This Washington Post article made me so happy that I will–most likely–never intern in Washington DC, ever:

Ryan Holte, his starchy shirt still stiff after a day at the office, milled about Tortilla Coast early one summer evening. The beer was flowing, and the aroma of salsa filled the air. But Holte wasn’t at the Capitol Hill happy hour hot spot for the $2.50 pints of Miller Lite or the 10-cent wings. He was there to shake hands…He scrolled down to a spreadsheet that listed what seemed like every happy hour in the Washington area. Organized by day and neighborhood, it reported the specials at about 75 bars and restaurants each weeknight.This spreadsheet is the Washington intern’s summer road map to cheap booze and greasy grub. For years, this list has been passed down through e-mail by friends and friends of friends, and now by universities to group e-mail lists of students in the city. Its accuracy is questionable. Still, to many interns, the listing is gospel.And for the career-conscious types, it’s a guide to that Washington specialty: networking. [Emphasis added]

It is so sad that a major part of someone’s summer internship experience would be “networking” in bars after work. The fact that someone’s position in DC is related more to their networking then their skill, credentials, or achievement might explain why the federal government is so poorly run.