Family vacation

My family visited me last weekend and we had a great time. My dad even said it may be the best family vacation we've ever had, in part, because I already knew where everything was and how to get there so there was no getting lost and frustrated. Also, I made an impeccable schedule to maximize our time and fun.

We went to the zoo, the National Museum of Natural History, the National Gallery of Art and Georgetown Cupcake. They had a hard time believing the cupcakes would be good enough to justify waiting in line for half an hour, but they definitely were. I don't even usually like cupcakes, but Georgetown Cupcakes are an entirely different breed. The only thing better was the cupcake I had at Magnolia Bakery in New York with the girls, which, as you can tell from Megan's blog post, I loved.

Best second-to-last day ever

It's our second-to-last day at the foundation and I am feeling pretty sad. Alex has been working on a video that includes pictures of our adventures and interviews with each of us so that when we all go our different ways we'll have a nice way to remember this experience.
I've begun cleaning out my desk. I somehow accumulated a lot of stuff - mostly papers - in this small workspace of mine.

This morning what we thought would be an ordinary tour of C-SPAN turned into a group interview with Brian Lamb, founder of C-SPAN. Jody said he is one of the best interviewers in town because he asks good questions and wants to know everything. And he did ask us a lot of good questions.

Tonight Jody is taking us to a nice dinner at Sette Osteria. I also have some packing to finish. It's a good thing my parents took some of stuff home with them when they visited me last weekend.

Justice Breyer talks to the court about his underwear

The Supreme Court considered today whether a 13-year-old girl's Fourth Amendment rights were violated when school officials strip searched her, looking for ibuprofen 400 mg, a prescription strength pain killer.

Savana Redding was an eighth-grade honors student in 2003 when two female school officials conducted the search - a traumatic memory she carries with her everyday.

Justice Breyer said he could understand the suspicion that Savana may have hidden the pills in her undergarments because people sometimes do hide things in their underwear, but instead he said: "When I was 8 or 10 or 12 years old, you know, we did take our clothes off once a day, we changed for gym, OK? And in my experience, too, people did sometimes stick things in my underwear."

Everyone laughed hysterically, including the justices.

Contests

Last night the group had an Easter dinner with Jody, Megan's family visiting from California and Emily's family from North Carolina. With fourteen people, I'm pretty sure it was the largest Easter dinner I've ever been to. Megan's mom kindly offered to do most of the cooking and Diana and I made asparagus tart.

Unfortunately, we did not win The Washington Post's "Peeps Show" contest, nor were we finalists. They received 1,100 Peeps diaramas, but neglected to select the best one - ours. In light of the recent bicentennial of Darwin's birth, we illustrated the evolution of Peeps - "The Origin of SPEEPsies."
There were some very elaborate and artistic submissions. I'm glad the Post has found a use for those yucky bunny and chick shaped marshmallows. I don't think anyone really enjoys eating them anyway.

This afternoon we ate lunch at The National Press Club and heard IRS commissioner Douglas Shulman speak. The luncheon was broadcast live on CSPAN.

And going back to the topic of strange contests, I submitted a funny essay for a LensCrafters contest. If the judges like mine best I win a free pair of glasses!

Nearing an end

I can't believe it's already April 9 and I'll be returning to Michigan in just a few weeks. When I arrived here in January, April seemed so far away.
I'm creating a mental list of all the things I wanted to do that I haven't yet, and it's pretty long.

By the way, I have a new story on the SHFWire Web site about the lingering environmental impact of the Exxon Valdez oil spill.

Re: "Men v. Boys"

I've never cared about basketball or the fact that MSU will most definitely win its upcoming game against UNC, but after reading Emily's blog post I'm feeling a new found enthusiasm for the Spartans.
It's too bad Emily cares so much about the game, because she'll be heartbroken when UNC loses.

Cherry blossoms

This weekend was the peak of the cherry blossom season and the city is overrun by tourists. Metro has been so crowded that it's sometimes impossible to fit on a train. I had a hard enough time fitting into the stuffed car on the way to the grocery store this afternoon, but on the way home, with two large grocery bags, it was even harder.

The first train that came by was so crowded that everyone inside of it was practically hugging each other, so I waited for the next. The next train was the same. I thought about taking a cab to avoid the crowd but then decided against it and managed to squeeze through. I unwillingly became part of a human sandwich, smashed between two very tall men. We were so tightly crammed together I could have nearly lifted my feet from the ground and have been suspended in the mass.

Yesterday I went with Diana and three of her friends to the cherry blossom festival. There were vendors selling Japanese food and gifts and we ate lemon sorbetto out of tiny white take-out cartons.

We walked to the tidal basin where there is the best view of the cherry blossoms and the Jefferson Monument. It was really beautiful and the weather was perfect for it.

Newspapers don't read resumes

It's Friday so Jody bought us lunch as usual, but today we were joined by Gardiner Harris, reporter for The New York Times. He is the Times science correspondent and writes a lot about food safety and science policy.
Gardiner told us how he worked his way up from the very bottom of the industry, and about the benefits of working for a smaller paper, such as the opportunity to really know a community and hone your beat. And he told us something else, too, that was a little discouraging, but not that surprising: Newspapers don't read the resumes and clips they receive in the mail. He said the best way to break in and get your first newspaper job is to show up at the newsroom, meet the mid-level editors and hand them your resume.

Touring the Post

Yesterday morning Jody took us down the street to The Washington Post and we had a brief tour of the newsroom and sat in on their morning meeting to discuss the next day's headlines. It's funny how newsrooms everywhere, no matter the size or prestige of the paper, all look pretty much the same.

Also, boston.com has a wonderful photo gallery from around the world during Earth Hour. You can see how many lights faded by clicking on the photos for a before and after effect.

Last night I went to an early screening of Disneynature's new documentary film, "earth," at Washington's Landmark Theatre, E Street Cinema.
"earth" was directed by two men, one of whom produced the TV documentary series "Planet Earth," and some sequences are common to both the TV series and the film. It will open in theaters April 22, Earth Day.

Unexpected event

Every Friday our editor takes us to lunch. We usually get takeout from somewhere nearby and eat in the conference room while we have our weekly meeting. Today we went across the street to an Indian restuarant called "Spice Express."

There's a Bank of America on the first floor of our office building and when we walked outside we noticed the bank's street entrance was blocked off with yellow police tape and a few police cars were parked near the entrance. When we came back with our lunch a building security guard told us a man in his mid 50s to early 60s attempted an armed robbery but was caught by police just a few hours before. We were upstairs in our office completely unaware and I was just at the bank yesterday.

Lights out

Saturday night join millions of people around the world and "vote" for action on climate change by turning off your lights and other unnecessary electronics from 8:30 to 9:30, or longer if you're really ambitious. 2,800 cities in 83 countries plan to participate in the World Wildlife Fund's Earth Hour 2009.
To learn more about it read my story.

I went to another hearing on Capitol Hill today, this time about Michigan's "Sixth Amendment crisis." I wish some good news would come out of the state.

20 years later spilled oil still lingers in Alaska waters

I met Captain Keith Colburn of the Discovery Channel's "Deadliest Catch," on Capitol Hill today, the 20th anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. He appeared before before two subcommittees of the Natural Resources Committee that deal with energy, minerals, oceans and wildlife that held a hearing on energy development on the outer continental shelf and the health of Earth's oceans.

He brought with him a glass jar full of oil soaked sand and stones taken from Alaska's Prince William Sound coast a month ago. Two decades after the spill, an estimated 21,000 gallons of spilled oil still remain.

Never eat in Metro

Saturday Caitlyn and I went to the Pentagon City Mall and on the way learned that Metro rules are not to be taken lightly.

While waiting for the train we heard an announcement over the loud speaker, but this was no ordinary, pleasant prerecorded reminder of Metro rules. The woman shouted for all of D.C. to hear that there is to be absolutely NO eating or drinking in Metro. Her angry order was directed to a man who will only be known as "You sir, with the unwrapped Chipotle."

I'm pretty sure he'll never ride Metro again.

I also went with Megan and Alex to the National Aquarium. It was kind of a dud. Dark, gloomy, smaller than I expected it to be. But we saw an octopus swimming which made it worthwhile.

Look closely, there is a fish in this photo...

Police arrest student protesters in downtown D.C.

Today was the 6th anniversary of the beginning of the war in Iraq and I had a very long day of following several groups of protesters around the city. At least two protesters were arrested.

Giant produce

I went to Trader Joe's yesterday after work because I had almost no food left at the apartment. I was very happy to find that some produce, especially fruit, is less expensive than it was a few weeks ago - one of the reasons I love summer. But the lower price wasn't the only change I noticed.

I happen to like New York

I'm happy to be home, well, back in D.C. We had a nice time in New York, but because we were busy with the convention we hardly left the hotel.

I was impressed by the keynote speakers, Bryon Pitts and Brian Storm. Pitts is a CBS reporter and recently took a job with 60 Minutes, and Storm is the president of MediaStorm. Charles Gibson also spoke but I didn't go because Caitlyn and I were on a tour of Marie Claire. Tours were limited, so we woke up early Sunday morning and waited around the sign-up desk for about an hour to ensure our spots.

New York is famous for greasy pizza, cheesecake and street vendors selling hot dogs and salted soft pretzels on every corner, so deprived of fresh foods and desperate for anything green, I discovered my love for "Green Machine" Naked Juice. It looks like swamp water, probably thanks to the kiwi puree, broccoli, spinach, algae and barley grass, but it's actually quite delicious.

We were all busy with different things most of the time. I went with a few of the girls to Macy's - the largest store in the world - and we had cheesecake at Junior's. Monday night Jody took us all to dinner in Chinatown and we stopped at a few shops.

Times Square seemed more crowded than usual on St. Patrick's day. Street vendors sold funny hats and the traditional I love New York t-shirts, but green with a four leaf clover in place of a heart.

Oh yeah, did I forget to mention how expensive everything is in New York? After dinner Monday night a few of us went to The View, a rotating restaurant on top of the hotel where we stayed. The restaurant has a beautiful view of the city and takes about 60 minutes to rotate completely. Caitlyn and I ordered milkshakes without knowing the price - they were $10 each.

New York trip

I'll be leaving the office soon and spending my evening packing for our trip to New York. Our train leaves tomorrow morning and I am not at all prepared.

We're spending four days and three nights in New York at the Marriott Marquis on Times Square.
The purspose of the trip is for us to attend the College Media Advisers spring convention. The convention is held in the hotel and we'll have the opportunity to take short journalism classes on a variety of topics from how to use multimedia to how to get a job. We'll also have time to enjoy the city and do some sightseeing.

MRSA story spreading

On March 3 I published a story about a recent study that found MRSA in swine and their human handlers for the first time in the U.S. a few weeks ago and it looks like the story is catching on. A few days later I wrote a follow-up from the animal agriculture industry's point of view.
The study was done by Tara Smith, a University of Iowa epidemiologist. Iowa produces more pork than any other state. Smith joined two other scientists for a discussion of antibiotic resistance on Capitol Hill in February.

The New York Times published an opinion article about that same study Wednesday.

Jane Goodall on Capitol Hill

I met primatologist Jane Goodall yesterday on Capitol Hill, where she spoke about her conservation work and how geospatial science plays an important role in forest conservation.

She began her research of chimpanzees decades ago and now spends 300 days a year traveling the world. Her 75th birthday will be April 3.

Something odd

I saw this while walking to McPherson Square Metro station yesterday afternoon.

Warm weekend in D.C.

The weather was beautiful this weekend, 70ish both Saturday and Sunday. Scott was here for a few days and he and I spent as much time as we could outside.

Friday night we went to Legal Seafoods in Chinatown for a late dinner. The food was good - a wide variety of seafood and Asian inspired dishes, and the atmosphere was nice, but unfortunately our table was practically in the kitchen, despite our having made a reservation.

Saturday we spent the entire day at the National Museum of Natural History. We saw the special exhibit, "Orchids Through Darwin's Eyes," and ate lunch in the Fossil Cafe.

Sunday we packed a lunch and had a picnic on the National Mall. There were so many people out walking their dogs and playing with their kids, and because it's March, school
groups are everywhere throughout the city.

We walked to the National Archives and on the way we found an outdoor ice skating rink at the National Gallery of Art. It was odd to see people ice skating outside in the 69 degree weather.


We also saw the Navy Memorial and found Michigan on the world map and later had dinner in Georgetown at Papa Razzi.

Maternal health not a political priority

I went to a discussion about why maternal health is not a political priority at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars yesterday and I found some interesting statistics from the World Health Organization.

The Safe Motherhood Initiative, an international effort to raise awareness of maternal health, was launched in 1987 and a goal was set to reduce the world's maternal mortality rate, or MMR, by 75 percent between 1990 and 2015. It's 2009 and progress so far has been very minimal.
Between 1990 and 2005, the MMR saw only about a 1 percent improvement.

Ireland has the lowest maternal mortality ratio, or MMR, in the world: 1 per every 100,000 live births. Niger has the highest: 1,800 per every 100,000 live births, according to WHO.

The U.S. MMR is 11 per every 100,000 live births. I was surprised to find that the following countries have a lower MMR than the U.S.: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Latvia, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the former Yugoslaz Republic of Macedonia and the United Kingdom.

When it snows...

Jody told us the big joke is that when any snow is forecasted for D.C. everyone rushes to the store to stock up on bread, milk and toilet paper. Yesterday Caitlyn and I found Trader Joe's surprisingly busy when we went to get groceries and we later learned that looming snow was the reason.

Seven to 10 inches of snow was predicted for D.C. by the afternoon and because of the "snow emergency" many people did not go to work today. It turns out the forecast was wrong though, becasue it's 4:30 p.m. and the streets are dry and the sun is shining (notice the photo taken from my office window). It did snow for a while but it melted quickly. Unfortunately a talk we were planning to go to at 5 p.m. has been cancelled because of the weather.

Too little time

This has probably been my busiest week since the inauuration. With all of our group activities, events and reporting I can hardly keep up.

Yesterday morning we toured the Supreme Court and listened to the oral arguments. Our docent showed us the library, emptier than ever becasue of the internet, the spiral staircase, which is no longer in use, and the busts and portraits of justices past. She described the symbolism of the architecture and artwork throughout the bulding to us - I was surprised to learn that the small turtles incorporated into some of the lamps and outdoor decorations represent the slow and steady pace of justice.

Last night we left the office as a group and went to a reception in honor of the Knight International Journalism Fellows and this afternoon we're going to the Newseum to hear Justice John Paul Stevens speak.

House Press Gallery experience

Last night we arrived at the House Press Gallery at about 7 to sign in and get our tickets for Obama's address. We had been there before but I had never seen it as busy as it was last night. It was like a zoo. Very hot, overcrowded and kind of dirty. Trash cans overflowing with empty cups, pop cans and food wrappers. Reporters on their cell phones and laptops, filling up every chair and crouched in every corner.
We waited for about an hour and a half observing the scene and watching for a free place to sit. Eventually Alex, Caitlyn and I shared a large leather chair that was apparently free, except for a small bag that someone had left. When the owner of the bag returned he said it was OK for us to sit there and he gave us cookies. We watched a three-minute tutorial on how to use the gas masks in the gallery should an emergency arise, and then filed into the House chamber with only our notepads and pens. Nothing electronic or battery operted is allowed in with the exception of watches, though we did see a number of reporters ignore the rule and take their phones with them anyway.
The press gallery is located directly above the platform where Obama spoke so we only saw him enter and occasionally the back of the top of his head while he spoke. We listened to most of his address and then left for Statuary Hall just a few minutes before he finished. There we stood among the many other reporters who were waiting to speak with Senators and other officials as they left. We stayed for a while longer and just made it to Metro before it stopped running for the night.

Obama's congressional address tonight

Our amazing editor Jody got press gallery tickets for all of us for Obama's congressional address tonight. We have to meet in the Capitol at 7 p.m. and report to the House Gallery to attend the speech at 9.

Alternatives to torture

Saturday Megan and I spent 8 hours shopping and too much money at the Pentagon City Mall, Target, Marshalls and Payless. Sunday I caught up on reading, gorcery shopping, cleaning and napping. Overall, it was a relaxing weekend.

I reported on a book discussion today at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Matthew Alexander (a pseudonymn), author of "How to Break a Terrorist: The U.S. Interrogators Who Used Brains, Not Brutality, To Take Down the Deadliest Man in Iraq," spoke about his experience in Iraq and how his team of interrogators located Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, leader of al-Qaida in Iraq. Alexander said torture is immoral in all scenarios and is often ineffective and counterproductive.

Newseum

Yesterday afternoon we participated in a team building exercise at the Newseum. It's a four-hour long studio experience designed to improve communication skills among a group of coworkers or colleagues while also allowing them to experiencing the excitement of producing a newscast. We were the test group.

The six of us joined about 12 other people of different professions for the exercise and we created a TV show from writing the script to recording the show. Everyone had a different job. I was the video clips operator. I decided to join the technical production team rather than the writers and producers because I wanted to try something I had never done before. It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed my job more than I thought I would.

Today we returned to the Newseum and spent the entire day there, this time as tourists. I loved it. Six floors of world history as recorded and told by journalists. We saw a section of the Burlin Wall and walked into a Berlin watch tower. We read front pages of newspapers from all over the world covering every major news event. A special exhibit documenting the FBI's first 100 years consisted of photos and letters from the Waco disaster and the actual cabin the unabomber lived in for twenty years.


My favorite exhibit but also the most difficult to look at was of Pulitzer Prize winning photographs throughout time. Most I had seen before, but even after seeing them three or ten times I am never less affected.

Exciting things to come...

Tomorrow afternoon we're all taking part in a TV production class at the Newseum. It's a new educational program for adults, and we're part of a test group. Then Thursday we're going back to the Newseum but as tourists, because Jody got us free tickets!

Friday my professor Joe Grimm is visiting us from Michigan to have lunch with the group and give us some pointers on our resumes and such.

Next week is also pretty full. Jody scheduled tours of the Supreme Court and of the Student Press Law Center. We've also been invited to a reception Wednesday night honoring the Knight International Journalism Fellows.

And we'll be fitting in some reporting at some point, of course.

Valentine's weekend

This weekend was Scott's first visit to Washington and I was his tour guide. There is so much to do and see here that one weekend is not nearly enough time. Fortunately the weather was pretty nice and it didn't rain as forecasted.

We had dinner Friday night at a Chinese restaurant in Georgetown. The food was great but we ordered way too much.

Saturday was busy. We went to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and Library of Congress. We walked around Capitol Hill and saw the Capitol, Supreme Court and the National Mall. Later we had dinner at Lebanese Taverna, another great meal and not too expensive. It was the closest thing we've found to Taboon yet.

We spent most of Sunday at the National Zoo. It was busy and we saw almost everything there was to see, including the giant panda habitat, the invertebrates exhibit and the cheetah conservation station.

Happy birthday Lincoln and Darwin

Today is the bicentennial of the birth of both Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin. I reported on the Congressional Tribute to the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth at the Capitol Rotunda today and it was amazing, even though I couldn't really hear or see much of the program. President Obama spoke along with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and others.

Yesterday Ford's Theatre reopened after 18 months of renovations. The mayor of D.C. and other local and Ford's Theatre officials came together for a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The theater had a day-long open house today for Lincoln's bicentennial.

More photos from the National Press Foundation dinner

Charles Gibson

Last night at the dinner we met and had our photo taken with Charles Gibson and White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. The dinner was great and we all had a lot of fun.

And the high today is 68 degrees!

National Press Foundation 26th Annual Dinner

We're all going to the National Press Foundation Dinner at the Hilton Washington Hotel tonight after work. None of us really knows what to wear becasue Jody said this is the first year the formerly black-tie event will instead require business attire. Cocktail attire, which would be the next logical step down, is also out. But no matter what we wear it will be a very nice (free) dinner and an opportunity to meet professionals in the field. Cocktails at 6:30 p.m., dinner at 7:30 and an after party at 9:30.

Lincoln the Inventor

I went to Jason Emerson's lecture on his new book, "Lincoln the Inventor," yesterday at the National Archives. He focused on a device Lincoln invented to buoy vessels over shoals, or more simply, "a system to get a boat unstuck from a sandbar." Lincoln was the only U.S. president ever to hold a patent. After his lecture Emerson gave me a copy of his book and signed it for me.







The photo of me with Jason Emerson was taken by Bruce Guthrie.

The weekend

The past few days have been pretty relaxing. Friday night a few of us went to see He's Just Not That Into You at the Chinatown theatre. We wanted to go to the 10:20 p.m. show but it was sold out, so we stayed for the 12:20 show. I liked the movie more than I thought I would and somehow I was able to stay awake until 4, which I can never do (Bridgette and Kim would be proud).

Saturday I went with Emily and Megan to the Eastern Market, an outdoor flea market and farmers market. I bought a pretty blue scarf, strawberries and red onions. Unfortunately, when I later opened the scarf from its plastic wrapper it was damp and had a terrible chemical smell. It was inexpensive and not the best quality, so maybe the manufacturer used some sort of chemicals to preserve it. I washed it later and it was fine.

Today I went to Georgetown for the first time and had my hair trimmed at an Aveda salon. I'm happy with the haircut overall and I'll probably go back, though it was more expensive than I would have liked. After my haircut I went to Trader Joe's for a few groceries, and now I'm home again preparing for the week.

Lincoln Logs

Next Thursday marks Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday and, of course, there are a lot of events planned in D.C. for the coming week. I'll be attending and reporting on some of them, and as I was researching I came across The Original Lincoln Logs Bicentennial Edition! My grandparents had a set that I used to play with, so I thought this was kind of neat.

Chinese New Year celebrations in D.C. Chinatown

I went to Chinatown to report on the New Year's parade, which I thought was supposed to begin at 2 and end at 5 p.m., but somehow I was wrong and I missed it. I arrived at about 3:30 and it had just ended. I got a few good photos though, and I bought a small paper lion.
There were also supposed to be firecrackers, but a suspected gas leak forced officials to cancel them and evacuate the area.

http://picasaweb.google.com/heatherllockwoood
/ChinatownNewYearSParade21091008PM?authkey=i0J2i7RXHt4#

National Museum of Natural History

I spent a few hours at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History yesterday and because the museum is so large and I wanted to take my time looking at the exhibits, I only saw about a fifth of it.

The gemstones and minerals exhibit featured the Hope Diamond, and I saw a large sheet of copper that could coat more than 2 1/2 million pennies. It was recovered in 1985 and is one of few that have ever been found, all of which were found in northern Michigan.

The great thing about D.C. is that all federal museums, and there are many of them, have free admission, seven days a week. My goal is to see all of them at least once while I'm here.

A cup made from plants?

We had a group lunch at The Brown Bag this afternoon, which is just a few minutes walk from our office. The food was very good, but a little pricey (like most places here), and as I was drinking my iced tea I noticed that the disposable plastic cup said it was environmentally sustainable and "made entirely from plants." I didn't even know such a thing existed.

High fructose corn syrup and mercury

The FDA found quantities of mercury in high fructose corn syrup, a "natural" sweetener that is used in nearly every packaged and processed food we eat.

The topic hasn't had much coverage yet. The Washington Post and U.S. News & World Report both ran short stories recently.

Go to this Web site. Really.

MediaStorm.

Getting picked up

A few smallish news Web sites have picked up some of my stories, AXcess News and Kansas City infoZine. All of our stories go on the foundation's Web site, and then if we're lucky, they show up elsewhere.
Jody said the only way we can be sure of whether our stories get picked up is to Google ourselves occassionally. I'll keep checking.

Richard Avedon exhibit, JAWS

Sunday Diana and I saw Richard Avedon's exhibit Portraits of Power at the Corcoran Gallery of Art. It was the last day of the exhibit that opened in September. Unfortunately we arrived at 4:30 p.m. and the exhibit closed at 5, but because we arrived so late we weren't charged admission. We both really enjoyed the exhibit, though we had to rush through.

And coincidentally, Bridgette emailed this link to me because she thought I might like it.

Last night I went with a few of the other interns to the National Press Club to meet some of the D.C. area members of Journalism & Women Symposium, or JAWS. The group met at a bar called The Reliable Source to discuss inauguration experiences. I met some very impressive women including the ombuds(wo)man for NPR, Alicia Shephard, the Washington editor of Glamour Magazine, Linda Kramer Jenning, award-winning investigative reporter Roberta Baskin, and a staff write for The Washington Post, Pat Suillivan.

Friday

We had a staff meeting and office pizza party today. I think we were all a bit too excited about the concept of eating for free (everything here is more expensive than we're use to, including food).

Tonight after work we're going to an exhibit at Howard University called "The American President," an Associated Press photojournalism exhibit featuring some Pulitzer Prize winning photos. The event is free, too.

I'm so glad it's the weekend.

20th annual Scripps Howard Celbrity Superbowl Poll

Every year Scripps Howard News Service polls about 130 celebrities asking them which team they think will win the Super Bowl, their best guess at the final score and why. The poll is then published by about 300 newspapers and Web sites across the country during the few days before the Super Bowl.

We were each assigned three people to try to contact, some have participated in the past and will be easy to get ahold of, and some have not. My job is to contact Ringo Starr, Stephen Colbert and Dick Vitale.

Amazing.

Obama's inauguration

My inauguration experience was surreal. There were so many people who, despite the freezing cold, were completely joyous. I blogged about my entire day for The Detroit News.