Cranky and in need of a nap!

It is that time of the semester: too much to do and too little time! I have planned two events (with a great deal of help) in the last week, Thursday will be my fifth interview in two weeks, my reading is piling up, and I only seem to be able to muster enough energy to stare blankly at the wall. In addition, my bank is trying to take advantage of me and finals are looming on the not-too-distant horizon... Enough whining. I have been feeling pretty sorry for myself lately, which I know is counter-productive and makes me WAY less fun to hang out with. So, we can move on to the positives:

I have some AMAZING people in my life! From my parents, who never fail to make me feel better, to Maisha, who drove me on a long expedition into the middle of nowhere to satisfy my Red Robbin craving, to Gordon, who always knows when I am in dire need of a snuggle, to the people in the Career Planning and Public Interest offices, who are cheering me on in my job search, and the friends who answer the phone and listen while I rant, I am a lucky girl. Then, of course, there is Ronald. What a lovely human being he is! He is so supportive and loving. I am counting the days until I arrive in Africa for Christmas vacation (36!). It has been difficult the last month or so to get through via telephone, but I discovered I can use Skype to send text messages.

While the job search is exhausting and frustrating, I am amazed at the number of positive responses I have received from e-mailing out my resume and transcript. Things could be worse! Perhaps by the end of all of this I will be better than a mediocre interviewer. I have never really liked selling myself, so this has been a beneficial experience. I keep telling myself that. I know when it is all over I will be better able to appreciate that. I'm waiting...

The last two IHRA events were also very successful, last Thursday we co-sponsored a documentary screening with Lambda Law about the right to marry as a basic human right. The passage of Proposition 8 in California is very disturbing to me. I have always believed that consenting adults should be allowed to marry, but lately the whole issue has become much more personal to me. 50 years ago there were states which would consider my marrying Ronald a crime. I hope it doesn't take another 50 years for the LGTB community to have their rights recognized.

We also had a great lecture on Legal Aid in Xinjiang province as part of out Human Rights in China speaker series. It was very interesting to learn about the types of cases being handled by legal aid and the legal system in China. The event was well-attended, and I hope that momentum continues for our events next semester.

Mom asked for some pictures of Gordon. I haven't gotten the new ones on my computer yet, so here are some older ones to tide her over.

This one's for mom

OK, I have now been MIA for far too long. My apologies. Things started getting a little hairy just after my last blog post. I will try to fill in the gaps:

I finished my internship at HIAS, and had grand hopes of being back in the office one day a week by mid-September. This has not happened yet, and may have to wait for next semester. My three weeks at HIAS were incredible, the attorneys and staff are wonderful and I learned SO MUCH in three short weeks. I miss everyone, so I hope to be back soon.

On Campus Recruiting (OCR) started the Sunday after my last day at HIAS. OCR is a two week process where firms from all over the country (and some Government employers) come to campus and interview Penn Law students. I had 25 20-minute screening interviews and several firm receptions during the two weeks. That is a lot of being "on" and also a lot of running around in a suit in the late August heat and humidity in Philadelphia. All-in-all, I met some really cool people, got some practice interviewing, and even discovered a new area of interest: Antitrust.

School started during the second week of OCR, and with classes came Journal orientation, source hunts (where you have to find either and electronic or hard copy of every source the author of an article sites), and edits. I am also taking 5 courses which have been interesting thus far. I am taking Immigration, International Trade Regulation, International Human Rights, Lawyering in the Public Interest, and Professional Responsibility. I am also on the board of the International Human Rights Advocates (IHRA) and the Equal Justice Foundation (EJF). So, I am keeping busy, in other words!

Callback week is the time when we travel to interviews with firms that we met at OCR and have been offered an additional interview with. Unfortunately, this year it happened to coincide with the economic collapse. Not the best time to be looking for a job! My birthday fell on Tuesday of that week, so my friend Maisha had a surprise party for me on the Friday before at Ted's Montana Grill. It was nice to see some of my friends and enjoy a bison burger. Maisha had even gotten in touch with Ronald, who was waiting up for us to call him so he could be a part of the party! It was very nice! I have great friends!

On Sunday I headed down to DC and visited with my friend Rania, who is a 3L at Georgetown Law, and her husband, Ben. I had an interview on Monday and then took the train up to New York where I stayed with my cousin Nick and his girlfriend, Kayt. I had an interview Tuesday morning, and then I met Kayt and we walked around Manhattan, past Ground Zero and Wall Street. We met up with Nick when he got off work and headed to a birthday dinner at a great Senegalese restaurant in Brooklyn. The next morning Kayt made muffins and I headed out to another interview. I almost landed on my face when my suitcase got caught in the turnstile, but luckily someone caught me and I made it to my interview unscathed. After my interview, I met up with my friend Dana, who I stayed with in New Zealand. She just moved to New York, so I am hoping to be able to go back and spend some more time with her soon. I caught my train back to Philadelphia and spent the night in my own bed.

On Thursday morning I went to the airport and caught a 6:30 flight to Seattle. When I got to the hotel, I thought I would take a quick nap and then have time to get some Thai food and enjoy Seattle. I ended up sleeping for about 8 hours. Oops. The next morning I had my fourth interview. I then met a friend for coffee, went and had Thai food (thank goodness!), met another friend for coffee, and then headed to the airport. I landed in Bozeman late Friday and got to see my mom, dad, and Gordon! On Saturday we had a nice birthday dinner with my parents, my grandpa, my next-door neighbor, and my friends Molly and Abby. After dinner I showed Molly, Abby and Kirsten my photos.

Sunday I tried to get my thank-you e-mails to the firms that had interviewed me sent and almost missed my plane. I was happily surprised to run into my friend Molly (not the same Molly) on the plane. We got to spend some time together at the Minneapolis airport before I headed off to Philadelphia and she headed off to London. Maisha met Gordon and me at the airport and took us home. It is so nice to have him back! I know mom misses him, so I feel a little guilty about that.

October flew by, but was characterized by extreme frustration at the dodgy telephone network in Botswana which made it hard for me to get in touch with Ronald. I also helped plan an event with a speaker on Guantanamo Detainees for IHRA and the Tortfeasors' Ball fundraiser for EJF (everyone dresses up as a character from their favorite case or legal theory). Lots of flyers, announcements, phone calls, and publicity. I still do not have a job offer for next summer, so I am in the process of retooling my job-search. Happily, I did get my ticket to South Africa to visit Ronald for Christmas! We don't know where exactly he will be living by then, due to the difficult nature of work permission in Botswana, but I do know I will see him soon :)

Yesterday I finally got off my butt and volunteered for Obama in Southwest Philadelphia. I knocked on doors and tried to make sure everyone would show up at the polls on Tuesday. I have reading to do today, but I hope to make it back out on Tuesday to see what I can do to help. If dealing with the economy being so bad and the job search being so difficult is the price I have to pay to get Obama in the Whitehouse it will be worth it. Here's hoping!