Why I had meeting at the White House

Ya girl had a meeting in the West Wing. Of the White House.

Why? Because I was Vice Chair of the Steering Committee for the Center for New Liberalism. (Advance Huntsville is a local chapter of CNL. Our chapter recently got a mention in a profile of CNL and its founders in the Columbia Journalism Review.)

Somehow, the US-citizen portion of the Steering Committee, our fearless secretary, and three CNL staffers nabbed an invitation to meet with two high-level staffers. We were all in town for our big annual conference — the New Liberal Action Summit.

Word on the street is that the less important meetings happen in the EOB (Eisenhower Executive Office Building). I learned the West Wing has really low ceilings and signs that tell visitors that they’re not allowed to take photos inside.

The agenda was essentially “How do we get Biden re-elected?” I know it’s their job to make us feel heard and valued, but not everyone is good at their job. They were. We met with the guy who’s running Biden’s campaign and the HBIC for housing at the National Economic Council. We were there for about an hour.

Also, this:

Pix or it didn’t happen:

Lessons learned:

• Don’t wear heels unless you often wear heels. It’s okay to be slightly underdressed if it means you can avoid blisters and tripping every three seconds.

• The West Wing is hot in the summer. You won’t need your jacket and it will be annoying to carry around all day.

• Bring a physical pen and paper to take notes. It’s not a good look to be on your phone and you’ll probably have things you want to remember from the meeting.

At one of the several points we were standing around waiting to get in, I leaned over to our secretary and whispered, because I was embarrassed, “Is that the White House?” He burst out laughing, thinking I was joking. I wasn’t. I Googled it and found out it was the EOB.

After the meeting, we went out to a really nice lunch at Ocean Prime. Walking there (because misogyny), and suffering greatly, I texted Rob the address and a desperate plea to deliver my boots and two pairs of socks. And he got to stay and eat! So that was delightful.

More on the conference soon, but I simply could not wait to flex on you hoes.

Oh, and I must share perhaps the best part of the whole thing:

Watch how you speak to me, my babies. My proximity to power only grows. Muahaha.