Gotta Enjoy the Little Things. Right?

The screen saver at my work desk isn’t functioning properly.

Normally, there’s a multicolored 3-D flower-diamond shape that morphs into new shapes while moving across my computer screen. You know the one: It starts out looking like a four pronged ninja star of blue, yellow, and red before it changes into a christimas tree ornament made of bubble baloons. It almost looks like it's having the time of its life jumping and transforming across my monitor.

But no more.

I came back from lunch and saw the words, “COULD NOT FIND ANY COMPATIBLE DIRECT 3-D DEVICES” in a white textbox bouncing around my screen exactly where my rainbow ninja star used to be.

I was a little sad initially, but it has been nearly a week now and I can’t help but smile a little on the inside when I see the broken screen saver. It’s just funny to think that my computer has lost something and is struggling in vain to get it back. Not funny enough to make me stare at my screen saver all day or wait long enough for my screen saver to come on, but still, it's amusing.

~David

Backdated Picture

This is a little out of date, but too good to not post: -Sam

Broadening my horizons

Throughout my life I always liked to try something new. I have been in DC for 6 weeks now and I have had a lot of first experiences. I grew up in a small suburb west of Cleveland. In the city where I grew up in there was not much diversity. Most people looked like me, talked like me, and acted like me. The most diversity we had was 1 Mexican restaurant on the edge of town. Washington DC is sure an eye opener to many new things if you come from a place like mine. Let’s just say where I come from I am not usually the minority in the crowd.

A few weeks ago I was able to attend part of the equality march here in DC. That was sure an eye opening experience, one that I respected and was glad to be a part of.

Then this past weekend one of my roommates and I decided to attend Church. Sunday morning we were running late and could not find the Church we had decided to attend. We kept on walking until we found a Church. We rushed in and realized that it was an African-American congregation. I was a bit taken aback to be taken out of my comfort zone so quickly. I wanted to turn around and walk out because I was so uncomfortable since I’ve never been to an African-American service. But I am glad I didn’t. By the end of the service I really enjoyed myself and felt at home. Being taken out of your comfort zone is important to allow you to grow and see many different parts of life that you normally would not see if you stayed in it. I must say that these experiences allowed me to grow in more ways than I could imagine. The time I have spent in DC has allowed me to experience so many things that without it I would never been able to see.

-Terry

Mystery

Some mysterious things have been happening to me lately. It all started earlier last week when my Glenn School OSU Mentor emailed me. He said he would be paying my fees for the November 13th President Gee event and that it was his treat. I emailed him back and thanked him for his generosity, but I told him I wasn't aware of any such event. He emailed me back that all would be revealed and I'll find out about it when I find out about it - and just for me to know that he was paying for it.

Hmm...

Now, in the calendar at my work we do indeed have President Gee in DC clearly marked for the date in question. I've asked my supervisor what the purpose of our esteemed University President's visit is and she claimed he will be in for a conference and that our office nothing to do with the visit. I believe she is telling the truth, as she will be in Columbus that Thursday through that Sunday.

The only question that remains is: What in the world is going on?

I look forward to discovering the secret.

Perhaps those who work for the John Glenn Washington Academic Internship Program could enlgithed me/us... **Cough Cough... Laura... or Dr. Kolson... Cough Cough**

Actually, perhaps they don't know either. It's bending my mind into a pretzel!

A much heated topic

Global warming? Global climate change? Whatever you want to call it. Is it a debate? Does need our immediate concern? That was the topic of our lecture this morning. Click here to watch a video that I saw last spring in a previous course at OSU about the topic.

Chelsea

Jon Stewart is good.

Yeah, thanks Sam. Jon Stewart live is a totally different experience to his television show. Firstly - there is no tasteful bleeping of profanities when he is performing live. Secondly, that man may be hilarious, but he's also got some things to say. Whether it be an appeal to reason (in any situation) or a lament about the human condition, his observations as a commedian, while nearly always dripping with humorous delivery, are also nearly always mixed with profound insights. No regrets on spending more than a student should spend (especially on some of the farthest seats from the stage) on my ticket. A fantastic DC experience.

Also, I missed Chipotle a lot.

Josh

"that's not the nice man from the TV!"

Josh, Jason, Dan, and I all went to see Jon Stewart at GWU on a total whim yesterday. Jason and Dan used their absurd skills to secure us two tickets to the 10PM show, and we had delicious Chipotle and a great time watching one of America's most entertaining personalities. Also, thanks to Sam for pushing us to spring for the tickets and go have fun--I probably would've been boring and cheap without your encouragement.

Also, now that I have my LSAT score, I apologize in advance to everyone, because I'll probably be going on incessantly about law school and decisionmaking for the next...at least until November 15th. Thank you for all your support on all that stuff thus far, too!

Amy

California

This past week I was given the opportunity to travel to LA with my internship staff Free the Slaves. The occasion being the 2009 Freedom Awards which celebrate heroes of the anti-slavery movement from around the world. These awards are open to organizations and individuals working to eradicate human trafficking and modern-day slavery. This experience was so valuable and empowering to me. Some of those honored were:


Sina Vann
Fredrick Douglass Award Winner

Sina is a former sex slave from Phnom Penh, Cambodia who now goes back to the brothels to help sex slaves escape, and to provide health advice for those unable to break free.






Veero
Frederick Douglass Award

Veero is a former bonded labor slave from Pakistan who now collaborates with Pakistani police force to rescue other bonded slaves.




I can't really explain just how amazing it was to see these women accept awards for such triumphant acts. To learn more about the 2009 Freedom Awards and others who where honored click here.

Many celebrities came to honor the great efforts of the awards winners as well such as, Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher, Camilla Belle, Emmitt Smith, Maurice Greene, Alex Band, Quddus, Katie Ford and others. I was very much excited when I was able to hang out in the VIP lounge with all of these people. Unfortunately pictures were prohibited. Below are a couple pictures that I was able to find online.

David's Bachelor Party

In case David's post was unclear to those of you who didn't make it, we threw an impromptu bachelor party for him at the last minute this weekend. Josh threw out the idea that we should do something, I immediately decided that, knowing David, ice cream was the answer. We ended up with half an hour to get into gear and to Baskin Robbins, and we made it with nine minutes to spare.

It was so exciting to celebrate our friend, and I wish him the best. Congratulations, David!

-Sam

Dear Baskin Robbins,

You and six cool friends made my evening.
Cause ice cream does that.
Almost as good as cool friends do. Really.

Thanks.

Peaches!

Yesterday, after church, I went to the Eastern Market. I really enjoyed the array of vendors and variety of fruits and vegetables that were selling outside. My favorite being the peach stand!! So far the eastern market is one of my favorite places in D.C. -Jessica

Bucket List

So far we have been here for 3 weeks and it has gone fast. I have a feeling that the next 7 weeks are going to fly by even faster. I am not sure how many people saw the 2007 movie “The Bucket List” with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman but in the movie they create a list of things they want to do before they die which they call their bucket list. I think this is a great idea. I am creating a bucket list of things I want to do before my time in DC runs out. My list is long and it is constantly growing. Some of the things on my list include visiting the National Portrait Gallery, National Zoo and watch the sunrise from the Lincoln Memorial. I hope to get everything accomplished on my list before time runs out. I encourage all my other classmates to do the same so we could all make the most out of our short time in our nation’s capitol.

Georgetown

Saturday we went to Georgetown and went to an OSU alumni bar to watch the Buckeyes. It felt like we were in Columbus with all the OSU fans around! Georgetown is an awesome neighborhood. I couldn't believe how long the strip was and how many stores there were. My mom is coming to visit next weekend and I will definitely be taking her to that area and to see embassy row (it looks hard to get to by metro). 

Saturday we also went to see the OSU solar decathlon house which was ALOT better than any of us thought it would be. They were in 7th place when we were there and I was really impressed with all the green technology that the house took advantage of. We found out that the reason they weren't working through the night like the other teams was because their house was taken apart into 3 pieces and was easily put back together. The other houses, on the other hand, took the house apart piece by piece and had to pretty much assemble from scratch. So they weren't lazy after-all. 

Overall, a very fun 3-day weekend. Tonight we're going to Good Stuff for burgers!

-Liz

AHHhhh

Career Planning=Stressful 

-Liz

K-Unit

-Liz

Hunkering down

So tomorrow we have a seminar. That's good. But tomorrow is also the day that Mike Kerrigan (one of two people who work full time in my office) goes on his three week vacation. I'm not terribly concerned that I won't do a good job because I think I will, but Mike's absence means far more pressure and responsibility falls to me for the next three weeks. Combine that with internship presentations, seminar papers, a light cold, the ever-present Policy Paper and the fact that for some reason time seems to flow faster here than elsewhere, and you get a busy nine weeks.

In other news I was sorry to miss out on the activities over the weekend that the other Glenn Fellows enjoyed. Apparently the Korean harvest festival feast was something one shouldn't miss if given the opportunity to attend - but I did have a relaxing weekend at home in Cleveland.

Trip to Roosevelt Island

Sunday outing to walk around Roosevelt Island. It was a nice 45-minute trip around the park, and it was difficult to get lost (like we did on the drive over). It was great to get out of the city, and a spot of nature so close is great to know about. Anyway, pictures better than words, most likely:

Terry meets another Clevelander! Clevelandite? Whatever!

Derick at Roosevelt, lookin' svelte.

Derick and Zach, where it's at.

-Sam

Saturday Night

We Glenn Fellows, we don't waste time. After dinner with our Korean friends on Saturday we walked to the Mall and saw the monuments. This adventure began around 8pm and we didn't arrive back home until well around midnight. They are so incredibly beautiful. Even more so at night. Below are just some of the moments I captured.

Chelsea

Runner's Mecca

Yesterday on one of my long runs I discovered an incredible biking/jogging path in Virginia along the Potomac River that I'd recommend to everyone! It's right along the riverfront, which is beautiful all by itself, but across the river is a breathtaking view of the D.C. shoreline with all the monuments. Airplanes fly low overhead and it's filled with friendly runners and bikers--one runner even caught up with me to give me my dropped SmarTrip card. Also, one of the best parts of the trail is the lack of traffic--you'll have to cross streets and bridges to get there, but the repose from obnoxiously timed crosswalks is worth the trip by itself.

I'm always looking for running partners, so if anyone is ever interested in a good multiple-mile day, let me know. Otherwise, we should take a weekend and rent bikes or just go walking there, it's definitely worth the time.

Amy