Grants, grants and more grants

This week the office was busy. We had people calling and visiting the office all week, some expected some unexpected. My task was to help create a grants catalog. This is a never ending task.  There are literally thousands of government grants floating out in space just waiting to be used. I had to browse the website, grants.gov, by government agency and locate grants that had not expired. I then organized the information according to agency, closing date and specific requirements. My catalog reached an astounding 25 pages, although I am not even a third finished. It will probably take the lifetime of a small rodent to accomplish this task, but I will persevere! Tomorrow, the runoff for Texas Senator begins between Republicans David Dewhurst and Ted Cruz. I am being outright obnoxious by constantly reminding (maybe more like nagging) my family and friends to get out and vote (persuading them to vote to my liking). I am crossing my fingers that this election turns out the way I hope. Until then, I will be anxiously waiting.

Early Voting

This has been an exciting week! I got to cast my vote (early, I was excited) for Senate runoff for a candidate that I truly admire. I was the driving force in the Fox family that got everyone out to early vote and for the candidate of my liking. Rock the vote. Since I had some success with Twitter in the past week, my confidence was on the rise and I decided to tweet Senate hopeful Ted Cruz to let him know I cast my vote in his favor. To my surprise, I got a response! This made my week. Even thought I am quite aware that it was not actually Cruz himself who Tweeted me back, just knowing that whoever it was on his staff took the time to respond to mine and other's tweets, made me smile. I felt I had done my part in Democracy and getting a Twitter shout out was a perk too.

I also had the privilege of meeting Cruz Tuesday July 24th at GOP headquarters in Bryan. It was a great experience. It was a close and intimate setting and I was able to meet Cruz and briefly speak with him (all credit is due to my co-worker with connections who introduced me). He was genuine, friendly and humble. He stayed after his speech to gladly take pictures with all that asked. I am grateful for the experience and glad I took advantage of the opportunity. It made me even more confident in my vote.

The office was busy yesterday, one phone call after another. The people are riled up! The staff is currently trying to find a Town Hall date for Congressman Flores. I cannot wait to participate. I helped out last April, for my first ever Town Hall outing, and it was learning experience. It was definitely not like the Town Halls I had seen on television that are full of unexpected drama. This upcoming Town Hall could be different, as I have learned when answering phone calls, you can never predict a constituent's behavior.

Twitter

This week has been fairly busy compared to last week. My research assignment was to locate a chart that showed which doctors in Texas accept Medicare.  Some constituents had been calling expressing concern about this matter, afraid that they will not be able to find doctors. After some Google searches, I finally located a lengthy, detailed chart that displayed Texas physicians, outlined by city, who accepted Medicare. I was quite proud of myself for such a useful discovery.

On Tuesday, Congressman Flores addressed the house. He spoke about Lt. Col. Roy Tisdale, the Aggie soldier and former Texas A&M University student, who was shot and killed at Fort Bragg. The congressman also spoke about the “Maroon Wall,” which was formed by A&M students. I got chills as I watched him speak. It was a touching moment to tune into C-SPAN and hear an Aggie talk about a fallen Aggie. The speech was personal, heartfelt, honest and genuine.

My week was made when Congressman Flores started following me on Twitter. Mission accomplished. California Assemblyman, Jeff Miller, started following me as well. Could this be a sign? Maybe I will be a political, Twitter breakout star!

#Wishfulthinking. I think my fate got jumbled when a fake Mitt Romney also followed me on Twitter. Bummer. 

Casual Friday

I do not normally work on Fridays, but due to some midweek allergies, I traded my Wednesday shift for a Friday shift. Due to this, I missed the "casual Fridays" memo. It would have been nice to wear jeans, and I will definitely make a mental note of this for future reference. I  would not want to experience social suicide at the office again. Kidding.
Anyways, the office was exceptionally quiet. I believe five people called and one of them was looking for "Deb." I helped my co-work look up some military terms, sent a few faxes, filed a few papers, and browsed Pinterest.
Overall, it was a nice, calm day.

No sunshine no phone calls

The office was extremely quiet today, not even the crickets made an appearance in the office. I guess the rain kept everyone preoccupied, it has been a dreary week.  Today I helped my co-worker organize some outlines that will be sent to the other offices in the district. This task fit me perfectly because I am very particular with how information is presented.


In other news, yesterday Congressman Flores, as promised, voted to repeal Obamacare. The vote in the house was a staggering 244-185 in favor of its repeal. The bill will now be on its way to the Senate. However, I feel the odds of defeating the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or more commonly known as Obamcare, are slim to none. The bill needs 60 votes in order to get brought up in the Senate, then its majority rule. If it passes the Senate, it then goes to President Obama for his signature, but the Democrats currently control the Senate. It is highly unlikely that they would even allow the bill to be brought up.  If it somehow magically went to the President, he would veto it and there are simply not enough votes to override his veto. In conclusion, the chances of repealing this bill remain very slim unless Mitt Romney is elected president in 2012. Needless to say, this election is going to very interesting.  Let the mud-slinging begin.


Overall, even in this time of heated emotions, I am extremely proud to work for such an honest person who stands by what he says. Viva la Congressman Flores.

Feeling like an intern?

Today was the first day that I, "felt like an intern." I had to go through a list of county and city positions in District 17, Congressman Flores's district, and make sure it was current. It was a tedious, full day of research. I felt like I was doing one of Dr. Walraven's "Special Searches." I had to look through every county and city in the district to see who the sheriff, chief of police, and assistant chief of police was. What seemed like a small task took me about four hours. While I did use Google, I did double check my sources to make sure they were credible.


 I can definitely identify with the research aspect of journalism. However, I do love research.

4th of July!

Happy belated July 4th everyone! I feel extremely grateful to be a congressional intern during such a patriotic holiday. I am truly proud to be an American. This past Monday we had a Tele-Town Hall. This is kind of like a conference call where everyone in the district is called and if they choose to pick up, they can hear Congressman Flores discuss current topics. They are also allowed to ask him a question. It is a very technologically savvy event. Most people are delighted to participate, however there are those who are not so thrilled. In the office we had 99 missed calls, the phone only shows the last 99. We had only 10 messages however, and those were people who wanted their names removed from the calling list. One was not very friendly at all and luckily I did not have to talk to her over the phone. Overall, it was a success. I could not be happier to work for such a great person, Congressman Bill Flores is an exceptional representative who makes himself available to constituents time after time. 


Currently we are still receiving calls regarding "Obamacare," and most are opposed to the Supreme Court's ruling.


On Thursday, my co-workers left the office to attend the funeral of  former Texas A&M University student, Lt. Col. Roy Tisdale. My heart goes out to his family and young children, I cannot imagine their sadness. I was overwhlemed with the support that the A&M students provided by forming the "Maroon Wall," comprised of over 600 students blocking out possible protestors from the Westboro Baptist Church. This explains the "Aggie Spirit" more than any football game. I am so proud of my school. This was a very patriotic thing in the eyes of A&M and our country. I love my school.