The fact that I am saving for my retirement is hot. The fact that I am going to control part of the funds is even hotter. Take that financial know-how, bitches!
The fact that it was light out when I walked out of my apartment was almost as good. I can't even stress how much easier it is for me to wake up when it is not pitch black outside.
Pretty sure I just got the Meatloaf CD Bat Out of Hell along with two Chopin CDs and a Doves CD from the Bethesda library. Score! Now all I have to do is download Money Maker by Luda and I will be so happy!
I also really want to buy a desk chair that is comfortable, ie NOT my folding chair from Target. Hmm... too bad I am on a self-spending freeze because once I write off the check to pay my credit card bill with a queen bed + TWO roundtrip airline tickets home I won't have too much money and I am tired of taking money out of my savings. Pretty sure I will have to in order to eat, but whatever.
Tomorrow is the big IRS Halloween Party. Should be interesting. If people come in costumes it will be the funniest day of my LIFE!
10.30.2006
10.29.2006
to cop a feel is worth AT LEAST $6 & BA BA O DA JU!
In the grand scheme of attempting to find fun, classy, and fabulous nightlife in DC, Charlotte, Rodrigo, Jonattan (yes, I spelled it right) and I went to K Street Lounge last night. Jonattan put us on the guest list the night before, so that meant that if we got there before 11pm, we avoided the cover charge ($20 for dudes $10 for ladies). Luckily I got there in the nick of time and avoided this fee. Yes!
After walking the sparsley populated red-carpet type enterance, my bag was checked, whereupon the burly bouncer saw my Inhalor, as I carry it with me no matter where I go, but especially smokey DC clubs (no smoking starts in January and I cannot wait). He reminded me that if I needed to take my Inhalor, that I should. Umm, okay thanks mom. Maybe because I walked in alone he felt he had to remind me, but it was a little odd.
$4 to check my coat and $6 for an amaretto sour, I was waiting for the others to arrive, and they came a short time later. Seeing as that it was the weekend before Halloween, some people had costumes on, most of which were ridiculously SLUT-TACULAR. Seriously, the designers of commercial Halloween costumes have a way of making everything slutty including: NYC Cab Driver, baseball player, and of course some of the timeless classics like maid and nurse. The waitresses were wearing referee type uniforms complete with hot shorts and stripey shirts with ridiculously pluging necklines. This was all rather funny becuase the bar is so nice inside, and the clientele is (well, beyond the slutty Halloween costumes) reasonably classy and well-dressed.
The DJ ws playing good music, plus there was a conga band to liven up the beats which was stellar. They were a definate highlight of the night.
Charlotte is obsessed with finding me a boyfriend and knows I like Indians/Italians, (ie tall dark and handsome), so she insisted that we prance around scoping out the prospectives. On this walk, I was given a free "sample" (ie an entire bottle) of Beck's light beer. I don't like beer, but it was only 64 calories and about as watered down as Miller Light, so I was game, especially since no drink was under $6. There was no one that really came of interest right away so we went back to Rodrigo and Jonattan.
On our next round, as we were again walking across the room, someone grabbed my ass and I whipped around to see who the hell did it to throw back a bitch-a-licious glance, but there was too many people and I couldn't tell. DAMMIT! I know I was dressed up and all, but seriously, guys, this is the TACKIEST behavior EVER.
Lucky for me, I was whisked away by some hot guy who I later learned was from Nigeria. He bought me an amaretto sour and we talked. It turns out that he is getting his MBA at U of Maryland and just moved here from LA, and is turning 29 next week (thank God he was under 30). Here is the funniest part of the whole night, because of how the legacy of PK shows up at the bar. As we were dancing, he told me his sister had just moved from LA back to Nigeria. After I knew where he was from, I non-chalantly asked him if he speaks Yoruba, a tribal language of Nigeria. He was totally floored that I had any idea what Yoruba was or that I knew that Lagos was the capital of Nigeria. I have Music of World Cultures and C in CC with PK to thank for my suberb geographical and cultural knowledge. I could have started to sing and dance to Betlehemu in the middle of the club under Shakira, but luckily I couldn't remember all the words (except of course BA BA O DA JU!). It's too bad I wasn't actually drunk though, because if I was, I bet there would have been a performance....
My other observation of the night was that I can no longer tell people I work for the IRS because it is an immediate turn-off. My Nigerian pal asked me what I did and I told him I was an economist and he asked where. I kind of gave him a look and finally told him that I worked at the IRS. He immediatley jokingly accused me of taking all his money. I am now blessed with the fact that everone around me who knows where I work constantly asks for no taxes, not to get audited, or blames me for them having no money. I better stick with the fact that I just work for the Department of the Treasury and then no one will be smart enough to ask what branch.
K street lounge however, it worthy of returning. Its classy atmosphere and quaint downtown location were a plus. if I could just avoid the photographer hired to take slutty pictures of the partrons....
After walking the sparsley populated red-carpet type enterance, my bag was checked, whereupon the burly bouncer saw my Inhalor, as I carry it with me no matter where I go, but especially smokey DC clubs (no smoking starts in January and I cannot wait). He reminded me that if I needed to take my Inhalor, that I should. Umm, okay thanks mom. Maybe because I walked in alone he felt he had to remind me, but it was a little odd.
$4 to check my coat and $6 for an amaretto sour, I was waiting for the others to arrive, and they came a short time later. Seeing as that it was the weekend before Halloween, some people had costumes on, most of which were ridiculously SLUT-TACULAR. Seriously, the designers of commercial Halloween costumes have a way of making everything slutty including: NYC Cab Driver, baseball player, and of course some of the timeless classics like maid and nurse. The waitresses were wearing referee type uniforms complete with hot shorts and stripey shirts with ridiculously pluging necklines. This was all rather funny becuase the bar is so nice inside, and the clientele is (well, beyond the slutty Halloween costumes) reasonably classy and well-dressed.
The DJ ws playing good music, plus there was a conga band to liven up the beats which was stellar. They were a definate highlight of the night.
Charlotte is obsessed with finding me a boyfriend and knows I like Indians/Italians, (ie tall dark and handsome), so she insisted that we prance around scoping out the prospectives. On this walk, I was given a free "sample" (ie an entire bottle) of Beck's light beer. I don't like beer, but it was only 64 calories and about as watered down as Miller Light, so I was game, especially since no drink was under $6. There was no one that really came of interest right away so we went back to Rodrigo and Jonattan.
On our next round, as we were again walking across the room, someone grabbed my ass and I whipped around to see who the hell did it to throw back a bitch-a-licious glance, but there was too many people and I couldn't tell. DAMMIT! I know I was dressed up and all, but seriously, guys, this is the TACKIEST behavior EVER.
Lucky for me, I was whisked away by some hot guy who I later learned was from Nigeria. He bought me an amaretto sour and we talked. It turns out that he is getting his MBA at U of Maryland and just moved here from LA, and is turning 29 next week (thank God he was under 30). Here is the funniest part of the whole night, because of how the legacy of PK shows up at the bar. As we were dancing, he told me his sister had just moved from LA back to Nigeria. After I knew where he was from, I non-chalantly asked him if he speaks Yoruba, a tribal language of Nigeria. He was totally floored that I had any idea what Yoruba was or that I knew that Lagos was the capital of Nigeria. I have Music of World Cultures and C in CC with PK to thank for my suberb geographical and cultural knowledge. I could have started to sing and dance to Betlehemu in the middle of the club under Shakira, but luckily I couldn't remember all the words (except of course BA BA O DA JU!). It's too bad I wasn't actually drunk though, because if I was, I bet there would have been a performance....
My other observation of the night was that I can no longer tell people I work for the IRS because it is an immediate turn-off. My Nigerian pal asked me what I did and I told him I was an economist and he asked where. I kind of gave him a look and finally told him that I worked at the IRS. He immediatley jokingly accused me of taking all his money. I am now blessed with the fact that everone around me who knows where I work constantly asks for no taxes, not to get audited, or blames me for them having no money. I better stick with the fact that I just work for the Department of the Treasury and then no one will be smart enough to ask what branch.
K street lounge however, it worthy of returning. Its classy atmosphere and quaint downtown location were a plus. if I could just avoid the photographer hired to take slutty pictures of the partrons....
10.23.2006
Today I finally got paid. And a grand day it was. To truly understand how great it was, think of the fact that I havnen't been paid since August 1st, and have paid three months worth of rent (well, four including the security deposit), utilities, car insurance, car payment, and student loans as well as feeding myself, metro tickets, Target runs, purchasing a bed,the list goes on and on. Thank God I saved some good money at MF. My savings isn't wiped out, either, so that is nice. I don't feel super poor, but I probably will after I get billed for my bed AND two plane tickets home. It has been the most expensive two months of MY ENTIRE LIFE.
To celebrate, I finally went to the grocery store and bought olive oil to cook my veggies properly because apparently I deemed olive oil too much of a "luxury" until I got paid. WTF?!
I had a two hour meeting with my manager and work today to finish going over my roles and responsibilities (hm, it is week four) and I just realized how much I really love her. She was telling me all about when she moved to DC and how she was in choir and is also a singer and SHE IS THE NICEST WOMAN IN THE ENTIRE WORLD. And she is retiring in December, which really sucks because I think most people are going to suck compared to her, but I better get a better attitude and stat.
After work today I hopped over to the Bethesda library to get my library card, because I am a frequent patron of my public library. It was a year ago when I called Claire and she was telling my about the movies she got at the library and I was thinking "Why don't I do that?" and since then, being a library patron has been a stellar part of my life. In MN, I could rent new releases for $.50 a night! Stellar deal! Needless to say I was happy to go to the libs by my house here whereupon I rented two movies (Fiddler on the Roof and My Girl 2) becuase I love those movies (make fun of me all you want, haters) AND four CD's including The Rough Guide To Greek Music, The Rough Guide to Italian Music, the latest Jewel CD, and lastly, but surely most important Visions of Hildegard Von Bingen. If any of you know Patricia "Shruti Box" Kazarow (IE PK) from GAC, and have seen her in her Hildegard Von Bingen nun outfit, you would know just how funny it was that I got a medieval CD of trance and chant music composed by a nun who apparently had divine "visions". If you know PK it shouldn't surprise you that PK loves Hildegard and that she visits the Music Appreciation class every semester as Hildegard in her costume and will not be referred to as PK. Seeing this CD at the library brought upon a slew of memories from Gustavus, namely PK choir tours in Texas and her random quotes during Chapel Choir rehearsal. Ahh, the pelvic thrusts in the name of good singing.
Getting paid, sweet meeting with manager, library, and grocery store including olive oil. Ahh, its been a good one.
10.18.2006
I saved my scale! (and $30)
I am going to write about my ghetto-style resourcefulness....
My scale ran out of batteries circa 2 months ago and I bought new ones. After bending a small wire placeholder to put the new batteries in, I broke it. I am going to blame it on shoddy manufacturing, because it is not like I tried to break it, but it just snapped off.
I tried to fix my scale in a variety of ways but it just would not work. I was missing the fact that you need to somehow jimmy that broken wire piece into the scale so that it can actually conduct the charge of the battery. I can't belive it took me that long to realize this..DUH!
Somehow I get the batteries into the right spots and the scale worked, but since the metal conductor, battery holder piece was broken, the only way the scale worked was when I had my finger in the battery holder, which you obviously can't do when weighing yourself because I would have been standing on my arm.
Soon after, I fashioned long skinny pieces of scotch tape, and wadded up tiny pieces of kleenex and jammed them into the battery crevice. I also wedged a chunk of tape in and made sure the tiny TINY metal part was in the exact position to carry the battery charge.
Fourty minutes later, I REVIVED MY SCALE!!!!!!!!! It was seriously a crowning moment in my life. Plus I weigh the same as I did when I left home, and I was freaked out that I gained like 10 pounds but that didn't happen THANK GOD!
Ahh, such a good feeling....
Lesson Learned: Don't buy a scale with lithium batteries. They don't last that long and they are impossible to change!!
My scale ran out of batteries circa 2 months ago and I bought new ones. After bending a small wire placeholder to put the new batteries in, I broke it. I am going to blame it on shoddy manufacturing, because it is not like I tried to break it, but it just snapped off.
I tried to fix my scale in a variety of ways but it just would not work. I was missing the fact that you need to somehow jimmy that broken wire piece into the scale so that it can actually conduct the charge of the battery. I can't belive it took me that long to realize this..DUH!
Somehow I get the batteries into the right spots and the scale worked, but since the metal conductor, battery holder piece was broken, the only way the scale worked was when I had my finger in the battery holder, which you obviously can't do when weighing yourself because I would have been standing on my arm.
Soon after, I fashioned long skinny pieces of scotch tape, and wadded up tiny pieces of kleenex and jammed them into the battery crevice. I also wedged a chunk of tape in and made sure the tiny TINY metal part was in the exact position to carry the battery charge.
Fourty minutes later, I REVIVED MY SCALE!!!!!!!!! It was seriously a crowning moment in my life. Plus I weigh the same as I did when I left home, and I was freaked out that I gained like 10 pounds but that didn't happen THANK GOD!
Ahh, such a good feeling....
Lesson Learned: Don't buy a scale with lithium batteries. They don't last that long and they are impossible to change!!
10.14.2006
Fall 06 Trends
My sweet pals are here this weekend and life is good. We have been cruising around town which is really fun, but tiring! The new theme of my life seems to be TIRED!!
Frankly, I am currently enjoying my job but am really much more excited to get involved into some particular tax studies. I already know I will be responsible for the excise tax study, and also updating and amending historical tables. I am really pumped about the excise tax because I will get to write scholarly articles and also learn more and more about energy tax, luxury tax, and other forms of excise tax that I don't even know about yet!
I have finally passed the two month mark of being here in DC. I am proud to say I think I have most of my ducks in a row and am doing quite well. One thing that has been hard is meeting people. I was thinking work would be more of a social place than what it is, and also that there would be more graduate students in my choir. My two mechanisms for meeting other people my age have not measured up and I am starting to realize that I really need to meet some people my age and start forming a friend group. I have a few friends here which is nice, but I need to find some medium where I can meet other people my age while doing something beneficial/fun. I have been checking out voulenteer websites, but am unsure of how to find a suitable social forum. It is all overwhelming. I think my skills for meeting new people have really improved and that I am a social person, but without fellow students who are ready and willing to find pals (the ones in MA Econ program were really older and established here) things get hard. Everyone comments on how many young people are here in DC, and it's true. I am just going to have to tap into that resource some way, and hopefully soon. I am thankful for knowing a lot of the law students at AU, but since I don't interact with them very often, it is hard to foster a relationship when they spend all day with each other. Just another challenge that is currently in the works...
Frankly, I am currently enjoying my job but am really much more excited to get involved into some particular tax studies. I already know I will be responsible for the excise tax study, and also updating and amending historical tables. I am really pumped about the excise tax because I will get to write scholarly articles and also learn more and more about energy tax, luxury tax, and other forms of excise tax that I don't even know about yet!
I have finally passed the two month mark of being here in DC. I am proud to say I think I have most of my ducks in a row and am doing quite well. One thing that has been hard is meeting people. I was thinking work would be more of a social place than what it is, and also that there would be more graduate students in my choir. My two mechanisms for meeting other people my age have not measured up and I am starting to realize that I really need to meet some people my age and start forming a friend group. I have a few friends here which is nice, but I need to find some medium where I can meet other people my age while doing something beneficial/fun. I have been checking out voulenteer websites, but am unsure of how to find a suitable social forum. It is all overwhelming. I think my skills for meeting new people have really improved and that I am a social person, but without fellow students who are ready and willing to find pals (the ones in MA Econ program were really older and established here) things get hard. Everyone comments on how many young people are here in DC, and it's true. I am just going to have to tap into that resource some way, and hopefully soon. I am thankful for knowing a lot of the law students at AU, but since I don't interact with them very often, it is hard to foster a relationship when they spend all day with each other. Just another challenge that is currently in the works...
10.09.2006
Meet my new closet
DressesDress PantsSkirtsScarvesSummar Casual ShirtsTShirtsButton Down ShirtsJacketsBusiness Professional
HOT.
Here is my room including my new bed. The only problem is that my mom is sending me my sheets from home so I am currently using twin bedding on a queen. Quite fun.
My complaint of the day is that an oil change costed me $37 today. I called the nearby Honda dealer and it was $40. JIGGA WHAT? Why are oil changes in DC almost double what they are in Minnesota?
My happy though tof the day is that there are circa 70 restaurants within a mile of my apartment. There is everything from Indian, Mediterranean, Thai, Chinese, Sushi, American, Ethopian. Yahoo! I can't wait to get paid so I can eat at them all!
10.07.2006
Weekends are much better when you realize that you had to work to get to it. After just five days of work, I was pumped it was a weekend, and a long one at that.
The only downfall was that my new bed was being delivered and the dudes called at 8:08am to tell me they were coming between 9-12. Well, I obviously had to clear space for it, so I pretty much had to wake up then. Damn. Well, at least tonight will be EVEN BETTER sleep than before.
At work I do not have a phone number, therefore, I also do not have any of the important government IDs and access that I should have. If you don't have a phone number you can't have any of that or they don't know where to call in case you are in trouble. Life got a little boring when my director was gone two days in a row, and basically the entire office was gone on Friday. This mean that I spend a lot LOT lot of time on the only website I have access to, www.irs.gov/taxstats. It is pretty interesting, but not for 8 hours a day times three days. I am really glad that on Tuesday I will be able to actually start doing something and hopefully have a phone. Then I will actually be doing economic analysis and updating the excise tax study, too!
Today I went to the taste of Bethesda, which is similar to the taste of MN, but on a much smaller scale. Bethesda is known for its restaurants, and they have food from everywhere in the world. It was delicious to taste some and then I had ice cream so life was pretty good. I also got to laugh at the crazy DC-ites who are wearing a hat and mittens because it is 55 degrees. Quite funny. I hopefully won't become one of them, although I am a baby about the heat in the summer, so I guess it is pretty much the same.
I was excited to start work because I was hoping I would really meet some cool people, but that has not happened yet. I realize that it has been a mere five days, but I have not met anyone in my division who is under 35 and un-married, except one person. The average person at the IRS is about 55 years old and has worked for the government or IRS for at least 20 years. I wore my prettiest brown heels with a pointy toe and got three comments asking how I could walk in them. I think they are just a bit old school, but that is why I am there, to LIVEN them up! Hopefully I will meet some more people my age soon.
I am thinking about volunteering, but have not found one that fits into my schedule just yet, so I will keep looking. I was hoping to teach financial literacy, but I would pretty much volunteer anywhere that fits into my schedule that doesn't involve a humane society (for obvious reasons).
The new saying of my life must be "hurry up and wait".
The only downfall was that my new bed was being delivered and the dudes called at 8:08am to tell me they were coming between 9-12. Well, I obviously had to clear space for it, so I pretty much had to wake up then. Damn. Well, at least tonight will be EVEN BETTER sleep than before.
At work I do not have a phone number, therefore, I also do not have any of the important government IDs and access that I should have. If you don't have a phone number you can't have any of that or they don't know where to call in case you are in trouble. Life got a little boring when my director was gone two days in a row, and basically the entire office was gone on Friday. This mean that I spend a lot LOT lot of time on the only website I have access to, www.irs.gov/taxstats. It is pretty interesting, but not for 8 hours a day times three days. I am really glad that on Tuesday I will be able to actually start doing something and hopefully have a phone. Then I will actually be doing economic analysis and updating the excise tax study, too!
Today I went to the taste of Bethesda, which is similar to the taste of MN, but on a much smaller scale. Bethesda is known for its restaurants, and they have food from everywhere in the world. It was delicious to taste some and then I had ice cream so life was pretty good. I also got to laugh at the crazy DC-ites who are wearing a hat and mittens because it is 55 degrees. Quite funny. I hopefully won't become one of them, although I am a baby about the heat in the summer, so I guess it is pretty much the same.
I was excited to start work because I was hoping I would really meet some cool people, but that has not happened yet. I realize that it has been a mere five days, but I have not met anyone in my division who is under 35 and un-married, except one person. The average person at the IRS is about 55 years old and has worked for the government or IRS for at least 20 years. I wore my prettiest brown heels with a pointy toe and got three comments asking how I could walk in them. I think they are just a bit old school, but that is why I am there, to LIVEN them up! Hopefully I will meet some more people my age soon.
I am thinking about volunteering, but have not found one that fits into my schedule just yet, so I will keep looking. I was hoping to teach financial literacy, but I would pretty much volunteer anywhere that fits into my schedule that doesn't involve a humane society (for obvious reasons).
The new saying of my life must be "hurry up and wait".
10.03.2006
After having (basically) nothing to talk about for 2 months, there are so many new things, life is crazy!
So, I am done moving, and I just bought a bed an hour ago. It is coming on Saturday, so I will no longer be sleeping on an air mattress. I even bought it from a bed store so it has a mattress, box spring, and frame. The best part was that the guy who sold it to me was Indian so I flirted a little and spoke in Malayaum (the language of Kerala) so he basically gave me a sweet deal. He gave me the queen for the size of the full and free delivery, so I basically got $175 off the price, YEAH! Just another reason it's good I went to INDIA!
So I have just finished day two of federal employment. It was much better than the first day, because that day consisted of going to the ghizetto of Maryland for orientation because the downtown IRS suffered severe damage with the flooding rains this spring and isn't open. We worked from 8-1:30 to turn in all our forms (piles and piles of them), listen to the union rep, watch movies on disabilities and information disclosure, and the like. The lady who was collecting our forms was wearing black tapered jeans, had her bangs curled in at least 5 different layers, and answered her cell phone when her kids called in the middle of showing us something. Conversations she had in front of the 20 other new IRS employees were frequently followed by "GOD DAMMIT!". So, it was interesting. Here is a summary of what I learned:
-If I look up Oprah or Tom Cruise's tax return and it is not part of my official project, I will get fired. Damn! Otherwise I technically have access to everyone's returns, I just can't use my power. TAGTA is the IRS police that protects tax payers against IRS employees committing fraud and the aforementioned, and they seriously carry guns. TAX police carry guns. I thought they should be armed with a pocket protector and calculator, but whatevs.
-I can't refer anyone to a sweet tax attorney, because that is a conflict of interest.
-I have to do make sure my own taxes are correctly or I am fired. Basically, I am audited every year. Fun.
-I had to take an oath of office. Yep, the same that the president takes when they are sworn in. Wow.
-In order to get into my office, I of course need my badge, but I also need a federal access pass and a swipey card for the elevator. Apparently the IRS is quite the targeted agency so our building is unmarked and we have to have three pass codes along with different passwords for every possible computer system that are at least eight letters long, with two numbers and a special character. HOW am I going to remember my passwords?!?!?
So that was Monday. After orientation we ate lunch (finally) at 2pm and went back to our office. The other people in my division are very nice, and not many people (read: any) are within five years of my age. The closest one is one of my coworkers who is maybe 29. So at least she is there!
I made a vow today that no matter how long I work for the government, I will never wear stretch pants and tanktops to work because even though other people do, I still have my dignity! One nice part, however, about the government, is that I have a sweet computer (where I cannot access gmail, SUCK) a big cube, a NEW keyboard, and a NEW scrolley mouse. These things were all basically non-existant at MF, so I can't complain there.
Tomorrow is a new day, my room is still a mess from moving, and my bed isn't here yet, but soon life will be grand!!
So, I am done moving, and I just bought a bed an hour ago. It is coming on Saturday, so I will no longer be sleeping on an air mattress. I even bought it from a bed store so it has a mattress, box spring, and frame. The best part was that the guy who sold it to me was Indian so I flirted a little and spoke in Malayaum (the language of Kerala) so he basically gave me a sweet deal. He gave me the queen for the size of the full and free delivery, so I basically got $175 off the price, YEAH! Just another reason it's good I went to INDIA!
So I have just finished day two of federal employment. It was much better than the first day, because that day consisted of going to the ghizetto of Maryland for orientation because the downtown IRS suffered severe damage with the flooding rains this spring and isn't open. We worked from 8-1:30 to turn in all our forms (piles and piles of them), listen to the union rep, watch movies on disabilities and information disclosure, and the like. The lady who was collecting our forms was wearing black tapered jeans, had her bangs curled in at least 5 different layers, and answered her cell phone when her kids called in the middle of showing us something. Conversations she had in front of the 20 other new IRS employees were frequently followed by "GOD DAMMIT!". So, it was interesting. Here is a summary of what I learned:
-If I look up Oprah or Tom Cruise's tax return and it is not part of my official project, I will get fired. Damn! Otherwise I technically have access to everyone's returns, I just can't use my power. TAGTA is the IRS police that protects tax payers against IRS employees committing fraud and the aforementioned, and they seriously carry guns. TAX police carry guns. I thought they should be armed with a pocket protector and calculator, but whatevs.
-I can't refer anyone to a sweet tax attorney, because that is a conflict of interest.
-I have to do make sure my own taxes are correctly or I am fired. Basically, I am audited every year. Fun.
-I had to take an oath of office. Yep, the same that the president takes when they are sworn in. Wow.
-In order to get into my office, I of course need my badge, but I also need a federal access pass and a swipey card for the elevator. Apparently the IRS is quite the targeted agency so our building is unmarked and we have to have three pass codes along with different passwords for every possible computer system that are at least eight letters long, with two numbers and a special character. HOW am I going to remember my passwords?!?!?
So that was Monday. After orientation we ate lunch (finally) at 2pm and went back to our office. The other people in my division are very nice, and not many people (read: any) are within five years of my age. The closest one is one of my coworkers who is maybe 29. So at least she is there!
I made a vow today that no matter how long I work for the government, I will never wear stretch pants and tanktops to work because even though other people do, I still have my dignity! One nice part, however, about the government, is that I have a sweet computer (where I cannot access gmail, SUCK) a big cube, a NEW keyboard, and a NEW scrolley mouse. These things were all basically non-existant at MF, so I can't complain there.
Tomorrow is a new day, my room is still a mess from moving, and my bed isn't here yet, but soon life will be grand!!
10.01.2006
I am now live from my new apartment in Bethesda. YES!
One of my worries about moving was that my relative proximity to a Chipotle was unknown. Since then, I have solved that mystery and realized that Chipotle is only a ten minute walk and on the way home from the metro. Crisis Averted.
After moving for the second time in two months, I am glad to be done. Finally. Lugging all your crap around is no fun way to live. Luckily I really like my new room and apartment. I am lacking a mattress, but have a sweet automatic airmattress to hold me over, courtesy of my other roommate, Melissa. I must find a real bed and some other lighting. Otherwise my acquired purple furniture is looking great!
Big props to Erin who devised garmet bags out of big trash cans so I didn't have to un-hang all my clothes, and they are still wrinkle free. HOT!
Tonight I have to make an attempt to go to sleep at a reasonable hour. Why? I actually have to work tomorrow for the first time in two months. Wow. Crazy!!!
One of my worries about moving was that my relative proximity to a Chipotle was unknown. Since then, I have solved that mystery and realized that Chipotle is only a ten minute walk and on the way home from the metro. Crisis Averted.
After moving for the second time in two months, I am glad to be done. Finally. Lugging all your crap around is no fun way to live. Luckily I really like my new room and apartment. I am lacking a mattress, but have a sweet automatic airmattress to hold me over, courtesy of my other roommate, Melissa. I must find a real bed and some other lighting. Otherwise my acquired purple furniture is looking great!
Big props to Erin who devised garmet bags out of big trash cans so I didn't have to un-hang all my clothes, and they are still wrinkle free. HOT!
Tonight I have to make an attempt to go to sleep at a reasonable hour. Why? I actually have to work tomorrow for the first time in two months. Wow. Crazy!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
