Boozy Bus = No.

Photo courtesy of
‘Hell yes. Hell yes.’
courtesy of ‘normalityrelief’

In college, I lived at this fancy apartment complex that ran a shuttle to campus during the day, and then on Thurs-Sat they also a ran night shuttle to the main bar drag on campus. We dubbed it the drunk bus. It was brilliant, and some residents even made a song on GarageBand about the bus. It was well loved.

So when I read this Examiner article about the boozy bus, a shuttle direct from the hill to Gin & Tonic, free for anyone with an intern badge, I had instant flashbacks of my drunk bus years. They were good years, but seriously? You guys? The hill? IS NOT COLLEGE, despite what you may think. (And apparently what Gin & Tonic tells you.)

I realize you’re kind of here to party, and you will at some point this summer get sloshed and make bad decisions, (even I do that occasionally) but what you should really be here for is getting good experience on the Hill for your resume. There is a time and a place for the drunk bus, but the summer you’re trying to prove yourself worthy of full-time employment is not it. I may sound old and curmudgeonly when I say this, but this summer? Try being a grown-up. There are no grown-ups on the boozy bus.

Also, if I may, how about trying to go somewhere out in the city where you can try your hand at utilizing public transportation. Life skills, that’s the theme here. You don’t learn anything about life, our dear beloved city, and good bars by being shuttled to a bar like you are on an 8th grade field trip to Gettysburg.

There’s a lot of great things to see and do while you’re here, so I’m begging you, don’t take the easy way out this summer by onboarding a bus straight to bad-decision-land. I promise in the morning, when you’re walking the halls in your best high heels, you’ll feel better about asserting yourself if the last time you saw that dude wasn’t post-vomit at 2 a.m. while dancing to Lady Ga Ga on top of the bar.

(Oh, and, while I’ve got your attention, can you not wear your bright red badge on the Metro? We can tell you’re an intern without it. We get it.)

Katie moved to DC in 2007, and has since embarked upon a love affair with the city. She’s an education reform advocate and communications professional during the day; at night and on the weekends, she’s an owner here at We Love DC. Katie has high goals to eat herself through the entire city, with only her running shoes to save her from herself. For up-to-the-minute news and reviews (among other musings), follow her on Twitter!

4 thoughts on “Boozy Bus = No.”

  2. Interns on the Hill drink. If you don’t know Hill drinking culture, you’ve also probably missed seeing Majority and Minority leaders lead in such karaoke greats as “The Thong Song” and “Baby Got Back” (be bipartisan, it helps to see both sides at their worst).

    By the way, red badge doesn’t mean intern, it means regular hours access to House Office Buildings. Cool kids wear green.

  3. yeah, hate to say it Katie, but getting wasted is EXACTLY how the interns will make the kinds of connections they need to get actual jobs on the hill. I just find it odd that G&T would do this. No one – not full time hill rats or the rest of us – will want to go there now that it’s officially a Hill intern hang out. Who’s gonna patronize them when the summer’s over??

  4. Ryan- isn’t the bus to g&t on tuesdays? G&T is awesome, I’m not too worried about interns taking it over, no one really goes there other then thurs-sat nights anyway