The real world isn't so bad after all

This column was never supposed to happen this way. I had planned to eventually write a column urging you to stop and smell the IU tulips because the "real world" of working in a city from 9 to 5 is no eternal picnic. \nI was going to bemoan the hours I spend affixed to the oh-so-orange Metro seats, and whine about how the automatic voice that chimes "doors opening" sneaks into your dreams. I'd have highlighted the fact that my commute starts in the unholy hours before sunlight and would have gone as far as to insinuate that the kamikaze buses tearing through campus are winged chariots compared to this slice of hell on rails. Then I'd have launched into some kind of diatribe on how even the most exhilarating aspects of city life become mundane. \nNot having said that, I'd like to bring you snippets of my not-so-boring weeks since I last wrote.\nNational Press Club, Friday, March 9 \nIt's taco night every Friday, when D.C. journalists gather over guacamole to converse with friends. The conversation turned to a journalist who recalled stories he'd heard in the same room about 38 years ago. He set the scene: It was late in the day John F. Kennedy was shot, and the journalists who rode in a car behind the president were back at the Press Club after filing their stories. Earlier that day when the shots rang out in Dallas, there was a moment of bewildered stillness before anyone knew what happened. When one journalist grabbed the phone and waited on hold for his editor, the other whacked him in the side with a notebook, urging him to hurry up.\nOne of the journalists went on to hammer out a story on the plane back to D.C. that would end up winning him a Pulitzer. These reporters had been there to witness a day that would go down in history. Back in D.C. after the deadlines had passed, there was probably an air of somber defeat in that room of the Press Club -- except for the moment when one of the journalists pulled up his shirt to show the red marks on his side from being battered with a notebook. \nVarious Senate/House committee rooms, various days\nHouse and Senate hearings are the stuff C-SPAN is made of, and believe it or not, there is nothing boring about them. Forget game shows; these hearings have a similar format but a lot more impact. A Congressman introduces the issue or legislation, then comes a word from the sponsors -- proponents of various viewpoints or messengers of specific research. Then the buzzer -- time's up. Congressmen ask a few questions after each testimony then it's "back to you, Alex" for a wrap-up. Often the people who testify on a certain issue have built their careers on the ideas they represent, so the stakes are high and interests entrenched.\nEvery nuance of the legislation is tied to tons of money and leveraged by the interests of thousands of voters. International and historic importance aside, it's always fun to pick out the fightin' words cloaked in euphemism as one senator inevitably gets salty. \nNational Building Museum, Saturday, March 17\nTuxedos and evening gowns were the dress code for the 20th anniversary party of the corporation for which my friend works. "Extravagant" was the first word that came to mind as a valet opened the car door and ushered us to a tented walkway toward the museum. Before I could mask my amazement, I became truly mystified when my date was whisked away in a mini-scenario of "Temptation Island" as a model escorted him down a red carpet into the museum. The company-party-turned-Oscar-gala unfolded with the flash of cameras as we entered a walkway lined with tuxedo-clad waiters carrying aged wine, followed by a string quartet. More than 1,000 people gathered in the great hall of the museum that is held up by 75-foot tall Corinthian columns.\nDuring the company "talent show," an IT-worker-turned-Ricky-Martin had a convincing swagger in his hips since the head of the Washington Ballet had been tapped to choreograph the skits. Gladys Knight performed after the winners of the talent show claimed their prize -- a trip around the world. \nEven though my week ended on a note that's a few keys out of the range of reality, I'm not complaining. I'm confident that I'll have a few interesting stories of my own before my journalism career is through. \nAnd there will be more House and Senate hearings before I leave, if not a residual addiction to C-SPAN. As for the ball, that fairy tale night will be nice to remember long after the carriage-turned-to-a-pumpkin -- one on rails, that is.