Lauren's Life and Lore: So long, DC ... hello, Oregon!

Sunday, August 05, 2007

So long, DC ... hello, Oregon!

My fantastic year in DC finally --- sadly --- came to a close when I flew home last Tuesday. The last three weeks were a blur! There was an AMSA meeting, a barbecue at the Japanese ambassador's home, and a rendezvous with my friends Jen and Tara from Iowa State. I saw John Mayer perform in concert, caught "The Thing" on the Mall as part of the Screen on the Green festival, toured the Clara Barton home, and watched Marines march at the famous 8th and I barracks. I had a chance to go on the Senate floor with Senator Harkin and watch a HELP committee mark-up on FDA regulation of tobacco. And my friend Dana was in town last weekend ... which turned out to be a fantastic mini 4-H CWF reunion! It was hard to leave, but I'm convinced that if I don't leave a good experience, I'll never understand how good it really was ...

I was home in Iowa for 36 hours or so and then flew out to OR, where I'm at now ... I'm enjoying visiting my college friends Rachel and Tony and their new, 4-month-old daughter Helen. Yesterday, I look a drive along the Oregon coast and ended up discussing socialized medicine and health care reform for a half hour with the owner of a small, quaint little grocery store that looked as if it could blow apart in a stiff wind ... it was about the last thing I expected to do on the drive! Tomorrow, I'm driving back up to Portland --- I look forward to checking out the city, one of five I'm considering for residency in a couple of years.