Paperwork

Creating the news summary for SOSi took a little less time today, and I'm hoping it will continue to shorten, considering I'll have to be at the office for my Congressional internship by 9:00 every morning, starting Tuesday. I think it will work out ok, if I get a start on it the night before. I'm incredibly excited about starting with Congress!

Today I got back around to the DMV, and yes, this time it was stereotypically long, but I guess we've all come to expect that, so it's only as bad as we're anticipating, right?

I was quite ready to go somewhere fun after that, though, so we did. Our first stop was going to be the National Gallery of Art, but we got there just a little after 5:00, which was too late. I looked on my phone, and found out the National Archives were open until 7:00, though, and I never got a chance to see that building my first time visiting D.C., so off we went.

The rotunda in the center of the building houses the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Around each one are a number of related documents that led up to, or were written in response to each of those three. Wow. Talk about lasting words. Say what you want--accurate as some of it may be--about any foibles, shortcomings, or ulterior motives that the founding fathers had. What passion! What forethought! What inspiration! Perfection? No, but to turn a piece of parchment into an artifact that would later be protected and enshrined with such care, by simply applying some careful scratches of a quill dipped in ink... Well, clearly that's not all it took; the minds, the persuasion, the experience, tenacity, and bloodshed behind it. The conviction that the best in God fearing men could produce something grander than the world had seen before. That's what makes these documents speak.

Sorry, no pictures. Photography is not allowed at all in that building.

Now, to another matter. I've given it a lot of thought, and I believe I can say that tonight I ate the best steak I've ever eaten in my life. Just around the corner from us, in that row of foreign restaurants, is the Bistro Cacao, a French place. Buffalo tenderloin with melted Roquefort cheese over the top, asparagus, and potatoes gratin. I ate ever so slowly, and tried not to sink deeper in my chair with each bite. Incredible. Photography was allowed here.