Big news

...that I somehow missed while I was in San Diego.

http://www.sandiegozoo.org/news/panda_news.html

How I missed this, I'll never know. I guess I really am that self-absorbed. Yikes.

Finale

Yes yes, I knew I said I would close this once I got to Boston, but I thought I should add an ending to the "Well, did she or didn't she get an offer?" mystery.

She did. Giddy-up.

Adios

And here it is, my last night in San Diego.

It's uncommonly hot and I'm sticky from packing all day, but still I'm tearing at having to go. It's been a long, eventful summer, and I thank you for sharing it with me. The blog will be closed after my return to Boston, so I'll take the opportunity now to mention a few good people who have helped me along:

In no particular order,

The Captain, who despite talking with me almost everyday, still read the blog.
Jenski, who wins The Most Active Reader award.
Elite Racer and the Abstract Concept, who checked in with me every so often to make sure I didn't spend all my spare time blogging.
The Bride, who loves dessert just as much as I love dessert.
Tiggsy, who made my blog a part of her morning routine.
Humble 'bee, who read every entry but didn't let on until the very end.
Good Neighbor, without whom I might have gone a little crazy at work. I will miss his wicked sense of humor, his wife's tremendous tenderness, and their sons' unreasonable cuteness.
Ms. J, with whom I will get together at Cabot's where I will tell her everything that didn't make the blog.
Boababa, who taught me to tango.
LRev, who warned me against not being cool enough.
Munch, who said my writing made her laugh.
Big Mo, who made me laugh.
Red Beard, because he, as I have said before, is the last great hope of the Republic.
Samir Santiago, who put me in touch with the managing partner's daughter.
First and Second Roomies, who got me back in touch with my Asian side.
Coolpeople, who have their own companion blog and who have supplied me with plenty of summer photos.
Wicked Cool New Bostonian, who swapped places with me and has kept me up to date on his new adventures in Beantown.
Yalie, whom I never have mentioned before but who talked me through many a confusing situation at work.
Ms. Mentor, whom I also never have mentioned before but who called me every week to see how I was doing.
Little Sis, who blogged before me and who will blog after me.

Thanks for holding my hand. I'll be in touch.

Road rage

Usually, I do a good job of keeping my temper.

But not when I get behind the wheel. Today, the Chargers are at home against the Seahawks in a preseason (i.e., meaningless) game. I live near Qualcomm stadium, and given that I never have had to deal with Chargers traffic, I made a wrong turn into the stadium parking lot. The Chargers were pretty nice about it, actually. Even though they made me pay twenty bucks to get into the parking lot, they promised to give me my money back when I left. They even had a special "Made a wrong turn into the parking lot" ticket to give me so I could show I should get my money back.

Making it to the exit, however, was more involved and difficult than it should have been. They made me go to a special exit, and I had the most difficult time getting there. Ropes, cones, and highway medians blocked every way I wanted to go. Twenty minutes of driving around and around were enough to make a screaming banshee out of me. Eff this and eff that. When I finally found the appropriate exit, I literally burned rubber to get the eff out of there.

Driving is a big case of the yucks.

Cry, cry, cry

I parked my car in the driveway and then I cried. For a good five minutes. Had I not been worried about the neighbors seeing I could have stayed for a good while more.

It reminded me of my first day on my own in San Diego, actually. After I dropped off the Captain at the airport that day, I sat in my apartment and I cried. For an hour. After that hour I mopped myself up and shook off my fear. I was ready for my summer on my own, I told myself, and it was time to get moving.

And a whole lot of moving there was. I simply cannot believe it is all over; there was so much life crammed into these twelve brief weeks. I made friends with people from all walks of life, I became enamored with a whole new area of law, I learned to surf. I began considering the partner track as a viable career option, and I fell in love with a part of the country of which I had been extremely skeptical. Put simply, I grew.

Growing is hard. So that's why I cried.

Right back where I started from

After tomorrow, my adventure as a pretend attorney will be over; Summer Associate Summer Camp has come to a close. Just like any camper, I was homesick at the start, but now I am dreading my departure and trying not to cry.

And failing.

Winding down

I'm on to my last week, and I'm trying to avoid the idea of leaving. All summer I have been diligent about crossing off the days on my calendar, but lately I have been loathe to do it. All summer I have regularly updated this blog as a way of marking the time, but lately I have had less to say. By documenting my days, I acknowledge that they are complete, and that the summer soon will be over. I miss my friends and my family terribly, but also I have grown to care about my work and my people here.

I suppose it's true that we never know what we have until it's gone.

Or maybe this is merely another example of my reveling in sadness. That's what the Abstract Concept would say, anyway.

Rocky Mountain High

Weekends rock.

I have returned from a weekend away, and already I want another one. This weekend the Captain and I met up in Denver, because even though it’s not exactly the middle of the country, it’s the closest thing to the middle of the country that’s worth going to. (His words, not mine. Midwesterners, take up your grievances with him.)

Denver is remarkable. San Diego is a beautiful town, but it doesn't have that certain quality that sets Denver apart: the Rockies. Blue Ridge Wannabes though they may be, they are majestic and they are beautiful. Waitresses pull up the shades at sunset just so they can show off their views. To hell with modesty.

Friday night we rolled into Red Rocks, a stunning natural amphitheater just outside Denver. Sitting alongside the stoners and the bobos, the Captain and I enjoyed a stellar show by Ryan Adams. The setting could not have been better: temperate weather, resplendent sky, and rockin’ music amid radiant red rocks. Ryan Adams wasn't bad to look at, either.

Saturday we drove on up to Fairplay, which the savvier among you might recall was formerly known as South Park. Yes, that South Park. We made the hour-long drive among cattle ranches and more big sky just so we could have the Captain’s favorite breakfast. It was crowded and the service was a little slow, so much of my energy went to staying calm as I waited for my food. The Captain tried conversing with me, but ultimately I had to cut him off. “I’m sorry, I really can’t talk right now.” When the food finally did come, however, it was delicious.

Later on we went on a hike. As we tried to pay the nominal fee for admission to the park, the park ranger informed us that our rental car already had an annual pass to all Colorado state parks. This puzzled us. It was a rental car, and its license plates were from Texas. But we went along for the ride, and took in some breathtaking vistas. [FN1]

The mysterious park pass was only one of several fortuitous turns which led the Captain to call us Team Success. Our flights arrived right on time, we got to the concert right before Lucinda Williams, and we were able to meet up with the Captain's freshman year roommate.

We also narrowly escaped thunderstorm after thunderstorm. Everytime we wanted to do something outside, it was sunny and gorgeous. When it did rain, however, the spectacle of rain and thunderclouds rolling across the plains was amazing. It slaked my thirst for moisture, and perhaps more importantly, for variety. I love America.

----

FN1. See photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/khc2008/DenverDelight

Day before Denver

Today was the longest. day. ever.

I'm headed tomorrow to Denver to see the Captain and I absolutely cannot wait.

See you back here next week.

Ocean

They lay it on thick here in southern California.

On Tuesday the Summers went kayaking at La Jolla Cove, where the water was so warm and so blue I could have melted into it. An intrepid Partner and his wife took us kayaking at sunset, when the sunlight leapt across the ocean. We paddled up to a pod of sea lions and witnessed other wildlife from afar. The water was still enough for rank beginners such as I not to feel afraid but to feel like we were experts. We paddled about the cove for about an hour and half, and when it was time to head back in, my partner and I rode a wave right back to shore. Rockin'.

Afterwards, we settled into a local restaurant where we racked up enough points on the Partner's credit card to fund his next round-trip flight home to the midwest. Better than the food, though, was the fellowship. We're nine weeks into our summer program, and we've grown together. We talked, we laughed, and we felt completely comfortable. Of course, Offers always are at the back of our minds, but each of us has come to know an exceptional group of people, and for that I am especially grateful. I expected to be friendly with my co-workers, but I never expected to be their friend.

Celebrities

My sister is pals with one of Capitol Hill's fifty most beautiful people. I once ran into the guy at Kramerbooks in DuPont, and he recognized me, so that makes me pals with him, too.

I love famous people.

http://thehill.com/cover-stories/the-50-most-beautiful-
people-on-capitol-hill---
40-more-contd-2007-07-25.html

Shout, shout, get it all out....

...these are readers I can't do without, come on! [FN1]

Ms. Jenski, who is in the lead for the Most Posted Comments Award.

Ms. J, whom I believe to be an alumna of a certain institution between the foothills and the bay.

Mr. Jersey, aka LRev, who introduced the Captain to me as "The Guy Who Used to Scare Me." Best of luck on the Bar, LRev. We don't call you LRev for nothing!


--------------
FN1. Regular readers will recognize this as another reference to the Tears for Fears concert I am about to attend. I'm thinking about dressing up in period costume. Suggestions?

Harry Harry Harry

The New York Times has some nerve. Photos of children dressed up as wizards. Articles about books sales. PLOT SPOILERS. It's impossible to find out what's going on in the world without running into Harry.

But I don't want to run into Harry, at least not yet. My plucky little book is making its way all the way from England, and I want to treasure it when it gets here. San Diego is a far away place.

Doesn't The Times know that?

Run for Dessert

My horse came in last.

But he was my horse, that was clear. With a name like "Run for Dessert," even Summer Associates who've known me only a matter of weeks knew that that was colt for me.

Which makes me wonder, have I embraced too tightly my reputation as a homing beacon for dessert? No one wants to be The One Who Always Knows Where the Food Is. Thing is, I do always know where the food is.

My talent can be uncanny. When my family vacationed in Prague, a city in which I never had set foot, I directed my parents and sister, sans guidebook or recommendation, to a place that served the most delectable cakes and strudels. Granted, every tourist place in Prague serves cakes and strudels, but this place stood out. The coffee was especially good, and the ambience particularly charming. Even the bathroom was nice - the only 'A' bathroom we found, and we had used quite a few. Until Prague, I had thought my memory for dessert was limited only to cities in which I had lived. Wrong.

Of course, loving dessert has its upsides. The Captain got a second date even before we went on our first date because he told me our first date included ice cream-stuffed cupcakes. And see how well that's turned out.

Ridiculousness

I have three weeks left of work, and it's starting to feel like it.

One of the other summer associates, Good Neighbor (so named because he sits next to me), had this to say about the next several weeks:

[T]here are going to be breakfast treats on this floor on three out of the next six work days. I suspect we might also have birthday cake on one of those days. During the next eleven calendar days we have horse races, kayaking, two softball games, a beach party and "Shout, shout, let it all out, these are the things I can do without, come on, I'm talking to you, come on!" [FN1]

And by the close of business, we added "Dinner at a beachfront condo."

It's good to be a Summer Associate.

-------------
FN1. The lyric refers to the Tears for Fears concert the Summers are attending in two weeks.

More Pilates

Today I went to another Pilates class, but I'm still upright and ambulatory.

Frankly, I feel cheated.

Barely Political

It's the Great Debate for 2008: http://www.barelypolitical.com/.

There are so many reasons not to like this video, chief among them the objectification of women and the reduction of the presidential election to nothing but a beauty contest.

But, good grief, it's clever.

Surfer chick

This morning I went surfing. And it was fantastic.

I should clarify that by "surfing," I mean, "I walked out to the break, hopped on the board, and had my instructor push me back to shore."

But the feeling I got after managing to stay upright a few times in a row? Far out.

It's a small world after all

Today I started thinking that perhaps the world is too small.

Part of the appeal in coming to a place where I have no connections is simply that: I have no connections. But in the last week, I have discovered not one, but two, impossible connections that got me thinking that maybe even San Diego isn't far enough away.

The managing partner's daughter
My managing partner's daughter is a reporter at an online newspaper. The daughter's manager is a friend of mine from high school. This is spooky enough, given that the daughter grew up in San Diego and I grew up in the Junction. Spookier still, however, is that this online newspaper is based in New Delhi.

Buyer's counsel
My firm is seller's counsel in a somewhat complicated securities/real estate transaction. Today I discovered that buyer's counsel is my next-door neighbor from my first-year dorm. This is remarkable considering that I attended college in Rhode Island, and I now, might I remind you, LIVE IN SAN DIEGO. I consciously have tried something drastically new, but I keep on getting pulled right back.

So it makes we wonder if my world really is too small. Not in terms of geography, but in terms of networks. My parents gave me the best education they could afford, and I've worked hard to take advantage of those opportunities. But is running into, and dealing with, the same people over and over again really what education is all about? I thought I was supposed to be broadening my horizons.

Edited to add:
For a celebrity's opinion on roughly the same matters, see this thoughtful piece on social networks in this week's SundayBusiness. Apparently, Ben Stein and I are on the same wavelength. How about that.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/15/business/yourmoney/
15every.html?ex=1342152000&en=aa8016d0980e2982&
ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Animals

It was a sad, sad day...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/06/AR2007070600679.html

...until Sis forwarded this along. (Hi, Sis. Thanks!)

http://dogsagainstromney.blogspot.com/

God bless the Internet.

(And I passed my mid-summer review. Yay!)