Well, after a long fight with my computer and much swearing, I'm finally a part of this blog...you readers will have to decide if that's good or bad.
Anyway, I'm a country boy at heart- born in Maryland, raised in North Carolina, and now I am a resident of Colorado, where I attend Colorado State University- Pueblo. Needless to say, any big city is a drastic change of pace for me, and living here in the District of Columbia has taken a lot of getting used to.
The most memorable event, so far, was just yesterday, when Professor Gelb, my classmate Natalia, and I went up to Capitol Hill (dramatic fanfare!) We actually got to sit in on a Congressional Hearing about Major League Basbeall player Roger Clemens and his steroid use. (In my honest, or rather blunt opinion, Clemens and his former trainer and accuser Sean McNamee were both lying. Or at least, neither of them were presenting themselves in a trustworthy manner.) Afterwards, we caught a quick bite in Rayburn Hall's congressional cafeteria, and I'll tell you what- the burgers and fries weren't all that great.
We stopped by an area just outside the doors where another hearing was going on, to try and catch a live stand-up report, but the hearing was running long and we had other places to be, so we didn't get to see it. We did, however, make a visit to Congress's official Gift Shop (capitalism at work, eh?).
Before our next appointment, we had some free time, so we went to the Library of Congress for a short while. As a lover of reading, I was in heaven. The Library of Congress has a copy of every single book in existence, even one of the original Gutenberg Bibles, the first real "book" ever printed! And if that wealth of knowledge wasn't enough, there was an exhibit on the Mayan, Aztec, and Incan civilizations in one particular room. But to me the most amazing feature of the Library is the architecture, decor and environment . There are sculptures, mosaics, stained glass windows, gold-inlaid walls, and plaques with various inspirational quotes on them. We didn't stay long, yet that was my favorite part of the day; I could live in that building my whole life, just reading nonstop for the rest of my life, and I still would not be able to read it all...
Our final appointment was with the Press Office in the House of Representatives. We saw two rooms where most official speeches occur, and we were also introduced to the staff who coordinate members of the press that come to get footage of the House proceedings. We were permitted to go in the Press Box of the chamber where Representatives meet and discuss their business. This is the same room where the President delivers the State of the Union address. We were even lucky enough to watch Representatives mid-vote over the FIZA bill. It was a very full day, to say the least and even then it wasn't over.
Once we all got back to the campus, I had to get my video project (mentioned in my classmates previous post) edited and spliced. That was a pain. I normally wouldn't have had trouble, but at some point during my filming for the project the timer on the film jumped from 00:10:05;00 (or so) all the way back to 00:00:00;00, and it started counting up from there all over again during my last scene of the film. I didn't think that would cause trouble, but the computer automatically assumes that 00:00:00;00 is the very beginning of the tape, and it will rewind all the way back, and start taping the wrong segment. I finally had to trick the system by setting the start point about 7 seconds into the last scene, and running the tape forward some more. That way, the computer rewound, and the timer stayed in the last scene's time (instead of overshooting and ending up at 00:09:59;00, and having to run back all the way). Whether this makes sense to anyone is doubtful, but suffice it to say after a long computer battle, I finally finished my film. Unfortunately though, some of the glitter I was planning to add had to be cut, since I was too tired to add it.
Anyway, I've run my mouth (or fingers) enough so I'll do everyone a favor and sign off.
'Til next I bore ye, dear readers,
Greg Albertson.
"Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man, and writing an exact man."
--Plaque in the Library of Congress
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