Life on the Hill

Hello my loyal readers. I had my first sick day last week. I woke up all nasty and sick and decided to not push it (like I usually do) and just take the day off to relax and get better. I think I have been going pretty hard and opening myself up to sickness. The night before I went to some conservative group meeting. I am enjoying the constant political-ness of DC and am more than willing to go to anything if there is a possibility of free food. With this one, I wasn’t disappointed. There was a mini-buffet of appetizers and an open bar. The speaker ended up getting delayed in traffic and they encouraged everyone to just keep drinking until he got there. By the time he showed up, I’m not sure if his speech was exceptionally funny, or if my free glasses of wine just made me think so. I am noticing that there are so many meetings, receptions, hearings and briefings, that you could probably come here and spend a full 24 hours attending everything. Some are ways for the government and the public to exchange information (committee hearings), others are for like-minded politicos to have drinks and complain about the rival party (meetings) and others are groups trying to get the politicos to come by and hear about their issue (receptions). One thing that is weird to me, though, is that everything is pretty official. If there is a flyer saying an event will go from 7pm-9pm, it is literally over at 9pm. With everyone’s schedules, it is generally understood that there will be no loitering. I am used to running into people I know and standing and talking for hours. These things are designed for people to meet people, and then leave. It’s a little odd to me because I am used to forming friendships, not just connections. Is almost like speed-dating; you talk to someone just long enough to see if they match you (“You support oil shale drilling? Me too!!”) and then move on to the next one. Either way, I am having a blast going to everything, even though I’d rather talk about Cohen Brothers movies or fly-fishing than rant about policy decisions. The only thing is that I’m still a little intimidated by the size and scope of DC. Many people from the New York area, or even friends from Texas, tease me for my small-town mindset. I am used to knowing everyone and being familiar with all that is expected of me. I still feel like I dress a little more casual than most, and prefer conversation to be easy and friendly rather than intense, angry policy discussions. However, the atmosphere is fun for me and I really enjoy checking everything out.