BIG Changes!!

I can't believe I only have three weeks left in DC. That means I only have 4.5 weeks till I fly out to Qatar for four months. Holy shamoley!! I have no idea where the summer has gone...definitely quickest summer ever.

Lots of things have been happening over the last couple of weeks. After I got back from NYC, I got tasked with writing a 15 page paper for my mentor. Sounds like a lot of pressure, and it is. This guy can recommend me or not recommend me for the job I feel I have been called to do, so I need to impress him with everything I've got.

On the note of the job I feel I've been called to do, we visited there last week.  It was a phenomenal trip, and honestly, it made me want to work there more.  I was mystified and blown away by the coolness of the place, even though it apparently wears off after a while.  Something that hurt me, however, was that my mentor isn't sure I'm cut out for it. Now, I don't know if he's saying things to get reactions out of me and judge where he thinks I am, or if he's being serious.  He's been known to say or do certain things to see how people respond, so we'll see what happens.

On that note, because of his wariness to recommend me at this point, and because he wants to see me succeed, he has told me not to put all my eggs in one basket.  Because of that, Naval Reserves is back on the table.  I have filled out all my paperwork and sent it in to my recruiter, so all I have left are the interviews.  This may come as a shock to some of you, but really, it shouldn't.  I started talking to a recruiter back in April, told my parents, tabled it per my mentor's instructions, and have brought it back to the forefront as of Friday.  The board to decide whether or not I'm a good fit meets in September, pending the results of sequestration.  There's a chance my board may get canceled, but I am praying it will not.  I have struggled deciding whether or not to reenlist for years, hence why this should not be a shock.  Whether it would be AF, Navy, or Marines was really the decision.  AF is going through a huge cutback, so they were taken off the table.  I love my Marines and would be thrilled to join them, but the Navy offers me more opportunities as a female officer.  Even some of my Marines here have suggested that because they feel it would be a better fit, that I would be able to use my abilities more in the Navy than in the Marines (Marines are still trying to figure out the female/male balance).

SO. SUMMARY:

• Lots of work to do and things to read before I leave in three weeks
• Job not guaranteed at end of internship
• Joining Navy - if wanted - to be effective in September as a Reserve Intel Officer

AKA, PRAYERS MUCH APPRECIATED AND ADVICE/LOVE/SUPPORT ALWAYS WELCOME!!

New York City!!!!

Y'all I had soooooo much fun in New York for the 24 hours I was there lol. I went up to see my church's high school choir perform as part of their mission trip.  Gosh it brought back so many memories.  I went to NYC twice for my mission trips, and both were equally memorable.  I remember passing ice cubes in the back row while performing before Billy Graham's Crusades.  I remember watching the Philippian Strikers jam out on trash cans in the subway.  I remember doing all that choreography in crazy heat and just loving Jesus in the middle of New York City.  Here's a little taste of what it was like:

Me and my Anna! I can't believe she's graduated now! God is going to do some wonderful things in her life :)

 

So that's a taste of my church. LOVE. THEM. TO. DEATH. But I didn't just go with them that weekend. I also took myself up the Empire State Building (fear of heights whaaa?) and got not only to learn the history of the building (built in 1 year 30 days!!) but also got to see the majesty of New York City from the 86th floor. I had just seen Sleepless in Seattle, so there may or may not have been some romantic thoughts up there. Don't judge me. :-P  Enjoy some pictures of the beautiful city!

This was spray painted on the side of the new WTC Tower!

Yay family!!

I was sooooo grateful and excited to have my family come visit me for a week last week!! We packed our schedules so much that we were all exhausted by the end of the week - and I was headed straight for New York! Lemme see if I can remember everything we did and everywhere we went:

Sunday evening: La familia arrived and we headed for Thai food down the street from my place
Monday: Normal work day for me, so they went to the Air and Space Museum, while I got dinner ready for them. They got to come see where I live and work (yay for free tours!), eat dinner with me, and play rounds of dominoes!
Tuesday: Another full day for me, so they went to Smithsonians that I had already been to, but afterward we went to the game!
Wednesday: *see Happy Birthday America post* ;)
Thursday: I took a half day off work, so we all went to the Holocaust Museum and then to the Museum of American History to lighten the mood. There's only so much Holocaust you can take in one day, so we finished it Friday.  Because I'm with the USMC, we got to go in whenever we wanted and didn't have to wait for tickets! For dinner we went and got Noodles and Co., which, by the way, is delicious.  The guy was so nice, too, because he gave us two free Rice Krispies treats since we had never been there!

Colin Powell and Norman Schwarzkopf's uniforms during Desert Storm!

Friday: Last day with the family :(  There was no way they were going to get to see everything, so we split up after finishing the Holocaust Museum and National Gallery of Art.  Megan and Dad went to see the Iwo Jima Memorial (which I have yet to do) and the WWII, Korean War, and Vietnam War Memorials, while Mom and I went back to the hotel to relax. After walking 16 miles in two days...walking more is the last thing you wanna do!

Early Saturday morning they left for Texas and I went to NYC...but more on that LATER!

Happy Birthday America!!!

Happy 4th of July America!! Today was a wonderful day :)  I got to show a lot of DC to my family; our list included:

• National Gallery of Art
• National Museum of Natural History
• Johnny Rockets
• Fireworks show by Air Force memorial with Air Force band in background
  
  
  We saw so many cool things at both of the museums! There was a Neanderthal doing a Sic 'Em, a T-Rex, quartz and diamonds of all different colors, a da Vinci piece that we studied in AcDec, and the AF memorial itself! 
  
  
  We also enjoyed the Nats game last night where we spanked the Giants! Granted, there was rain for an hour, so we didn't get to enjoy the fireworks.....but it was still awesome :) :)
  
  
  
  
  

  

  Yes, because I always wanted my lithium to both kill me and cure me

  
  

  

  Mommy and Daddy!!

  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  

  And the rockets' red glare

  

  The bombs bursting in air!

Halfway done!

I can't believe my time here is halfway over!! It doesn't feel like I've been here six weeks already. MY FAMILY IS COMING!!!! so I'll only do a quick synopsis of the last several days and add pictures later:

• Drove to Baltimore tonight to experience my first time at Camden Yards! Johnny Damon got a 3-run homerun, but the Orioles weren't exactly happy about that. Total ballparks: 6!
• Ran the PFT with the Marines and actually would have passed had it been for score. Oorah!
• FOUND THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY 
• Watched Hitch outside in the middle of Crystal City as part of a summer RomCom tour!
• Met President Loftin with the rest of my PPIPers and fellow Bushies
• Took Angela to Eastern Market where our stomachs were satisfied with quite possibly the best pancakes EVER
• Met SecDef Panetta. NBD.

10 Things I've Learned...

1. DC is a very lost city. The amount of unchurched people up here is staggering. People walk around with no self-respect or self-awareness, and thousands upon thousands don't even care. Having grown up in the belt buckle of the Bible Belt, it's really hard to fathom how so many people could live their lives not wanting anything to do with the church and the goodness one gets from a relationship with Christ. It makes me want to live here and shine His light that much more.

2. You can seem like a true native in less than 2 days if you memorize the Metro map. Then, when tourists show up, all you have to do is point them in the right direction, and they'll not only be incredibly grateful, they'll think you've lived here forever. Bringing an iPod and calm composure adds to your case.

3. DC may be a "big city," but it's the smallest big city I've ever seen.  There are so many people I have run into time and time again on the metro - some I've known from Texas, some I've met here. There's one captain that I take the shuttle with every. single. day. even though I get on at different times, and the shuttle comes every 15 minutes. It's a little insane.

4. I would hate living in DC proper with as many people as there are who come visit here. The suburbs of Virginia are definitely where I feel most comfortable.

5. Military men have a much different idea of what constitutes "business professional."

6. Work is exhausting, even if you're just sitting at a desk for 6-8 hours, looking at Excel spreadsheets, and typing in data. It makes it more exhausting if this foreign thing called the sun has no way to reach your office.

7. DC and NYC are big, bustling cities; however, DC actually sleeps - and it sleeps early! Coffee shops close no later than 8, unless it's a locally owned shop...in which case you may be lucky to see them open til 9. Bars however stay open past midnight every night...

8. It is obnoxiously expensive to live up here, compared to having lived in Texas my whole life. There is a 10% tax in DC, and plastic bags cost 5 cents extra when you shop.  In VA, there's only a 4% tax, but you get taxed on groceries.

9. Traditional churches are very hard to find, at least on the Protestant side.  Many of the churches I've either visited or been told to visit meet in movie theaters, school cafeterias, run-down buildings, etc. Few have hymnals, and fewer still have pastors who wear suits and ties. It's not wrong or anything, just different.

10. Certain parts of DC are okay at night; others are not. These places also happen to correspond to certain colors of lines on the Metro. Take a few hours and just transfer lines and you will see the drastic demographic change. Not sure why this phenomenon happened or when it happened; I just know I noticed it within two days of being here.

God is AWESOME!

After what started off as kind of a rough and tedious week, I've realized again - as I shouldn't have to so often! - that God is SO. GOOD. I found out that stuff at home wasn't as good as I thought it was, and a few people asked if I wanted to go home, but I knew that I need to be here. I appreciate all the prayers in that department, by the way; things are looking better, as least for now.

I was also having trouble focusing on stuff at work because I feel like a typical intern. Things aren't as glamorous as they were made to seem to be, even though I'm helping out with some pretty important stuff. However, as I told one of my co-workers Friday, I know this is where God has me. Speaking of telling one of my co-workers, I found out Friday that I have a strong Christian friend now in a guy and his wife in my department. They took me home from Quantico in their big Texan truck :) and we just chatted about work and church and whether or not I had found a place yet. He also gave me some good career advice. That's one thing I love about my office; everyone there is incredibly concerned about me and where I'll be next year. They want to do anything they can to help me get where I need to be.  That's why I know I'm where God wants me to be; if I were anywhere else, I wouldn't have met the people here that I know I need to.

Friday we had a promotion ceremony down in Quantico, so I only had a half day at the office. Woohoo!! Quantico is so incredibly beautiful. When I think of Virginia, that's what I think of.  Tons of tall pine trees and green everywhere. Just beautiful.

Saturday Ashley and I went down to Eastern Market. That place is HUGE. I'm talking two or three blocks of just market. It made me feel like I was back in France :)  We got to taste everything from lemon cilantro hummus to fresh peaches to tomatoes drizzled in olive oil and rosemary. It was heaven. I walked away with some fresh salsa and a jar of homemade blackberry jam from a Christian family's farm. I can't wait to use it this week! After I got home, John, Divya, Lori, and I headed over to Dulles to see the Shuttle Discovery. John's dad was ON the shuttle!!!! Talk about freakingcoolridiculouslyawesome stories!! We had such a great time learning little facts and figures about the shuttle.

Today was also just an overall good God day. I went to Mark Batterson's church, National Community Church, today. They only meet in movie theatres, and there's one a little over a mile from me, so I walked this morning. I need to find a different way to go lol...it was waaaaaay too hot! But, the service was great, as we learned the 7 different words for praise in Hebrew that are found in the Bible. Afterward, my campus happens to do lunch together, so one of the guys took me over to a local BBQ joint where I met 2 Baylor Bears, 1 DBU Patriot, and 2 Aggies!! It was sooo good to be in the company of Texans again :)  A new friend Sarah took me to downtown Alexandria so we could get a DQ Blizzard and enjoy the comforts of home :)  It's like I was a at a mini Prestonwood!

The gang in front of the Shuttle Discovery!

So proud to get to be by the shuttle that his dad was in!