How I thought my day would be! |
Twas the night before internships, and all through Metrograte House- EVERYONE was stirring trying to think of how their first day would go. I went to bed at the party-girl/coke-head hour of 4 ish o'clock. Then woke up at 5. Followed by alarm at 7. Yay for 9 -to- 5's! Soapboxing on the street is my idea of making a living, not so much this whole "Look at me, I'm a lawyer" type thing.
Gray mornings are the best. |
Before starting my first day of work, it proved most important to "get there on time" (I'm sure you've heard that rhetoric before). My friend Theresa and I are of course, the two latest people in our group of friends, so naturally we would have the same tube stop for work! We actually made a really great decision to put off coffee just to make sure we got to work on time. Proud of us! But then we got to our station with 30 minutes to spare, so we just got donuts and almond croissants instead.
After Theresa started her walk down the street for work, I headed to Iceland to find out what women needed aid that morning. Before attempting a B&E when I forgot the code for the door (at least they couldn't charge me for that at my workplace) one of my fellow solicitors entered the numbers necessary to "Open SESAME!" Although Dane Cook tried to do it, apparently wishing yourself inside is not really a viable option either. My new friend (who will remain nameless, everything about our work is a bit secretive because of the nature of the job) immediately put me to work, and for the next three hours I spent time typing up a client's statement. I got to use really cool formatting and say things like "In reference to Paragraph (3) I would like to state that..." My victim's story was incredibly sad, and I couldn't believe the things that she had to go through only two years older than me. That is probably the hardest part of my work, entering in client data and seeing that our birth-dates are only a year or two apart- but a lifetime of difference in terms of growing up.
My new supervisors are apparently happy with me, as they wasted no time in allowing me to file cases! I was off to a bit of a slow start (and of course started sweating) when I found out our keyboards were different. As are our accents, which make it completely impossible for me to communicate with anyone on the phone.. My favorite conversation, "What did you say your name was? One more time. Bit slower... Spell it out for me... U-P-S, got it! Oh jeez, got it yes, I'll buzz you in. Sorry about that sir."
The day went by almost quickly, most likely because I had to open and close five cases. Today I filed a child molestation case, a non-molestation child abduction case, an injunction, and a case requesting separate living spaces for a non-sanctioned, arranged Islamic marriage. During this time, I answered phone calls, phoned visitors in, attempted to understand laws regarding International Child Abduction as it relates to England/Wales, and went over articles in the Hague Convention. As far as the latter, I thought that was just a convention Professor's made up to fill class time. They showed me!
How my day turned out. How quickly one can forget one's name. This is even me trying to remember how to smile. |
Yet the most exciting time of the day proved to be lunchtime. It was then that I ordered a $10 Subway footlong. You see, in the UK they make portions for midgets. Or small children/dwarves, whatever. They don't even ADVERTISE the footlong at Subway, there's just a brief little note that says (insert cheery voice) "And if you'd like to make your meal a footlong, just add 2 pounds!" So I got my Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki, super-sized it like you're supposed to, and was on my way. My supervisors were aghast at everything that I could eat, and wondered how I could do it! They also wondered why we didn't have universal health care... These people are on to something. Favorite quote, "But wait, wasn't Obama supposed to come in and fix everything?" Working on it (OBAMA 2012- shameless plug!)
Love this pic! On my way to meet Elly at Victoria Station. |
I once attempted to take a mini-break, which meant shoving granola in my mouth in between cases, but my fellow solicitor then suggested that I then check on the mail. WHAT A WONDERFUL SUGGESTION! During the day they said that they were really proud of me, and that tomorrow I would be taking on clients myself *so silly!* Honestly, I do really enjoy hearing about the cases and I can't wait to go to court with them next week, but all of this paperwork is crazy! I had no idea that the day-to-day life of a lawyer was so eerily similar to that of paper-mill workers. These women I work with are amazing though, and I feel they do more in one hour than our entire government does in a whole year. When I finally parted ways with them, they were still working hard at their cases and spewing legal diction in such thick accents that I thought I was in Cajun Louisiana. No way I'm understanding any of that.
NORRRRRRR!!!! |
HOWEVER, the best part of my day started when my Legally Blonde job ended. One of Elon's finest, our old trainer Elly Shearman, lives in Bristol and in London for the night! Before she left for India, Elly and I arranged to meet up for some drinks! f We met up at The Shakespeare right outside of Victoria Station, and I nearly cried seeing her cheery face coming toward me! Smiling and laughing, it just reminded me of how much we missed her and needed her this year. Elly our angel! Elly was kind enough to buy me a drink (Cider, duh) and we munched on olives while talking about our time apart. The weirdest part of our meeting was when an Englishman came up to me in a suit, point and said, "Boise, Idaho!" I almost screamed back my usual response- YOU DA HOE!- but I figured he wouldn't get it. I told him South Carolina, and the conversation just went down hill from there.
Nor bought me cider and olives after an exhausting day. I almost proposed. |
Parted ways with Elly, not before discussing a trip to Bristol to see her one last time (hopefully Mo and I will go!) After my trip to the bar, I somehow managed a nice run in Hyde Park- the perfect stress reliever to a very busy day. Gonna try to do it all again tomorrow, and live the Elle Woods lifestyle for a lil bit longer!! If anyone's looking to retire sometime soon, send the information my way.
Pics from the run!!
TRIED SO HARD not to look like a pedophile taking this pic. These little boys are so cute! |
Look, sidewalk! |
Right for this beast of an animal tried to attack me! SUCKER PUNCH SOLVED THAT! |