This Week at Work

We're in the middle of the mad season at work again. After ten years (!!!), I've gotten used to the crazy days and late nights, but I have yet to develop a taste for it. Sometimes we get by on plain silliness. For example, this week:

* MJ celebrated Justin Bieber's birthday by bringing in her ukulele and singing that "like, baby, baby, baby" song for us all. And by us all, I mean the entire staff and the Congressman. And the night mail clerk.

* We had our first hearings with my boss as the Chairman. I sat behind him for three hours while the EPA Administrator testified, and all I could think of the whole time was that some reporter was going to take a picture of my boss in which I was going to be chewing on my lip awkwardly or sneezing or rolling my eyes to the back of my head, and that picture was going to be plastered all over every news website in Idaho. Forever. Why do I think this? Because this picture has been used for the past two years every time my boss is mentioned. Poor Kaylyn and Megan.

* One of our district staffers was in town, and she convinced all of us to wear pink on Thursday, because that was what she had brought to wear. So we did. I don't know why. It's not Breast Cancer Awareness Month or anything. I also don't know why it was so easy to convince us. But I know it was funny--especially when Mike sat up in the dias with his pink tie and I sat right behind him with a matching shirt. (As you'll note from the picture, Nate had to balance out his pink tie by covering it with a blue sweater. Just in case.)

(And by the way, this picture makes me want to roll on the floor laughing. Not only did we decide to take a picture right before Mike left and had therefore changed into a polo (which looks great with the pink tie), but his expression is classic. I love working for him!)

* We have our own barista in the office, as Nate makes coffee each morning in his French press. He and I have been the only coffee drinkers in the office, but in the past few weeks two new staffers have started. Between them and the visiting Nikki, he had to press two pots this morning. I think we should probably start tipping him.

* One of our new staffers is a nuclear engineer doing a fellowship in our office. He told me during his first week that he thought I was too cynical for someone so young. This week he started responding to constituent mail. Suddenly I don't look so unreasonably cynical...

Don't worry, we also had five hearings this week, passed some legislation, prepared a handful of speeches, and met with a lot of people. We just figure that we might as well add a little color to make these busy days a bit brighter...and if that color is pink, well, fun for us!