Looking outside my window is like watching a black and white movie. Just without the black.

The snow storm over the weekend was everything the meteorologists forecasted. It snowed about 30 inches in North Bethesda, and created a winter wonderland. The weekend events were full of snow ball fights, snowmen, and sledding.

Yes, this is a picture of weather.com's forecast

And apparently one blizzard wasn’t enough. Just as the snow from the first storm was starting to melt and it looked like the city was going to wake up, the evening of February 9 brought in another storm. As round two pounds on the cars, trees, and building, the city of D.C. is shut down. The federal government, along with the rest of D.C. companies, has been closed for the past 3 days.

The city is officially stagnant. The Metro is again limited to only the underground portion of the metro. My bosses and I remain in contact via email, but realistically there is not much for me to do from home.

Originally my calendar for this week was full of senate hearings: as groups receive funds from the government, they must present their financial requests on the hill. These hearings are open to the public, and my supervisor encourages me to get out of the office to participate in events that can be educational.

A typical Senate hearing room

Last week I attended a hearing for the budget of the Department of Energy (DOE) and I was amazed the entire hearing process. That was my first trip to the Hill, so seeing Senators from Arizona, Alaska, Colorado, Arkansas, and Wyoming, North Carolina was nothing short of impressive. The room was enormous and stately, with wood paneling along the walls and comfortable faux leather chairs neatly organized throught the room. As I sat in the room surrounded by lobbyists, I tried not to look out of place as I scribbled down notes. Realistically, since my eyes were the size of saucers during the hearing and my jaw kept dropping with every entering Senator, so I do not doubt that I looked extremely out of place.

With the federal government closing, these Senate hearings will be rescheduled, so I will merely pencil them in on my calendar for a later date. But with the snowy weather and no access to public transportation, my roommates and I have not only been unable to explore the city of D.C., but we also have been unable to leave the 2 block area surrounding out apartment building. Cabin Fever is beginning to set in.

With this winter weather, I’m starting to believe Punxsutawney Phil. Maybe it will be another 6 weeks of winter.

Que Sera Sera.