No Pain, No Gain?

Basketball is a Contact Sport

Cross training is going to kill me!  Tonight, for the first time in approximately six years, I played basketball.  Lots of basketball.  Running up and down the court.  Diving for balls, hitting the ground, and, at one point, getting punched in the face.  It was fun, but my lungs ache, I'm covered in bruises, and my head is throbbing a bit.  I guess that's how you know you did something good.  

Apparently some of the legislators, interns, and other elected officials get together on Tuesdays to play some ball.  This was the first week my roommate and I went, and while I don't know what he's thinking, I would like to play again next week.  I was almost completely useless on the court, especially on offense, but I did have fun.

Why am I here?  

Work is going well, too.  The assistant majority leader has been working with all the Senate Republican interns on setting goals for ourselves, achieving those goals, etc.  He seemed very impressed with the five I set for myself (I'll post them later).  

The "five minute" (five minute meetings are never actually five minute meetings in the legislature) proved to be very reassuring as to why it is I'm here in Pierre.  He's an old newspaper guy, so he understands my perspective, and he's a fantastic photographer, so we spent some extra time looking at everything he's shot since session started. 

Proving Myself 

I'm starting to get more and more responsibility with the majority leader.  Today, he had me start keeping track of his own appointments and dinners and meetings.  I really hope that part goes well;I realize he's a busy man, but there's a reason I didn't include "organized" in my list of attributes. 

Tomorrow I have to write a letter back to a fourth grade girl who is the majority leader in her class's Pony Congress as well as a letter to a constituent.  My writing skills are finally being utilized!  I'm excited now, but as more of those come in, I may not be so excited.  

I believe the majority leader is starting to have a little more faith in me.  He keeps telling lobbyists and other legislators he got so lucky, he got first pick and made an excellent choice, blah blah blah.  But, as great a choice as I apparently was, he has seemed very hesitant to give me any real work.  I do realize today was only the 10th legislative day (out of 40), but I still feel like he had been holding back.  

Now he doesn't really have a choice.  Thursday at noon is the deadline for legislators to drop an unlimited number of bills, and not all of his are finished yet.