Baptism by Fire

Day one was a learning experience to say the least. I have never seen so many police and power-suits in one 20 minute walk. From the moment I stepped through the metal detector, I knew I was lost. The front door of the Longworth House Office Building had no secretary's desk, no directory, just a couple of the Capitol Police. I asked the female officer, "Where is the reception desk?" "There is no desk honey," she said with a "you're in trouble" look on her face. My boss told me to ask for him when I got to 1301 Longworth. I thought it was funny he gave me an address to get to the building, then it clicked, 1301, floor 13, room 1. "Nevermind ma'am, I got it!"
As I stepped in the elevator and realized there was no floor 13, I pushed 3 to try my luck. In this case I was right. I later learned that you only pay attention to the last 3 numbers to find a room. The first number is the building itself. Cannon Office Building has no 1000 number (ex. 101), while Longworth has a 1 in front (1000's) and Rayburn has a 2 in front (2000's). While confusing at first, it allows you to drop the building from any instructions, and not end up in the right room and the wrong building.
After a few quick introductions, and signing for a badge on a form, my first chore tested the room-number-theory. I had to hand deliver letters to the offices of the House Agriculture Committee Democrats, throughout all 3 buildings. Besides a 15 minute delay not being able to find the right elevator to get back to the underground tunnel, I did pretty well.
Once I returned to the office I realized I showed up for my job one week late. That is, I was not any later than I was supposed to be, but I was a week behind on knowing what everyone else knew, which was not too much... the buildings were organized chaos. Desks, couches and chairs lined the hallways, closely resembling any moving of furniture at my fraternity. You trust everyone not to steal your stuff by putting 8.5 x 11 signs that say "Please Do Not Move." Even in the House of Representatives things get stolen, or I mean misplaced, for a little while. I do not currently have a "place to sit" , but it looks like I will end up with a nice spot in the reception office of the House Agriculture Committee, with a really nice desk and a DELL Desktop with a 20" screen.
We (the other intern, Gabe, a graduated senior from Texas A & M, and I) have to pickup mail at 10:30 & 3:30 in Mr. Chairman's actual office in the Rayburn House Office Building. I concluded that he does not support PETA, as his office adorns heads and mounts of many different animals, along with a lot of other Minnesota memorabilia. His staff was very friendly to us, and I had been noticing this trend since I started handing out letters. Secretaries gave a meaningful "Thank you" each time, as if you were doing them a huge favor. The truth is, interns are in no way glamorous. All receptionists had probably been in our shoes trying to work their way up in the political world at sometime in their lives, and understood how much of our work is mindless, and theirs full of purpose. We headed back to the House Ag. Committee Office and as soon as we stepped out of the elevator to head back into Longworth, we saw a mass of people coming towards us and heard the fire alarm. So we got into the elevator and waited back in Mr. Chairman's office for another 40 minutes. They gave an all clear as it was a false alarm of course. The alarm had devastating effects to everyone's schedules, throwing us all off by two hours. When they mean everyone out, everyone is out. All the restaurants and police have to be re-stationed before anyone was allowed back in. Lunch was delayed for many, but we finally made it back with the mail, sorted it, and then sat and waited. The staff member that interviewed me for the job rolled in at 11:00. He had injured himself in a Flag Football game the night before, and had to get his knee checked out. Then, all the staff disappeared for a meeting about tomorrow's meeting.
Gabe and I took turns answering phones from Horse Slaughter Opponents and people looking for other people. Gabe and I currently share one desk. Because I am new, Gabe has a computer password, and I do not. This meant sitting on the couch, reading the entire Washington Post, front to back, and eating complimentary peanuts. We did a few more random jobs throughout the rest of the day, and I got to meet and talk with Mr. Chairman (which is one of two ways everyone addresses him, otherwise its "the boss" in third person). I also did the typical fetching of lunch and coffee, sealing and stuffing envelopes, and putting people on hold.
I was handed my job description today. I am basically a glorified secretary, and by glorified I do not mean by pay or pecking order in the world, but by being "there" when others cannot, and hearing "things" that may never be repeated. I knew this coming in, and am thankful for the experience, but would be lying if I said I am not going to enjoy what happens after work more than work itself.
As time progresses the work will increase, greatly. Talking with one of our press communicators, she said she has received 10 times as much contact because of both being in the Chairman's office and the approaching Farm Bill.
One big thing I learned today is the lingo of Washington, D.C. I was given many projects, which I have called errands all my life. Projects today included getting coffee, putting together packets and moving computer equipment. I always viewed a project as a 2 or 3 week work that took time and resources, but I'm happy to hear that I never have time to procrastinate and will not be graded.
Basically today was pretty low-key, but life is hard when you don't have "a place to sit." I re-learned how to sort mail and correlate newsletters, two great skills I have learned from my mother. But in my case it was only like 14 mailboxes, and 25 newsletters. I'll give it another try at 9 am tomorrow.