Big Names Today

Today I went to an Alzheimer's Hearing in the Senate, where the senators present included Specter (James Bond not in attendance).

The witnesses who spoke included:

• Sandra Day O'Connor
• Maria Shriver
• Newt Gingrich
• Bob Kerry
• Some old dude

Because so many people were crammed in the room, I had to stand in the back and take notes. While I was taking notes, I noticed the woman in front of me was wearing a crown. Yes. A crown. I looked a bit closer and she was wearing a sash that said "Miss...." and I thought, "neat! it's Miss America!". But, then she turned around and the full sash said "Miss Sussex County".

Really? Sussex county? That gives you the right to waltz around the nation's capitol in a crown and sash? I don't think so.

Anywho, on the way back to the office walking through the tunnels underneath the Senate buildings, I passed right by none other than John Kerry. And let me tell you, that guy is gigantically tall at 6 feet, 4 1/2 inches. It was a neat experience to be able to walk right past a man who ran for President.

Funtime Trip to Richmond!

Not quite. On Monday I get to drive 2 hours down to Richmond and 2 hours back to get a physical at the VA center there as a condition of employment for my residency this coming July.

Not really sure why I couldn't go to Walter Reed, but it probably has to due with all the yellow fever-laden mosquitos in that area.

(there's a joke in this post somewhere, 10 points to anyone who gets it)

An email that was sent out yesterday

And I quote:

"RESF 15 NOTE THE FOLLOWING IMPORTANT MESSAGE.

For the filming of a TV pilot, there will be a simulated explosion onWednesday, March 25 between 9:30 a.m. and noon near Key Bridge in theDistrict. The explosion will produce a 20 to 30' fireball that will last forapproximately 2 minutes.Please pass along this information to others appropriate. The Department ofHomeland Security and D.C. Police and Fire departments have been notified,along with the Washington Airports Authority. The Virginia State Patrol andArlington Police Department will be contacted.

The explosion will take place on the Potomac River just north of the KeyBridge and Jack's Boathouse (K / Water Street, NW under the WhitehurstFreeway). In the scene to be filmed, there will be six (6) sculling boats onthe Potomac River and one of them blows up.

CBS Paramount television is filming a pilot titled "Washington Field." Thisis a new television series about the elite Washington field office of theFBI and a team of agents with exceptional and diverse skills who are calledtogether for only the most critical cases."


.....sometimes it's neat to live in a place full of crazy people.

Residency Match Results

Howdy everyone!

Just wanted to drop a line and let you know I have been accepted as a pharmacy resident at the Central Texas Veterans Health Care System in Temple, TX for next year.

Here's the facility's website: http://www.centraltexas.va.gov/

And here's a description of the town: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple,_Texas

Chemists in the Wild West

I'm Old

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1162052/Old-age-begins-27--scientists-claim-new-research.html?ITO=1490

Some photos from the weekend have been put up on my photobucket account (link in previous posts). Included are pics from the ShamrockFest Rose and I went to on Saturday and a few pics of a crazy funky car I saw on my way walking to the Metro today.

Me and Gere!

Some new pictures:

• Abraham Lincoln's Repeating Rifle from the Museum of American History
• The Capitol Building
• The Washington Monument
• Pictures from afar of Richard Gere and Nancy Pelosi
• Pictures of Richard Gere and a musical artist called "Evolve" who is trying to get Gere to read a binder full of ideas for a peace walk thing
• A pic of me and Gere (well, a pic of Gere and a bunch of people that I stuck my fat head into)
  

Pretty Woman/Lobbiest

Tonight I'll be going to a reception hosted by Richard Gere about the "Free Tibet" movement.

This is pretty cool, because if they're giving Tibet away for free, I'll totally take one.
It would make a nifty souvenir.
Or maybe I'll sell it to China.
For all their tea.

Museum Trip

This morning, I got up at the crack of 10:30 and went to go see some of the museums D.C. has a offer. I started with the Air and Space Museum, which has a great exhibit on WWI fighter pilots and some disabled ICBM rockets from both the USA and USSR on display. Next, I headed off to the American History Museum. There, I saw Abraham Lincoln's hat, suit and repeating rifle. There was also a neat exhibit on the production process of penicillin, and I was probably more excited to learn about that then 99.9% of the other people there. I might go see some more museums tomorrow, but I'll play it by ear.

Huge Picture Post!

Hey everyone!

I have a huge picture post today at http://photobucket.com/peterman99, which includes:

• Pictures of my trip to the village in Alaska
• Pictures of our (Rose and I) trip to Savannah for Valentine's Day
• Pictures of Washington D.C.
• A picture of a military reception entitled "Expeditionary Warfare Update Pizza Briefing". What's next? "Navy SEAL ice cream social"?
  
• A picture of me with the Ambassador of Liechtenstein!

Up on The Hill

So I arrived up here in Washington D.C. on Sunday, and am completing a congressional legislative rotation. I am working in the office of Bob Etheridge (D-NC) as an intern with all the responsibilities that go with it. So far, most of what I've done has been stuffing envelopes and answering phone calls, but if I can spend about 50% of the time doing real work I figure the experience will be worth it.

Yesterday I went to my first Congressional Hearing, and heard this discussion on upcoming Veterans Affairs mental health legislation. At the hearing, one of the witnesses who is a former Marine said the best way to evaluate the levels of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is to make pre-and-post-deployment screenings mandatory. He said that currently, the military does the same mandatory pre-and-post screenings for dental care and said, "I don't have the best grill, but it gets the job done". Watching a former Marine refer to his "grill" before members of Congress was absolutely fantastic.

Afterwards, I went back to the office and spent about two hours doing research on the proposed legislation and writing a summary memo for the Legislative Director of Healthcare for the Congressman. It might be read.

After work, the other pharmacy student here from Wingate and myself met one of our professors who is up here on a lobbying expedition for Pharmacy Managed Care for a drink and then headed off to a Clean Energy reception. "Reception" is code for "open bar and buffet".

Today I'll be attending another Veterans Affairs hearing, to take notes and write memos.

Next week, I'll go to training to learn how to give Capitol tours to VIPs, which will be neat because I'll get to learn the history of the place. I've been taking a few pictures here and there, but because there is no internet access at the house I'm staying at it might be awhile before I get them up.

Miss you all!