Updated the last 2 days of my DC trip...some things to read if you're bored.
Random:
The final full day in DC...
again, too late to blog, but here are the pics. I'll update the text later. NOTE--forgot the bring the good camera, so these were all taken with my phone on "ok" setting so that I wouldn't run out of space...
g'nite...
Slept in today. Well, relatively speaking. I had been getting up between 6:30 and 7:00am this week, getting ready, planning my day each morning, checking weather and directions and subway stops, etc. I set my alarm for 7:00am today and crawled out of bed sometime after that. I decided just to head downtown and fly by the seat of my pants. I wandered around town quite a bit, which is unusual for me, since I didn't really have a plan, and I didn't map out the trip before. I just knew where I needed to be for my Lunch and afternoon meetings.
On my commute in this morning, I received an email from Julie T. that said her friend in Congressman Hoekstra's office was willing to speak with me. I called her once I got in town, and ended up making a small loop on the metro because when I finally got in touch with her, she said she was willing to sit down with me for a few minutes. I arrived around 11:00am, I think and met with Amy P., COS. She was great and had some ideas for me. Too bad their office didn't have any openings... Got some more people to contact, a glass of water, and another name to add to my rolodex.
Took a little longer to catch the next metro and was going to be late walking the 1/2 mile or so that I expected to get to my lunch appointment, so I flagged a cab on the corner. Went to the Henley Park Hotel, where I met Tom I. for lunch. It was a very, very fun lunch. The restaurant staff all knew him (I imagine he frequents the establishment often, with its close proximity to his office), with the exception of our new waiter. Started out with sparkling water and some bread, got to know a little bit about each other, and finally decided what to order (well, Tom was excited about the specials, so he was ready right from the start. I ended up trying the cajun linguine, and also the soup d'jour). Whatever the soup was (I want to say a lentil-something?), it was excellent, hearty--but not too filling, with a "clean" taste. The waiter accidentally re-filled our glasses with regular water; rough (first?) day...
Tom and I talked about all sorts of stuff. He and his wife had just adopted their second child, and had flown down to Guatemala to do so; I guess she was a little older, but no one was wanting to adopt her, so they did. He has 5 or 8 natural children, the youngest of which just returned from her mission, and now two adopted children. He was very interested in my background and future plans. We talked a lot of politics, his involvement this cycle with fundraising and volunteering, and stuff like that. He is an incredibly good-natured, generous, and funny man. I thoroughly enjoyed my lunch with him. Despite the large age- and experience-gap, we spoke as friends and equals.
One of the funny things from our conversation: He mentioned that he couldn't be too helpful in the political spectrum (but passed along some names to try), but said he'd be willing to help in other ways. I asked about places to live, and he said that he has a townhome in the Falls Church, VA-area that he'd love to rent to us. Unfortunately, he has a few guys renting it right now; their lease is due up in February 2009, unless he "can think of something annoying about them and kick them out early for us" -- LOL!
Sadly, lunch ended and we went back to our days, the restaurant staff saying good-bye by name and wishing us to come back again soon. I was running a little behind for my next meeting, and spent some time on the phone as I walked to my next stop, the infamous
K Street.
Thankfully, the person I was meeting was also running late, so I wasn't keeping him waiting. I read the National Review's article about Mitt suspending his campaign; some lukewarm words for him after their strong endorsement not too many months earlier...
Met with Bill N. at Policy Impact. While he had some contacts to suggest, he was very helpful in the realm of helping (strongly asking for, really) me think about my career path. Basically, it all starts on the Hill. He said that if he were in my shoes and with my experience, he would:
1. Get "in" on the Hill -- find an opportunity and "burrow in"
-----A. Spend no more than 5 years there
-----B. Consider going to law school at night (Georgetown Law)
-----C. Build a rolodex, include pictures if you need to
-----D. Don't burn any bridges
2. Leave the Hill
3. Find a new place to work
-----A. Lobbying: start $250 to $400k/year, depending on the firm
-----B. Something in the industry that my policy area dealt with / trade association, etc.
4. Consider what I want to do next...
-----A. Keep lobbying, rotate in and out of administrations, retire
-----B. Lobby for 5-10 years, save money, move back to a "home" state, get settled, and consider running for office [Note: the law degree could really help for this; go into private practice in the "new" town]
5. See where I end up then...
While I don't like the "uncertainty" aspects of career planning (what if I change my mind about what I want to do? what will happen once I get to point "B"?), I think the path that I discussed with Bill makes the most sense for me, and leaves me with the most options. If I think that I want to be involved in politics, then NOW is the time to get involved; not LATER.
For example--short story--one of the guys I met with spent 4 years in a business environment, working his B.A. in Business or Econ or something. Then, he decided he was interested in politics, his old Deacon's Quorum advisor got elected to the House, and he had an "in" on the Hill. He skipped a level or two (Staff Assistant, Legislative Correspondent), but took a 50% pay cut, and now, 7 years later, he still isn't making what he did in his previous employment. I suppose I could be something like that -- returning to work at a business consulting company, or looking for something around here in Boston. However, I'm pretty sure that--in the back of my mind--I'll always be thinking about looking for opportunities in the capital. And, if I decide to go later, I won't be much further ahead, if at all, then where I'd start right now.
Therefore, logic (at least mine) would appear to imply that the jump should be made now.
I understand that, but am still a little hesitant about the unknown. Jill and I spoke last night about "setting a date" for our move, and taking some forward action of our own to get things moving. She's such a trooper. As I told someone just the other day:
Behind every good man is a better woman, prodding him along to success. ;-)
* Someone else told me it should be: Behind every good man is a surprised woman. OR, a woman, rolling her eyes.
Anyway -- I'm excited for what I learned this trip, and hope to be able to piece some things together (and quickly!).
It's late, and I don't feel like putting today into words ... so I'll just post these pictures for now. I'll come back in later and edit the text to explain the day.
ta ta for now..
Ah, Thursday.
Spent a lot of time on the phone this morning, trying to set up things with John P., Ken L., and Drew M. Travelled into the city and wandered around the Capitol Building (hence the pictures that you see). Saw some of the trees beginning to blossom, and lots of people wandering the grounds. It was sunny, but fairly windy, with gusts of 30-40 mph in the afternoon! I found some shelter while I was on the phone with Raymond R. in that brick "sitting place." There was a fountain in the middle, with drinking fountains around it. The "windows" looked out onto the lawn and up the hill. Some girls from a high school group wanted a picture in front of the fountain, so I snapped a shot while I was on the phone with Raymond. Funny story--a wind gust came up while they were standing by the fountain, and it blew the water several feet sideways and sprayed them.
I wandered around 1st Street, S.E. a little bit, and wandered in another park. Took a lap around the House office buildings, and wandered around some statues on the side of the Capitol lawn.
Also, went into the Folger Shakespeare Museum and learned about the Bard and his contemporary England. It was interesting.
Went and met Bill S. at Dutko, and had a great visit. He was pretty "high-energy," we sat down for a second, and then started making phone calls to find out about different paths. I mentioned my CIA interest, and he called a friend that worked there. Unfortunately, the website is correct; the Agency is really only looking for Arabic- and Asian-language speakers, and not really hiring anyone else. I guess their recruiting effort a few years ago has kept them in pretty good shape... We also talked about some Hill opportunities, and he suggested a few names to ask SZ to call. When we talked about my thoughts on future education, he joked about several of the people at the company, stating that several (including him) barely graduated with their Bachelors degree in various universities (Utah, Massachusetts, etc.), and hadn't needed anything else -- their long time on Capitol Hill and the Administration gave experience and a rolodex that was more valuable than a few more years in school...
Was getting hungry, and not ready to leave the city yet, and a few options presented themselves... On the way to my meeting with Bill, I noticed a Subway (can't go wrong with a chain, right?) and this Tex/Mex place that I had my eye on. My West Coast leanings won out, and I ventured to try "Tortilla Coast." It was a cross between tourist spot (right by the South Capital Metro Stop) and staffer lunch spot (only a few blocks from all the House office buildings; in fact, I could see the Cannon?), with it's Americanized food and "low" prices. Portions were decent lunch portions, but not what I was expecting per the camarero's description, and hopefully they "beef" them up for the dinner crowd... Anyway, it hit the spot, as I filled in my notebook of thoughts, munched chips and salsa, and people-watched from my window booth. Left with a dozen handmade tortillas--breakfast and snack!
Commuted home and thought about my day. Made it back to "base" in time to change and head over to John H.'s for the BYU basketball game. Met John, Jack M., and some of John's children and their friends. I guess there is a BYU "usenet" type group that they all participate on, and everyone talks about going to games at John's house. Watched the game in HD on the projector in the basement; we each had lazy-boy-type chairs, complete with cupholders for our soda while we munched pizza and chips. What a night; although BYU lost -- everyone was depressed.
Went back to "base" and watched the Jazz game, which Mac had TiVo'ed, and we sat in his home theatre. Went to bed very late. The Jazz lost. Not a Utah night... Hope that wasn't saying something about my Mountain West changes in DC...
Awake. Get ready for the day. Double-check addresses and travel times. Read Drudge and my RSS feeds. Off we go!
If you want the picture version...watch below:
Drove to the Vienna Metro Station, found a place to park (finally) and hopped the Orange Line to Farragut West. Wandered on up to Rhode Island Ave -- had to make my way around streets blocked by protesters. Found a little place to eat breakfast, across from St. Matthew's Cathedral. Was ready for my appointment, but he had to reschedule.
Worked my way back to the Metro and rode it to Union Station. Walked down the road towards the Capitol and enjoyed the morning, looking out over the reflecting pool, sitting on a park bench. Had a phone call with Gretchen M. and discussed some places to look and her take on the "Hill scene." Brainstormed some other people in town to contact. Unfortunately, had their names in a spreadsheet on my laptop and not in my contacts... but looked them up when I got back to "base" and emailed them.
Decided I should find out where my next appointment was, so did a lap of the Senate Office Buildings. I was a little early, so I ran around the corner to stand on the steps of the Supreme Court. There were a bunch of people lined up, trying to get a spot in the general seating area to catch some of the hearings that were going on today. [[If my Google Reader serves me right, the Court is ruling on a "race case" and an, essentially, first hearing on the meaning of the 2nd Amendment, addressing the all-out DC gun ban.]] Definitely an historic year for the United States, what with the gun control case (very little precedence on what this part of the Bill of Rights means. Not sure if this counts as "first impression," maybe my law school-going buddies can lend a comment...), and the possibilities presented with this year's Presidential election.
Met up with Lance W. and grabbed lunch at a little place around the corner. Ran into a recently retired Hill staffer on our way there. She had some funny stuff to share about Cuba, and I'll leave it at that. Talked about various things over lunch, and how he got involved. Turns out his Deacon's quorum advisor won a seat in Congress and was looking for people for his DC office. After spending 4 years on the business world, LW thought he'd make the switch, and has been at it for over 5 years. Got some of "the scoop" about how things work on the House and Senate staff side of things. Government/bureaucracy is a very interesting beast. Unfortunately, none of my quorum advisors have been elected to Congress (that I know of--anyone?), and I don't have other forms of direct connections (that I've found yet), so getting a "foot in" is a little more difficult than I thought. Apparently, my experience isn't all that unique amidst the hundreds of job seekers who flood the streets of the District... And I thought I was "legendary for [my] capacity to add value..." I guess I need to work on getting some more experience and my name out more.
Spoke some more back at LW's office. Got a brief tour of a Hill office, and left feeling enlightened about some things, and thinking about other things. Snagged a few pics from my Hart Senate Office Building visit. (This is the sculpture that's in one of them.)
Took the Metro back up to to Rhode Island Ave NW and walked through the protesters again, and the rain, to meet with Bart M. Had a great visit with him, despite the fact that I probably looked a mess, dripping with rain, despite my umbrella's coverage. I'm very interested in this PAC thing he's thinking about doing. He made some very flattering phone calls on my behalf to some friends of his; hopefully they'll go somewhere. I hope that one day I can be in a position to help and advise as he did today.
[[I digress momentarily. I've had some great help and mentors along the way. From Charles Y. in my high school days, to Murray H. and Clark G. in college, and current contacts, I've been blessed to have association with great people. I hope I can "pay it forward" somehow.]]
After this visit, I left a message with a new contact, then boarded the Metro for the ride back to Vienna Station. I picked up the car and commuted back to "base." Grabbed a bite to eat on the way back.
Ate. Sent out a few more email solicitations; scheduled 3 phone calls (one firm, 2 tentative) and a lunch. Hoping to get in touch with some more people, and, although my schedule is fairly "open" right now for the rest of the week, I feel productive.
Chatted with Jill, got ready for bed, and called it a night.
To be continued...
BOS to IAD
Arrived. Picked up. Drove to Fairfax, VA-area. Quick stop at Lowe's for some home decorating needs (not mine). End up at Gainesville to meet Mac H. and get the "grand tour" of the house. Drop my stuff in my "quarters," check my email and schedule, map the trip to the Metro station, check the train schedule, and confirm appointments. Sleep.
Welcome to VA !
Virginia is for Lovers
Too bad my love can't be here right now...
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