i spent a good deal of last week in washington DC attending what I found to be a federal grant writing workshop. there were people from nonprofits interested in working with AIDS from around the world there. so the people were interesting. it was also a good introduction into how the federal government gives out money and functions (well a small part of the federal government). overall a pretty cool experience. i then decided that chicago was going to be too much, so i am staying here in canton for about a week doing some work from home and then venturing on to cincinnati for a week before returning to the DR.