Awkward ...

Yesterday was fun. I had to drop off a package at the office of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). Everything was hunky-dory until I arrived. Whereas most members have offices surrounding the Capitol, Congressional and Senate leadership have posh offices right in the building, which for my purposes, meant more security checkpoints. Carrying a pretty large and conspicuous package, I managed to make it past the first round of security, even though the officer stopped and accosted me. I eventually convinced him to let me through. Once I got into the Capitol, I made it through the metal detector, and was about to bolt, when the officer noticed I was clearly nervous and guilty about something and stopped me at the entrance. Because I don't have the proper ID, I was denied entrance, and had to have a random staffer pick up the package. If I had acted like I knew where I was going, I would have been fine. My problem -- I'm not suave.

In the afternoon, former Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) came by the office. We locked eyes, but I didn't introduce myself, which was ultimately a mistake. Having been in DC for a couple days, I'm slowly learning with whom it's appropriate to introduce myself and with whom it's inappropriate.

In other news, I've been plugging along on coding and citing regulations, and I was charged with making "professional looking" placards for the office.