Final Post

Here we are...three months later. I’m on the Metro. I’ve been on the move non-stop all week but this very moment is the beginning of a deep breath. Another short life chapter is being closed with a twinge of sadness and a wave of satisfaction. What a blur it was: Costa Rica, D.C., new internship, public speakers, sightseeing, LSAT class, applications, job interviews and a few classes in three short months.

This is not an advertisement. This is my blog. My thoughts (which I hope you’ve enjoyed) and my honest opinion and well-intended advice. If you are a person looking to make professional connections in a hurry this (a TWC internship) is exactly what you should do. I would guess that most people reading this entry are at “home" on winter break contemplating where they will go to get an internship or study away from campus. Studious minds scowling the web for the best trip at the best cost. I was in that exact place; clicking away at countless search results until I found the job in the city that provided me with a spark of adventure and a promise of personal and professional development.

I can still hear my friend's voice. “I just hope you don’t get stuck out there, man.” Ha. I will see that friend when I go back to Seattle for Christmas and I will tell him that the last thing I feel is “stuck." I completed the Washington Center program with 2 great jobs, an incredible apartment, and nothing but oppourtunity ahead of me. "Stuck" sounds more like staying around my hometown taking an easy and comfortable job. That was not what I needed after I graduated and I’m glad I seized the oppourtunity to make a move.

My TWC job interview was somewhat surreal. Three advisors I admire sat across the table from me, unabashedly firing away rounds of questions as I sat there with my tie tied exceptionally tight. And now I’m part of the crew. The blog title TWC and ME turned out to be an unintentional exercise in foreshadowing.

In three months my life has gone through some rapid changes and I hope you have gained some insight into what TWC and D.C. life is like. I’ll be here as a resource for all future participants and I really look forward to meeting you.

Signing off,

Ian

Week 14

Every man's memory is his private literature.- Aldous Huxley

I had a snowball fight with some little kids outside of an apartment complex in D.C. today. I had been knockingon a woman’s door for a good twenty minutes as the snow fell down the back of my sweatshirt. I was cold, frustrated and turning to take my defeated walk back to the car when I saw a little kid preparing his ammunition inside a snow-filled barbeque.

It was that perfect packing snow.

I laughed to myself and threw a giant, expertly aimed snowball right over the shoulder of little man in the puffy black vest. When he heard the SMACK of tightly packed snow colliding against brick, he spun faster than Emmitt Smith during Dancing with the Stars.

His face was priceless. Fear and giddy excitement started in his eyes and progressed down from his brow to form a gleaming, tiny toothed smile. In one right handed motion he glove wiped his nose and was armed. The roar of a five-year-old entering into a snowball fight is like no other; now I was the one with fear in my eyes.

It was a great way to cap off a snowy day in the city.


A few days back, on another cold and windy day, I walked up the alley behind the office to a new baked potato restaurant called Potato Valley. You know the spot. Right over there on E street, a block over from the Verizon Center?

I was READY for lunch. I’d been cruising around the city playing investigator with food at the forefront of my mind. $6.50 for a potato seemed a little steep but reviews at the office were high and I was hungry. I ordered turkey and cheddar with sour cream. As I watched the orders pass by me the anticipation in my stomach kicked up its cries a few decibels. I mean these things were gargantuan beauties of spud superiority. A pretty lady took my order, smiled, and we exchanged greetings.

After my order, the smilefest came to an end. It was transaction time but in its place was a truly awkward pause. I had set my card on the table in front of me but she hadn’t picked it up. It just sat there, on the counter, squarely between us. The world would be playing freeze tag until one of us touched it.

I picked up my card and asked “Can I pay with my debit?” She flatly responded, “No you cannot,” as she reached out to take the card of the person waiting to pay directly behind me in line.

This was just not right. Why would she be so friendly, then so rude. I gathered myself, stepped up to the counter and said, “Why could that guy pay with his card and not me?” Instead of answering she said, “not today” as the other woman behind the counter handed me my hot potato.

I walked out, pleasantly confused, making a silent vow to bring friends and a flower next time I want a potato.

Saturday is the TWC talent show. Showtime in the Meridian at Braddock Station Penthouse. I’m not sure if Jack Nicholson or Don King is on the guest list but the stars will be out.

I’ll let you know how it goes,

IW

A One Way Ticket

Do you ever have that second, right before you start a long drive, when you take a mental note that when you finally are those 6 long hours down the road it is going to be hard to remember what you were thinking and feeling as you left the driveway?

It’s a surreal moment. Knowing that your state of mind will have changed enough by the end of your journey that it’s going to be strange remembering where you were mentally and emotionally at the start.

The term is on its last legs. Fall is painting its best watercolors all over the city and I’m feeling the desire to drag my feet. Usually in the last five minutes of the drive, or in the last few days of a long experience away from home, I’m just flat ready to get back to the easy streets I know. This time is a little different. I’ve made plans to not only drag my feet, but to fill my boots with cement and stick out here for awhile. There’s just so much left to do. Time flew as always. September to December and I still haven’t seen the Smithsonian Museums.

I have a good feel for my job as an investigator now. I’m comfortable asking uncomfortable questions, knocking on strangers doors, or sitting in the witness box. Those are little accomplishments I want to build on.

I finally know street names in other quadrants of the city. I can walk to my friends' apartments without stopping in the hallway to text, “Which number is your room again?”. And for a guy who is notoriously bad at remembering names I know people well enough now to tell stories to other people without saying, “You know the guy from…No, I mean the girl that works at the…”. Those days are over and I’m not ready to let the D.C. comfy go.

So I threw my bait out there…short but fairly accomplished resume, impassioned cover letter, and college workshop polished interview savvy, with the hope to catch one of those big fish. If I manage to reel one or two in there is a good chance I will get to meet those of you who will morph from the curious college caterpillar, clicking away at prospective student links, to become butterfly or man moth Washington Center Interns...not to be gender exclusive with my species of flying insects, I just didn’t want to call myself a butterfly in a publication with my name on it :)

Point being, take some time to consider this trip. It can be a semester in the big city or it can be an opportunity to begin your professional career in an organization you would have initially thought was out of your reach. When I left my college in Walla Walla Washington, I could never have imagined where I am now emotionally and professionally as I settle in for the finish line here in D.C.

Hope to meet you in the Spring,

Ian

The Professional in Me

Twice in the last week I’ve been addressed as "sir" by two girls that could not have been more then two or three years younger than I am. Truth be told, I look pretty official in my crisp khaki suit and Public Defender Service ID but really...am I grown up?

I often find myself marveling that my friends are grown up now too. Pat from down the street is going to be teaching other people's kids in a few weeks. Amazingly enough, I need to come to grips with the fact that I am a grown up and that grown ups aren’t entirely different from youngsters.

As we break down that parent/youth barrier it becomes glaringly obvious that things like maturity and professionalism are not guaranteed to come with age. Some of the topics of conversation I've encountered in professional environments could have been plucked straight from the gossip of 7th graders. Have you heard about how ugly Jenny’s shoes are or how David always has bad breath?

Sadly, that sort of thing doesn’t really get left back in high school. It shouldn't occur in a professional environment, but in reality the ability to rise above immature tendencies is what separates true professionals from the adults that still haven’t got it figured it out yet.

During the Washington Center orientation, I watched a presentation called the Faux Pas of Professionalism. It was informative, but in my opinion most of us already know how we should act. I’ll admit the dirt-slinging social insider of the office is often more interesting day-to-day than the worker whose nose never leaves the ledger, but that interest is short-lived. A person's reputation affects the way colleagues and superiors view the potential of a given worker.

When a possibility for advancement opens up, will the decision-makers look to an employee that's constantly on AIM and facebook or the one that always has a funny story about someone else in the office to become a leader in the organization? I think not.

Finding your professional personality is something that takes experience and for me, the process has caused a good deal of self reflection. I definitely do not want to suppress my individuality or attempt to fit a cookie cutter persona …the creative rebel in me is still too alive for that.

Everyday there’s an opportunity for an edgy joke. Every Friday there’s a chance to be the life of the party at happy hour but the truth is that when decisions about job offers are being made, professionalism often becomes the bottom line. Can this individual perform the job while positively contributing to the office environment? I try to remember this rule when I hear that edgy joke or feel tempted to tell it myself…

A Washington Center internship provides the opportunity to find your professional personality--and I plan to continue to take advantage.

Happy Thanksgiving Everybody,
IJW

Let’s Get Right to Business

No messing around this week. What do you need to know about the Washington Center and Washington D.C.?

1. Housing
I remember really wanting to know more about where exactly I would be living….My first impression was wow, this is way too nice. I can only really speak for my building, Meridian at Braddock Station, but you walk in and there is a big lobby with golden elevators. Then the concierge asks, “Are you from the Washington Center?” After being directed to the 16th floor the doors open up in front of you and the “wow” factor continues as a direct result of the penthouse view.

The rooms themselves (if kept clean and adorned with personals) are great as well. Give me a solid table and one comfy chair

and I'm content, but the arrangement here definitely exceeds those expectations. I’ve added a few pictures…

2. Commute
My commute is about a half hour which is great, especially considering the fact that I’m not driving--I'm reading or aimlessly people watching on the metro (which is fun in the morning but exponentially more so if you stay up late enough to enter the twilight zone during the weekends). Sightseeing or even just seeing your friends is made easy by effective public transportation so you can look forward to that as well.

3. Programming
My main gripe with the programming is there are too many options. It was much easier when your third grade teacher would just walk you through the zoo exhibits but those days are over. My advisor sends me emails with tour, job, or volunteer opportunities at least twice a week. With each email my head swims a little more, wondering when time will slow down so I can see and do everything that appeals to me… It really is an exercise is planning which is something we are all supposed to have perfected by time we have graduated college…ha.

4. Social Life
Socially, Washington D.C. is my small college gone Barry Bonds (the defense lawyer in me would like to add the stipulation that Barry is only “accused” of using steroids and having a head size that expanded like a hot air balloon). There are an incredible amount of young people and places to get together. It also doesn’t hurt that you live in a giant apartment building with other "Washington Centertonians," and have several scheduled social events. I personally have capitalized on having a pool table upstairs and transformed myself from an embarrassingly bad player to one that can say things like “I just needed a few games to warm up."

But most important insight I can provide this week is GET READY FOR THANKSGIVING!!! Whether it’s the family, football, fall colors or food, the Holiday season is here.

Until next week,

IW

A Gem of a Monday

On Monday, the Presidential Lecture Series was held at the Carnegie Institution and it was one of those events you walk into, stop, and feel as if you’ve been hit by the lightning bolt in Super Mario Cart when you see the company you're in (I apologize to my readers from another generation, but just to make sure you understand--getting struck makes you shrink!).

Yes, I knew that I would have access to a panel of former members of Congress and that the topic of discussion would be the prevalent issue of Homeland Security but as I entered the room to see a 6'9'' former Congressman shaking hands with his colleagues and taking his seat as the moderator explained CSPAN's broadcast of the proceedings, I wondered if I was prepared.

The discussion opened with 4 short speeches. The first grabbed my attention; Honorable Martin Frost (a former Chair of the Democratic Caucus who served in congress from 1979-2005) opened by describing the hesitations and resistance of many representatives in Congress to include FEMA as a part of the Department of Homeland Security at the time when the latter was created. In the following hour and half we all got an inside look at FEMA’s failings. Mr. Frost and his colleges provided some excruciatingly honest insights about the lack of organization within FEMA during Hurricane Katrina as well as the current lack of satisfaction of employees within the organization itself.

We've all heard Kanye. We’ve all read articles. And most of us were appalled by the government's lacking response in New Orleans, which made hearing about what happened from the inside--straight from the “horse's mouth” if you will--that much more worthwhile.

The other central messages I took home with me came from the Honorable Thomas McMillan, who has served as Homeland Security Capital Corp’s Chairman, CEO and President since August 2005 and also served three consecutive terms in the United States House of Representatives from 1987-1993.

Mr. McMillan provided the figure that we are spending approximately 11 billion dollars a month on the war in Iraq which, in a four-month period, exceeds the entire budget of the Department of Homeland Security. He questioned such spending if our goal is really to protect our homeland. His objections to such disproportionate spending are difficult to deny.

His second and equally compelling message was about the citizenry of the United States giving themselves to the cause of Homeland Security rather than expecting the goal of national security to be reached solely from the top down.

I left the Carnegie Institute in a pensive mood, as I often do after a great speaker encourages me to do my part. I continue to wonder where my wandering will lead me. What part will I turn out to play?

Once again, I can find comfort in the knowledge that I'm in the right city to figure things out.

IW

All Hallows Eve

If there were such a thing as Halloween Eve, I would definitely be one to open his gifts early. Of course the spooky day occurred mid-week this year…so who could resist a little pre-holiday celebration? Last Friday afternoon, a fellow investigator and I took off from the office and headed to a costume store, where things got serious…

They had everything. I was unsure about the direction I’d take with my costume until I saw it—a true beacon of Halloween. The shining silver plastic roman shield and sword (child-sized of course) seemed to come straight from the dreams of my youth. Then it hit me. I would be the huge bad guy from the movie 300. I found a chain link belt (which may have been a little feminine…others described it as a man belly chain), Roman leather strap-up sandals, an appropriate headdress and some leather wrist guards. Obviously, I was more than ready for the festivities to begin.

There are many ways to gauge Halloween success, but could there be a more accurate measure of costume greatness than a TWC Meridian at Braddock Station Costume Contest?

We carved pumpkins, devoured cupcakes, played Twister and—when the night came to a close—only one soldier remained. His name was Zerkcies (me) and he proudly stood in front of his peers, gowned in his fine golden bed sheet, and accepted his prize as champion. What a moment it was…..

On Monday, life returned to the feverish pace people in D.C. call normality, as I have been working very closely with a Public Defender Service lawyer while he prepares for multiple trials this week. The attorney I’m describing often shares with me his thoughts about his direct questioning of our witnesses and, when appropriate, details his cross-examination strategy. All the while, we laugh about the hectic and sometimes humorous moments we have lived through during the investigation and preparation for each trial. Again I’ve been working late, and I’m getting progressively more worried about the December 1st LSAT, but I guess that’s just the way it should be for a 22-year-old attempting to prepare himself for a future he is still in the process of planning.

I’ve resisted thus far but I can resist no more… I divulge into the dangerous subject of reading list recommendations. I’m making my way through this book very slowly, covering a few pages every time I ride the Metro (one benefit of commuting is automatic reading time). It’s called John Adams and is written by David McCullough. On the way to LSAT class recently, I read a line McCullough pulled from Adams’ diary: “The point is now determined, and I shall have the liberty to think for myself” (60). Reflecting on former President Adams’ words I thought of my current plight…

I am in transition. Spurred on by a combination of youth, ambition and curiosity, my biggest worry is choosing for myself. Free from overzealous advisors and parental pressures, I’ve got a myriad of promising opportunities presenting themselves to me in Washington, D.C. I’m certain that I’m in the right city for this period in my life, now I just have to choose which path I will tread.

Well here’s to procrastination—tonight no choices are to be made. Tonight, it’s Halloween and my costume is again calling my name.

IW