Settling In (A Long Post Cuz Who Knows When I'll Have Free Time Again)

Day 2 at Harvard. The weather has been yucky: warm, humid, rainy. But it is supposed to improve. My dorm room is terrible. It's tiny and ugly and smelly. Very smelly. Actually, the whole building has the strong odor of a wet dog or a sweatsock. I bought a fan and air freshener, but it's kind of a "David taking on Goliath" sort of thing.

Hopefully, with a little decorating my room will look a little less like a prison cell (that's how Jorge, an LLM on my floor describes the rooms). Speaking of LLMs (it's sort of an advanced law degree, but a lot of foreign students get them as a way of learning about US laws), there are a few on my floor. There are also a huge number of 2 and 3Ls (returning law students). In fact, there are only around 4 of us 1st years. I didn't expect that, especially in this dorm. The down side is that there are fewer new people to get to know. The up side is that 1) I'm surrounded by people who actually know what they're doing, and 2) it might mean that the general atmosphere is more relaxed.

I hung out with my (fairly new) friend Alisa last night. It's so great to know someone in Boston, and I definitely had fun! I also bumped into another friend who is getting a Ph.D. here. It makes me feel a little less far away.

I got the immunization thing worked out, and I will be able to register tomorrow. I have to bring a little pink slip with me--it looks like a tardy note or something.

My cell phone gets really horrible reception in my dorm. Basically, I can only talk while practically hanging out the window. Some of the wise 3Ls told me I should switch plans. But I have this contract-thingy. Anyhow, if you know my new home phone number (meaning I emailed it to you [If I didn't send you my new contact info, and you'd like it, just email me and I'll pass it along]), it'd be great if you use the home number instead of the cell to reach me when possible. Cuz otherwise I might not get your call.

Just an advanced warning, I'm considering switching blogs. But I'm kind of attached to this one, and there's been so much upheaval in my life recently, I'm not quite ready for that just yet. Anyhow, if I do swap, you'll be the first to know. Meaning, I'll link on here to the new address.

My Life and It's Little Dramas

As I type, I am on hold with Harvard Health Services, who are saying they don't have record of my immunizations, even though I sent them in a week ago. I actually faxed them AND priority mailed a copy to them. I've been on hold 5 minutes now while the woman supposedly looks for my records. Aargh! Registration is in 6 days, and they don't know what they're doing. It's like dealing with Berkeley's financial aid department all over again.

Update: The woman took me off of hold, but remembered nothing of our conversation before. So I'm on hold again.

In other news, I finished up at work. They gave me a nice goodbye party, complete with champagne and cake. And a Harvard sweatshirt as a goodbye present. I'm actually a little sad to leave. I'll miss some of the people there.

Still haven't packed. Lots of unpacking to do at home.

Update: 3 minutes of holding later, "They're checking the paperwork." Back on hold.

I'm excited about going, but I'm soooooo sad about leaving California. I'll miss the weather, the place, the friends I'm leaving, and especially, my mom.

Update: 2 minutes later on hold, "We can't find your papers. But there's one more place to look." This time she gave me the option of them calling me back, but since she forgot me in 5 minutes, I think hold is safer.

Just 3 days to get everything done. Just 3 days til I go.

Last update for now: She cannot find my f***ing paperwork. Even though I spent 15 dollars to send 2 copies there! She says she'll call me Monday. Does anyone remember what Monday is? That's right, the day I'm flying across the country. I hate these people!

Must....Keep...Treading....Water

This post has absolutely nothing to do with water. Except that I, metaphorically speaking, have spent most of my time recently trying to keep my head above it.

So much going on. The move was yesterday. I stayed up all night Monday packing. Thank goodness for Noah's help Monday afternoon! There's still stuff left at the old place to fetch. It was all beyond exhausting.

Got my immunizations today. Cost $132 for 2 shots, one of which I've already had. I wheedled, begged, and threatened to cry--and finally, got a doctor's note to excuse me from getting the tetanus shot to which I am allergic. I will still have to get the other 2 shots in the Hep B series in a little while.

Still working. Had to take Monday off for packing.

I got my first Harvard homework assignment in the mail. We have to do some reading and answer questions before our orientation meeting with our Criminal Law prof.

Back to treading...

Super-Short Update Post (and one side-note)

Moving is awful. And being the only one in good enough health to pack is even worse. My mom injured herself--it looks like she has a hairline fracture on her arm--so most of the packing has fallen to me. We're so, so very behind for our move on Tuesday.

Side-note: What's with this new trend of blog comment spam (blam?)??? I just deleted some junky comment about insurance or some such thing. Will the horrors never cease?

Goodbye, Pete

Peter Jenning's death has me thinking. Fame is a strange thing. I've always respected and admired Peter Jennings. My friend Sarah and I even went to hear him speak in Berkeley. Whenever horrible news broke, I always turned the tv to ABC because I knew that Peter Jennings would make me feel better about the world, somehow. Peter-- his voice, his person, comforted me. He was a news anchor, but he seemed like someone I knew.

And that's strange. I mean, why does that happen? Celebrities, even fictional characters, can come to be important to us. We often feel more attached to people we've never seen than the people we pass on the street.

I guess we all want connections to others. We're always looking for opportunities to reach out to our fellow humans. And maybe getting attached to folks we've never even met is just an extension of that desire for affiliation.

But whatever the reason, I can't help thinking that news just won't be the same.

The Tide of Change Comes In

Exciting stuff in my neck of the woods. Well, to me, at least.

Last night, I got my class schedule for fall. It looks pretty good. Earliest class is at 8:50 am, 3 days a week. On Mondays and Tuesdays, I only have one class (Criminal Law), unless we have a section meeting (those are apparently only occasional events, and when they do happen, mine will be on Mondays). I'm excited about the professors. Two of mine are legal historians in addition to the basic 1L courses they teach. That seems like a good sign, since I'm interested in possibly becoming a legal historian myself. I didn't have time to do much research on the profs though, because....

I was in San Francisco today, visiting my orthodontist. And I got my braces off!!!! My teeth are visibly *not perfect,* but I'm fine with that because 1) I needed to get my braces off before moving across the country, 2) my teeth have changed soooo much, it already exceeded my expectations, and 3) I'm not a big fan of the "one size fits all" movie star smile type of mouth; I prefer a little uniqueness. I'll post before and after pics here if my orthodontist gives me them like he promised. I get my retainer in a week and a half. I've already chewed gum, flossed normally, and eaten Starbursts. I'm looking forward to biting into an apple. Ah, the little pleasures in life that we so often take for granted....

Have a fabulous day, everyone! I am. =)

Thoughts

The weekend was exhausting. The heat has my mom and me really tired. And then there was packing. I have emptied my 4 bookcases. Almost all my books are packed. It took forever. And we made some other progress, but there's still so much to do. My mom signed the lease this morning (or that was the plan, I haven't talked to her, so I can't say for sure).

This week, I tell the folks at work that I'm leaving. There have been many funny/uncomfortable law-related moments at work recently. Like last week, when my supervisor (who is applying to law school) and I walked into the convention center just as the bar exam let out for a lunch break. And then when we bumped into one of my friends, who was taking that bar exam, and he asked me, "Don't you have law school plans?" Luckily, this wasn't a problem--it's a long, long story....

I'm getting pretty excited about the approach of law school. I've had two "first day of school" dreams about Harvard recently. Both were actually a little stressful. In one, the transit wasn't working right. In the other, we had a test on the first day of class. So maybe I'm a little nervous.

I got a Jones soda the other day (actually bar exam day at lunch with my supervisor), and it had a fortune under the cap that said "The tide of change approaches." Funny.

The professor I'd like to do research with at Harvard wrote an op-ed on the judicial nomination stuff that is really good. Interestingly, she clerked at the same time as John Roberts, Bush's Supreme Court nominee. Professor Minow rocks!