Hello all, This week started off with a bang as we received an email on Monday that the CRPD hearing had been delayed because some constituents had better things to do aka "play golf with their home boys". The entire staff at NDRN decided to dedicate the week to going to the various Senate offices with a draft of the letter requesting them to support the CRPD. While we did go through with our sales pitch (going to the various senate offices mentioning who we are, what we do and why should the various senate offices support the CRPD majority of the offices we visited already heard the sales pitch and just responded with a "yes we know, thank you". It almost felt like Halloween instead of residents giving out Candy it was the visitors who handed out the goodies, although it seemed like I was a used car salesman at times, I really enjoyed going to different Senate offices and speaking with the various members of the staff. When we watch a debate or a speech on television, we only see the individual delivering the speech, however what we don't realize is that there are several "behind the scenes players" who have a significant impact on what is displayed on the teleprompter. The Secretary who hands specific letters or documents to the Senator's chief counsel to the Senate staffers themselves each individual is unique, before I visited the Senate offices I always thought that "we will just hand over the letter" to the chief counsel, but instead I realized that it is like any other office. As soon we ventured into our first office I told Qin Qin that “we have one of these too”. The first Senator’s office(who I shall not name here) had two blonde ladies and one guy sitting at the table. One of the reasons that I point this out is it almost felt like “three’s company” there was no need for them to worry because we were knocking on their door. After we finished doing our “sales pitch” or “UPS deliveries” whatever way you want to look at it, we went back to NDRN headquarters to debrief staff on our experience. Secondly, There are many aspects of the Midwest that make the rest of the state’s jealous: the pizza (of course), the corn that invades our state and Midwestern Hospitality. Folks say those who live in the South have excellent mannerisms; my response to that individual who made such a statement is that they can keep their grits with them (nothing wrong with Grits), but the Midwest is where it is at… On Saturday I took a long journey out to Maryland where I was meeting my uncle who has not seen for 17 years, but someone my family knew since he was living in Chicago. As soon as I shook my Uncles hand and introduced myself to his wife. I was welcomed into the home with open arms and it felt like I was visiting my family back home. We had a great time eating the wonderful food Mumta Aunti my uncle’s wife made for all of us. We had a longwinded conversation about politics, sports (He is a proud Chicago Bear fan, you have to love that) and food. We cut jokes about each other and life in general. They are really amazing individuals, as an individual who has been invited to many homes I can say that many times you will find people who are just “stuck up” or “not down to earth”, however the Patel’s were very laid back something that meshed with my personality very well as I like to have a good time. I don’t like to sit there and be quiet or shy. If you do notice that I am quiet around you chances are there is something seriously wrong with you (just kidding). Thank you so much Husmukh Uncle and Mumta Aunti for inviting me into your home, you guys (and gals) are awesome! It is also interesting to note that Mumta Aunti did her B.S in Clinical Psychology when I first learned about this, my first reaction was “oh no! we have two Dr. Frauds(yes I know it is spelt Freud), but then she decided to go into Computer Science and Mathematics as soon as I learned that I became happy because now after years of searching I have finally found a Clinical Psychologist who can count! Of course Husmukh Uncle is an architect, so he better know how to count or the Brooklyn Bridge will come falling down! Finally on Sunday I went to go see the Dark Knight Returns with Paul and Tiffany. It is amazing that AAPD does not only select the most deserving interns, but the most patient ones also. I left Maryland at 2:30 to try and make the 4:10, but the train to Shady Grove was not running due to complications, so I had to get off at Grovernor and then catch a shuttle bus to Friendship Heights and then take the train out to Chinatown. Let’s just say that after last night I have arrived at the conclusion that the metro trains in the D.C area are not supernatural, they have malfunctions just like the Chicago Cubs actually have a Major League Players. Nevertheless all of the Interns did meet up and everyone lived happily ever after and we enjoyed a great movie. Spoiler Alert: Batman does not die!