Fast Forward

I don't know whether it is having a new job, living in a new city, or having no end point in site; but my life seems to be moving faster than ever. I have a hard time believing I have been working at GAO for 3 months now and have been in DC for over 5 months. I am amazed at how fast the weeks go by and also how much we do in them. The last couple of weeks Heather and I were fortunate enough to have guests come to town. It was really nice to be able to show people around and take them to our favorite restaurants, bookstores, and sights. The nice thing about D.C. is that you never run out of things to do. Even better is that nearly all of the really cool things to do are free. One of the really fun things about guests is that you always end up going someplace new or getting more familiar with a part of town you don't often go to.

With the weather starting to warm up (supposedly...) there are more classes and tour groups in the areas around where I work and on the Mall. Many locals resent these people and express disdain for the annoyances they cause. For me, it is exciting to live in a place where people are always visiting and there is always something new going on. I don't ever want to be the type of person that yells at someone on the Metro escalator because they are standing on the left and not on the right. Though unabashed annoyance seems to be hip these days, I would rather help give directions (which, for some reason, people always ask Heather and I for) and make peoples' stay here a little more enjoyable. We have all been to places where we were confused or unfamiliar, spending thirty seconds helping someone in that situation is the very least I could do.

My three month review (more of an informal review) went unbelievably well and I really feel like I am fitting in well and impressing my supervisors with my work. I still look forward to going to work each day, and some of the more stressful things we do, like interviewing people in very high up government positions, is becoming comfortable. It is nice to be appreciated for doing good work and also not being micromanaged. GAO definitely seems like a great fit for me, and the same could be said for our home. I like working only a few blocks from both the Capitol and the White House. I still was awe-struck as we were walking back from one of the interviews yesterday when we walked across the Mall near the Capital. Seeing all the amazing buildings and imagining the power and the history enshrined there I couldn't help but feel extremely fortunate considering how hard times really are.