Monday:
Mondays I normally only spend about 2-3 hours at work because we always have programming in the early afternoons.  At 7:15 am sharp I was awoken by my cheery ringtone informing me that the weekend had officially ended and it was time to go back to work.  Normally, me being anything but a morning person, I will hit that sucker three times before I actually make it out of bed.  However, Christy doesn’t have work on Mondays and plus she’s been feeling sick, so out of a courtesy to her I sucked it up and rolled out of bed after one ring.  After hopping on the 8:20 shuttle outside the RAF to Union Station, I descended the elevator only to find the platform completely full, which is unusual for that time.  Granted, it’s rush hour and everything, but the hordes of people don’t normally take over the metro until about 10-15 minutes after that.

Just so happened, today was my lucky day.  Not only did I wake up to thunder and lightening, but also today’s Metro commute was by far the worst I’ve had yet.  Not only did the thing stop and stall several times, it eventually decided it was ‘out of service’ and kicked all the passengers out; all of whom attempted to cram on the next car like sardines.  I have to switch on my commute to work at Metro Center, which is one of the main transfer points in DC.  On nice days I normally walk the three blocks to the Reagan building, but I definitely wasn’t trying to do that in the rain.  I finally made it to Federal Triangle and inside my building, only to wait on a 10 minute security line because it just so happens that the Reagan building’s hosting a US Missile Defense forum this week.  I finally made it up to the office at 9:15 – nearly an hour after I left my apartment.

Since I was only at work for about two hours I didn’t really start anything new today – checked my e-mail, updated a few things, fixed up some things I had been working on Friday – and headed back to the RAF at 11 for programming.  Today’s programming featured three lawyers who talked to us about the darker side of law school you don’t necessarily think about – how they choose career paths they could have done without the law degree, debt, professional confusion, et cetera – which is something I have myself been thinking about lately.  I am almost certain I want to go to law school, but I’ve been wrestling with whether or not I’m ready to go after college – and listening to the speakers definitely made me feel like I won’t be making a bad decision if I decide to put law school off a few years.  I had to duck out of the presentation early to head back downtown to cover a US-Korea FTA Business Coalition at the US Chamber of Commerce for ST&R.

I looked up the Chamber’s address before I headed back to the Metro, and found it relatively easily- it's pretty much across the street from the White House.  I had been to one of these meetings before, but I had never been inside the Chamber of Commerce.  The Chamber of Commerce is a well-known business lobbyist organization.  The meeting was held in this important-looking room that kind of reminded me of a medieval dining hall- the Hall of Flags – and hosted the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea, Han Duk-soo. 

The meeting lasted from 2-3, but I didn’t go home afterwards because I had made an appointment to tour George Mason law school.  I made my way to Dupont Circle to grab a late lunch at Cosi and try and get some work done.  Since the weather had turned around, I decided to walk, but by the time I made it to Cosi it was too late for me to get any of the work done that I had brought.  Essentially I carried my laptop around all day to check my email once, but whatever, you live you learn. 

Today was really one of those days I was grateful my internship is generous enough to give me a transportation stipend, because I was making moves all over Washington.  I headed off to Arlington for my 5:00 tour, sat in on a law school class at 6:00, and headed home about an hour after that.

Outside of the Chamber of Commerce

The font of GMU Law where I toured this afternoon

Tuesday:
Thankfully there were no delays on the Metro this morning and I got to work without a problem.  I started my day as I always do, walking in the back door, turning my computer on, draping my coat over my chair, and heading to the kitchen.  I start every day at the office off with a cappuccino.  We have this awesome cappuccino machine in the kitchen at work, and its safe to say that I have become addicted over the course of this semester.  After spending the next half an hour or so skimming the headlines and catching up on e-mails, I started working on a summary of the meeting I attended on Monday that took me about an hour and a half.  I spent the rest of the day revising a PowerPoint for a client that compared current import expenses with the expenses that the company would actually have to undertake given the KORUS free trade agreement is actualized.  I had to compare every product listed on the PowerPoint with the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States.  Needless to say, my brain was a little bit tired at the end of the day.

Wednesday:
Wake up at 7am, out the door by 8:20, in the office by 8:50.  Today was more of the same as yesterday, still continuing to work on that PowerPoint.  I broke up my work today by starting to pen a blog post for my firms website about the free trade agreements we’ve been tracking.  I never realized just how in depth and detailed such agreements can be.  I finished most of my PowerPoint, but still have a little bit more left to do. 

Today was also a great day because I finally figured out what I’m going to be doing for my Civic Engagement project! I’ll admit, slacked off a little in looking for something to do.  As part of the TWC programming side of things, everyone has to do some sort of community service project and then tie it in with your internship somehow by doing something such as attending a hearing or advocating the issue on Capitol Hill.  Luckily for me I’ve already been to several hearings regarding international trade matters, so I asked my boss for advice and she told me that I would be able to help out at and organize two events for organizations she’s a member of.  Definitely lifted a huge weight off my chest.  Right after work I went to a reception for a client with one of my bosses in a really nice hotel right on the National Mall.  It was really cool to go to an event that I had helped out with (by e-mailing and faxing invitations) and even cooler that such an event had free food that delayed my need for groceries for yet another day.

Thursday:
Almost done with my PowerPoint.  Today Hanlin and I started researching different countervailing cases brought against China by the United States and writing short summaries of each to bind together in a booklet sort of thing.  Once work was over for the day I headed over to the TWC headquarters for my class and got home around 9:30 completely ready for bed.

Friday:
Friday, Friday, Friday!  Although I like my job, working full time definitely makes you appreciate the weekend.  I was especially excited for this weekend because I had plans to go back up to Philadelphia for my sorority’s date party.  Today I put the finishing touches on my PowerPoint, sent it to my boss to look over, and continued to work on the Chinese countervailing cases the rest of the day before heading off to the Greyhound station.  Although I’m not really a fan of long bus rides, you can’t beat eight-dollar trips. 


So now you see why I haven’t updated my blog in a week or so, I wanted to take the time to sort of lay out a play-by-play description of what a week in the life of an intern is like.  Granted, it also depends on where you’re working – but if you wind up in any kind of office setting, you might very well end up doing something similar.  Which isn’t bad at all as long as you enjoy what you’re doing.  Some days are busy, others are not. Interning has its general ups and downs, but it really is indicative of a typical professional lifestyle.

Nice to take a break every once in a while!

(image credit: http://smallbiztrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Marks-December-11th-32161.jpg)