Why Starbucks is My Security Blanket

Tonight, I put on my flip-flops and headed out to one of my favorite places on Capitol Hill: Starbucks. And, I've realized why I like Starbucks so much. Yeah, it has really great drinks. But it's really a security issue. No matter what city I'm in, far or near my family, Starbucks is always there, same as always. They will always have the same drinks. They will always have the same service. They will always have the relatively same set-up. And I can always count on it as a place where I can chill, hang out, and get my bearings. Starbucks was pretty smart with their business plan. They have developed a place people feel at home, no matter how far from home they actually are.
And of course, I had to take my ridiculously funny but educational book with me, "Wonderful Life with the Elements." It finally clicked for me that the periodic table is called PERIODIC because if you line up the elements in order by atomic weight, the different characteristics occur PERIODICALLY down the line. Cool, huh? I'm pretty sure my chem professors are out there shaking their heads, because they probably told me this so many times in Gen Chem, but it finally stuck. I guess it takes some pretty funny cartoons of the elements to finally make sense.

The "Scenic" Walk Home + Midweek Update

Can you believe it??? I've been in Washington DC for 5 days, and have completed my 3rd day of work at the DOE! I now even have my own official badge to swipe into the federal building :) When I look back at myself over the past few months, I could never have imagined the plans God had for me. Isn't HE amazing?!

If you would like to find out more about who I am working with at the DOE, here is the main webpage - http://www1.eere.energy.gov/hydrogenandfuelcells/. Click on Hydrogen Production and Hydrogen Delivery.

I've been walking to and from work for the past few days, although this morning I finally figured out this amazing thing called the METROBUS, and I was able to cut out over half of my on-foot commute by dropping $1.80 in a box and hopping on the air-conditioned bus. Day made! Well, I love my walk, even if it is pretty hot and tiring, because I get to pass so many amazing places each day. Here are some pictures from my walk home yesterday, which took a pretty scenic route.

                                  It is pretty nice to get to walk past all the famous "DC traffic".
        It's not as bad as downtown Atlanta traffic, in my opinion, but it's still really stop-and-go, and
                      there are a lot more police, emergency vehicles, and large buses on the road.

I got off of work just in time to hop into the Air and Space Museum for a few minutes on my walk home before they closed.

Some more highlights from the past few days:
- I got to see the new Secretary of Energy, Secretary Moniz, speak today at the DOE.
- Bridget (my roommate) and I found this great gelato place up by Eastern Market last night, after quite a bit of wandering :) Chocolate hazelnut and Vanilla Chocolate Chip...yum!
- I've learned that there is no shame in wearing sneakers with business clothes while walking to work. The comfort of my feet over fashion any day!

Day 1: Mission successful

I am writing this blog post from the back porch of my 'home away from home.' For the summer, I am living in a magnificent 3-story town home right on Capitol Hill. I can hear the shimmering of my neighbor's backyard fountain, the birds are singing, and every half-hour some distant bell chimes to keep the neighborhood on time.



Yesterday, I said some of the toughest goodbyes of my life to my family at the Atlanta airport. They were so great and made it as easy as possible for me to walk to my plane to begin this adventure. The flight was the smoothest I have ever had, and after 1.5 hours I was landing in DC at Reagan National Airport. I caught my first taxi by myself (*pat on the back*) and he dropped me off at my new home. If you are my friend on Facebook, you can view a photo of my home in my Life in DC album. More to come later!

Well, I was thinking that I would be moving in last after all my roommates, but boy was I wrong. I'm the first one to move in, and my first roommate moves in today. This house holds 11 people! We are going to be like 2 peas in, well, definitely not a pod. More like a bowl! The house is huge and beautiful, and I've had fun exploring all its nooks. If only I could figure out how to work the A/C! But, that's a problem for another day.

Yesterday, I made my first big discoveries!

#1 - NEVER follow your own advice about buying groceries. LISTEN TO YOUR DAD! 
I had figured out that there was a little supermarket 0.2 miles from my house. So, I decided to go there to pick up a few essentials (AKA peanut butter and jelly). My dad told me over the phone that he had found a Giant (name of grocery store, like a Kroger) about half a mile from my house, but I decided to follow my own plan. $50 later and with 2 shopping bags, I learned yet again that you should always listen to your dad. I will never be shopping at the neighborhood supermarket again, unless it is a life or death situation. I don't think my bank account would be able to handle it.

#2 - I found a Subway restaurant!
The only good that came out of my supermarket mishap was that I found a Subway. I think this will be one of the cheapest ways for me to eat - 1 foot-long is a dinner and lunch for me. I made sure to write down how to get there from my house for future reference.

#3 - Starbucks is a welcome sight.
While wandering around Capitol Hill, I found a Starbucks about 2 blocks from my house. I was so excited! By the way, their new Mocha Cookie Crumble Frap is amazing :) I was able to take a break and get a chance to look over my map while in the comfort of a familiar coffee shop.

Well, on to Day 2. I get a whole day to wander and discover my new neighborhood. If you are visiting DC this summer, make sure and let me know so we can chill and hang out some time :) And keep checking my blog for my daily updates. See ya!

     

I'm officially flying to DC on...

Saturday, May 18th! This girl is heading out at 1:20pm...my first flight in 4 years and my first ever flight by myself. Prayers, as always, are appreciated.

Ok, while I'm at it, want to hear how I sublet my apartment in 3 days?! Another God thing, that's for sure. When I found out that I would be moving to DC for the summer, I was really depressed because I LOVE my roommates. I prayed for good roommates, and God gave me great ones. I couldn't imagine life without them, and here I was having to plan to move out in a matter of days. I asked around with some friends, and couldn't find someone who could take my apartment for the whole 3 months left of my lease. So, I posted on Craigslist. Man, Craigslist is the best! I was getting responses back left and right, but none of them were just right. I wanted to give my roommates someone nice, not just some stranger off the street. So, I prayed. I knew that if God had this whole plan for me to move to DC, HE would have taken care of the entire plan. Within 48 hours, I had heard from a girl coming to ATL for an internship, and we spoke on the phone and I knew it was God's answer. It all worked out within the next few days, and I was moved out of my apartment 4 days later. Another bonus from God: I was supposed to have a final exam the morning that I was moving out, but I exempted it by 0.2 points! This gave me a full day to pack up. Crazy, huh? HE really does take care of all the details.

As my friend, April, likes to say: God is a God of strategy. I'm sure glad of it.

My life isn't a fairy tale...It's an adventure story!

I had a plan. A 1-year plan, to be exact. I had an alumni tell me this past year that it was important to have a 5-year plan, but I decided that a 5-year plan would be disobeying God and HIS call for me to follow HIM wherever HE sent me. So I decided that 1 year would be just right. Boy, was I wrong.

My 1-year plan included going to summer school (I already had my apartment in Atlanta through the end of the summer), going to Istanbul in the fall, and coming back to graduate in Spring 2014. With about 1 month left of the spring semester, I was just about to sign up for my classes for the summer when I received an email. It changed everything. "We were wondering if you are still interested in a summer internship...in Washington DC...would like to schedule a phone interview..." I literally sat at my laptop and said "No!" to the screen. This was not my plan! I knew as soon as I saw that email that God had decided to change it up. HE was calling me to go. I had sort-of applied for some internships over the Christmas break, but I hadn't even finished the applications and sending in my materials because I had decided that an internship would mess up my plan. I needed to go to summer school in order to graduate in the spring. Well, I'm evidently really bad at sabotaging God's plans, because even though I didn't finish the applications, they received my resume. And, they wanted a phone interview. I sent off a hurried "What do I do?" email to my academic advisor, and he told me I should go for it. "These things may come up once, maybe twice, in a lifetime, Kaelin," he told me. So I set an appointment for the interview.

The weekend before the interview, I went on a retreat with Chi Alpha at GT. During the many quiet times that we had that weekend, God just kept showing me that HE was calling me to go. For some reason, I was needed in DC. He showed me this amazing story in 1 Kings 19 about when Elijah called Elisha to follow him as God's prophet. Elisha didn't complain. He didn't straggle along after Elijah. He simply got rid of his earthly possessions and followed. God showed me that I needed to do this. I needed to strip myself of what I held as important to my plan, and simply follow HIS plan. 

I had my interview on a Monday, and I found out that Friday that I had been the second-pick for the position. But, in my heart, I knew I was going to DC. Somehow, I was going. So I waited. A few days later, I got an email asking for a phone interview with a different supervisor in the same office for a different internship. My first contact had sent my resume to everyone else in the office. The first thing I was asked on this second phone interview was "Where are you going to stay while you are in DC?". I knew that God was working. The second position fit my qualifications better than the first, and I got the position. I literally jumped up and down in H&M when I got the news (my friend can attest to this). 

God wasn't done. There have been several other things that HE has done to perfectly orchestrate this transition for me as I go to DC for 10 weeks. I'll continue to brag on HIM and HIS glorious plan over the coming weeks. "Follow" my blog if you want to keep up with me over the summer and fall. Can't wait to continue to share what HE is doing with my life!

Summer 2012 - Here I come!

Many of you stayed updated on my "Odd Job Summer Adventure" last year. I had such a blast trying so many different jobs ( If you weren't able to check out all the things I did in summer 2011, click on 2011 and then on any of the summer months on the right-hand timeline and look at the job profiles to get some crazy and fun job ideas). Well, for this summer, I will be continuing one of the jobs I started last summer. Here's the scoop:

Thanks to you, I have had a fun job for the past year! Last summer, I decided to try to do 10 odd jobs and blog about my experiences. One of the jobs I applied for was an on-call banquet server position at a local full-service hotel. I mainly applied for the job because I wanted to try something new and I really was looking for some job experience and new skills. I started the job this time last year and worked all summer. I blogged about many of the fun times I had, as well as many lessons that I learned. After the summer ended, I continued to work on the weekends, and I also worked over Christmas break. Now that it is back to summer, I will be working at the hotel as much as possible. It is such a great job, and I can't believe that something that started out as a self-dare to work 10 odd jobs over the summer could turn into a long-term job that I love and couldn't do without. I really look forward to getting my weekly schedule because I love working at the hotel so much!

Have you had (or have) a job that you really love? I would love to hear about it, so leave a comment.

** Make sure you check out the blog post beneath this one as well. Let me know if you like my gushing review of my college by leaving a comment or clicking on any of the feedback boxes at the bottom of the posting. Thanks :)

The one item I used a lot last summer? A handy agenda book to keep up with all my job schedules. Check out these if you are looking for the best way to stay on top of your schedule!

Why GGC is THE BEST COLLEGE!

From this blog, you can pretty much tell that I believe that getting job experience is a very important part of getting ready to join the professional working world. I also believe that getting a college education is important! As I wrap up this semester, I can’t help but gush about my college: Georgia Gwinnett College. Being at this school has been such a blessing to me; it really is the best! Here are the top 3 reasons that GGC is the best college in the world.

 1) Teacher-student relationships. I know all of my professors personally. They care about us and are involved in our education as well as with the student activities on campus. I feel comfortable dropping by a professor’s office to chat, and I know of tons of students that will ask their previous professors for tutoring help, even if they are not taking a class from them anymore. I’m definitely not just a number at GGC; everyone knows me here!

 2) The new technology on campus. Not only does our campus boast several huge computer labs, we also have great new laboratories with amazing equipment. We even have students from other colleges come take science classes at our school because the labs are so great.

 3) Small campus. Because our campus is very compact and our student body is just above 8,000 (right now, at least), I have tons of friends that I get to see every day. We all cross paths, whether we are liberal arts majors or science majors. Our student center is always buzzing with activities and events, and there are a lot of ways to get involved on campus.

 So, how have these aspects of GGC helped me in my pursuit of my bachelor’s degree? Because of the teacher-student relationships, I have been able to really learn, not just wing classes. My teachers put a lot of time and effort into making sure that we understand the material and concepts. Plus, having good teacher-student relationships has given me the opportunity to do research with professors that understand my goals and can help me work on projects that I am really interested in. The new technology on campus has given me the opportunity to use laboratory instruments that I will probably be using for the rest of my life. Plus, on my small campus, I have been given opportunities to be involved and to get noticed. Recently, my whole analytical chemistry class went on a school-funded trip to an undergraduate research conference. My research partner and I were able to present our research in an oral presentation, and we even won an award for it! If I was on a larger campus with huge classes, I wouldn’t have had this opportunity. So, if you are looking for an amazing campus, look no further. GGC has been the best experience ever for me, and it has really equipped me for my future career. I’m positive it will do the same for you. Go Grizzlies!

 This scholarship is sponsored by CenturyLinkQuote.com.