The low-down on my Internship: the fob

So I've been to my internship twice so far so I figured I should give a general run-down of what I'm up to.. but sorry I can't get too specific cuz ya know, if i told you I'd have to kill you type of a thing.

First off we start at 9:30 every morning! Isn't that great!! I have the entire apartment to myself for a whole hour in the morning!! While everyone else is scampering around trying to get ready and out the door in time I'm just chillin, eatin' my breakfast.. still in my pj's. :)

The other cool thing is it's not even that difficult to get to either! I take the Georgetown bus (GUTS Bus) to Dupont Circle and then have about an 8min walk from there. So I hop on the 9am GUTS and I'm at the office by 9:30. And yes, I get about an 8min "Cool guy in DC" walk before and after work :)

There's 3 other interns:

- A Japanese girl who has lived in Canada for 7 years. Speaks Japanese and English fluently.

- A middle-aged Vietnamese who's only been in the US for a year. Vietnamese, chinese, and some English

- A Taiwanese who's been in the US since he was little. Fluent in Chinese and English.

And then there's me. The white kid who pretends to know Japanese.

During introductions my boss asked me if I'd taken any Asian history courses. Sure haven't. "ohhh.. yikes. Hmm.. yikes.. well... hmm.. yikes." Great. Of course the others all are native. Speak fluently. And have not only taken history courses but their parents write the darn history books! (no but seriously, they do. the taiwanese kid's mom writes about asian history). And then there's me. 

BUT. I'm no dummy. I gots skills. Computer hacking skills.. you know the type.. the important stuff! No but she has taken a liking to having me round up the troops for meetings, me explaining things in English to the non-native speakers, me organizing and delegating assignments she's given us, me putting together google docs and spreadsheets, and at the end of the day.. she gave ME the only set of keys to the office. Good friends.. it's no ordinary key. It comes with a fob. Oh yes. A fob. A fob which opens up the main entrance gates to the whole building after hours! A fob which allows me to ride the elevator to the 4th floor after the elevator is turned off! It is no ordinary fob.

Keys = trust

Keys + fob = trust x 1000

So. I'd say that despite my lack of inherent (or even practiced for that matter) asian ability, I've made up for it in other ways. I mean, key + fob AND being asked to deposit a check for the mistress?? Yah. I'd say I'd done pretty well for Day 1.

I'm just hoping I can keep up the high performance level everyday for the next 8 weeks so I don't get yelled like the other wee-interns. :)

As far as what the heck I do.. I'm still tryin to find that out too. Every day has been something different so far. It all connects or will eventually I think. Pretty much we're working on a resolution for POW's that we're going to try and pass in the House this summer. Sick no?? We also take confusingly jumbled information on events and talks etc. and organize it into an easy-to-read newsletter for important people. We also get to attend some of those events.

The take home lesson from today is this: no matter what you look like or where you're from, if you work diligently, always have a smile on, are willing to do whatever the boss lady asks and do it above already high expectations.. AND are ridiculously good-looking.. you too can be a sacred bearer of the fob.