A Typical Day @ The Senate

Goodmorning!

Today's blog post I am going to walk you guys through a typical day at the Senate in which starts bright and early at 7 AM. Actually, there is not really anything bright about 7 AM but the angel on top of the Capitol Building.

Well me and my other 2 co-workers that come in at that time start by going to the Coffee Shop and replenishing coffee machines, ice tea, and all the other condiments. Such a hard task, I know (also helps that we get unlimited free coffee). Around 8 we are joined by the rest of our co-workers and the "real" work day begins by setting up for committee meetings that start at 9. This involves me and a coworker putting out nameplates, setting up a projector if need be, and the gavel. A little closer to 9 we head up to the Senators offices who are chair members of the committee and see if they would like us to bring down any laptops or other materials. We get the hearing room all set up then proceed to sit in on the meetings in case we are needed. So far the longest my meetings have lasted was about an hour but I am sure this will change as the session progresses. Also during the meetings the Senators will kind of signal if they need something by slightly raising their hand. The awkward part is that we are supposed to pretty much be invisible during this whole ordeal, so we have to make our way up to the front in the most subtle way as possible and take a knee next to them in order to see what they want. My first times doing this were pretty awkward but we all have accepted this and it's actually not too bad. It also gives us time to walk around and wake ourselves back up since some of the speeches aren't that interesting. After the meetings we return laptops and retrieve all materials and typically wait around in the office running errands until lunch. After lunch is the floor session in which we all attend, as well as all the present Senators. These sessions usually don't last long and include a prayer, the pledge of allegiance, roll call, introduction of visitors, and what committee meetings are scheduled for the next day. On Monday's I have two committees, the second meets after floor session and the challenge is that some of the chair members want their laptops at both floor session and the committee meeting that starts right after. After floor session it is pretty much a race to retrieve laptops and get them them to the hearing room before the Senators arrive which is pretty fun. After committee, the rest of the day is spent in the office doing homework until the phone rings and someone needs an errand. Though the tasks seem minimal, it is fun because we get to do them together and we're always on the move. This internship also allows ample amount of time between errands to get homework done which definitely helps me be a more productive student. My work day ends at 4 PM and though this might seem like a long day, it flies by which I really appreciate :)

Okay that's all for today!

~Chandler