I have learned that there is no such thing as an ordinary day in DC, particularly at the lobbying firm where I work. No two days are the same and every day has the potential of being memorable. My experiences last Thursday really sum up what a ‘typical day’ in DC could mean.

I started with my usual 8-block walk to work. On my way, I passed by the White House, the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, the Treasury Department, and a group of loud protestors upset with Colorado Governor Bill Ritter’s veto of a firefighter’s bill in Colorado.

After dropping my things off at the office at Cassidy & Associates, I rushed up to the Hill for a meeting with the Chief Public Health Council to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. While she was extremely busy helping to draft the health care reform legislation, she spoke with me for just under an hour about the bill, my career, and life working for a congressional committee.

When I got back to the office, a lobbyist took me to a pitch meeting at the DC office of a major energy provider. The meeting provided great insight into the needs of corporations and the resources that the lobbying firm could provide. It was interesting to see how the background information that I helped to prepare allowed the lobbyists to conform their pitch to the corporation’s specific needs.

For lunch, I met the personal aid to Senator Mitch McConnell and Michael Thornberry an alumnus of Theta Chapter at the University of Kentucky. Michael is a fellow Kentucky native who was able to offer great insights into DC life and career development.

That evening, a few of the other interns and I had a big softball game for Cassidy & Associates’ team, The Hired Gunz. While we lost a close one, the game and the subsequent celebration with our opponents was the perfect ending to the “typical day” that I could not have had anywhere else.