Maybe I can convince my dad to take the PE exam with me in a few years (good old dad passed the FE waaay back in 1974)...
Anyway, on to my latest and greatest Washington, DC adventures!
Wednesday, June 13
I began my day by attending the "Change the Way America Runs Its Elections" conference sponsored by the Center for Democracy and Election Management at American University and the Carter-Baker Commission on Federal Election Reform. (What a mouthful.) The conference was held at the National Press Club. I had quite a surprise as I neared the building entrance:
The building was having its windows washed; for whatever reason, the ropes attached to the platform pulleys were dangling right at Sarah-head level. I was not expecting to dodge heavy, swinging ropes on my way to the conference!
The conference itself proved to be quite informative. Representatives Susan Davis and Rush Holt spoke, and there were two panels. The above photo is of the first panel, "What's Wrong with America's Elections and How to Fix Them: New Proposals from the States." Pictured left to right are Dr. Robert A. Pastor (Director of the Center for Democracy and Election Management at AU), Jamin Raskin (Maryland State Senator and Professor of Law at AU), Kevin Kennedy (Executive Director of the Wisconsin State Elections Board), Susan Molinari (former Member of Congress), Thomas Mann (Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution), and Mary Margaret Oliver (Member of the Georgia General Assembly).
The WISE gang visited the World Bank in the afternoon. Not quite my cup of tea, but still very interesting to learn about. We all stayed in for the evening due to severe thunderstorms and a general lack of motivation.
Wednesday spending total: $0.00 (YAY!)
Thursday, June 14
The WISE gang had a speaker in the morning, and I spent the afternoon working on my policy proposal. After work Emily, Erica, Dave, and myself journeyed to Busboys and Poets to see none other than RALPH NADER himself:
Mr. Nader spoke for about 45 minutes on his new book, The Seventeen Traditions. I enjoyed listening to him; he talked of his eccentric childhood as the son of two Lebanese immigrants in small-town Connecticut, not of the 2000 or 2004 elections.
Thursday spending total: $31.55 (postage, amazon.com order, and dinner)
Friday, June 15
Our early morning meeting got cancelled, so I spent the morning finishing my proposal at home. I still get the WORST glare on my computer at the IEEE office and prefer the solitude of empty Guthridge Hall.
I rolled into the office at noon for free food and did some work before our 3pm meeting. We all presented our proposals and went to the Town and Country Lounge to celebrate. Afterward, Emily and I went on a little adventure to the Wachovia ATM and liquor store, where we got a free tasting of Imperial vodka.
The WISE gang came home and ate dinner before embarking on even more evening revelry. Tonight our destination was Chinatown:
All of the bars were carding at the early hour of 8pm, so we were stuck going to Hooters. The atmosphere was totally dead; Saurabh and I eventually moved on to the Fado Irish Pub:
He thought it was hilarious that my Blue Moon glass was almost bigger than my face:
Ano, his friend, and Andrew joined us (and Chris and his 80 billion friends) at the bar, too:
Friday spending total: $19.00 (assorted alcoholic beverages)
