Looking Forward

Amid the hubbub of the moving preparations - finding boxes, sorting out what goes and what stays, booking a moving truck, finding affordable airfare, tying up loose ends at work etc. - I am setting my sights on the White House Internship program. I follow the White House blog almost religiously to watch as Obama lives up to his campaign promises. Tonight, as I was working on my application for the internship I checked out the White House Blog and was met with this amusing image:

(The White House North Lawn fountain flows with green water Tuesday, March 17, 2009, in honor of St. Patrick's Day. White House Photo/Lawrence Jackson)

Now, that's a sense of humor!

Aside from looking forward to green St. Patrick's day fountains, I am excited about many aspects of our pending move to Washington. Here are just a few:

1) Peak Cherry Blossom week - check it out! Peak week is April 3rd - 9th. How handy that we will arrive in DC the evening of the 2nd. Just in time! Plus, in a gesture of extravagant hospitality, there will be a parade to welcome us to town!

2) Scaling back on our belongings. We are moving from a large two bedroom apartment, into a studio. Simplifying is going to be so gratifying!

3) Traveling 3,000 miles with a kitty. This is going to be interesting. Timmy doesn't want to have Sophie in the cabin with us for fear of being "those crazy cat people", but I put my foot down and insisted that she's getting her own ticket to fly under the seat in front of me. Have I really turned into the cray cat woman this quickly?

4) The job market in DC! It's got to be one of the few areas of the country not hard-hit by this economic slump. So far I've applied for two administrative jobs - one with the Presidential Protective Service (a branch of the Secret Service) and one with the Department of Labor. I've also applied for a Policy Associate position with the National Immigration Forum, and several entry level jobs with senators. Of course, there's also the White House Internship application which is due Sunday!

5) Living without cars. For a long time I've wished I could live close to functional mass transit so I could live without a car. Now it will be possible.

6) The location of our new apartment - a map is worth how many words?

I'll keep you posted as to the progress of the move and how fully my dreams are fulfilled. :)