Stomach pleasantly plumped and my pockets bulging from the extra sandwiches I took, I walked back to center for the start of the main sessions. I had looked at the list beforehand and decided on Sex and Sustainability. I walked to the session, saw it was standing room only, and left for another session.
Around the corner, my jaw dropped from seeing the person in front of me – Kal Penn Oedi, who was right in the middle on the convention center hallway. Now I’m pretty sure most of you don’t recognize the name. Heck, I had to Google it myself. Do you remember the movie about two crazy potheads on an adventure to White Castle? How about the sequel when they escaped Guantanamo Bay prison? That’s right! Freaking Kumar was in D.C.
My thought was ; ZOMG I MUST TAKE A PICTURE AND PUT IT ON MY FB AND TWITTER TO SHOW PEOPLE HOW AWESOME MY TRIP IS!!!
Alas, my phone was dead. Determined to get a picture of him, I plugged in my phone to the nearest outlet and tried to coerce him into taking a picture with me. That plan failed however as he had to rushed to his session. Once I found out where he was presenting, I booked it to Hall D and sat in the front. Oedi pushed his acting career aside for a political position on the Obama administration.
Oedi and his cabinet sat down and talked about what the Obama administration is doing right now. They talked about how from the 1920’s to the present, the USA managed to go from using primarily fossil fuels to incorporating more eco-friendly energy sources. The cabinet also talked about the different opportunities for students to work in Washington along with how the students have helped pushed the Obama Administration to integrate clean energy programs into their plans.
After the presentation, the cabinet spent the rest of the time answering questions from the audience and they jumped on that opportunity. Some talked about fracking (level hillsides for mineral ore), others talked about the private sector and one person got personal with it confronting the board about misleading information that the Obama has sent out to the public concerning facts about some of the energy plans.
All the questions were answered completely or given a source where the audience could answers for the question. I tried to get a picture with Kumar, but he was crowded with people and I had no shot. Ah well, maybe there will be a celebrity in my next session.
Until next time Power Shift peoples!
—
Anthony