The Burberry models at the Mall of America:
Yesterday was the last day of orientation. It was only a half-day and the 1Ls were very grateful.
During the last session with our 1L section, we made sure to drive home the three main rules for law school:
…and hopefully some of those stick. I think they are ready for this Jelly.
The 1Ls were stuck in lecture sessions for most of the morning, so the orientation leaders just sat around, chatted, and stared at the Mondalelisa, which is the glamor shot of Walter Mondale in the law school entrance.
Mondale always seems to stare right at you, and his smile becomes a sneer after a while.
Creepy.
After orientation I went to work, and ended the night watching Machete with Alesus.
The second day of orientation was epic. The 1Ls shuffled in at 8am, and left for the bar across the street around 5.
One of the most important things that happened today was the introduction to legal writing. Look at all those gleaming packets of knowledge:
Snazzy.
While the 1Ls were in hours (and hours) of sessions, I worked on less glamorous projects like stacking chairs:
Orientation leaders are flight attendants with manual labor duties: we smile, answer questions, give directions, mingle, smile some more, answer more questions, give peppy speeches, and haul tables and chairs throughout the law school.
At least the 1Ls aren’t crazy this year, so there were no Steven Slater moments so far.
I started the day as a greeter, and several of my 1L twitter followers and blog readers introduced themselves – which is always great when they don’t pelt me with oranges.
Although I don’t really know what the etiquette is for those conversations:
Alesus and I decided to take a nature-tour with the krakens. Of course the path near the river was flooded and the dogs had to charge right through the middle of the muck:
Every…freaking…time…
And I, being ever so prepared, decided to wear flipflops.
Good thing the dog harnesses made it super easy to throw the dogs in the river to torture clean them off.
And yes, the back seat of my car is a hot mess.
Today was the second day of orientation training. Orientation starts tomorrow, and I’ll be posted at the front doors greeting the new 1Ls at 7:30am.
And I think I’m getting sick. Bahumbug.
The most amusing part of orientation training is that we have to febreeze the classrooms:
I recently became the foursquare mayor of the Minneapolis Popeyes Chicken. I love that place. I go there every time I order a mouthful of buttery-biscuit goodness with a side of stereotypes.
The best thing about the Lake Street Popeyes is its signage:
I am sprawled on the bathroom floor. Blood is everywhere.
The “no mess” mouse trap that I bought is in fact, very messy. Sure, I cannot see the dead mouse in the trap’s chamber, but the trap is swimming in a pool of blood.
The trap is strategically placed under my bath tub, so I have to crawl on the floor to wipe up the pool of stinky mouse blood. Ick.
Cleaning was the theme of the week. My apartment got the complete pre-semester scrub. I changed the vase water, washed sheets and clothes, and shampooed the carpets.
I also scrubbed my kitchen, replaced tiles, and finally hauled in the tumblers that collected in my trunk during the semester:
People think I clean my apartment too often, but this drool train explains why:
Note how majestically it flaps in the wind.
I finally dusted off my roller skates and made it around three of the lakes after work.
It feels like everyone started school already, but the University of Minnesota law school starts after labor day, so I still have a week left of summer.
I only have one week of summer left because orientation leader training starts this Friday and I will spend the entire first week of September encouraging the new 1Ls to be less awkward around each other. I think we call that mingling.
So while the other law students figure out how to read cases, stress about employment, and even represent themselves in court, you can find me at the lake.
And I know it makes for dull reading and summary posts, but it is a lot of fun.
My time is spent working, listening to MPR, walking the krakens, biking, and watching trashy TV shows online with Alesus… you know, that “relaxation” thing that they beat out of us 1L year sometime between Contracts and Torts.
Oh, and there’s the occasional night out with drag show fabulousness:
So one of my neighbors used a bungee cord to hold up his bumper for the longest time. Now the bumper is riding inside the car:
