oldest son.
Finally, we end up in a cross hall before the exit. It was pleasant, there was a black choir group singing fun gospel music to add to our touring experience. Also, this room had famous painting number three:
Now this was my favorite because we were able to get inches away from it unlike the Washington and Lincoln portraits. It’s really beautiful up close and in person. I wish I had someone to ask about the history of this one and why that pose was chosen (even though it is obviously quite symbolic).
After that room we exited the White House from behind and went off to Macy’s for a one day sale where I bought two ties and saved 50 bucks. When we got on the Metro everyone was surprised it was only 11:30. As you can tell my crowd doesn’t wake up in the a.m. on weekends. So that is about it.
T-minus 15 days till numero 21.
Ryan, Matt, Amber, and me
Harry Stamper: Um, Bear would like to stay at the...
[tries to read writing]
Harry Stamper: "White horse"?
[looks up at Bear]
Bear: White, *House*. White House.
Harry Stamper: White House. Yeah, he'd like to stay in the Lincoln bedroom of the White House for the summer. Stuff like that.
Truman: Sure, I think we can, uh, take care of... some of that.
Sorry, Armageddon has been cycling through FX recently and I figured this quote applied.
Anyway, Ryan (my roommate), Matt (my suitemate), Amber (my friend), and I (myself) went to the White House today. Matt works for an Ohio Congressman and was able to book us last minute on the standard tour that goes through the White House. So after rising bright and early this morning we hobbled on over to the White House for an 8:30 tour. Fortunately the day is beautiful and even at 8:00am it was sunny and 30 degrees. So we began our visit at the Visitor Entrance building which is on the East side of the House. For the time we were on the first floor we passed the Library where Obama would give an interview for like 60 Minutes. We also passed the Vermeil Room and China Room. In this first corridor before we went up the stairs to the East Room I found what is probably the most hilarious thing in the White House, this Painting (note that I couldn't take any pictures so these are off the internet and you can click on them to get a bigger picture):
I find this Painting hilarious (and creepy) to me for multiple reasons. 1. It’s a painting of Hillary Clinton. 2. She looks creepy. 3. It’s a painting of Hillary Clinton. Now honestly it’s not because I dislike Hillary Clinton, it’s just that the painting feels “out of place.” Yes there are other paintings of first ladies in the White House, but she was just so recent that I wasn’t expecting a painting. Anyway…
So we go upstairs and move into the East Room:
This is the largest room in the White House and the President uses it for receptions, ceremonies, press conferences, and other events. Just last night Obama used it to sign an executive order strengthening the long-standing White House initiative on historically black colleges and universities. Now in this room is this famous painting:
I recognized it and wanted to know if that was the original. Uniformed Secret Service agents were in every room willing to answer questions so I asked and found out that this is one of the original eight that Gilbert Stuart painted, but more importantly it is the one Dolley Madison saved when the British burned the White House in 1814. Dolley had to have had some help or she was an iron woman because this is a huge 8 by 5 painting. Needless to say it was cool seeing that painting. Moving on…
Next room was the Green Room:
This was Thomas Jefferson’s dining room and it is now a parlor and is used for receptions.
This room is the Blue Room:
It is often used by the President to receive guests and is dead smack in the middle of the White House on the second floor. Outside is the South Portico and the view from what we could see is amazing. So whenever you’re watching a movie that shows the White House it’s the one in the middle of the rotunda. Coolest room by far. It’s blue, obviously, and houses the Christmas tree during the winter.
Fourth room, Red Room:
It’s used for small receptions, apparently the first ladies like it. John Adams used it as a breakfast room. It’s red.
Final room is the State Dining Room:
This can seat 130 guests and carved into the fireplace mantel is this quotation from John Adams: “I pray Heaven to bestow the best blessings on this house and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof.” Now in this room is famous painting number two:
Now I didn’t get as much background on this as I did the Washington one but it was bequeathed to the White House in 1939 by the widow of Robert Todd Lincoln, the President’s oldest son.
Finally, we end up in a cross hall before the exit. It was pleasant, there was a black choir group singing fun gospel music to add to our touring experience. Also, this room had famous painting number three:
Now this was my favorite because we were able to get inches away from it unlike the Washington and Lincoln portraits. It’s really beautiful up close and in person. I wish I had someone to ask about the history of this one and why that pose was chosen (even though it is obviously quite symbolic).
After that room we exited the White House from behind and went off to Macy’s for a one day sale where I bought two ties and saved 50 bucks. When we got on the Metro everyone was surprised it was only 11:30. As you can tell my crowd doesn’t wake up in the a.m. on weekends. So that is about it.
T-minus 15 days till numero 21.
Ryan, Matt, Amber, and meMonday, February 22, 2010
2nd Business Card Today!!!
HI EVERYBODY!!! (Now repeat it again with Will Farrell being Harry Carry from SNL in your head and it makes sense)
Another week down, t-minus 21 days till that 21 birthday.
Last week was a real busy week for the Center. We finally got in those 2,000 reports so last week and this week we've been sending out reports to all the addresses I've collected these last three weeks. As I'm reminiscing about last week I can't think of anything too noteworthy at work to discuss.
However today was a very good Monday as I got to sit in on a meeting with a very large British think-tank. Ryan and I met with the head of the transatlantic program from RUSI or The Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies. It was founded in 1831 by the Duke of Wellington and is considered the leading forum in the UK for national and international Defense and Security. Long story short I got another business card; soon enough I'll have a collection. We met for about two years talking about a possible future partnership, working together on a couple of NATO's disconnects. It's funny. We're pretty small and they're pretty big, but I guess they are relatively new to DC and we do have some very good connections thanks to Ambassador Abshire. Needless to say, it looks like we will be partnering up on some future events and projects. Meetings with three or four people are just fun because they make me feel important and I get a business card.
I also hand delivered some reports over to Madeline Albright's office as she, herself has also had contact with Ambassador Abshire in the past and has been assisting us with this NATO project recently. And I made another trip over to Capitol Hill to deliver more reports (I had also done the same last Friday) including to Ike Skelton's office (but I didn't see him). I'm trying to get a lot of these reports out so I can begin actual research on the supplemental project. However with me being the only full time intern for Ryan it's hard to do what he needs done and to get the reports mailed out all over the globe.
Socially, I didn't do too much this weekend because I have a paper due Wednesday and a project being presented on the 3rd. I did go to the zoo for a little bit, couldn't see too many animals but did see their prized pandas. can't say I've ever seen pandas before, but I'm not sure.
I did see Shutter Island yesterday. About a 5-10 minute walk up the street is a giant one screen theater called the Uptown Theater. It's very old school looking and low key on the inside. But the screen is huge and it wraps around the wall a little bit, so cool. Anyway, the movie was just okay. Leo was great, but the movie didn't have a climax. There was no rising action and no falling action. It just ended. So... yeah.
I would also like to give a shout out to my friend Mr. Garreth Cooksey. He's a wonderful performer and has been such a real asset to the industry. Thank you Garreth for everything you've done and we'll miss your karate.
Another week down, t-minus 21 days till that 21 birthday.
Last week was a real busy week for the Center. We finally got in those 2,000 reports so last week and this week we've been sending out reports to all the addresses I've collected these last three weeks. As I'm reminiscing about last week I can't think of anything too noteworthy at work to discuss.
However today was a very good Monday as I got to sit in on a meeting with a very large British think-tank. Ryan and I met with the head of the transatlantic program from RUSI or The Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies. It was founded in 1831 by the Duke of Wellington and is considered the leading forum in the UK for national and international Defense and Security. Long story short I got another business card; soon enough I'll have a collection. We met for about two years talking about a possible future partnership, working together on a couple of NATO's disconnects. It's funny. We're pretty small and they're pretty big, but I guess they are relatively new to DC and we do have some very good connections thanks to Ambassador Abshire. Needless to say, it looks like we will be partnering up on some future events and projects. Meetings with three or four people are just fun because they make me feel important and I get a business card.
I also hand delivered some reports over to Madeline Albright's office as she, herself has also had contact with Ambassador Abshire in the past and has been assisting us with this NATO project recently. And I made another trip over to Capitol Hill to deliver more reports (I had also done the same last Friday) including to Ike Skelton's office (but I didn't see him). I'm trying to get a lot of these reports out so I can begin actual research on the supplemental project. However with me being the only full time intern for Ryan it's hard to do what he needs done and to get the reports mailed out all over the globe.
Socially, I didn't do too much this weekend because I have a paper due Wednesday and a project being presented on the 3rd. I did go to the zoo for a little bit, couldn't see too many animals but did see their prized pandas. can't say I've ever seen pandas before, but I'm not sure.
I did see Shutter Island yesterday. About a 5-10 minute walk up the street is a giant one screen theater called the Uptown Theater. It's very old school looking and low key on the inside. But the screen is huge and it wraps around the wall a little bit, so cool. Anyway, the movie was just okay. Leo was great, but the movie didn't have a climax. There was no rising action and no falling action. It just ended. So... yeah.
I would also like to give a shout out to my friend Mr. Garreth Cooksey. He's a wonderful performer and has been such a real asset to the industry. Thank you Garreth for everything you've done and we'll miss your karate.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Back to Work, Back to Work
Well for the first time since February 4th I have to wake up before 8:00. The two separate winter blasts kept the government closed Monday through Thursday of last week. I eventually went into work last Friday afternoon, the first time in a week. In addition, I didn’t have to go into work today due to President’s Day. So to sum everything up, I really haven’t worked/had to do anything in a long while. This also means I don’t have anything substantial to report. Despite the time off the winter weather kept us cooped up in the Washington Center. To put things in perspective, my friends and I on Thursday watched the final 22 episodes of Arrested Development, and there are only 53 episodes in the series. Though we did continue to go to the gym and made it out to dinner at a Mexican and Thai place on separate nights, I spent most of my time indoors.
Saturday was a big exception as some friends and I went shopping/exploring in Georgetown for most of the day. Georgetown has a wide variety of shops (we went into Urban Outfitters, Ralph Lauren, Banana Republic, Adidas…), but I only bought a new book from Barnes and Noble. I finished my second book on Afghanistan Sunday and started reading Three Cups of Tea today.
I also went to a Starbucks today to work on some of my school work. It’s really hard doing homework at the BU Center due to a lack of motivation. This is why you typically find me doing homework at Carrier Library on campus than back at my apartment in Sunchase. Though I was able to get some work accomplished Starbucks charges you for internet and I wasn’t going to pay 3.99 plus tax for it so work was somewhat limited.
Speaking of work, when I did return to the Center last Friday afternoon I discussed with my boss what assignments are coming up and it looks like I’ll be given some more substantive work. We are beginning research for a supplement to our report which will include updated NATO commitments since Jan 1st. I will get to conduct most of the research looking for announcements of increased aid/troops from NATO and ISAF countries. It will be a welcome change from finding expert addresses two weeks ago.
Like I said, outside of this, I don’t have too much else to report. It will be my birthday in one month, my 21st birthday, which is obviously exciting, but other than that I can’t think of any big events that I know of. So that’s going to have to do it for now. Thanks for reading.
Saturday was a big exception as some friends and I went shopping/exploring in Georgetown for most of the day. Georgetown has a wide variety of shops (we went into Urban Outfitters, Ralph Lauren, Banana Republic, Adidas…), but I only bought a new book from Barnes and Noble. I finished my second book on Afghanistan Sunday and started reading Three Cups of Tea today.
I also went to a Starbucks today to work on some of my school work. It’s really hard doing homework at the BU Center due to a lack of motivation. This is why you typically find me doing homework at Carrier Library on campus than back at my apartment in Sunchase. Though I was able to get some work accomplished Starbucks charges you for internet and I wasn’t going to pay 3.99 plus tax for it so work was somewhat limited.
Speaking of work, when I did return to the Center last Friday afternoon I discussed with my boss what assignments are coming up and it looks like I’ll be given some more substantive work. We are beginning research for a supplement to our report which will include updated NATO commitments since Jan 1st. I will get to conduct most of the research looking for announcements of increased aid/troops from NATO and ISAF countries. It will be a welcome change from finding expert addresses two weeks ago.
Like I said, outside of this, I don’t have too much else to report. It will be my birthday in one month, my 21st birthday, which is obviously exciting, but other than that I can’t think of any big events that I know of. So that’s going to have to do it for now. Thanks for reading.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Three, Maybe Four, Day Weekend!!!
So rumor has it that the federal government just closed again for Tuesday due to another snowstorm approaching the city which is suppose to dump another 10-20 inches. For all the taxpayers counting at home when the government closes it's 100 million dollars a day for lost productivity. Not to mention they're getting closer to breaking my insignificant high school snow day record of like three or four days. (Now currently reading online reports that the government is indeed closed for Tuesday. YIPPEE!!!) I spent three hours trying to send off my girlfriend's Valentine's Day package today so my snow day today was sort of non-existent. Only the main post office next to Union Station six metro stops down was open today and they seemed to have only two people working. Add on the slowness of the delayed metro system today and it was just a big fun trip. But I got the package off and I think she's going to love what she's getting.
Back to the snow. So, yes, it is a lot of snow. The most I have ever seen at one time. Friday I got off work early to go to the grocery store and to other shops to get Sarah's present ready. When Saturday came so did roughly 30 inches of snow, depending on where you were. Myself and two of the guys decided to go on a hike into the city. We took the metro (it can operate in the underground sections which is pretty much the entire city, just not the suburbs) down to Union Station where we walked to the Capitol. Though my pictures on Facebook may be deceiving there honestly was not many people on the streets. I figured that many people including tourists would set out on foot to view the city covered in a blanket of snow, but I guess they preferred to stay inside. Anyway, here is a picture of us walking to the Capitol.
We were able to walk in many of the streets, kinda cool walking in the middle of Constitution Ave without the fear of getting ran over. Capitol looked very picturesque covered with snow.
It was funny, there was a Capitol Hill police officer guarding high above on the Capitol steps and he was throwing snow balls down at the picture takers. Obviously, he was enjoying the non-lethal weapons that were provided to him on that cold and still snowy day. I remarked on my facebook that it's really easy to appreciate Washington DC in a snowstorm. Everything slows down, people are enjoying themselves, Capitol City Police are throwing snowballs at you... It makes me wish it snowed everyday in DC; it keeps people and things simple. We walked down to the Mall, past a rather large snowball fight (Dupont Circle had a massive snowball fight, but we didn't go.) and to the Washington Monument (no easy trek in the snow) before heading to the White House. And the White House was also nice in the snow.
The White House was our last stop as two of us including myself did not have the proper footwear and had frozen feet.
Super Bowl Sunday was great fun. We ordered dominoes (yes, the pizza is better) and had people over to our apt. The game was obviously great and my favorite commercial is probably a tie between the Betty White one and the Brett Favre one. And like I said today I watched Arrested Development and searched the city for an open post office.
Work this last week involved me still researching people to get on our "mailing list" for our report and also involved trying to get a package from DC to Munich. That was interesting. I got the package off, but we had to do an address change so I had to call 1800-G0Fedex to get the address changed, but I think it got there for the Munich Conference. Can't think of anything else right now. There is more photos of DC including this one on my Facebook (look closely):
Also, if anyone wants me to talk about something specific or ask a question please feel free to leave a comment. So yeah NBC Washington says no work tomorrow for Dane and ha! it might include Wednesday too if we get another 20 inches. Yeah, really weird I know. Peace! Also, to see the full picture actually click on the picture and you'll be able to see the whole thing. They are kinda big pictures. Thanks.
Back to the snow. So, yes, it is a lot of snow. The most I have ever seen at one time. Friday I got off work early to go to the grocery store and to other shops to get Sarah's present ready. When Saturday came so did roughly 30 inches of snow, depending on where you were. Myself and two of the guys decided to go on a hike into the city. We took the metro (it can operate in the underground sections which is pretty much the entire city, just not the suburbs) down to Union Station where we walked to the Capitol. Though my pictures on Facebook may be deceiving there honestly was not many people on the streets. I figured that many people including tourists would set out on foot to view the city covered in a blanket of snow, but I guess they preferred to stay inside. Anyway, here is a picture of us walking to the Capitol.
We were able to walk in many of the streets, kinda cool walking in the middle of Constitution Ave without the fear of getting ran over. Capitol looked very picturesque covered with snow.
It was funny, there was a Capitol Hill police officer guarding high above on the Capitol steps and he was throwing snow balls down at the picture takers. Obviously, he was enjoying the non-lethal weapons that were provided to him on that cold and still snowy day. I remarked on my facebook that it's really easy to appreciate Washington DC in a snowstorm. Everything slows down, people are enjoying themselves, Capitol City Police are throwing snowballs at you... It makes me wish it snowed everyday in DC; it keeps people and things simple. We walked down to the Mall, past a rather large snowball fight (Dupont Circle had a massive snowball fight, but we didn't go.) and to the Washington Monument (no easy trek in the snow) before heading to the White House. And the White House was also nice in the snow.
The White House was our last stop as two of us including myself did not have the proper footwear and had frozen feet.
Super Bowl Sunday was great fun. We ordered dominoes (yes, the pizza is better) and had people over to our apt. The game was obviously great and my favorite commercial is probably a tie between the Betty White one and the Brett Favre one. And like I said today I watched Arrested Development and searched the city for an open post office.
Work this last week involved me still researching people to get on our "mailing list" for our report and also involved trying to get a package from DC to Munich. That was interesting. I got the package off, but we had to do an address change so I had to call 1800-G0Fedex to get the address changed, but I think it got there for the Munich Conference. Can't think of anything else right now. There is more photos of DC including this one on my Facebook (look closely):
Also, if anyone wants me to talk about something specific or ask a question please feel free to leave a comment. So yeah NBC Washington says no work tomorrow for Dane and ha! it might include Wednesday too if we get another 20 inches. Yeah, really weird I know. Peace! Also, to see the full picture actually click on the picture and you'll be able to see the whole thing. They are kinda big pictures. Thanks.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
I'M BACK!!!
Okay, so my apologies for ignoring my blog these last few days. After a busy week last week it was hard for me to get back on the horse. But that is why we have mothers who tell us to update our blogs. So let me give you a rundown of where I stand and what I've been doing.
Bruce Riedel - Senior Fellow, Saban Center for the Center for Middle East Policy, Brookings Institution. James Dobbins - Former Assistant Secretary of State for Europe, 2001, Former Special Envoy to the Afghan Opposition and Bonn Conference. W. Bruce Weinrod - Former Secretary of Defense Representative to Europe, Former Defense Advisor to the U.S. Mission to NATO. Robert Hunter - Former U.S. Ambassador to NATO, 1993-1998 and Kurt Volker - Former U.S. Ambassador to NATO, 2008-2009.
For the event, I worked the sign-in table, only stepping in to hear Senator Graham speak. On our guest list we had the Romanian Ambassador, diplomats/representatives from the Danish, German, Greek, Afghan embassies (maybe more) and we had military representatives from France, Germany, and Spain. Plus a lot of US military personal and people from D.C. think-tanks.
When I heard Senator Graham speak, his focus was on the challenge of the Afghan mission and how the future of the alliance depends on it, “The biggest loss that would come from a failed state in Afghanistan would be the end of NATO as we know it...NATO’s reputation is on the line.”
Senator Graham with Ambassador Abshire, the Center's CEO
Some of his criticisms he had with NATO included the national "caveats" countries place on their forces. These caveats are limitations on where armies can go and what they can do, and there are a lot of them in existence. He urged NATO countries to do away with these "caveats."
The event came and went and I believe we were pleased with the end results. However on Friday we had another event. Dr. Abshire had a speaking engagement at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (big think-tank in DC). I soon found out that he actually co-founded CSIS with the man he was giving his annual speech on: Admiral Arleigh Burke. Burke was a destroyer captain during World War II and rose through the ranks during Korea and so on and so forth. He was apparently known for going over the heads of his Navy superiors when he was Admiral and Chief of Navel Operations by going to the President directly to speak his thoughts. He apparently did this twice with Truman and Ike. This led to a panel discussion afterward with some top Navy officers including the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Mike Mullen. The panel was discussing junior officers disregarding the chain of command to speak their minds/give opinions to higher ranking officials. It was a relatively interesting discussion considering who was involved. In addition, C-SPAN was there and I was caught on camera! There maybe better shots of me but I don't want to have to scan the whole 1 hour 37 minute video for short five second shots of the audience.
Me, back left corner on C-SPAN
So that was really the big events of last week. On Sunday, I ate at an Afghan restaurant though and that was an experience. I had this dish that was sauteed pumpkin with a garlic yogurt and meat sauce. Add the meat sauce to the pumpkin and it was actually pretty tasty. Just wasn't very filling. Should have tried it as an appetizer instead of an entree. All in all, it was very good and a nice experience.
This week, we are doing our best to get our report out to whoever we can. I've actually been to capitol hill twice this week dropping off our report to senators who are leaving for a Munich Conference this week. I also mailed a bunch of reports to Munich today. Right now my work is consisting of scanning the web for information for experts in the relevant fields of our report, teachers, heads of defense companies, writers, etc. When we get our full order of reports in this Friday, I'm sure I'll be mailing them out by the hundreds.
The report itself is really nice. It's really a good reference book of what NATO countries have committed to the cause. We have lots of numbers and statistics showing what countries have given and what they could give. So the first part of the report is a bunch of suggestions over what could be done and then we have appendixes of what is already being done. For anyone who is curious, I will give the link to the report itself (click on the caption) and it can also can be found at the Center's website: http://thepresidency.org/
Mobilizing NATO for Afghanistan and Pakistan: An Assessment of Alliance Capabilities
There were two big events last week. The first, as you know, was last Monday the 28th of January. The Center presented its report, Mobilizing NATO for Afghanistan and Pakistan: Ensuring the Alliance's Future, on Capitol Hill. Two Senators, Shaheen (D-NH) and Graham (R-SC) were our Congressional speakers who spoke and lent support at our event. Senator Graham as you know is Senator McCain's "sidekick" as you typically hear them paired together. We also had five project experts speak:
Bruce Riedel - Senior Fellow, Saban Center for the Center for Middle East Policy, Brookings Institution. James Dobbins - Former Assistant Secretary of State for Europe, 2001, Former Special Envoy to the Afghan Opposition and Bonn Conference. W. Bruce Weinrod - Former Secretary of Defense Representative to Europe, Former Defense Advisor to the U.S. Mission to NATO. Robert Hunter - Former U.S. Ambassador to NATO, 1993-1998 and Kurt Volker - Former U.S. Ambassador to NATO, 2008-2009.
For the event, I worked the sign-in table, only stepping in to hear Senator Graham speak. On our guest list we had the Romanian Ambassador, diplomats/representatives from the Danish, German, Greek, Afghan embassies (maybe more) and we had military representatives from France, Germany, and Spain. Plus a lot of US military personal and people from D.C. think-tanks.
When I heard Senator Graham speak, his focus was on the challenge of the Afghan mission and how the future of the alliance depends on it, “The biggest loss that would come from a failed state in Afghanistan would be the end of NATO as we know it...NATO’s reputation is on the line.”
Senator Graham with Ambassador Abshire, the Center's CEOSome of his criticisms he had with NATO included the national "caveats" countries place on their forces. These caveats are limitations on where armies can go and what they can do, and there are a lot of them in existence. He urged NATO countries to do away with these "caveats."
The event came and went and I believe we were pleased with the end results. However on Friday we had another event. Dr. Abshire had a speaking engagement at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (big think-tank in DC). I soon found out that he actually co-founded CSIS with the man he was giving his annual speech on: Admiral Arleigh Burke. Burke was a destroyer captain during World War II and rose through the ranks during Korea and so on and so forth. He was apparently known for going over the heads of his Navy superiors when he was Admiral and Chief of Navel Operations by going to the President directly to speak his thoughts. He apparently did this twice with Truman and Ike. This led to a panel discussion afterward with some top Navy officers including the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Mike Mullen. The panel was discussing junior officers disregarding the chain of command to speak their minds/give opinions to higher ranking officials. It was a relatively interesting discussion considering who was involved. In addition, C-SPAN was there and I was caught on camera! There maybe better shots of me but I don't want to have to scan the whole 1 hour 37 minute video for short five second shots of the audience.
Me, back left corner on C-SPANSo that was really the big events of last week. On Sunday, I ate at an Afghan restaurant though and that was an experience. I had this dish that was sauteed pumpkin with a garlic yogurt and meat sauce. Add the meat sauce to the pumpkin and it was actually pretty tasty. Just wasn't very filling. Should have tried it as an appetizer instead of an entree. All in all, it was very good and a nice experience.
This week, we are doing our best to get our report out to whoever we can. I've actually been to capitol hill twice this week dropping off our report to senators who are leaving for a Munich Conference this week. I also mailed a bunch of reports to Munich today. Right now my work is consisting of scanning the web for information for experts in the relevant fields of our report, teachers, heads of defense companies, writers, etc. When we get our full order of reports in this Friday, I'm sure I'll be mailing them out by the hundreds.
The report itself is really nice. It's really a good reference book of what NATO countries have committed to the cause. We have lots of numbers and statistics showing what countries have given and what they could give. So the first part of the report is a bunch of suggestions over what could be done and then we have appendixes of what is already being done. For anyone who is curious, I will give the link to the report itself (click on the caption) and it can also can be found at the Center's website: http://thepresidency.org/
Mobilizing NATO for Afghanistan and Pakistan: An Assessment of Alliance CapabilitiesSo, to wrap things up, I still am enjoying my time here in DC however the dressing up every single day is going to get old. Dress code may play a major role into what field of international studies I get into, HA! I am becoming a better cook, I can cook chicken breasts now with either rice or pasta as a side. I am also getting better with the ironing. Thank goodness!!! I've also stuck to my gym schedule and have been going on a pretty regular basis. It helps having people to go with.
Ahh.... There was something else I wanted to say... Oh yeah... Getting back into a school routine is proving somewhat challenging. Realizing that I haven't taken notes or had to read for classes since last November is making reading for classes now harder. That, plus the fact I'm exhausted when I get home from work. So, finding a good working routine is still under development.
Anyway, the Super Bowl is this weekend and I'm rooting for the Saints (underdogs). I think that is it. I tried to make this post long since I've neglected it for so long. I'll try to post when I have something interesting to report. But hopefully, I won't slack off again. Oh, and sorry for how many errors are in these posts. I'm really not re-reading them. So yeah... sorry. Okay, well goodnight. It's almost time for bed. Peace.
Ahh.... There was something else I wanted to say... Oh yeah... Getting back into a school routine is proving somewhat challenging. Realizing that I haven't taken notes or had to read for classes since last November is making reading for classes now harder. That, plus the fact I'm exhausted when I get home from work. So, finding a good working routine is still under development.
Anyway, the Super Bowl is this weekend and I'm rooting for the Saints (underdogs). I think that is it. I tried to make this post long since I've neglected it for so long. I'll try to post when I have something interesting to report. But hopefully, I won't slack off again. Oh, and sorry for how many errors are in these posts. I'm really not re-reading them. So yeah... sorry. Okay, well goodnight. It's almost time for bed. Peace.
Monday, January 25, 2010
So... 9-8 is the new 9-5 for interns
So for the past two days I've worked four hours extra, three of them tonight. With our roll-out tomorrow on Capitol Hill pretty much everyone in the Center today was running with their heads cut off. I made a bunch of calls to heads of Defense Companies (BAE, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, etc) and asked for e-mails so I could send invites to them. I also sent emails to schools, think tanks and previous associates/contacts. I probably sent 100 today. We also prepped for the event and made a bunch of packets. I'll be working the sign-in table so hopefully I'll be guaranteed to see/meet everyone who comes in. I know we have a few Ambassadors and other key diplomats coming to the event so it should be fun. I'll have a big report over it tomorrow and I'll send a link to the actual assessment. I'd like to write more, but I'm really tired. Started a gym membership last week and we've gone 5 of the last 7 days. Yes, I'm actually going to the gym and am working out. It's a shocker I know, but I have to start impressing the girlfriend. Alright... night, night.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Weekly Log #2 1/19-1/22/10
Days worked: Tuesday-Friday
Hours worked: 26 hours
Activities:
Tuesday - Proofread NATO Assessment for errors. Researched contact information for D.C. press associations.
Wednesday - Researched NATO Ambassador contact information for e-mail invites. Called French Embassy for contact information. Wrote up "Roll-out" agenda.
Thursday - Attended event featuring PA Gov Ed Rendell discussing America's failing infrastructure at the Center for Public Policy. Wrote up "talking points" for Dr. Abshire's meeting with Gen. David Petraeus. Attended meeting with Deputy Political Adviser for NATO Supreme Allied Commander Transformation. Wrote up my notes for Randell Event.
Friday - Sent out E-mail invite to NATO ambassadors
Overall Reflections:
Despite missing General Petraeus on Friday my second week really improved each day. Thursday felt like a break-out day for me as I attended an event with Gov Rendell and a meeting with a French NATO adviser. Friday I got to work late to prep for our event on Capitol Hill. Though I'm doing a lot of clerical and logistics work for this event I feel my assignments are really helping me integrate into the center. I've done a couple dictations for my project leader and those seem to really help a lot. Next week is going to be big with the actual roll-out on Capitol Hill on Tuesday.
Hours worked: 26 hours
Activities:
Tuesday - Proofread NATO Assessment for errors. Researched contact information for D.C. press associations.
Wednesday - Researched NATO Ambassador contact information for e-mail invites. Called French Embassy for contact information. Wrote up "Roll-out" agenda.
Thursday - Attended event featuring PA Gov Ed Rendell discussing America's failing infrastructure at the Center for Public Policy. Wrote up "talking points" for Dr. Abshire's meeting with Gen. David Petraeus. Attended meeting with Deputy Political Adviser for NATO Supreme Allied Commander Transformation. Wrote up my notes for Randell Event.
Friday - Sent out E-mail invite to NATO ambassadors
Overall Reflections:
Despite missing General Petraeus on Friday my second week really improved each day. Thursday felt like a break-out day for me as I attended an event with Gov Rendell and a meeting with a French NATO adviser. Friday I got to work late to prep for our event on Capitol Hill. Though I'm doing a lot of clerical and logistics work for this event I feel my assignments are really helping me integrate into the center. I've done a couple dictations for my project leader and those seem to really help a lot. Next week is going to be big with the actual roll-out on Capitol Hill on Tuesday.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
My Address
I know some have been asking for it, so here is my address. It is a little long and complicated.
Boston University Washington Center
Dane Sosniecki
2807 Connecticut Ave. NW Suite #206
Washington, DC 20008
Boston University Washington Center
Dane Sosniecki
2807 Connecticut Ave. NW Suite #206
Washington, DC 20008
Fail...Unfortunately, Epic Fail...
Well Friday came and went and so did General Petraeus. I had class in the morning, but got to the Center before his arrival. Unfortunately, everyone was so caught up in prepping for his arrival that I was sorta left out of the loop. So I stayed at my desk (which is on the first floor while reception and the main part of the office is on the second floor) for the time he was here so I missed him completely. In retrospect I should have just skipped my class and gone in at 9:00; I'll know that for next time. Ryan, the NATO project leader, said the meeting went very well with the General and Dr. Abshire. I believe he briefed the General on our report, and he (the General) was thankful for our work. Dan, who is Ryan's project assistant or number two guy, briefed the General's entourage of Colonels over the highlights of our report as well.
However the day did not end on our sour note. Ryan still had a lot of work for me to do and asked if I could stay late to work on some things. I sent out e-mail invites to almost all the NATO ambassadors and then talked with Ryan and his office mate Matt for awhile. So it was still nonetheless a productive day.
Next Tuesday is our big roll out day for the report. It will be presented by two senators and we have about five people who were "experts" on the report speaking. I'm more than sure that I'll be going to the event on Capitol Hill and I'll do a full report on it this Tuesday. For this weekend, we'll try to find something fun to do, but I also have to do some grocery shopping and unfortunately do some ironing. Peace.
However the day did not end on our sour note. Ryan still had a lot of work for me to do and asked if I could stay late to work on some things. I sent out e-mail invites to almost all the NATO ambassadors and then talked with Ryan and his office mate Matt for awhile. So it was still nonetheless a productive day.
Next Tuesday is our big roll out day for the report. It will be presented by two senators and we have about five people who were "experts" on the report speaking. I'm more than sure that I'll be going to the event on Capitol Hill and I'll do a full report on it this Tuesday. For this weekend, we'll try to find something fun to do, but I also have to do some grocery shopping and unfortunately do some ironing. Peace.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
First Business Card!!!
Today is what I would call a breakout day for my internship. It was really my best day so far with what I did and with the help I provided. I slowly feel like I'm becoming a more important part of the team and today really proved it.
I first was sent out on my first event. I went to the Center of Public Policy near Union Station to hear PA Governor Ed Rendell speak about this country's ailing infrastructure. He, Governor Schwarzenegger, and Mayor Bloomberg are apart of this coalition which focuses on rebuilding our infrastructure. It was interesting to hear him speak as I had just heard him on CNN the day before talking about his adventure down to Haiti where he personally brought back over 50 Haitian orphans who were then adopted in PA. He also had talked about the MA election result and stated that he thought the Republicans should fillibuster so they can discuss specifically what their plan for health care so when the bill fails, Congress can start over and work on a more bi-partisan bill.
So really I went in to this event with high expectations as I liked what I heard from him on the news. And his points were very valid about our failing infrastructure and how with each year we delay revitalizing it, the more expensive it gets. I'll be honest if airport security isn't beefed up because of the fear of the invasion of privacy I would definitely not mind alternative, revitalized transportation such as bullet trains or a better Amtrak. Any the way, it was nice to hear the governor speak.
When I returned to the Center I went over with Ryan, the NATO project leader, his "Talking Points" with General Petraeus for tomorrow. I did what's called a dictation and wrote/helped brainstorm thoughts for what Dr. Abshire needs to talk about when he meets him tomorrow. I appreciate the type of work I'm getting this early in the game as it seems to be quite important to our work at the Center.
However, what really put the icing on the cake today was another meeting I got to attend in the afternoon with Ryan and one other guy. We met a deputy political officer for NATO's Supreme Allied Command Transformation. SACT is "NATO's leading agent for change, driving, facilitating, and advocating continous improvement of Alliance capabilities to maintain and enhance the military relevance and effectiveness of the Alliance." Really their job as it applies here is to improve relationships, interaction and practical cooperation with partners, nations and international organisations. Dr. Abshire and Ryan had met the Commander of SACT General Stéphane Abrial (he's French by the way) on Tuesday. Well Ryan wanted me in for this meeting today with the deputy political officer (who's also French) for General Abrial and we discussed among other things, the improving of relations between NATO and the American people. This appears to be at the top of SACT's to-do list and they seem to be looking to us to assist in getting their foot in the door with new operations here in the country. What is really exciting is that this political officer gave me a business card of his, SO.... I have my first "contact" here in Washington HAHA!!! My first business card... I'll probably frame it. I'm sure I have no need to get in touch with NATO SACT but it is cool none the less since Ryan has like 100 cards consisting of Ambassadors and what not. Perhaps I'll get more tomorrow when Petraeus comes.
Looks like there may be a small meet and greet for the General when he comes, but more importantly I may get to sit in on a meeting between our staff and his staff (general excluded) which still would be awesome!!! Here's to hoping for the best, hopefully I'll have a good story to tell for tomorrow. Peace.
I first was sent out on my first event. I went to the Center of Public Policy near Union Station to hear PA Governor Ed Rendell speak about this country's ailing infrastructure. He, Governor Schwarzenegger, and Mayor Bloomberg are apart of this coalition which focuses on rebuilding our infrastructure. It was interesting to hear him speak as I had just heard him on CNN the day before talking about his adventure down to Haiti where he personally brought back over 50 Haitian orphans who were then adopted in PA. He also had talked about the MA election result and stated that he thought the Republicans should fillibuster so they can discuss specifically what their plan for health care so when the bill fails, Congress can start over and work on a more bi-partisan bill.
So really I went in to this event with high expectations as I liked what I heard from him on the news. And his points were very valid about our failing infrastructure and how with each year we delay revitalizing it, the more expensive it gets. I'll be honest if airport security isn't beefed up because of the fear of the invasion of privacy I would definitely not mind alternative, revitalized transportation such as bullet trains or a better Amtrak. Any the way, it was nice to hear the governor speak.
When I returned to the Center I went over with Ryan, the NATO project leader, his "Talking Points" with General Petraeus for tomorrow. I did what's called a dictation and wrote/helped brainstorm thoughts for what Dr. Abshire needs to talk about when he meets him tomorrow. I appreciate the type of work I'm getting this early in the game as it seems to be quite important to our work at the Center.
However, what really put the icing on the cake today was another meeting I got to attend in the afternoon with Ryan and one other guy. We met a deputy political officer for NATO's Supreme Allied Command Transformation. SACT is "NATO's leading agent for change, driving, facilitating, and advocating continous improvement of Alliance capabilities to maintain and enhance the military relevance and effectiveness of the Alliance." Really their job as it applies here is to improve relationships, interaction and practical cooperation with partners, nations and international organisations. Dr. Abshire and Ryan had met the Commander of SACT General Stéphane Abrial (he's French by the way) on Tuesday. Well Ryan wanted me in for this meeting today with the deputy political officer (who's also French) for General Abrial and we discussed among other things, the improving of relations between NATO and the American people. This appears to be at the top of SACT's to-do list and they seem to be looking to us to assist in getting their foot in the door with new operations here in the country. What is really exciting is that this political officer gave me a business card of his, SO.... I have my first "contact" here in Washington HAHA!!! My first business card... I'll probably frame it. I'm sure I have no need to get in touch with NATO SACT but it is cool none the less since Ryan has like 100 cards consisting of Ambassadors and what not. Perhaps I'll get more tomorrow when Petraeus comes.
Looks like there may be a small meet and greet for the General when he comes, but more importantly I may get to sit in on a meeting between our staff and his staff (general excluded) which still would be awesome!!! Here's to hoping for the best, hopefully I'll have a good story to tell for tomorrow. Peace.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
The Last Five Days
Experienced my first weekend in DC a couple days ago. Since I'm not 21 I can't hit up the bars yet, but I had a good touring of the city. Saturday I was on a double-decker bus most of the day and saw most of the city. While I have seen a lot of the National Mall, I hadn't seen much of the downtown/uptown area i.e. Embassy Row and Georgetown, so that was nice. Monday we went to the American History Museum which had been renovated for the last two years or so. The displays are really good. The American Presidency and Americans at War are my favorite, but they didn't seem too updated from when I seen them last. It was still fun regardless. I also finally saw The Hurt Locker Monday night and that was really good.
On Monday, Ryan, my project leader, was out of the office so all that I really did was proofread the whole assessment. Luckily, I found a few mistakes out of the 69 pages. Today, there was a lot to do. I'm sending out a lot of letters to people with copies of our assessment and invitations to our roll out event. I even sent a letter of Sec Gates today. My biggest project today was working on sending out invites to the 27 Ambassadors of NATO countries. I had to call the French Ambassador's office to get his e-mail address. It was scary when the assistant picked up the phone and spoke French. Luckily I knew I could start speaking English and she'll switch over, but if I had been younger I might have thought that I called the wrong number and called someone in France. That would have been a disaster.
Anyway, if you have been keeping up with me, you know there is a roll-out event for our paper on NATO's potential capabilities in Afghanistan in a couple days. Well right now I'm working on logistics for the event. Eventually after the roll-out I assume I'll be working on research for the next Afghanistan paper. The roll-out of the paper is on the 26th of January before the 28th conference in London on Afghanistan. Anyway, I have to go to bed. I'll have more to write about after General Petraeus visits our Center on Friday.
On Monday, Ryan, my project leader, was out of the office so all that I really did was proofread the whole assessment. Luckily, I found a few mistakes out of the 69 pages. Today, there was a lot to do. I'm sending out a lot of letters to people with copies of our assessment and invitations to our roll out event. I even sent a letter of Sec Gates today. My biggest project today was working on sending out invites to the 27 Ambassadors of NATO countries. I had to call the French Ambassador's office to get his e-mail address. It was scary when the assistant picked up the phone and spoke French. Luckily I knew I could start speaking English and she'll switch over, but if I had been younger I might have thought that I called the wrong number and called someone in France. That would have been a disaster.
Anyway, if you have been keeping up with me, you know there is a roll-out event for our paper on NATO's potential capabilities in Afghanistan in a couple days. Well right now I'm working on logistics for the event. Eventually after the roll-out I assume I'll be working on research for the next Afghanistan paper. The roll-out of the paper is on the 26th of January before the 28th conference in London on Afghanistan. Anyway, I have to go to bed. I'll have more to write about after General Petraeus visits our Center on Friday.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Weekly Log #1: 1/13-1/15/10
Days worked: Wednesday-Friday
Hours worked: 18 hours
Activities:
Wednesday - Attended meeting over future of mass ground transportation and national security
Reading on the Center's current and upcoming projects regarding revitalizing NATO in Afghanistan.
Thursday - Conducted online searches of important people's contact information including CIA
Director Leon Panetta, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, and General Stanley McChrystal. Wrote an e-mail invitation for our project's "Expert Advisory Group." Proofread letter going to CIA Director Panetta. Typed up letter for Brent Scowcroft. Continued reading paperwork on the Center's projects.
Friday - Wrote an e-mail invitation for our project's "Ambassadors" who assisted in research. Printed out, scanned, and made labels for letters that would be going to Panetta and Gates.
Overall Reflections:
I'm starting my first internship at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress just a few weeks before they present what is looking like to be their biggest project they have ever worked on. This "Assessment" on capabilities NATO members have yet to commit to Afghanistan is attracting big names including General Petraeus who will be coming into the Center next Friday to give his input and to hear what this Assessment has to say. Needless to say, I really am jumping in mid-stream here at the Center and while I still feel somewhat overwhelmed, I know this will be a positive experience come the end of April. My immediate supervisor, Ryan, who is the project leader, is very down to earth and I feel he and I won't have any problems working together. The rest of the staff are also very friendly and close-knit as the Center only employs 30 staffers. I look forward to working at the Center as it seems to be a very exciting time for them. From what Ryan tells me, despite not getting paid, I will be treated as a full time employee and will get a very vast education on the subject material and on working in D.C.
Hours worked: 18 hours
Activities:
Wednesday - Attended meeting over future of mass ground transportation and national security
Reading on the Center's current and upcoming projects regarding revitalizing NATO in Afghanistan.
Thursday - Conducted online searches of important people's contact information including CIA
Director Leon Panetta, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, and General Stanley McChrystal. Wrote an e-mail invitation for our project's "Expert Advisory Group." Proofread letter going to CIA Director Panetta. Typed up letter for Brent Scowcroft. Continued reading paperwork on the Center's projects.
Friday - Wrote an e-mail invitation for our project's "Ambassadors" who assisted in research. Printed out, scanned, and made labels for letters that would be going to Panetta and Gates.
Overall Reflections:
I'm starting my first internship at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress just a few weeks before they present what is looking like to be their biggest project they have ever worked on. This "Assessment" on capabilities NATO members have yet to commit to Afghanistan is attracting big names including General Petraeus who will be coming into the Center next Friday to give his input and to hear what this Assessment has to say. Needless to say, I really am jumping in mid-stream here at the Center and while I still feel somewhat overwhelmed, I know this will be a positive experience come the end of April. My immediate supervisor, Ryan, who is the project leader, is very down to earth and I feel he and I won't have any problems working together. The rest of the staff are also very friendly and close-knit as the Center only employs 30 staffers. I look forward to working at the Center as it seems to be a very exciting time for them. From what Ryan tells me, despite not getting paid, I will be treated as a full time employee and will get a very vast education on the subject material and on working in D.C.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
D-Day + 2
I'm watching George W. talk about Haiti right now in the Rose Garden as he and President Clinton will be teaming up for those commercials that we saw for the tsunami a few years back. This Haiti situation is so saddening, I did that $10 dollar text donation thingy, but it's so hard giving financial aid now a days: it's either delayed, or not going to the actually tragedy, etc. I rather go down there my self and help as that is what I feel a future career holds for me, but I know unfortunately I'll get other opportunities.
Anyway, I worked for half a day on Friday as I have a Friday morning class from 10-12. Yesterday, I had written up an e-mail invitation for the "Expert Advisory Group" who gave input for our Assessment. The invite is for our Jan 26th roll out of this Assessment which is being presented by Senators Graham of SC and Shaheen of NH. The more I learn about it the more important it appears to be (I'll discuss that in more detail later). Anyway, this e-mail that I wrote up for our "Experts" was actually sent to them with only minor, technical changes. I thought that was cool. I started writing up another for Ambassadors who assisted on the project and we'll see if Ryan (Project Leader) likes that one as well.
The rest of the day was just doing some minor things: printing letters, label making, mail stuff, etc. However at the end of the day the Center found out that the current commander of US Central Command, General David Petraeus, will be coming in next Friday to give his input on this Assessment. EXTREME!!! Ryan, who brought him in, said this was the biggest figure to come into the Center and he'll be given the report and will give his advice on it, I assume. This Assessment must really have some credibility to it if the commander of CENTCOM is coming in to review it. So I'll be looking forward to seeing or even maybe attending the meeting with Petraeus.
Sometime I'll create a more "official" sounding weekly log for my internship class and put it up here. So yeah...
Anyway, I worked for half a day on Friday as I have a Friday morning class from 10-12. Yesterday, I had written up an e-mail invitation for the "Expert Advisory Group" who gave input for our Assessment. The invite is for our Jan 26th roll out of this Assessment which is being presented by Senators Graham of SC and Shaheen of NH. The more I learn about it the more important it appears to be (I'll discuss that in more detail later). Anyway, this e-mail that I wrote up for our "Experts" was actually sent to them with only minor, technical changes. I thought that was cool. I started writing up another for Ambassadors who assisted on the project and we'll see if Ryan (Project Leader) likes that one as well.
The rest of the day was just doing some minor things: printing letters, label making, mail stuff, etc. However at the end of the day the Center found out that the current commander of US Central Command, General David Petraeus, will be coming in next Friday to give his input on this Assessment. EXTREME!!! Ryan, who brought him in, said this was the biggest figure to come into the Center and he'll be given the report and will give his advice on it, I assume. This Assessment must really have some credibility to it if the commander of CENTCOM is coming in to review it. So I'll be looking forward to seeing or even maybe attending the meeting with Petraeus.
Sometime I'll create a more "official" sounding weekly log for my internship class and put it up here. So yeah...
Thursday, January 14, 2010
D-Day +1
I was still obviously out of sync on my second day at the Center, but it ended on a high note. My project leader/guy, Ryan, didn't have too much work for me to do as he was swamped himself and really couldn't give me anything significant to do. While I found addresses/contact info for Robert Gates and CIA Director Leon Panetta, during the afternoon I really just laid back and read the Assessments. He did find me some last minute work: I proofread a letter to CIA Director Leo Panetta (and found a mistake) and I typed up a letter and found some important information on Brent Scowcroft. Though I've done some pretty simple work, Ryan was pleased so I'm satisfied. I also learned how to do some leaderhead printing and I learned how to use the phones. I look foward to sleeping in, going to class, only working for 4 hours tomorrow, and the weekend. That's all for now.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Fish Out of Water
Today, I was the most dressed up than I ever have been in my entire life. Express shirt and tie, Macy's Alfani pants and shoes, a navy blue blazer, a top coat and scarf. And I get to do this for the next 3 and half months.
And then I got to my internship...
30 minutes in, I'm in a meeting regarding linking new mobility and resilience/national security. I really had no idea what was going on. Luckily I was just observing because my project leader was hosting the meeting and I was just following him.
I'm actually helping with the Center's "Mobilizing NATO in Afghanistan and Pakistan: Ensuring the Alliance's Future" project. They are set to roll out their findings in a paper which is being released later in January before the large NATO summit at the end of the month. Apparently we're having some big names come to this event we're hosting. For instance my project leader's "need to contact" list includes Gen. McChrystal and SecDef Gates. Don't know if their actually coming, but my project leader, who went to Harvard and is probably no more than five years older than me apparently has a contact list consisting of the previously mentioned, Madeleine Albright, Ahmad Rashid (whose book I read over break) and apparently many others.
He told me that I'll really gain a broad perspective of the whole Af-Pak/Central Asia situation from interning here and that despite not getting paid I will be pretty much a full time employee. If I wanted to gain knowledge of everything going on over there (which I said I was) he said this was the perfect place to intern. Sounds like right off the bat I'll get to do some follow up phone calls to some of the policy experts checking to see if they are coming to this "roll out" that we're conducting come late January. The center said interns will be doing about 60% policy work and 40% clerical which I think sounds great.
Really all today I did was reading on the reports they have been writing up so I could catch up. What they are presenting is an assessment of the capabilities NATO members have yet to commit to Afghanistan. It'll also show the danger posted by al-Qaeda and other extremist organizations that operate out of South Asia. "By putting the threat of domestic terrorism and large regional instability within the context of the effort in Afghanistan, the Center hopes to provide a necessary impetus for greater European political and popular support for NATO deployments."
From what Ryan, the project leader, talked about, logistics for this event in January is at the top of the Center's priorities. He even joked (maybe he was serious) that I probably would be putting the whole event together. Though I may be conducting research for the project; there is still more to go, I'll probably be helping with the event.
Everyone was really nice and ironically I was handed coffee at the beginning of the day. My first impressions were that I will be legitimately helping out the Center and what they are trying to accomplish. At the same time, I'm really jumping in mid-stream and everyone was really busy today. Ryan said after this week things should slow down. Nevertheless it was intimidating and it'll take some time for me to adjust. But I think it'll go well and I'll enjoy it immensely. Hopefully I'll get to steal their big report and get to meet some big names. We'll see.
On another note for the I'm sure many history buffs who are reading this blog, Dr. David Abshire, whom I met today, leads the center. He's co-chairing this project too because he has experence successfully confronting the political crisis within NATO that was created by the Soviet SS-20 missile deployment and NATO's failure to meet conventionl force requirements during the 1980s. There's a fun fact.
Any the way, I can't wait to get a couple more days under my belt so I can get a better understanding of what's going on and what to do. Cya for now.
And then I got to my internship...
30 minutes in, I'm in a meeting regarding linking new mobility and resilience/national security. I really had no idea what was going on. Luckily I was just observing because my project leader was hosting the meeting and I was just following him.
I'm actually helping with the Center's "Mobilizing NATO in Afghanistan and Pakistan: Ensuring the Alliance's Future" project. They are set to roll out their findings in a paper which is being released later in January before the large NATO summit at the end of the month. Apparently we're having some big names come to this event we're hosting. For instance my project leader's "need to contact" list includes Gen. McChrystal and SecDef Gates. Don't know if their actually coming, but my project leader, who went to Harvard and is probably no more than five years older than me apparently has a contact list consisting of the previously mentioned, Madeleine Albright, Ahmad Rashid (whose book I read over break) and apparently many others.
He told me that I'll really gain a broad perspective of the whole Af-Pak/Central Asia situation from interning here and that despite not getting paid I will be pretty much a full time employee. If I wanted to gain knowledge of everything going on over there (which I said I was) he said this was the perfect place to intern. Sounds like right off the bat I'll get to do some follow up phone calls to some of the policy experts checking to see if they are coming to this "roll out" that we're conducting come late January. The center said interns will be doing about 60% policy work and 40% clerical which I think sounds great.
Really all today I did was reading on the reports they have been writing up so I could catch up. What they are presenting is an assessment of the capabilities NATO members have yet to commit to Afghanistan. It'll also show the danger posted by al-Qaeda and other extremist organizations that operate out of South Asia. "By putting the threat of domestic terrorism and large regional instability within the context of the effort in Afghanistan, the Center hopes to provide a necessary impetus for greater European political and popular support for NATO deployments."
From what Ryan, the project leader, talked about, logistics for this event in January is at the top of the Center's priorities. He even joked (maybe he was serious) that I probably would be putting the whole event together. Though I may be conducting research for the project; there is still more to go, I'll probably be helping with the event.
Everyone was really nice and ironically I was handed coffee at the beginning of the day. My first impressions were that I will be legitimately helping out the Center and what they are trying to accomplish. At the same time, I'm really jumping in mid-stream and everyone was really busy today. Ryan said after this week things should slow down. Nevertheless it was intimidating and it'll take some time for me to adjust. But I think it'll go well and I'll enjoy it immensely. Hopefully I'll get to steal their big report and get to meet some big names. We'll see.
On another note for the I'm sure many history buffs who are reading this blog, Dr. David Abshire, whom I met today, leads the center. He's co-chairing this project too because he has experence successfully confronting the political crisis within NATO that was created by the Soviet SS-20 missile deployment and NATO's failure to meet conventionl force requirements during the 1980s. There's a fun fact.
Any the way, I can't wait to get a couple more days under my belt so I can get a better understanding of what's going on and what to do. Cya for now.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Welcome to DC!!!
Uh, hi everybody, I'm Dane and this will (hopefully) be my blog.
I'm required to do a weekly log for my internship so I thought I'd make a blog to do it. I'll add a little extra to it whenever I have the time. I honestly don't know how busy I'm going to be this semester so this may be bare. We shall see. I'm going to start interning at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress on Wednesday this week.
The CSPC "...systematically examines past successes and failures of the Presidency and relates its findings to present challenges and opportunities. Lessons learned from past American experiences offer insights on how to deal with these challenges" (www.thepresidency.org). I've been told that I'll be assisting with their foreign policy project dealing with revitalizing NATO in Afghanistan. Outside of that I don't know much else, but I'll be getting an orientation on Wednesday.
I'm staying at the Boston University Washington Center and the location is great, but the dorm is pretty small. I brought too much stuff with me. Oh well. Right now my concerns are getting groceries back to the dorm, cooking, and having to dress up in full business attire for my internship. I'm sure I'll figure it all out; I'm looking forward to a great semester overall. And, and, and I get the privilege of turning 21 in the nation's capital. Sounds like fun.
I'm required to do a weekly log for my internship so I thought I'd make a blog to do it. I'll add a little extra to it whenever I have the time. I honestly don't know how busy I'm going to be this semester so this may be bare. We shall see. I'm going to start interning at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress on Wednesday this week.
The CSPC "...systematically examines past successes and failures of the Presidency and relates its findings to present challenges and opportunities. Lessons learned from past American experiences offer insights on how to deal with these challenges" (www.thepresidency.org). I've been told that I'll be assisting with their foreign policy project dealing with revitalizing NATO in Afghanistan. Outside of that I don't know much else, but I'll be getting an orientation on Wednesday.
I'm staying at the Boston University Washington Center and the location is great, but the dorm is pretty small. I brought too much stuff with me. Oh well. Right now my concerns are getting groceries back to the dorm, cooking, and having to dress up in full business attire for my internship. I'm sure I'll figure it all out; I'm looking forward to a great semester overall. And, and, and I get the privilege of turning 21 in the nation's capital. Sounds like fun.
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