Change of Plans...

     So as many of you know, I was supposed to leave WashingFUN, DC and head to ArlingFUN, TX yesterday; however, I am currently in WashingFUN, DC typing this... I will not be gracing ArlingFUN, TX with my presence this summer. I just loved DC so much that I decided to stay forever! Okay, no, not FOREVER. But I will be here for the rest of the summer. My internship offered me a job, and long story short, now I will be staying in DC until the end of July. I haven't told too many people so sorry if you reading this is how you find out! If you are depressed about not seeing me this summer, feel free to call me if you need to be consoled.
     On a lighter note, I have been trying to find a hobby. I feel like I have tried every possible hobby out there, and all of them are either boring or I am bad at them. Any ideas?.....No?.... Okay well, until then I will just continue to write in a blog that people out there in the world may or may not be reading. I guess I will never know. In the mean time, give me some potential hobbies and I will let you how I feel about trying it out if I haven't already.
     My original intention of this blog was to update it frequently, but you all clearly see what happened... My self-diagnosed ADD kicked in and I moved on to something else & didn't even think about this blog for weeks! I guess I am just out and about enjoying DC too much!
     Oh yeah, speaking of DC.... Abby Grace came to visit Gracie and I for a week! (Self-diagnosed ADD kicking in right there) I am so glad that she made the decision to sleep on an awkwardly short/ uncomfortable couch for a week just to see us! We have had some great adventures so far! The first place that we took her to was Crepeaway (my frequent buyer punch card is almost full by the way); I think it is safe to say that she loved it! Some of our other adventures include: seeing the end stop of two different metro stops, a water taxi, the Peeps store, Georgetown Cupcake (yes, we waited in line), watching the planes land, many delicious meals, lots of late night girl talks! Having AG here makes me miss Tuscaloosa & all my friends there. I can't wait to like live like in the like sorority house next year like with all my like friends! All in all, AG's trip to DC is only half way over & we still have our nation's birthday to go celebrate! USA!
     I can't wait to see what the rest of this summer has in store for me! I have made many wonderful friends. Even friends that go to Alabama that I never knew before I came up here. Shout out to #UAinDC yaawwwlll! I also cannot wait until all of #UAinDC is reunited for #UAinDCatUA in August! I am counting on Andy, the #UAinDC social chair to make this happen.
     Oh yeah, one more thing! (...ADD?) The song Kokomo by the Beach Boys is STILL stuck in my head. It has been over a month!!! This CANNOT be normal. It is not even slowly starting to disappear from my mind. It is definitely getting worse!! HELP! Aruba, Jamaica, oooo I want to take ya! 

g2g! Roll Tide till I die!

Aruba, Jamaica ooo I wanna take ya

On Friday night, Gracie, David, Andy (Wildman) and I decided that it would be a marvelous idea to mark a few things off of our DC Bucket List. The two that we decided to check off were eat a late night meal at this restaurant called Crepe Away and to watch the sunrise on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. What were we thinking? Let's just say that I was tired for the rest of the weekend! Anyways, since that night I have eaten at Crepe Away two times. It is seriously the best crepes I have ever had whether it be late night or not. Check out their menu on their website and you'll see why we love it so much. Give me cheap, wonderful crepes, and I am in Heaven. They have every flavor imaginable, and if they just so happen to not have a crepe that fancies you, then you can tell them exactly what you want in it. Basically, it is AMAZING! My first Crepe Away experience was beautiful, but watching the sunrise from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial was spectacular. There was a lot of waiting for it to stop being dark and start becoming light, but it was totally worth it. It would have been slightly neater if the reflecting pool wasn't drained. Don't ask me why it is drained because honestly, I have no idea and neither does anyone I ask. Maybe they are resurfacing it... but who knows? Maybe someday when it is refilled I will stay up all night again and watch the reflection of the sun too, but I highly doubt that will happen. This was definitely a one time adventure.

My parents are coming in town tomorrow, and I turn 20 on Thursday. It should be an eventful weekend. When I first started this blog, I shared funny things that happened to me, but I haven't done that in a while, but I will attempt to start updating it with more funny accounts of my life. Probably because I laugh at EVERYTHING that happens to me. For example, the Beach Boys song Kokomo has been stuck in my head for 4 days, no joke! If you have a strategy of how to forget a song, please let me know because I could desperately use the advice. Bermuda, Bahama come on pretty mama... Key Largo, Montego.... AHHH I must STOP!

That's all for now folks!

And I'm proud to be an American....

     I started off my fourth week in WashingFUN, DC with a three-day weekend. The holiday that was being celebrated in ArlingFUN was my mom's 29th birthday, but the holiday that was being celebrated everywhere else in the country was Memorial Day. (Don't worry mom, I celebrated both! With an emphasis on your birthday, of course.)  I went to The Arlington National Cemetery on Monday for Memorial Day. I figured if I couldn't be in the REAL Arlington (in Texas) for my mom's birthday, than the OTHER Arlington (in Virginia) would have to do.
     Anyways... I felt pretty Patriotic being in Washington, DC on Memorial Day. To celebrate Gracie, Austin, and I (#UAinDC) went to see the changing of the guard at the Arlington National Cemetery. I had seen it before in High School, but I felt like I could appreciate it more now since I am so much older and wiser. Also, it was Memorial Day so that made it kind of special.
     After leaving the cemetery, we proceeded to go see the National Archives. We saw the Declaration of Independence, The Constitution, and The Bill of Rights. It was so awesome to see American history first hand. What am I saying? This whole town is American history first hand, but seeing those documents really sealed the deal. When I walked out of the National Archives, I told the police officer that I felt much more American after seeing all those things than when I walked into the building twenty minutes earlier. The only thing that would have really put the cherry on top would have been if we had gone to see the flag at the American History Museum that Frances Scott Key looked at whenever he wrote the Star Spangled Banner--too bad I have already seen that! (Why didn't I go again you ask? I am trying to make the most of my time in DC and I didn't want any repeats, duh! Also, because I just now thought of that as I was writing this.)
     As I was trying to think about what I should title this post, I went through many possibilities. Party in the USA, ROCK in the USA, My Country 'Tis of Thee, God Bless America, This is My Country, You're a Grand Ole Flag, Yankee Doodle, The Stars and Stripes Forever.... But I finally settle on "And I'm proud to be an American..." Okay, okay. I'll admit it. I decided on that title and then did some Googling to come up with the rest of those title options. You would have never know that if I hadn't told you though, right? So since I have been in DC, I have felt more American than ever before. I feel super patriotic. I no longer thing that the north is bad. I no longer think that the south will rise again. I no longer think that Texas should secede from the nation just because we can. Okay, well not really... I love Texas still. I still think that we are the greatest state in the Union, and that we should secede just for the heck of it. Okay well back on topic... I think that a combination of my patriotic Sunday and the past three weeks here have made me really proud of where I come from. Of course, America has its flaws. Every country does; however, I don't care, I love America! We seriously live in the best country ever, and I am proud to be an American!

God Bless & Roll Tide y'all!

Would you look at that?

The inspiration for the title of this post is from a YouTube video that I seem to quote non-stop while  I am in DC.

Watch them in this order. When I a looking around in DC, and I look at something really neat, the first thing that comes to my mind is... Would you look at that? Just look at it!

Statistics show that Washington, DC is the fittest city in America, and I didn't really believe it until I saw it first hand. There are no fat people her. I don't mean to be blunt, but believe me, I have looked for them and they are no where in sight. Everyone in DC loves to run. I guess partially because joining a gym is expensive and running is free, partially because everyone else is running so it makes you want to join in, and partially because DC is so pretty and you always have beautiful scenery to look at while you run. The other day, I found myself going on a short run. It was great because there were so many pretty things to look at. Unfortunately, this short run turned into an hour and a half long jog through every part of DC. Why did you run for so long you ask? Well that was a stupid question... I got lost, duh! Don't you know me at all? Lets just say i was pretty sore in the next few days to follow.

Within my time while I have been in DC, I have met several boys that love cats. This is really weird for me to have a grasp of. I have never met a boy that likes cats, so why in just the past week have I met two? I am baffled by this... Is it because I think I am allergic to cats? It is because I think they are evil? Nevertheless, does this mean that boys that like cats are nice, kind hearted guys or does it mean that they are weird and emotional? Hopefully soon I will find out. In the mean time, I'll continue on liking dogs, rabbits, and fish (all animals that don't scratch you).

Peace out Blog World; I'll see ya soon!

Greatest Place on Earth

The District of Columbia is a magical place. Same kind of magic as Disney World, but TOTALLY different location. I love everything about this city. I thought that I loved New York City more than any other American City, but that was before I spent a significant amount of time in DC. Now you may say that a week and a half isn't a significant amount of time, which I guess it isn't, but I love it here!

So for some reason... I ALWAYS find myself getting into the strangest/ funniest/ weirdest situations......
     For example, on Monday morning I accidentally knocked over our Chief of Staff's coffee all over his desk. Super embarrassing right? Luckily he is really young and the nicest guy ever and said it wasn't a big deal at all, but I still said 'I'm sorry!' about 25,000 times. I was just afraid I was going to get out on the DC Intern Blog-- the blog where they make fun of all the dumb stuff interns on The Hill do. Lucky for me, they haven't started to update it yet this summer.
     So part of my job (other than spilling coffee on important people's desks) is giving tours to constituents of the Capitol. Pretty sweet right? Well on Tuesday, our staff assistant wanted me to go take a tour from one of the people who work at the CVC (Capitol Visitor Center) before I had to give my first tour on Friday. We call the people that work at the CVC Red Coats because they are annoying, and they all have to wear these really unfortunate looking red blazers. Anyways... I took the underground tunnel to the CVC and then walked up the ticket counter with my special badge. #iworkforthegovernment  I then proceeded to flash my badge so I could get a free Walk- Up tour ticket. Our staff assistant had told me that it wasn't normally very busy at 11 AM- ish so he wanted me to go then to make sure I had a ticket. Well long story short, after standing around waiting on my tour for about 15 minutes one of the Red Coats told me the Capitol was closed until 2 PM for some Holocaust remembrance ceremony.  That's why the capitol seemed not very busy... duh! So when I got back to the office, I told our staff assistant that he sent me to the Capitol when it was closed... His response was: Whoops, I forgot!
     Today my entire afternoon was spent making bouncy balls out of a gazillion rubberbands and telling people about all the pranks I have played on my brother. It was a pretty eventful day if I do say so myself! I funny how when the House is not in session that we have SO MUCH free time on out hands....

I seriously think that sometimes God is getting a pretty good laugh about all the shenanigans I find myself in. I mean, if I am laughing at myself about it he's got to be rolling on the floor laughing. I guess that was kind of the inspiration for my blog title... Every time something funny happens to me, my first thoughts are: Who's laughing now?

DC pictures are to come... I've got to figure out where I packed my camera cord; also, reading my tweets can sometimes give you a much funnier insight on the day to day duties of an intern. Follow me! @lexicarter13

I am going to leave y'all with a YouTube video that I just saw a few minutes ago, but I am already OBSESSED with it. I love creeping on other people's wedding pictures and marriage proposals.

Fly like an Eagle

So here are some first hand accounts that I wrote about either on my phone at the time, or after they happen talking about different things that happened during my first week in Washington, D.C.

The trip there...
     So it is mothers day and I am sitting in a airport flying from DFW to Washington, D.C.  I look around hoping to find the guy who will be my gay best friend for the next few weeks, but I see something much different. Men sleeping. Why are there so many people who are asleep in my terminal. It is 10:05 in the morning? There is no reason to be tired. I have been up since 7:30 and I haven't yawned once.
     On a different note, it is Mother's day! As I was sitting in the airport, I started to think... Why isn't fathers day ever as big of a deal as mothers day. In my family it's because my mom gets way more into holidays and birthdays than anyone else in our family. Why don't fathers take more advantage of Father's Day? It is their one day where they are allowed to be a diva, and they don't. I vote that this year, all the fathers should ban together and have a diva dad day!
     I was in group two to board the plane. Lucky me, right? I was finally able to get a spot right above me in the overhead compartment to put my carry on bag in. That never happens to me. I started to think that this was foreshadowing for how great the rest of my trip was going to go! Then, the flight attendant says we are about leave and to turn off your phones... I am getting excited, and then I realize that no one is sitting sitting next to me on the plane. My first thoughts: Do I smell? Did I put too much perfume on again? Awe crap... What did I do? The only two empty seats on the entire plane are next to me. I sure hope that these empty seats are not foreshadowing that I am going to be lonely the rest of my trip. Then out of no where (well not really nowhere, from the back of the plane) comes a man, and he decides to sit on my row of empty seats. He doesn't sit next to me he sits on the isle (I was in the window seat). Where did he come from? I didn't think that people could board from the back of the plane. So many questions, so few answers...
     So this man on my row two seats away sat down and I didn't really mind... He seemed like a normal quiet person who wouldnt be annoying on the flight, so I went back to reading my book as we are pulling onto the runway. Then all of a sudden I hear this atrocious noise of someone snoring. My first thoughts: How is this possible? We haven't even been on the plane that long. How is someone already asleep? Then I look over and guess who it is? It is the man on my row two seats away. His head is back, his mouth is open, and he is snoring! Why did he choose to leave his seat in the back of the plane to come join me in the front? I would rather not listen to you snore for three hours. He started snoring less than five minutes after he sat down and never stopped until he woke up when we landed. Slightly annoying, but slightly hilarious too. Once I was allowed to, I had to put my headphones on so I wouldn't laugh at him snoring for the rest of the flight.

The Metro...

     The Metro is the subway system in DC. To most people it isn't very complicated. It is definitely less complex than New York's subway system. There are just 5 different routes that the trains take and they are all different colors so you can differentiate between them. Sounds simple enough right? Wrong... Sure there are five routes, but since they go both directions there are ten routes! And when you have to switch trains at a place like Metro Center, there are three colors (6 routes). It is a little difficult when you are underground and you have no sense of direction. On Monday through Wednesday, I got lost at least once a day. It was only until Thursday and Friday that I didn't get lost, and started to feel like I knew what I was doing. This is a map of the DC Metro. I have to start at Tenleytown-AU and go to Capitol South everyday for work.

The internship...

     So this internship is pretty awesome. I feel pretty legit walking around my office in business attire everyday. I feel even cooler when I am wearing my special name badge to get into the capital so I can make a special delivery. I also feel EVEN cooler when I get to use the staff only line to get into the capital. My main job is answering the phones, sorting mail, and doing whatever they need me to do. I have only been there a week so my stories aren't super exciting, but I do have a few...
     On Wednesday, I was sent to a briefing to take notes. I didn't think that it was going to be a very big deal until I realized that EVERYONE in the room was speaking Spanish. Even the other interns there that were sent to take notes too were talking in Spanish to each other. First thoughts: Did I accidentally put on my resume that I speak fluent Spanish? Did the read my resume wrong? Why do they think I speak Spanish? Why did they send me hear? As I am starting to freak my self out about listening to a speaker in Spanish, I am anxiously waiting for the briefing to begin. Finally, right before they speaker begins, a lady comes up to the front and asks if anyone needs a translating device. Well, duh! Me and one other girl, are the only people who get them out of the entire room full of people. I was slightly embarrassed, but at least I wasn't freaking out anymore about being able to understand. I had to put on this earpiece, and the translator sat in the back of the room speaking into a microphone in English that went directly into my earpiece. This seems like it is great because now you can pay attention and understand what is going on. It actually made paying attention even harder... I didn't know where to look. I kept staring at the translator in the back of the room and then the speaker who was talking in Spanish in the front of the room. Needless to say, my notes were not very helpful... Luckily there were a lot of handouts that I could bring back to my staffer instead.

#UAinDC

Basically... the Crimson Tide is taking over DC! All of us went to dinner last night and started using the hash-tag #UAinDC on Twitter all night long! Prepare yourselves for many stories to come from our weekly #UAinDC dinners! Roll DC Roll!

For a more direct way to know what's happening in Washington, D.C. all summer, follow me on Twitter! @lexicarter13


I will leave you with my current YouTube obsession...

Peace & Blessings!