Back in the Saddle Again

OK, after a signature break from blogging, I'm back from a fantastic vacation. After spending a weekend at home on a kind of working-vacation (I helped staff the Congressman's LI Sound Public Hearing), the next weekend my fellow classmates in the Pepperdine DC Internship program got to take an educational field trip to the Caribbean for a much appreciated break from the working life. It was so awesome and I'm sure I'll write more about it later, I promise, but other more pressing things have come to my attention.

Namely, my campus at Pepperdine was threatened by incredible wildfires that were ripping through southern California. Being from the northeast, it's easy to underestimate mother nature's fury outside of snow and rain, but wildfires are real and deadly. Last year there was a minor fire in Malibu about a half mile away that lit up the night while I was on campus. Thankfully, I'm here in the District during the most recent fires, but all of Sunday I was on the phone with people back on campus checking in on them. People in our group were feeding each other updates on the progress of the fires, but none of the chaos and confusion we were experience came close to matching what must have been going through my classmates minds out in California. My roommate from last year said he was rushed to the caf in nothing but his boxers and bathrobe and that it was difficult to get a cell phone signal because everyone on campus was calling loved ones. I'm so glad everyone on campus was OK, but its such a tragedy nonetheless. Its not just stars, celebrities, and elites in Malibu. Thankfully, the school kept the students on campus because Pepperdine is probably the safest place in Malibu during fires. They received some flak for not moving kids out, but far and away it was the best decision. Not only did they know where everyone was and were able to manage them, but it ensured students didn't move themselves into greater risk.

Also, the Red Sox moved on to the World Series this past weekend. I was in the dark all week with no internet, cell phone, and only spotty TV service, so I didn't see any of the games until Game 7. And boy was that a rush. While the excitement of the game was dampened by the fires in Malibu, as soon as word came that everyone was alright, I shifted gears. And man oh man, what a game. Look for more thoughts from me as the World Series gears up and starts on Wednesday.

And then there's the whole deal of the newspaper article written about me. I'm not going to put all my thoughts here just now, but I'm extremely grateful for all the positive reaction I got. Scroll down a bit to check out the article that also got posted on MSNBC. Also check out what the folks at MyLeftNutmeg.com wrote. Pleasant bunch aren't they? Even college interns are fair game. My word, what a bunch of wackos. I'll comment more on that later.

Until then though, enjoy the articles and keep those affected by the California fires in your prayers.