Personal Post 1 - Movie Addict

If there is anything that people should know about me, is that I'm a movie addict. Ever since I was a kid I've grown up watching movies. You could say that it runs in the family, my mother, father, and sister are all movie-aholics and that has definitely impacted me. I'm that guy who sees about 70% of the movies that are nominated at the academy awards, and the remaining 30% I didn't see get watched almost immediately after the ceremony.

I like all genres, so it's tough to truly pick a favorite. If I had to choose though, the drama/suspense category would be up there. I love movies like Training Day, The Departed, Goodfellas, No Country for Old Men, and Eastern Promises just to name a few. This isn't to say that I don't love other genres just as equally. For example, my favorite movie of all time is a tie between The Matrix and The Dark Knight. After those two films, the line gets blurred and it becomes extremely difficult to pick favorites in order (Lord of the Rings?! Forrest Gump?!).

As far as the past year is concerned, it's been a decent year for films. The two films that stand out the most to me in the past year are 50/50, The Decedents, and especially The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. All three were fantastic and I highly recommend them if you're into movies. Despite my love for movies, I do have other hobbies I swear! Football, basketball, and baseball are all huge in my world as well as music, which has really influenced me. That'll be for next time though. Bye for now!

Talking Politics

One thing I've picked up since I've been here is an increased awareness of current affairs. Even better, I've learned how to articulate what I've learned better than I ever could before. Last shift I talked with the lead page, Sean, about the South Carolina debates. We discussed Newt Gingrich's answer regarding the "media" question.

Just today a group of us early risers talked about issues regarding border control laws. It was basically conservative vs. liberal viewpoints, so it was interesting. A big topic of interest around here these days is Obama's recent State of the Union address, also a source of debate between liberals and conservatives. Being more of an Obama supporter, I enjoyed the speech thoroughly. Many of my co-workers however, disagreed.

Since I've started up my internship, I've gotten into the habit of getting up early and watching news (msnbc, CNN). This has drastically helped me understand and interpret what's happening not only in Arizona, but nationwide and globally. So far I have really enjoyed my time at the Senate, and I'm feeling much more knowledgeable and comfortable as my internship continues.

Getting in the rhythm

The more and more time that I spend at the Senate, the more I learn. I've noticed that things are getting more serious as session goes along, today was one of the first official days where bills were passed on the floor. One bill I found particularly interesting was the new "bath salts" bill, which declares certain kinds of bath salts as a harmful drug. Every bill proposed was unanimously accepted by most senators, with few individual statements. I have comfortably settled into my work here, and I'm getting to know everyone better and better with every day that passes. The last few shifts have been pretty laid-back, but my supervisor informs me that as session goes on it will get crazier and everyone will need to be on their toes. I don't view that as a bad thing, I view it as a good opportunity to learn more here at the Senate.

Yesterday I had my second official shift working at the Senate. It was significantly more relaxed than it had been during the ethics committee. That being said, it still wasn't easy. Besides having to wake up excruciatingly early to get there at 7:00am, at 8:30 Zahra (a fellow intern) and I began to set up for the democratic caucus. It was the second official day of session, so things were pretty slow at first but it was still a valuable learning experience. I got to see how a party caucus worked from up close. There were only 8 members there, including Senator Taylor, Senator Jackson, Senator Aboud and Senator Bedford, to name a few.This wasn't surprising being as the majority of AZ Senators are Republican. Regardless, it moved along at a quick enough pace and we all introduced ourselves at the beginning. There were only three bills to discuss on the agenda, and most of them just got postponed until the next week. What WAS talked about, was Republican Senator Bundgaard's resignation in light of charges brought against him. The democrats in the caucus talked about proper conduct and laws regarding domestic violence, making it apparent they were glad about Bundgaard's departure. After the caucus ended, the rest of the day was pretty normal. I did tasks for Senators, filed documents, helped move furniture, and picked up mail. I am definitely starting to get a grasp of my routine duties as a Page, and as time goes on I'll continue to learn more and more about life in government.

First day on the job

 On Thursday, January 5th, I officially started my job/internship working at the Arizona State Senate. It was a hectic day to say the least. Due to a sudden ethics committee being scheduled for that morning I had to do a lot of on-the-job training. Every other new intern came in the day before me, I was the only one that got the special treatment of training during the ethics committee. It went well though, I met many Senators such as Senator Lewis and Senator Sinema. A lot of the tasks I performed required me answering phone calls, and running errands around the Senate building. For example, I sorted mail, collected mail, cleaned out offices, and transported items and books to the lower levels of the building. Eventually I got to make my way over to the old capital building as well as the House of Representatives. As the day went on I learned more and more from my supervisor Jenna Lyon and the senior pages at work. What I learned most on my first day was proper etiquette and the basic way the pages work in this environment. I was also pleasantly surprised that everyone at the Senate was quite friendly. Everybody seemed to be in good spirits, Senators and secretaries alike. My first day definitely went well, and I look forward to learning more this coming Tuesday.