Hiatus

I have officially decided to cease my blog. I am not going to delete it because I like to keep track of everyone listed to the left! However, I have concluded to not continue posting blog entries of my own. It has been fun...but I think in an attempt not to bore you all to tears with my fun life of school and work, I will abstain from writing so as not to even begin that possibility!

Just imagine most entries would read like this: School is so great! We are learning about {insert topic here}. Work is really good and the kids are sure fun. {Insert random story here}. I got to go see {insert DC museum/site; VA museum/site here}. It was wonderful and there is so much to see out here! I miss my family/friends/Cache Valley, but am so glad to be here having great new opportunities!

That would pretty much be it. So long, and I will be keeping in touch in other ways!

Jenette

Job Security

No, I'm not talking about my own job security. But I do want to talk about the security at my job. Just like any place in DC, you have the obligatory guards posted at every door to check your bag. When I first started at the Building Museum, I dutifully offered up my bag until I got an ID. I wore my ID diligently whenever I went to work, and then I got smart. They didn't really care/they recognized me. So, I stopped wearing it. I am not saying anything against our security guards, but they are a little lax. Sorry. (By the way, if you wonder why people do wear their IDs everywhere, that is one of the reasons...oh and people like to feel important here.)

Anyway, the time has come for our security to kick it into high gear. As you all know the G20 Economic Summit happens next week in Washington DC. (What? You didn't? Okay, I didn't either until this...) As it happens, the summit will be occurring at the Building Museum. Not too exciting really, except it means I do not have to work next Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. No one will be at work. Only the world's leaders trying to come up with an economic solution to the world. Good luck to them.

It has been so fun to watch the hundreds of black suited folks wandering all over the museum for the past few days. See, they are the real, top notch security. They have maps. They have very official badges. And they all wear black (or maybe some other dark color) suits/clothes. At one point this afternoon as I was helping clean up after a program, I was down on my hands and knees gathering up small washers from the maroon colored, flower patterned carpet. Surrounding me where all of these security folks. All very much engaged in serious conversations. I had to chuckle. This place often does make me laugh!

The National Building Museum (inside the Great Hall...it really is quite large and exterior...with the 5 million bricks it is made of!!)

It's All Over But the Work

The new era dawned today, a little windy, but somewhat warm, in DC. Things seemed to be quite normal. But things were a little different too. I saw more American flags than I have seen in my time here so far. I get the feeling that people are proud to be Americans a little bit more today than they were yesterday. My classmates and the snippets of conversation I heard on the bus/metro all seemed to echo the same sentiment—finally, change has come. And why shouldn’t they be happy? After all the debate and arguing and talking, an African American was elected the President of the United States of America. People can say race doesn’t matter, but the fact that this has occurred is a monumental moment in the history of this country. After all that has happened, it seems that Dr. King’s dream is becoming a little more real. There are strides to go, of course, but I just think of some young African American kid sitting in a DC public school class who is told they can be anything they want. And today that dream might seem a bit more real to that kid than it would have a few months ago. Clearly not everyone is pleased, and as happy as people have been today, people know the expectation that rests with Obama. It is monumental. The country has so many issues. But maybe for the first time in a long, long time, people will be inspired. Maybe the US’s standing in the world view can be healed a bit. I certainly hope so. I think that is why Obama won. People want to be inspired. Hopefully that inspiration will translate into action and a better country, and even world.

Okay, so enough gushing. Let’s be honest. The Democrats have control. They have no excuses, so if they aren’t able to solve the dire situations that face this country, they have no one to blame but themselves this time. I think it okay to swing to either side and give each side a shot. Random Example: I have a friend who voted for Obama as part of what he calls his “Romney strategy”. His reasoning is that Obama isn’t going to be able to fix the problems (could make them worse), and so in four years the country will be ready for something (else) new. We will have to see on the specifics of that particular plan. But honestly, the Republicans better be getting ready to reinvent some part of themselves, because if things do go badly for the Democrats, the Republicans will be in good position for victory in four years.

Well, that is going to be it for me and politics for awhile. School. Papers. Reading. That is what I really need to do…

Election Eve

Well, this fine election eve finds me watching the Steelers-Redskins. I am not being as diligent in regards to my homework tonight as I should--oh well. Right now the Steelers are winning, which I hope lasts. But more than anything, I am excited to have the election over, the campaign ads over, and the political yammer over. Believe me, politics is the thing to talk about around these parts. I love/hate it. But what I really do love is that for the first time in my life, my vote will actually count. First, I am no longer in Utah, so the outcome isn't set in stone (although, apparently, Virginia has mostly been a Republican state in the past). Second, Virginia is considered one of those "battleground states". So in theory, it could be my one, single vote that the entire state is hinged on. Okay, so it's not that dramatic! But you get the idea. So, join with me in the party, Vote, and watch the election returns until the wee hours of the night tomorrow. And hopefully, we will be set on a new course that will truly help our country. Because more than anything, we need a leader that can restore people's confidence in our country and restore our standing in the world. We can only hope.