Sorry its been so longgg!

Hey guys I promise I will thoroughly update you soon but until then...

tomorrow I will be actively participating in the CCA and heres some news stuff that is good.

www.capitolclimateaction.org

http://americannewsproject.com/videos/coal-action-heats-capitol-hill

LOVE YOU ALLLLLL

First Day of the GOT!!!

So today was the first day of the GOT and it was AMAZING!! It was so exciting to finally be there with everyone and Gabe and Adam. It finally hit me today that I am a student activist with Greenpeace working in Washington DC for three months in the first few months of the presidency of Barack Obama. Holy crap. 

We basically got an entire overview of the GOT today and everything that we will be doing and all that it entails. As far as my schedule goes I still don't really know anything and won't for a few days at least. I know I am going on a retreat (called GORP) this weekend and will be getting to know everyone better then as well. Also got a cool binder with a bunch of readings about activism and Greenpeace and a book that I am supposed to finish by the end of the week ( "Rules for Radicals" ). Basically I cannot wait for the rest of the GOT to really start and love everything about it so far. And now am pretty much heart-set on getting a job with Greenpeace!

The other amazing thing I got to do today was go see Howard Zinn speak at Busboys and Poets (a cool cafe/bookstore for liberal thinkers and revolutionaries). He was amazing (super old) and brilliant and I enjoyed every second of it. He talked about Obama and how it was exciting to actually be proud of your president and have faith in them again but that everyone needs to hold him accountable still. "He is still a politician." Then Zinn proceeded to talk about the Israel-Palestine conflict and called for the complete removal of Israel from the area. He is anti-war and one of my idols and I got to shake his hand afterwards. The first thing he did after speaking was immediately go outside and go talk to the people outside who couldn't get a seat but who stood outside in the cold just to see him speaking anyways. I had actually gotten stuck outside and actually thought I wouldn't get to see him but he came out and actually walked up to me and shook my hand and signed my book (of his) and it was amazing.

Soooo all in all today was really exciting and I am so stoked for the GOT to really start!

Howard fucking Zinn.

Yesssssss

Tomorrow is my first day

AND I CAN'T WAIT!!

(im nervous too but mostly excited)

LOVEEE

DC for the day!

So today Lauren, Dana and I got up early (our new wake up time) to test out our method of choice for commuting into the city. We left the house at 6:50 am and took the bus over the bay bridge into the city. It is a super long drive but I just sleep the whole time. We get into DC around 8:30 in the morning and then we got some food and ran some errands. After that we took a trip to our new office! The Greenpeace office was amazing!!! It was so exciting to finally meet Gabriel and Adam finally (they are exponentially cooler/cuddlier/awesomer than I dared to dream!) and to also tour the office and meet all the amazing Greenpeace people. As far as Gabe and Adam go, they are my new GOT coordinator types who will be my mentors and teachers and collaborators and friends and advice-givers. Basically they rock. Also Gabe is from Poway (graduated PHS in 1999!) and an avid outdoorsman as well. He and I may or may not have geeked out about backpacking gear and hiking and climbing and my chopstick placement in front of the very skeptical-looking company of Lauren, Dana and Adam. The office itself is really cool and totally sustainable and eco-chic! I love it and cannot wait to begin on Monday. It is full of so much good energy and positivity and passion that I know we will get so much done! We got to poke around and meet some folks and the Oceans coordinator there actually gave us some awesome sustainable and cool chopsticks. My stir-fry's will now be even more enjoyable (good thing too considering I am introducing both Lauren and Dana to tofu!).

Awesome chosticks!

After the wonderful visit to the Greenpeace office we stopped by H&M and I picked up a much needed nice black shirt and some nice black tights as Lauren got a coat and some other stuff. We then headed on down to the National Gallery of Art for a free introductory tour. It was really cool and we got to check out some amazing pieces by Monet, Manet, Reubens, David, Cassat, Bottacelli and Da Vinci to name a few. My favorite piece of the day however was definitely Leonardo Da Vinci's portrait Ginevra de' Benci. It was so beautiful and the lack of any visible brushstrokes truly make it a masterpiece. It is as if her face is made of porcelain. I was so distracted and involved with the tour that I actually forgot to take pictures after the initial fountain of Cupid in the beginning that was surrounded by some breathtaking flowers.



All in all today was exciting and exhausting but I am so much more excited for the start of the GOT! 

Even if my new sleeping hours are those of an elderly nun.

Love!

Further First Few Days

So I haven't yet added any pictures of the new casa in Love Point yet or of my new family here... so heres some images to put faces/scenes/whiskers to names/stories!

So here ya go...

theres the house...

and the deck...

more deck...
dana j...


miss lauren...

and the furry housemate...

the first dayss

So I am all moved in now to my new home in Maryland... I love my housemates and new kitty cat (her name is Lucky and she is adorablee!). Dana and Lauren are all kinds of awesome and I am happy to be here. The house is kind of campy and very "That 70's Show," which I personally find endearing and I think it makes everything wayyyy better. I have my own room and it is all sorts of decorated and I have also installed my very own bed cave which is excellence incarnate. 

The weather has been super sucky lately, I definitely thought I might die a few times on the drive up. Luckily Matt is a good driver and we had luck on our side, although this trucker cut us off at one point and in the process nearly slammed into us (missed by what felt like inches). It sleeted/snowed all day and will freeze over again tonight. Lucky for us we picked up some rock salt for the drive way/walk way... We also bought groceries today and I have come to the conclusion that the produce on the east coast is le suck and that everything is way too expensive. 

Tonight we all made dinner and feasted on some wonderful spaghetti and ravioli. I praised the food gods and friend gods.

All in all I am excited for the GOT to start, can't wait for our visit to DC on friday and love the people thus far!

I also miss you all dearly.

Love and Green,

Elizabeth 

Fly Hunny'd in the worst way

So today Nickels and I participated in the VCN Conservation Lobby Day which was rather hilarious considering I was the only teenaged participant in the room. Learned some valuable stuff though and ran into some Powershifter's (always a plus). Basically some good info to have for the GOT. Also went to the RENEW meeting tonight and gave a mini-presentation to the awesome kiddies there. They appreciate all that VCN does (like me!). While at RENEW I also may have met my new best friend, a mister Geoff Cox who is all sorts of awesome. He, Nickels and I cavorted around campus (and the shit hole) putting up posters (kind of...). Contact improv, spinning around, rolling around, pellegrino, frozen girl scouts and some awesome playground time followed. 

It was a brilliant day.

And he loves wolves too.