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Annie Ballance “Hi, my
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JOURNAL ENTRIES
Young_Leader: Annie Ballance Journal_EntryHello again, well this is a quick one, as im soooo busy. What a night last night…I know I change my highlights of this summer every week, but this beats everything for the moment. We went on a West Wing tour of the Whitehouse thanks to the kindness of two of our Whitehouse interns who organised it for us. I still cant believe I was in the West Wing…and I still cant believe how much of a tourist myself and the other girls are! I was surprised how small it was an how personal it all was, but to tell you the truth the most amazing thing for me was the moon rock on the table in the Oval Office which was given to the President by Neil Armstrong..how fab is that? Anyway, after Katherine, Emer and myself spent 10mins discussing how we would decorate the West wing if we were in it, I only then realised how girlie we were..I mean, here we are in the Whitehouse, and we’re talking about the curtain colours and the paint! I know, I know, how sad, but we enjoyed it right girls? My mum would be proud!, Anyway, onto the aftermath…we got to Buffalo Billiards (the new XandO’s) and the group were already half tanked..and a few lunatics had already started to cling on..(nothing new there then) and a great night was had by all. I left early ( I know, how sad), and awoke to see the two raving beauties this morning feeling a little rough to say the least, the joys of partying during the week eh? Have to go, looking forward to going to Anacostia tonight, it should be enlightening, although I am dreading the fact that me, Sean, Niall andKathryn have to speak…oh and the only reason Im dreading it is because good ol’ Sean made a point of saying “oh I cant wait to see you up there talking…ha, ha” Thanks Sean…youve made me feel a whole lot better…Ill be fine..just keep telling myself that anyway..see you later..
Young_Leader: Annie Ballance Journal_EntryHey there..Im back, with a load of new tales..where do I start? Right, on Tuesday had a leadership council meeting, then we had a talk from Mr Tom Jones from the Habitat for Humanity non profit organisation, who Jenny is working for..what an inspiration..and as a graduate,do you know that I get so disheartened by the amount of emphasis on making loads of money and getting rich by my peers..it really gets me down, as I am a firm believer in doing a job where you are happy, instead of chosing a career solely because of the financial benefits, and Habitat for Humanity was something that has totally backed up these thoughts. The President for this organisation was a millionaire who lost a lot of his home life through the constant urging to get richer, and gave it all up to start something which has given him rewards, which have benefitted others, and given him a purpose..basically my arguments are that money does not make you happy. Because Im now going to be looking for a job when I get back, I have spent a lot of time, pondering on what career path I want to take..do I want a job with loads of pay and no job satisfaction, or do I want to follow my dreams and struggle financially for the rest of my life..tough one I know. Maybe this summer will help me in my quandry, we’ll see. Anyway, onto the weekend…went to New York to see my sister, just chilled out and ate load of Irish goodies.. I know, you can get everything in the Bronx..Irish bacon, scones, Tayto…mmmm making myself hungry.. I know now why my sis never gets homesick, it really is home away from home! We went to a Thai restaurant on Saturday night in Broadway..what a city..it really is so buzzing all the time, and then we went to a fantastic club where we danced the night away! God its good to be in the states…So back to the grindstone..only for another 3 and a half days..Oh my god,,somebody is stealing time..home in less than two weeks, have to make the most of it, before reality hits…nightmare! Have to go..going to the presentation with the newly appointed Secretary of the Department of Commerce, friends in high places and all that…see ya!
Young_Leader: Annie Ballance Journal_EntryRight, I dont have much time here, so I have to be quick with the details…Had a bit of a session at our house..the house of the ‘sick’ according to Barry (?) were we tried to play American Genius Trivial Pursuit..Hello? Sean did well, he managed to get two segments..not bad considering he was silent for the first time since we got here..We persisted for about two hours until, eventually Sean stole the show with his story of the ‘ghost of the blue nun, who was knocked down by an urchin 100 years ago who then got knocked down by a Ford Sierra’…ohhh Sean I am so scared…Anyway, the night was long, and the morning came too quickly, but myself and emer (Bert and Ernie) eventually dragged ourselves into the real world ..Got to the Football match at 5pm thanks to the fact that not one of us had the directions..couldnt organise a piss up in a brewry between us! Had a great day, were Emer and Jack hogged the beer all day…Nobody wanted it chaps..it was warm and flat!, Anyway, the match was good, Newcastle didnt play too well to say the least,3-1 to DC..ha ha .
Young_Leader: Annie Ballance Journal_EntryWell there, im back. I just went to a presentation of Microtrax, a company who are aiming to introduce the Personal Location and Monitoring Service. This service will help to locate young kids, help the fire services track their team in buildings and also track down animals or people with mental illnesses who may wander off. It was an excellent presentation and revealed to me the amazing technologies available to the communications businesses, and imagine…a teenagers worst nightmare..parents who can track you down by simply checking on a web site at any time of day! The interesting thing was, how this device can be sown into clothing or put into your bag…no more lost bags when you nip to the loo, you can simply call a number and it will tell you the wereabouts of your bag…fantastic! I was extremely impressed by the articulation and fantasic manner in which this presentation was carried out,… the Yanks really know how to do it… I was sold! I would have bought one straight away, although I think it will be a while before they are avaliable! Anyway, my job just gets better…sorry to sicken you guys, but I feel much more confident working in an environment which I had convinced myself I was never going to enjoy, but hey… I have got a taste for it!
Young_Leader: Annie Ballance Journal_EntryHello, once again, I have not had the time to write in this journal, as I have been so busy doing nothing. No, only joking, we have been doing so much over here that I have lost count, but I will try to cast my mind back….Well, on Thursday I had a bit of a reaction to something I ate and had to go to the ‘ER” in Sibley Hospital. Thanks to Dianes wonderful caring nature I had to wake my host mum up myself, as she went back to bed (thanks Diane!). Apart from near giving Cindy a heart attack I got to the hospital in time and got an adrenalin shot, (mad feeling). On friday, I slept all day (due to the antihistimines- not because Im a slug Dylan), and had a quiet night in. Saturday was a fab night, and I echo everyone elses thoughts…thanks Jen and Bronagh. I took a few of the homeless back to stay in the basement and to my host mums surprise, Barry got up and made a quick getaway out the door without saying a word…I wonder did he even know where he was? probably not! Anyway, the time so far has been fantastic, I am having a good time at work and the Secret Service tour was one of the many highlights for me. The building was like something out of James Bond, and so were some of the agents…theres something about men who are willing to sacrifice themselves for their country and their President…I am such a victim! Im doing this in reverse order…(not surprising if you know me), but the night of the Emerald Isle was inspirational to me. As you may have noticed by my previous ramblings, I have this real passion for leadership in everyday situations and ordinary people. The speakers we heard on Wednesday were the people who are the real leaders in my eyes, (not knocking the political leaders and the ‘official’ ones), but the ordinary people who literally sacrifice themselves in order to lead other young adults in the right direction. For me, leadership is about recognising problems and doing something to change it, whilst, guiding others down that same path. The Young Adult Centre in Newry where I did a lot of work years ago, has so many potential leaders and young people who would be inspired by the work of organisations such as community impact or the attitude if the 18 year old girl Ahn Fahn, who, in my opinion, put me to shame. It is amazing how the young people here really do reach for the stars… maybe I can follow suit! Anyway, ive gotta go, Im in work and I have some stuff to finish off…oh yeah, work…it is going really well. Had a minority media ownership roundtable meeting all day yesterday which was broadcast on C-span, very exciting! The follow up will be interesting, so watch this space..byeeee!
Young_Leader: Annie Ballance Journal_EntryHello there everyone, I feel like I havent seen the rest of the clan in ages, I suppose that might have to do with the fact that I had my sister, her boyfriend and his friend down to stay for the weekend. I had a fantastic weekend, and in the process I discovered that I know my way around the city a bit more than I thought! Cool. Anyway, we went to Adams Morgan…FANTASTIC!. What a fab atmosphere! The bands that were playing were amazing, lots of funky jazz and other types of music, just what I like…a relaxed environment to dance and get tanked! On Saturrday I DIED, Oh my God I have never felt so bad in all my life, I reckon it was the lime they put in the Corona, yeah that sound about right, nothing to do with the 40,0000 drinks I had. Went to see all the memorials with my sister, and ended up (of course) in the Dubliner till the early hours. It is now Tuesday and I spent the morning at a presentation of the impact of endorsements and advertising in the 2000 Presidential election. It was fascinating although it might of helped if I had known what ads she was referring to, although, it was still incredibly insightful to realise how powerful the media are in the states when it comes to infuencing votes.
Young_Leader: Annie Ballance Journal_EntryI cant believe that its been a week since I wrote anything in this, but some of us do have a job to do!
Young_Leader: Annie Ballance Journal_EntryWell, Im just sitting here thinking about the meeting we had yesterday, which entailed a few guys who are only a couple of years older than me, talking about setting up a programme for tutoring kids in impoverished areas. It really hit home to me that leaders are not aleays the Political leaders, or the obvious leaders, but the ones which hit home to me are the ordinary people who take some initative and sacrifice themselves in some shape or form to help, lead or guide someone in the right way.
Young_Leader: Annie Ballance Journal_EntryWell, we’ve been here nearly two weeks, and the time is flying by!
Young_Leader: Annie Ballance Journal_EntryAnnie, this is a welcome message from the Webmaster. We all look forward to
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