Remakeover

So I switched templates again. I had trouble getting the navbar up on the other one, and I need the most traffic I can get so that's kind of important. Anyway, I like this one better than the first one.

I'm still at work. It's been alright today. There were two Baskin Robbin carts down in the lobby and supplies to make sundaes, so I got free ice cream. What isn't so great is that my mom has an 'after work gathering' at 5:30 and my dad is still away until tonight so I have to go and hang out while she's socializing. She better give me money to shop if she expects me to go. I wanted to go home, dammit.

I've been looking at internship write-ups. There are some really cool ones. I could teach kids at the Bronx Zoo day camp and handle wild animals, for instance. That would be amazing, although it wouldn't be proximal to Washington for this project. Then I could intern at the office of the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. I think I'd be more excited by that one if it weren't for my frustration with the Democratic party, my party, for not having enough balls to get crap done. And Pelosi said part of her goal was to unite the Party and actually get things accomplished. I'm seeing nothing getting done.

That's about it for now.
MB

New look

My boss is in a meeting until 10, so I just found another template. I think I like it better. At least it's not painfully obvious the blog is new anymore. (Thanks, by the way to Josh O'Conner, whose comment pointed me in the right direction).

Now I just need to fill out the blog a little bit.

So, more info on the project. I was a candidate for the Chancellor's Scholarship at Pitt but didn't get it. It would've been cool, because it's a full ride and they'll pay for just about anything you want to do as long as it's remotely relevant to your education. As it is, I got the full-tuition scholarship. I think the Honors College could still go for my idea and help me fund it. Living in Washington DC for two months isn't exactly cheap, so I'm depending on their help.

Anyone know what the cost of living is like in Washington DC? I know if I were trying to live in NYC I'd have to rent in a really slummy neighborhood to afford it, and I was hoping the average rent wouldn't be quite as high in DC.

Back to work,
MB

Hard at work?

Another grueling day at the office. Err, not really. I have basically done nothing all day. I went to my first corporate meeting, which made me feel like a big girl, but other than that, I've just been tinkering around with every site the work filter lets me.

So, project in Lafayette Park. No feedback yet, but maybe if I just keep posting about it I'll get some traffic. I probably shouldn't run GoogleAnalytics again until I get a few comments. That was just a little depressing.

I think I'd like to do something with the layout of this blog, but I'm not that good with html. I can do basic stuff, but a layout would take me forever. This one kind of says 'amateur' to me, but I don't like the other boring ones that would look more serious.

Sorry for the boring post, I'm just biding my time until I get the feedback I need!

The Pitch

I was really bored the other day at my summer job. I completely forget what I was thinking about at the time, but somehow I got the idea into my head how interesting it would be to see all the protesters in Lafayette Park.

For those of you who don't know, Lafayette Park is the town-square-like space opposite the White House in Washington D.C. It's named after the Marquis de Lafayette, the young French noble who helped colonial American troops in the Revolutionary War, and his park has long been considered the rallying place for protesters. Protesters of all kinds gather here; they protest nationally controversial issues and seemingly insignificant issues alike. Usually only protests of the former kind get any media coverage, but why should that be?

I want to stay for a few months during the summer in Washington DC and go to the park everyday, each day hopefully interviewing a protester or observing a rally. I could even interview the reactions of passersby to the rallies for more perspective on the interaction between the city and the park. I want to bring attention to the protests--big and small and, I'm predicting, serious and wacky--that are being staged in Lafayette Park.

There's no political agenda, although I admit I tend to have very strong opinions on political issues. The information I would glean from these protesters could serve to amuse or sadden, soothe or enrage, and, hopefully most of all, motivate. I don't know what kind of people I may meet once, or if, I get to the park, but maybe there's an audience out there that can find something useful in the anecdotes I can gather from them.

So, here's where you (hopefully I'll get some kind of traffic to this blog before summer!) come in. I need feedback and suggestions for making this project better. Does it interest you? If so, which part specifically? Also, I would very much like to hear from some DC natives who are familiar with the park. Maybe some times of year are busier for the protesters than others? Even if summer is convenient for me, I don't want to dedicate time to covering this if it's not a busy 'protesting period.'

If I get a lot of feedback, I'll probably put up some polls with more specific questions. Until then, please comment!

Thank you in advance, I hope.
MB