Just Another Day

Well I am sure that you have heard about the credible terror threats that have put residents of NYC and DC on high alert for the weekend.

The other students of my program and I were called together Friday by our advisers. Everyone was asked to save the program leaders' phone numbers into our cells in case of any emergency. We were also informed that it would probably be best not to ride the public transportation on 9/11. 

Many of you have sent me messages and texts conveying your concern for my safety. It means a lot to me to hear from you all. However, some friends and I decided to make one last trip out for the weekend to get Georgetown Cupcakes.

After all of the news alerts and warnings, I expected the city to seem a little more desolate than usual. Most families would decide to remain near their homes for the weekend, I thought.

However, once I hit the streets, I discovered that it was as lively as ever.

Couples were strolling hand in hand through Union station and stealing kisses. Groups of college students with bags hanging from their arms were popping in and out of shops. Tourists were weaving their way through the crowds, gawking at the large monuments that celebrate some of America's greatest leaders.

 

We even passed about 3 weddings — weddings taking place on 9/10/11, of course.  

When people think of American patriotism, most conjure up images of the 4th of July and fireworks. For me, though, I saw a lot of patriotism in DC today.

Yes, the 10th anniversary of 9/11 is starring us in the face.
Yes, threats have been made against our country.
However, no one seemed to be letting it change his or her day-to-day activities.

Will we be holding our breath tomorrow? Probably. However, today was just another day in our nation's capitol — a day that I witnessed the unshakable strength of Americans even in the face of terrorist threats. 

6th Sense

I have a 6th sense.... It comes from photographing numerous weddings and couples. Want to know what my 6th sense is?

I can smell impending engagements.

Nope, I'm not kidding one bit. For instance, a couple days before I left for DC, I photographed the ever so lovely Nikki Webb. 

 

During the session, she wanted some shots taken with her boyfriend, Jacob:

 

By the end of the couple hours we spent photographing, I knew it was only a matter of time before I would log onto Facebook and see the little heart with their names beside it informing the virtual world of their impending nuptials. 

 

Am I good or am I good?  Some people are born with the ability to draw. Others can sing. Some can dance..... I, Grace Ferrell, can smell engagements.

 

Grace, The Couple Whisperer

 

How Not to Die During Your Internships

Today was my first day of class at the Washington Journalism Center. We did what any normal academic course does on the first day — went over the syllabus.

On September 9th we shall apparently be learning how not to die during our internships. I think it will be a very useful skill to learn while in DC.

However, until my internship at the Daily Caller starts in a couple weeks, I plan on just relishing in the fact that I am in our nation's capitol.

 

I shall not, however, be relishing in the fact that the ceiling fan in the bedroom I share with 3 other students sounds like a shotgun. But that's a story for another day. 

In other news, the students and I spent our afternoon learning about the District of Columbia. Most people know about the Washington that fills TV and computer screens all across the world. But what about the other residents of the city? What about the residents that are not dressed in powerful suits and running up the steps of the Capitol each day? Over the summer I tweeted the following message one day while riding the subway to work: 

"I always look around the subway and wonder what other people's stories are. I believe everyone has a neat story."

I truly wonder the same thing to this day. Whether I am running down 8th street or picking up some laundry detergent and the nearest CVS, I look around and wish I knew how the person beside me had gotten to this place in life. What have they gone through? What have they experienced? What has made them who they are?

Apparently I am not the only one have such questions. Check out the website below — the author interviews random people in the city of DC and lets them tell their beautiful stories. It's amazing what you'll find out about life when you simply take the time to listen to the people around you.

http://peoplesdistrict.com/

Grace, the girl who is constantly questioning everything

Common Factors

 

 Hurricane Irene finally made her appearance today.  

It made for a very dark and dreary day on capitol hill. 

There are currently around 40 college students in my apartment building from all across the United States. So what exactly did we do to entertain ourselves during the bad weather?  

Some of us, like me, went running and got completely drenched in the rain.  I really enjoy running in DC. Today's trek led me past the Marine Corp Barracks:

Photo via Flickr @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/ncindc/2786214357/sizes/m/in/photostream/

Others actually did homework. Some were brave and ventured forth into the city.

 

 

However, we all came together tonight for a common purpose tonight — A Lord of the Rings marathon and tons of pizza. We all might be from different colleges and states, but some things never change.

Gotta love college and hurricanes.

Grace — or apparently "Eruant" in Elfish

Tornadoes vs. Hurricanes

Well guys I may have missed the epic DC earthquake of 2011 but it appears that I have arrived just in time for Hurricane Irene.

I must have bad karma from a previous life or something because I went from attending Union — the university that has been hit by more than one tornado — to the East coast and its hurricanes.

 

Sooooooooooo. Another Washington Journalism Center student and I met up and decided to venture to Target to get things that one might need during a hurricane .... like food and water. 

This is what we found when we finally reached our destination of Target: 

The line to check out wrapped around the entire store. The shelves were bare of any essentials you would want in the event of a hurricane.....like water. So I bought apple juice instead.

Those around me were buying wine as a substitute for water....... one married couple in front of me was stocking up on condoms and greeting cards. I guess people have different priorities during a hurricane??? Anyway.....


A previous post detailed what I usually fill my emergency tornado bag with at Union. Here in DC my emergency hurricane grocery bag was filled with the following:

toaster strudels
apple juice
peanut butter
crackers
hamburger buns because they were out of loaves of bread
granola bars
turkey meat

On a lighter note, check out the view from my roof top patio!!!!

 

 

A roof top patio will be fun to watch the hurricane from, right? 

Shhhhhh.... no one tell Mother Dearest. 

Grace, the new occupant of Apt. 1