The Staycation List

So now that I've said a sad farewell to my job, I have three weeks (now less) of down-time to relax. I know that once I start classes I won't be able to take any leave for at least the 6 weeks of A-100, and probably much longer once I start my mystery language/skills training, so I figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to use up a good chunk of my vacation time to see and do all those DC things I hadn't yet done. The following should be a good start.

• Visit some of the Smithsonian and other museums that I haven't gotten around to yet, including the Hirshhorn Modern Art Museum, the African Art Museum, and the Dumbarton Oaks Gardens and Museum. 

• Get a look inside the National Cathedral through the recently re-started Gargoyle Tours (they had been on hold for the past year due to damage caused by last year's earthquake). 

• Spend a an afternoon at the National Archives doing some family history research.

• Visit the Supreme Court and see if I can sit in on a lecture. 

• Restock my cupboards of all the things that I'd generally keep on hand back in Seattle - kaffir lime leaves, curry powder, rice paper wrappers, wontons, soba noodles - at some of the ethnic food markets that hide out in the DC suburbs. 

• Thanks to a well-timed Living Social deal, head out to Virginia suburbs and try my aim at a local gun range.  

• Do some running so I can beat my personal best at my third Capitol Hill 10k on May 20th (I think I'll need to come in under 59 mins). 

• As a reward for all my hard work, have a spa day with a massage and facial. 

In addition to getting out of my apartment, I've also been embarking on a great document purge. I bought a scanner and have been digitizing everything I can put my hands on: receipts, medical info, business cards, pictures, etc. It's tedious work, but with a full day to fill, it's oddly relaxing and the reward of getting to shred or recycle piles of old paper is amazing.

Finally, to top off all of this seeing, doing, relaxing, and organizing, I'll make a quick trip back to the other Washington to spend some much needed time with the family.

Goodbye DOI

Today is one of those bittersweet days that I'm sure I'll come to know well in my FS career. Saying goodbye to a job and group of people that I really love, while at the same time anticipating the great things that come next.

For the past 2.5 years I've had the privilege of working at the Department of the Interior in the Policy Office, learning, growing, and really enjoying every day. I realize that it's a rare thing to wake up each morning and look forward to going to work, so it took a big opportunity to pull me away from my great colleagues and the inspiring work. Being my last day, I took the opportunity to do one last wander around the gorgeous building where I've worked, reminding myself of why I was drawn to DOI in the first place. I absolutely believe in the mission of this Department and hope that in my new career I can be an advocate for National Parks, species, ecosystems, and all the public resources that make this country so great (USA! USA!).

I absolutely love the art work at the Interior Headquarters building, and I'm definitely going to miss working in such an inspirational place. I've shared some of my favorite vantage points below, but I encourage DC visitors to think about taking a DOI Public Mural Tour, which includes some amazing Ansel Adams prints along with an impressive collection of murals commissioned during the Great Depression through the Works Progress Administration Artists Project. The official online tour is here.

The murals right next to my office, including a beautiful painting of Mt. Hood.

Historic murals from the WPA Artists program inspired employees during the Great Depression.

Art Deco staircase - one of the beautiful architectural features of Main Interior. 

Glimpses of Ansel Adams Yellowstone shots from the staircase.

My favorite mural - "Construction of a Dam" by William Gropper. Controversial for it's communist tones. 

Scooter Weather

I'm now entering my third spring season in D.C. and I still haven't gotten used to the amazingness that is a real change in the seasons. Seattle is a beautiful place to live, and the summers there are indeed tough to beat, but the transition from one season to the next is gradual and anticlimactic. Kinda rainy to more rainy to really rainy back to not so rainy. And the cycle begins again. And while we have true seasons where I grew up, on the dry side of the mountains in the Pacific Northwest, there are very few deciduous trees to burst back to life and the arid climate tempers down some of the greenness. But here in the swampy mid-Atlantic, spring seems to happy so suddenly. One day everything is dead and brown, and seriously, a week or two of sunny days and suddenly there is grass, and flowers, and leaves, and blossoms. Everywhere!

Here you can see the progression from brown trees, to slightly green grass, to full blown blossoms. I've been able to get out on the bike a few times, as well as out on Bella, my trusty Vespa. I can't believe I've been a scooter owner for over two years, but she now has over 700 miles and a freshly renewed DC registration. I'm hoping that wherever the foreign service decides to send me, I'll be able to take Bella with me, though the thought of scooting through a chaotic African market or a packed Asian city makes me more than a bit nervous. I don't think I have those skills, (a topic discussed humorously in this article by former FSO Dave Seminara titled "10 tips to avoid breaking your neck or your budget on a moped"). So in the mean time I'll just enjoy the spring weather here in DC and get as many scooting/biking days in while I can.

Thanksgiving 2011

Yesterday I hosted my first Thanksgiving, and I'm happy to report that nothing burned down, no glasses or dishes were dropped, and there was not even one drop of blood spilled (except for the turkey). In all, it was much more of a success than I could have imagined.

There are so many things to be thankful for and it would take pages for me to list them all. I have the most amazing friends, who keep me centered, sane and laughing. My family, even though they are far away, supports my every wacky adventure with love. And I have been granted the most humbling career opportunities - working on super interesting topics that I'm passionate about while seeing the world. And as I look forward to the next steps that will lead to being a foreign service officer, to me the ultimate adventure, I can hardly comprehend my good fortune in life. So yeah, I have a lot of reasons to give thanks.  

I was joined in my small basement apartment by friends from all parts of my life. We kept it traditional, with a simple roast turkey, garlic mashed potatoes, herbed sweet potatoes, ginger carrots, corn, and three kinds of stuffing (veggie, regular in the bird, regular out of the bird). I insisted on sitting down for dinner, which involved combining a spare desk with the rickety Ikea table surrounded by every kind of folding chair you can imagine. But some antique linens and a set of family dishes made it feel civilized and proper. 

The before. Unfortunately, the after picture never happened, but it was gorgeous.

The food all came out according to plan and we ate ourselves into food comas. We tried to burn off some of the food through competitive games of Scattagories and Catch Phrase, with some football in the background. It was a great day.

So who knows where I'll be next Thanksgiving. I assume that I'll still be in D.C., but then again, who knows? 

October recap

Here in Washington D.C. fall ticks on. We had a freak showing of snow last weekend, but this weekend the sun is back shining and the remaining leaves are still clinging colorfully to increasingly bare branches. I've been busy during these past 5 weeks of not getting on an airplane to anywhere, doing some hiking, getting out on the bike, schmoozing away at work, mentally preparing myself to take on the oral part of the foreign service exam in about a week, and partaking in some general silliness to fill in the gaps.

Getting outside of the "beltway" is a must for sanity and clarity at all times of the year, but the colors and rolling Virginia hills are particularly soothing to the soul in the fall. I ended up on a path less travel in the Shenendoah Valley, a rare event indeed, and was able to enjoy some truly spectacular views with only a handful of other exiles.

Work has also been busy, fun, challenging, and everything I hoped for when I came to DC to work on environmental policy. I was part of a group that received a major Conservation Award, complete with a reception at the Old Executive Office Building (OEOB for those West Wing buffs out there) and a very official cake. A few weeks after that I was involved in the planning and hosting of a big, fancy international meeting. The highlight was a reception on one of the big wig balconies overlooking the National Mall. Sorry, no pictures, DC paranoia prevents me from putting anything that combines wine and political appointees on a website. 

I was also able to tick off one item on my 30 for 30 list by attending the Baltimore City Roller Girls a couple weeks back (#9). It was interesting, but not the heart-pounding thrill a minute that I was hoping to experience. And I don't think I'll be signing up to be a roller girl anytime soon, in case any friends and family out there were worrying about me going through some sort of 30 crisis. A month in I've only crossed off one item, so I'm really going to have to focus to make this one happen. 

And no DC pre-halloween festivities are complete without the running of the high drag race, celebrating it's 25th anniversary this year. Tens of thousands of fans lined the streets of Dupont to cheer on their favorite topically dressed drag queen. My personal favorites were the Royal Wedding Party, seen below, and the Pan Am Stewardesses who gave the crowd a pre-flight demonstration that topped anything I've ever had on United. 

So I think that wraps up October pretty well. November will center around my foreign service exam, which for good or for bad will be over by next Tuesday. I'm really quite chill about it, being that I have a great job, amazing friends, and pretty busy/crazy/silly life. Until next time. 

A lesson in chilling - thanks Ruby!

http://servicecentered.blogspot.com/

"Separating The Value of Public Service From The Politics"

The root of why I decided to take up writing (publicly) again was my belief in the value of public service, that maybe, just maybe, I might have some insights worthy of sharing from my day to day slog as a Federal employee. While surely not as exciting or as inspirational as some of my more memorable writings as a Peace Corps volunteer (such as this one or this one), life in the hallowed halls of government is equally as important. 

Not a whole lot happening in Washington, D.C. right now

But, it's a tough time to be a in any sort of public service right now, not just in Washington, but across the country. Recognizing this, a major personality in the Federal hierarchy recently published a commentary that perfectly captures the upside of why I am here in D.C., while expressing many of the same frustrations I feel in my day to day work. Admiral Thad Allen, former Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard and leader of the federal response to both Hurricane Katrina and the Gulf oil spill, wrote this essay through the Partnership for Public Service.  In it, Admiral Allen makes the important point that, "In the current political climate and discourse over the national debt, we have done a poor job of distinguishing between the need for fiscal responsibility and the value of public service, which is enduring."

I agree with Admiral Allen, and having met him in person, I know that he does not spend his words or his time  lightly. He quotes the ultimate service oriented idol, President John F. Kennedy, as saying, "The success of this government, and thus the success of our nation, depends in the last analysis upon the quality of our career services."  It is in crafting those "last analysis" that I find my passion and my purpose. When I am working to balance protection of sensitive Arctic environments alongside economic interests or when I was working in support of international efforts on the ozone layer, the politics of Capitol Hill are/were not even a concern. But, Capitol Hill ultimate holds the power to make the work I do possible, by holding the rule book and the check book.

So now, a difficult discussion is taking place between Congressional leaders on both sides aisle and the White House about debt, spending, and tax policy ideology. Meanwhile, Federal employees continue to show up for work and commit the same level of energy that they do everyday (unless of course you work for the FAA, in which case the fight in Congress is directly affecting your ability to do your job right now). Rather than being pointed to as the problem in Washington, it would be very nice if our leaders recognized the hard work and dedication of its public servants. 


http://servicecentered.blogspot.com/

Summer in the District

In terms of beautiful weather, scenery, and long days of sunshine, I would be crazy to choose summer in D.C. over the Pacific Northwest. Nothing tops a perfectly mild day wandering around Seattle or a weekend spent on the lakes of Northern Idaho with the family. But D.C. has a whole unique culture that comes along with the sweltering days that I am just now beginning to fully appreciate. Here are a few of my favorite D.C. summer things.

Yes, it's gorgeous, but D.C. has some stuff to offer too

The dress code. Most people would find the fact that DC residents insist on wearing suits and jackets when the heat index reaches 112 (as it did today) crazy. I find it endearing, cute even. I was walking to a meeting across town and passed the back gates to the White House, where visitors to the West Wing come and go, and there were was nothing but suits and ties. Me, I was carrying my jacket in a breezy sleeveless dress and felt bad for those guys, but there was something insanely admirable in maintaining formalities in the face of oppressing heat.

Interns. I (sometimes) wish that it had occurred to me to spend a summer in DC filing papers, making copies, or doing whatever else it is that DC interns do. They get to experience the ins and outs of this town without any of the responsibilities that come with an actual salary.  There are plenty of other older working folks like me who are fascinated by/secretly jealous of the interns, devoting blogs and twitter feeds to all the silly things that they do in and out of the office. Most would never admit it, but come fall when the interns return to their ivy covered dorms we all are a little sad to lose our youthful office mates and sources of interesting gossip.

Food trucks. Due to some mundane change in D.C. regulations and the rise of twitter, the last year has seen a marked increase in the number of food trucks. Though these mobile establishments can be enjoyed year round, the quest for all things hip and the brief escape from A/C create prime food truck conditions. Each day, legions of desk-bound feds dutifully check the live online map in hopes that their favorite truck will be visiting their quadrant of the District that day. Several trucks have taken to livening up our dreary lives with festive picnic blankets, music, and costume-clad servers. I realize that many cities, such as Portland or NYC, have their own cadre of food trucks, but I can assure all that no group of people appreciate a good korean taco or jerk chicken empanada than the Federal workforce, who were previously confined to bland cafeteria buffets and subway.

Jazz in the garden. There are many, many fine outdoor events in D.C., and plenty are probably more cultured or more scenic than Jazz in the National Sculpture Garden, but this stalwart of outdoor social events is one of personal favorites just for pure scene. Every Friday the sculpture garden on the National Mall opens its gates to thousands of downtown workers, offering spendy pitchers of sangria and Heinekken along with live jazz music. By 6pm, every square foot of grass and dirt is filled with suits and skirts. Shoes are kicked off, smuggled bottles of wine are opened, and cheese, crackers, and hummus are spread out on blankets.  It doesn't matter how long or stressful the week has been, jazz has a way of resetting everything and starting a weekend off right.

So it's not hanging out in mountains and or on the Sound, but the residents and workers of the District embrace summer in their own, uniquely suited up way.