Happy Trails

How Many Boxes?!?!?!

As previously noted, we ordered a Bowflex. It came quite quickly--ordered it Tuesday, and it came in yesterday. Only problem was, it got delivered when we weren't at home. And again, as previously noted, we don't live in a very good neighborhood, so we were worried that it would get stolen while sitting on our porch for 6 hours unattended.

Accordingly, we had our own little surveillance operation--I manned the UPS tracking website yesterday, and Hubster kept his day as free as possible to jet home and haul the packages into the house before somebody decided they wanted a free home gym. I refreshed the UPS page at noon on the dot. I called Hubster:

"It's been delivered! It's been delivered! 11:59--it's there!"

"I'm on it. *click*"

"*Laura hums Mission Impossible music into the receiver, until it starts to beep and she realizes she's humming to no one.**click*"

It was like the Geek Squad commercials, but with a different mission--prevention of felonies. Hubster called twenty minutes later:

"*panting panting* I got it. I got it all.*panting panting*"

"Yay!!!! Good job! Thanks! Was it hard?"

"Um, very heavy. It came in 6 boxes."

"How many boxes?!?!?!?"

And then I began to have flashbacks of our IKEA nightmare as newlyweds. Numerous boxes. An empty house. All that stands between me and putting this house together is...horribly written IKEA instructions. 6 very large pieces of furniture were purchased from that Swedish hell-hole. The debacle that followed has become my own personalized Greek depiction of hell. I don't want to relive it.

"Laura? Are you there?"

"*Sigh* Yes, right here."

"I'll put it together tomorrow night."

"Okay....can I help?"

"Only if you promise to be good."

"*Silence* How about I make appetizers and provide moral support?"

"Perfect."

So cross your fingers for us. Will we overcome the IKEA assembly nightmares of our past? Or, will we founder into dismal despair at the sight of too many bolts to mention, along with the mysterious absence of the one tool required by every screw...

(Hex://Law_School//Hex:)

When people find out I'm an attorney (at a wedding, party, in line to the bathroom), I'm frequently surprised by the number of people who say, "Oh, really? I'm thinking about going to law school! Got any advice?" Or, even worse, "Oh, really? I just got in to "X" law school--I'll be attending classes in the fall!" And I find myself faced with a horrible dillema: do I reveal to them the cruel and awful truth? Or, do I politely encourage/congratulate them and edge the conversation on to a less onerous topic?

I. Hated. Law School. There's really no other way to say it. It was the hardest time in my life, and it has changed me in ways that I don't necessarily consider positive. I am no longer able to think the same way I did before law school. And while that's great for my job, sometimes it can be a real bummer when I'm living outside of the suit. And it isn't that I don't like the law--I love criminal law. It's interesting, relevant, and exciting...but, I guess I just wish I had thought about going to law school more before I chose this path...like...I wish I had thought about not going. Sure, there were positive moments--like when exams were finally over, or when I overcame something particularly difficult...but most of the time I felt like the square peg being forced into the round hole--and for those of you who haven't experienced that before--it HURTS.

Even now, I feel like I'm still recovering. I've been out of the bubble for 10 months now, and I feel like I'm only just getting circulation back into the creative areas of my brain and soul that I had previously left for dead.

Sure, there are people that LOVED the experience--they thrived on it, and excelled beyond their wildest dreams. I just wasn't one of those people. And all I can say is that I never want to lie to anyone about it, even if it does make me sound like a negative nancy who still needs to work it out in therapy.

So in those moments when I'm put on the spot, I wish I was gadgety enough to have an iPhone or iTouch, because I would simply show them this video, and let someone else tell them the truth. Because while this is of course a comedic rendition of the experience...it isn't too far from the reality.