Photo Update

With my last week in London fast approaching, I've been sightseeing as much as possible. Last weekend I paid a visit to Abbey Road, the street made famous by the Beatles on their album of the same name. Today, I went to the world famous Madame Tussuad's Wax Museum. I managed to get photos taken with a few celebrities in the process. Here is a sampling of the photos from these two trips:

In front of Abbey Road

The gates of Abbey Road Studios

At Madame Tussaud's with Travolta and Jackson

With the glamorous Keira Knightley

Daniel Radcliffe, aka Harry Potter, and me

One Week in London

With less than seven full days left in London, I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, I want to celebrate Christmas with family. I also want to take all the lessons learned here and move towards the future. I graduate at the end of this year and I will need a paid job and grad school options. That brings me to the second dilemma. London has been my escape. It has been a wonderful option to put the stress of DC life aside and explore new options and new ideas. Even with the hard work I've put into my classes and my internship, it has been nothing but joy to do all these things. I know life is not always as happy and as pleasant. Tough times are ahead. I have to start a career from the bottom, paying my dues to get recognized. I need a master's degree too and they don't give those away for nothing.

I have learned an important lesson though: a positive attitude goes a long way. If I'm going to put in years of hard work, I might as well do it with enthusiasm. I've realized over the past few months that I really do like journalism and politics. They're exciting and valuable fields to be involved in. Maybe I do have a shot at that career after all.

London represents the beauty of trying new things. I never expected to have such a rewarding experience. It makes me think that if I visit various places and try different experiences more and more often I will enrich my thoughts and my views on life. In one month I turn 22. I'm glad I have this outlook on life now and I can't wait for the future.

Obama Chooses His Team, Confuses Everyone

Photo by: Newsday

Obama's first month as president-elect has been nothing short of eventful. Rather than sit and wait for January 21, he has done everything possible to begin his term almost immediately. He has held conferences with politicians and experts alike and has drawn up his first initiatives. Presumably, the purpose is so he can start implementing his policies on day one. The Bush administration has taken notice and they are countering Obama's intended plans by rolling back Democratic-backed policies including environmental initiatives and gun restrictions.

The most notable aspect of Obama's preparation is his Cabinet selection. Diversity seems to be the key word: Eric Holder, former Clinton staffer and now the first African-American Attorney General, General Eric Shinsenki, the first Japanese-American Veteran Affairs Secretary, Bill Richardson, the first Latino Commerce Secretary. There is also some party diversity: Bush's defense secretary, Republican Robert Gates, is staying on the job. Finally, the most suprising and certainly the most important appointment has been Hillary Clinton for State Secretary. Yes, Hillary will hold the third most powerful position in the country.

What does all this say about Obama's goals for his presidency? Does he think racial and party diversity will assure a competent and smooth White House? It can be argued that diversity of thought ensures a more democratic political system but will plurality of thought fix the economy and successfully end the war in Iraq? Do White House veterans Clinton and Gates truly represent change?

What this may tell us is that Obama wants a reversal of what is expected of him. First, he wants to point out that party will not be a deciding factor in his policies. He is willing to work across the aisle. More than simply demonstrating this bipartisanship he wants to ensure it is reflected in his administration's work. Undoubtedly, Gates' conservative initiatives will manifest themselves at some point. Second, it tells us that Obama wants to bring back aspects of the Clinton administration, which was generally a success in terms of the economy and opinion polls. Third, the racial diversity may appeal to many Americans and will set the image of an inclusive and modern day administration. It is also worth pointing out that Shinsenki, Holder and Richardson are seasoned government players and anti-Iraq proponents. Maybe race is a coincidence after all.

Finally, diversity of ideology and thought will set a check against Obama himself. This could be an attempt to decentralize White House power from the president and vice-president to different levels of the executive branch. This could be Obama's way of ensuring that Bush and Cheney's alleged power grasp will not be present this time around. Obama's key to success is to ensure that personality and power do not interfere in his attempts to repair the country.

Updates

I've been given an assignment at the internship that is exciting but will definitely add to my finals workload. The project is to interview the head of a graduate recruitment program at a charity and to do a Q and A with a student in the program. These interviews will be the basis for the launch of the magazine's first Facebook page. The Facebook page will promote and offer information from the Third Sector Job Search website. It will allow graduates and students to access information on job openings in the third sector. The total word count will be roughly 1,200 words which is the same as my BLC and IIC papers.

So far I've been able to contact the head of the graduate scheme at Cancer Research UK and they have begun searching for the right people to speak with me. Ideally, I was supposed to do face-to-face interviews but they told me e-mail interviews will have to suffice. I finally agreed but now I'm concerned they'll stiff me on the information. Luckily, they noted down my word count for each interview so they might be able to pull through with enough info. I set my deadline for next Friday, the 12th, but my final deadline is the 18th. I can do this assignment outside the office too so that helps too.

Well, I'm off to work on my papers for class. I've disappointed lately at my inability to make progress. Two of them are due next Tuesday. I have introductory paragraphs, outlines and some research for both. More work is needed. Wish me luck!