The First Day, was His Last

Senator Ted Kennedy inspired respect - from countless people. That much is obvious. The night before my first day at work, I had trouble sleeping, and I fell asleep around 2AM feeling oddly unsettled. But I assumed that it was because I was starting work - and honestly, who wouldn't be a little weirded out?

Well - I woke up to my alarm, and a New York Times News Alert on my blackberry that Senator Kennedy had died. I start my own journey in DC, in politics, as this great public figure passed on. It keeps hitting me differently as these first two days pass. I keep wanting him to be around, because even though his critics cry out at him driving off a bridge,with a young woman who drowned (and I mean no disrespect to her here), I always felt like there was someone powerful that could truly speak for those that did not have that ability or luxery. In a country where not everyone is represented, not every group is as powerful as the next, Senator Kennedy fought for others. This has been rehashed in the news constantly - so I suppose I am being repetative. So instead, I want to focus on two things here.

The first is despite my incredible fortune, how difficult things can seem in the wider scheme.
The second is what hope is.

I'm incredibly lucky to be where I am right now - considering all of the things that are stacked against our individual selves, our friends and family, our livelihoods, our future generations, our country and the general world at large. The challenges are dauntingly high - and they seem overwhelming to many. Even with a 200,000 dollar education (and then some I suppose), I do not have many answers. What I do have is the strongest support system imaginable. I was raised by a village that is behind me 100+%. I head into work outwardly ignoring those who sit (who are homeless and poor) by the side of the road, my heart cringes painfully; I hope in a way it never stops. The work in front of our society, our world wide cultural diversity, is ridiculous.

"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream will never die." This statement, this claim is really about hope, not just for that day, as his supporters watched him conceed. It's about a longer kind of hope, and the work he did after showed that perhaps he was able to fulfill the pledge he made. I read this over and over again, and I wonder who will carry his work on. I am not a superstious person, not really -but I believe in a bit of symbolism. Walking the front door, headed for Dupont circle - I prepared myself for the unknown, for the work ahead. I hope to make a difference, in the cares and concerns of others. It is a goal I won't always live up to - everyone makes mistakes. He wouldn't want us to take more than a moment out of our day to mourn - there is work left to do - lots of it.

He spoke to children on Capitol Hill one afternoon while I was working in his office. He told them that although he was glad they came to Washington, and saw government at work - the real work was in their communities. He encouraged them to go home and give back. Give back. I know I don't do enough - but I hope to do more, as soon as I settle in. Each of us in our little way can give, a little is more than none. We don't all believe in one cause, or the same cause, but for Ted Kennedy, it seems as though he triumped over everything in one thing that really mattered - working for those who couldn't always find a place in politics, in policy.

My work with Roosevelt is diverse, hardly glamerous for the most part, but I am dedicated to making the national office efficient, streamlining our communication and building the strength of our network in the most detailed and technical ways. The bigger point is that we need a national office that is completely able to devote itself to students and their work.

Our new mission statement is: The Roosevelt Institute Campus Network, a student policy organization, engages a new generation of students in unique progressive activism that empowers them as leaders and promotes their ideas for change.

We want a new generation of future leaders to be thinking about the big problems now, be voicing ideas, for the changes they believe we need. Ted Kennedy was one man - a brilliant leader, and dedicated public servant - but if he continue to inspire as the cornerstone of his legacy, that is as powerful. We hope that in many ways, there are other Ted Kennedys out there - perhaps not of the same celebrity, but with the same drive and passion. His death leaves an unavoidable hole for many, and in numerous ways. Step by step, we can all begin to fill it, for he alone could not possibly have accomplished all he dreamed of - that could happen. The dream did not die with Ted Kennedy - and in my own way, I hope that our organization this year, my work with it, and our determination can help continue to fulfill the dream that belongs not just to him, but to so many others.

So, new life in Maryland/DC. I'm excited to be here, it's a bit surreal in a way, but I can't wait to get it started.

I spent today riding around with the lovely hostess (a couple is putting me up out of the generosity of their hearts) - she showed me where everything was so I am well oriented to start out my life tomorrow. Good times. I bought enough food for a few weeks - lots for the freezer. I've started to collect recipes and create weekly menus to keep the diet well balanced, and also to remain easy and do-able after a day's work.

There's a tred mill here at the house, which I will be using to stay in shape (and a gym at work for a more intense workout if I want) - and a hot tub to relax in after a long day. All in all, it's sweet.

So the evening was spent unpacking, doing work on the new website, and communicating with people. Half my life will be on email now - horray!

Tomorrow, the am is going to be preparing for the afternoon. Have to check bus times, make a mini shopping list, (for my own test run using public transport instead of a car), and get work stuff and banking together.

Then to Metro Center for my commuter pass, (cheaper than smart trip), to the bank, to the office...and saving the library for another time. Then it's back to the house to learn how to cook Tilapia....and preparing for first legitimate day of work.

So far so good.....I keep meaning to post pictures from the Seattle trip. We'll see if that ever happens.

~T

Oops - shameful. Almost a month since my last update; which is why at this moment, most of you don't have this link yet. Good news since then though on several fronts, one is that I finally came home from Seattle! Although real life called, it wasn't entirely easy to wrap up life there. On the other hand I was well rested and ready to face post-grad reality.

In other news, I will be moving to Washington DC very soon to begin a year long position with the Roosevelt Institution. The work between now and then includes cleaning my room out completely (and maybe the attic), packing, and of course moving. I also have the Hyde Park annual conference, the staff retreat and a bachelorette party right in the middle of that. Plus, I am hopefully flying to DC next week for two days to familiarize myself with the office and HP agenda/staff retreat.

Real life begins - more later.

camping

Just came back from a two day camping trip - yes I went outside. It was in Eastern Washington where the landscape is vastly different, the sun beats down, and it is about 100 degrees. I certainly got a bit of a tan - and additionally, tons of bug bites. Damn those stupid misquitoes at our tent site- damn them.

Other than that, it was great. We saw a wonderful play (Steel Magnolias) and went on a beautiful walk into Rany Lake (short) - saw some great vistas and visited some towns. Twisp (where I got a famous cinn twist(p), watched the 4th of July parade, and then went to Winthrop (pictures forthcoming) had ice cream, went wine tasting, etc. Winthrop has building codes that ensure it looks like an old frontier town - kind of awesome.

Back in Western Washington now, starting to think about going home and so on. I'm reading three books now simultaneously and it's simply awesome.

Reading

I'm reading again! Granted it is Danielle Steel, but some of her stories are simply fun to read and they have characters, and plots! There is nothing to over-analyze or prepare for class, wow. I've not had this much fun reading, or looked forward to picking up a book like this in....years? Sad.

Vacation in Seattle is still going really well. I've seen a large number of movies....see below. I've pretty much recovered from being sick, and am doing muscle toning excercises to get back in shape as well as working out twice a week at the gym. It's a relaxing pause in life - a chance to assess things, clean out my Midd inbox (5000 some emails), and get all my addresses into my gmail account so when Midd locks me out for good (don't know when), I'll have all the emails I need. Then of course there is thinking about the future, which I've started pondering a little more recently. Hopefully within the next two weeks there will be some more updates about that. It's been just over a year since I left London - and it's still so hard to believe. Right around that time, I had two nights of vivid dreams, and it was pretty intense because I recognized stuff and one of my friends was actually in it, and we had a conversation and suddenly I woke up. My friend Andy facebook"ed" me the other day marking the one year of her departure back to Italy and mine home - and included a link to post-secrets where there was a post-card that had a picture of london and the writing: "I wish I had stayed here, I wish I'd never come home. I'd go back any second I could." While I'm glad I came home overall, a small part of me completely identifies with it. The experiences of our life make us who we are....

Time to hit the books again - picked out seven random fiction books yesterday at the library, what an absolute luxery. Ahhhh....

Movies watched so far: (* = liked/recommend)

The Visitor*
The Reader*
Doubt
Frost/Nixon
Bride Wars
He's Just Not that Into You
I've Loved You So Long
Revolutionary Road
The International
Valkyrie
Rachel Getting Married*
Defiance*
Frozen River
The Day the Earth Stood Still
The Passenger
Sex in the City
Taken*
Seven Pounds
Wendy and Lucy
Secret Life of Bees
Gran Torino*
The Lucky Ones*
Flashbacks of a Fool
Crossing Over
Australia
Tyler Perry: The Family that Preys
Flash of Genius
88 Minutes
(A few of these I'd seen before)

Next up on the list:

New in Town
Milk
The Wrestler
Brick Lane
There Will Be Blood
Tropic Thunder
Then She Found Me
Religulous
I Do: How to get married & stay single
Henry Poole is Here (?)
Iron Man (?)
Happy-Go-Lucky (?)
Into the Woods
Mr.Brooks
Leatherheads
Michael Clayton
In Bruges
Music Within

Influenza

It seems that every time I finish a semester - even the final one - I am doomed to catch something, or get something. This time was a doozy - full out fever and essentially feeling like crap. Then came the awful chest cough and now I just have no energy what-so-ever. At all, it stinks. I've been attempting to learn how to read again as well, it isn't going well. Coming from a liberal arts college such as Middlebury, one might assume that I am an expert reader. You would in fact be correct, except for one little fact, I don't actually know how to read for enjoyment anymore. I find myself frantically skimming through chapters, getting the main point, but little to no plot enjoyment. I used to be such a reader, and after four years of power reading to make intelligent comments in class, clearly I need to re-learn how to actually read a book, you know word for word and to enjoy the plot. I almost don't understand how people do that - practice I must.

I'm in Seattle thankfully with only RandR on the current agenda, and no appetite which means I'm as weak as a new born filly - but hopefully by next week I'll have kicked the cold to the curb. I've been playing big boggle, scrabble, watching lots of movies and avoiding the real world. Those of you who know I have a crackberry (Blackberry) should be impressed right about now. I glance at it about twice a day. Liberty. I'm in the process of wrapping up my current Roosevelt duties, while pondering the prospect of new ones this fall. It may still happen.

I'm also trying to get up the motivation to write my motivational AmeriCorp statement - I actually have a lot I'd like to say, but it's a question of saying it in a way that sounds different and unique. These inspirational essays are nerve-wracking - but it is a program that fundamentally would give my very post-college existence some purpose and make me feel like I can actually make a real difference for some people. I crave that sentiment now that I've had my fortunate classroom education.

We'll see how things go.

Back to doing very little - playing with the kitty - watching a movie, and cleaning out my 5000 some emails before Middlebury deletes my account. Goodness knows when that will happen.