Sunday, September 25, 2005

Pumps and Pumpkins

Today I went to work wearing a collared shirt, nice skirt, nylons and cute black pumps. With my badge, I looked like the ideal capital hill upstart. When I arrived at work, I was immediately handed a hand cart and told to go to the loading dock. Today was Farm Day!
Farm Day is when the senator invites farmers, wine-makers, restaurateurs and a whole lot of important people to experience the variety of the state's culinary wonders. The event wouldn't start until the evening, but the interns would be working on it all day.

So off I went in my heels to haul several cart loads of crepes, apples, and maple syrup from the loading dock in the basement, to the Caucus room on the third floor. I helped set up tables, unload carts, clean 500 wine glasses, and show all the chefs around the kitchen (yes, interns work in the Senate cafeteria now, too). This was actually pretty fun because I got to talk to people from all kinds of backgrounds and learn about all things culinary.

The best part of the afternoon was when the Senator decided to do a video about Farm Day. It was my job to provide the vegetables that would be in the background. The vegetables were down in the caucus room on one side of the building on the third floor. My senator's office is on the other side of the building on a different floor. This gave me the opportunity to drag a huge pumpkin and a crate full of bell peppers and shucked corn down the hallowed halls of a public government building.


Pumps, pumpkin, skirt, bell peppers, nylons, corn. Oh my. I got about half way to the elevator when all of the corn (who had been plotting since we left the caucus room) counted to three and leapt from the crate and scurried down the hall. Fortunately, a camera man (who must have played foot ball in high school the way he tackled that corn) grabbed the escapees and, laughingly, helped me regroup. I finally go to the conference room where filming was to take place. The vegetable arrangement was a success and I made it back to the caucus room without dropping anymore produce.