Monday Metro

June 22, 2009

It seemed like a regular Monday. I was only at work for three hours, and I again registered more energy companies with our sites, indicating whether or not they have online billing.

I attended two workshops today, and listened to a speaker discuss the best way to get hired. She stated statistics, which indicated that 20% of all 2009 college graduates had a job upon graduation. Were those 20% hired in their field? I wish I could have asked her, but she literally tore up her notes and threw them around the stage.

The first workshop dealt with jobs in the science and policy fields. She works for a large company located in Washington and was very helpful with her suggestions. Finally, the second session discussed how to negotiate one’s first salary.

So, on the way home, I was on the metro for over an hour and 40 minutes. We were told that there were some trains with mechanical problems. After I exited the train I had seven missed calls and 14 text messages from people wondering if I was okay. I was informed in a voice mail that a train had derailed on my train line (the red line) two stops in the other direction.

It was a sad and humbling moment when I found out that there was a terrible accident and that 9 people died and others taken to the hospital. The crash is still under investigation.