Yesterday was the last intern lecture that I will attend and the guest speaker was none other than Colin Powell! It was held in the House chamber so Robert, Madelyn, and I went directly to the gallery without any major security obstacles. When we noticed there weren't people around we quickly realized that we probably cheated the system by taking the route we had chosen. After getting kicked out by the police officer, listening while Madelyn fought with the police officer, and sneaking back into the line while praying we wouldn't get caught, we made it to the same place we started: the House gallery. Leave it to me to have an incredibly complicated time getting into an intern lecture. Come on now.
It was enlightening to hear his perspective on world conflict now that he wakes up and reads the paper like everyone else. I expected to hear James Earl Jones when he opened his mouth but he has a surprisingly soft, rather grandfather-like voice that sounded like he had a mouth full of cottonballs. Weird? Probably. A very sweet man. I wish I could elaborate but there was just so much said. I will say, though, that if you're going to have the nerve to stand up during Q & A and ask the former Secretary of State/Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff/National Security Advisor/Four-Star General a question, please, please make it good. One girl stands up and asks (in front of 1,000 people), "What should [we] be doing to secure women's rights in the Middle East?" Listen, it's not a stupid question but why would you ask Colin Powell a question like that? I would die to have been a fly on the wall while he advised Ronald Reagan or worked with Bush after 9-11. And women's rights? Seriously? And then this kid stands up and repeats his question 3 times before General Powell has him approach the microphone and sweetly puts his arm around his shoulder. This kid is (ahem) a House intern. Keep in mind that the House wasn't in session so understandably, their dress code is a little lax. He's wearing blue jeans, an unbuttoned polo, and sneakers. Represent. And he was given the last question. Kids these days.
Today was Wednesday, and therefore, my very last tour. Thank you, thank you very much. This sounds stupid. But I have a huge crush on the "gallery boy." He's blonde (usually not my type) and tall and very attractive. We're not required to take our tours to the gallery because there's no script for us up there and they can exit normally from the gallery entrance. But I ALWAYS take my tours up there so I can see the nameless cute gallery boy. Like I mentioned, today was my last tour and he wasn't up there for me to bat my eyelashes and give him my most winning smile! So I just might steal someone else's tour on Friday and try one last time. And I don't even know his name.
Today was also a weird day for Dr. Coburn and I. He's one of the more vocal Senators (haha) so he's constantly on the go with all the interviews and meetings and blah. So today, as I sorted his fan mail (or hate mail), I saw him walking down the hallway. I smiled at him, thinking that he'd just walk by but he nudged by arm and said, "Where'd you get that green hair?" Whaaa???? I kind of muttered some unintelligent confusion before he shouted over his shoulder, "I'm color blind!!" Are you kidding me? Our press secretary, Becky, was the only one to witness this and all we could do was crack up. Did he think my face looked green, too, because I was blushing sooo bad??
Tomorrow is our goodbye A.O.P. In case you don't know what that means, it stands for "Awkward Office Party." So the staff is supposed to bring "baked goods and soda" and everyone's being weird about it. Haha. Honestly, us interns have come up with a million scenarios that would allow us to skip it. We thought we could all call in sick and then hang out together all day. But we came up with this idea in front of our boss? So I guess it's a no... PLUS, tomorrow is our pictures with Dr. Coburn so I wanna look sharp and be in attendance, for sure!
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