are you going to george washington?

i'm going to washington, dc this week, sans my three boys. i keep telling joshua about it, so that he's ready for me to be gone, and now he keeps asking me about when i go and what i'll do when i'm in "george washington." i keep having flashbacks to 2000, and the all too short time i lived there as a lowly intern for the senator who shall not be named (although "clout" might ring a bell). one of the greatest moments of the semester was when omar kader told mary bell she was a right-wing nut, which of course matt, nick and i knew all along. sweet validation! i think of leaving union station each morning after my metro ride and hearing a homeless man playing jazz standards--he made my day everyday. i think of endless debates--because i was one of three democrats in the group, and matt usually refuses to engage (and i think he's too smart so no one wanted to mess with him) and nick was very confrontational, maybe without meaning to be, so that left me to take all the heat. i think of dying to get out of the city and so three of us going camping without any real gear (because we left everything at home) and FREEZING (it was march). i think of three or four of us sitting on the steps of the supreme court on one of our last days. jeff and i had been offered jobs to stay on. nate hadn't, and he was one of the only ones planning on staying, and was desperately looking for a job. it was so pitiful as he sat there telling us how much his life sucked (his girl had just broken up with him as well) that it was one of the most hilarious moments. i think of night after night after night of kennedy center concerts--that was the life. and many many many other good and great times...