I'm in the DC metro area for the summer, interning at a non-profit called International Economic Development Council (IEDC). The city is an interesting place to be, though I wish I could say the same for the area where I'm living (Annandale, Virginia, south of Alexandria). Mondays are pretty busy, so I figured it would be a good time to record a typical workday as I go along.

6:30am - Wake up to sunlight and my clock radio. The morning is generally the only cool part of the day, so I take a 15-minute run on a loop going through my neighborhood and a backwoods trail. The woods are thick and very pretty, with ravines and bridges, and the narrow trails somehow lead me back to the house (I don't wear glasses or contacts in the morning, so it's probably lucky that I don't get lost). A set of stretches and push-ups and then I hit the shower.

7:00am - Long, hot shower and then get dressed while I listen to news radio. I used to pay attention to the traffic report, but now that I'm not driving in to work it's less important. Still, there's always a chance the Metro will break down, in which case thousands of commuters like me are pretty much screwed. Business casual, so buttoned shirt, khakis, leather shoes, no tie. Quick goodbye to my adopted family (I'm staying with Korean empty-nesters, who rented out their basement rooms to me for two months. Occasionally they'll invite me up to have dinner or dessert with them), then I'm out the door and down the block to the bus stop.

7:30am - Catch the 29G express bus to the Pentagon. It's a nice ride, never crowded, so I whip out the DS and play a couple stages of Brain Age or New Super Mario Bros. The bus goes through one section of I-395 to get to the Pentagon, which is perpetually jammed with traffic, but eventually gets through to the HOV lanes and it's smooth sailing from then on.

8:00am - The Pentagon hosts a large bus terminal, and you can see tons of people moving through security checkpoints just to enter the building. I head straight for the subway station underneath, where, instead of orange juice and community college like in Boston, the wall ads are for lightweight helicopters and defense systems. It's not a little surreal.
I hop on the blue line towards Largo, in the front car where it's less crowded. At this hour it's mostly secretaries, temps, and construction workers. We hit some interesting stops: Arlington National Cemetary, Rosslyn (where Bartlett was shot in season 1), and Foggy Bottom at GWU. The subway goes in and out of grade, so my ears pop several times throughout the trip. My iPod's playing Boundary Rider by The Go-Betweens when we arrive at McPherson Square.

8:30am - Walk one block over to IEDC headquarters on 15th Street, just behind the White House (a few yards away are the Treasury Department and the East Wing). IEDC is a professional organization for the economic development field, and has training and certification programs. It also consults and does research for specific projects, which is what I'm more involved with. The "International" is a recent change, but they're hoping to head in that direction.
The office is pretty quiet at this point, with most staff getting in at 9am and unresponsive until they've had some coffee. My cubicle neighbor is the web developer/IT specialist, so he's always up and about dealing with office problems. We exchange a few words about the World Cup weekend games.
I open up Firefox with four tabs: MIT Webmail, BBC World News, CNN Politics, and IEDC's homepage. Check e-mail and headlines, and then start working on whatever I was doing the previous day.

10:00am - Senior staff starts streaming around this time, so things pick up a little around the office. I usually work at the same pace regardless, because the work is a bit tedious. Between spurts of productivity, I continue to check the news, The Onion, and Penny Arcade for updates, or work on crosswords. For some reason I get really hungry around this hour, but I wait it out till lunch.

12:30pm - Lunch break, though I usually bring my lunch to my desk and eat while working. It's generally a choice between Quizno's, Subway, and this buffet place that sells take-out by the pound. Today I try out a New York-style deli place and am not disappointed.

4:00pm - It's the home stretch and I can't wait to get out of here. Today has actually been a pretty good day in terms of productivity, but I'm still just not used to an 8-hour workday. I can hear the thunder outside; it's both raining and 80 degrees outside.

5:00pm - I say goodbye to staff and walk back to the subway. It's the same route back on train and bus, though if I get back to the Pentagon too late it's a long wait between buses. I need to get back to my house, switch bags, hop in the car, and grab something quick to eat, because...

6:30pm - On Mondays and Wednesdays I tutor a high school senior in SAT II math. He's a smart guy so it's not too frustrating, and I make more than three times what my internship pays per hour. We're supposed to work three hours a day, but by 9pm my brain is fried and I'm betting he's out by 8.

9:30pm - Usually back home at this point. It's a good time to read e-mail, chat on AIM, watch an episode of West Wing or Rurouni Kenshin, or zone out while watching TV. I check the Red Sox and Nationals scores religiously these days.

10:30pm - At this point I've hopefully brushed my teeth and changed, because it's hard to stay awake past this point.