weekend update

Cover at popular DC club: $20
Screwdriver: $9
Dancing the salsa with my roommate's unbelievably hot Egyptian friend: priceless.

Yeh, that's right. I went to my first DC nightclub, but with the exception of the aforementioned detail I have to admit I was pretty disappointed. The selection was certainly below average and the music wasn't particularly great to dance to. Not to mention I'm kinda pissed I paid that ridiculous cover charge and didn't even come home with a single phone number (but I guess that is par for the course). So hopefully future club/bar experiences will be more satisfactory, but will see. Personally I'm more of a coffee shop/international scene/dinner with a small group of friends kinda person. I wasn't exactly the big socialite at Davidson or Chapel Hill and always felt pretty guilty about it, but now I know I wasn't really missing much. At least I was able to enjoy some amazing Puerto Rican food at my roommate's parents' house beforehand.

To backtrack a bit, I had my first big DC interview on Friday for that position working for Virginia's governor, basically lobbying and stuff. Apparently it's a really big deal because the office has received around 130 applications and the interviewers made sure to emphasize that this job is "a really big deal". While I did a damn good job at the interview- probably one of the best I've ever done and I wouldn't be surprised if they called me back- I've decided that I'd like to hold out for something international affairs-related because a) I honestly don't care about stupid, petty politics, particularly in a country where even the party I support doesn't have a backbone and would have to commit political suicide in order to actually go against some of the screwed up policies already in place and b) I feel that I would be selling myself short given my language skills and background in international policy by working to lobby for mere state issues. Now I will say that the governor really doesn't sound like a guy- he's supported the Muslim American Society and encouraged religious tolerance despite a backlash from the conservative bigots around here and opposes the construction of a wall along the Mexican border- but I also know there will be a lot of policies I really don't and can't support due to my strong moral convictions.

So in lieu of my previous posts regarding selling out to an employer, I've decided on a very simple litmus test for deciding who I would like to (or can) would work for: Do I have to lie extensively about myself and my opinions in order to obtain and maintain this position? And the answer to this question concerning the governor job would be "yes", and I say that based on several of the answers I felt forced to give to the questions I was asked...answers I won't repeat here, partially because of my shame for even giving them.

Anyway, I am fortunate to have the help of Allison's brother who, this week, will be sending out my resume that's been edited about a thousand times over to his connections at the list of think tanks for which I'd like to work that I sent him. Hopefully I'll get some interviews for some positions I know I'd actually like to get. I suppose the major plus of having done the interview for policy assistant for the governor is learning the importance of narrowing down one's search to jobs one truly wants. I was pretty much doing the opposite before.

Well I hope I'm not boring you guys with my rambling monologue, but thanks for bearing with me to those of you that still read this thing. It's nice to at least bounce my thoughts off of someone when I still feel like I'm floating around like a lonely ghost in this big city.