If you look to the far right, you will see my brother standing up in a white/blue shirt, and I am seated to the left of him. Pretty awesome seats, if you ask me! After the game, we hung out at my apartment for a while before calling it a night. We both needed the rest and ended up unexpectedly sleeping until noon, at which point we went for a long walk from my apartment to Old Town. On Saturday night, I met up with some law school friends for one last hurrah. We started at a piano bar and then Mita and I ended up traipsing around River North before ending up at Hub 51--one of my favorite places in this city. To an extent, the end of the night made me feel like I had come full circle, given my first real night out in Chicago this summer was with Mita, as per the photo below.
On Sunday, the pressure hit. The day started with a disappointing end to my sand volleyball team's season (we ended the season undefeated and were a No. 1 seed in the playoffs before losing to the No. 17 seed in the first round). However, the match was rather memorable to me personally in that I spiked the ball during the game for the first time since I started playing volleyball in 3rd grade, and it went over too. Shocking, I know! After the game, I scurried home to do some work, taking breaks mostly to watch my new favorite show - Friday Night Lights.
It's fair to say that I had anticipated that the coming week would be relatively busy, given the amount of projects I had taken on during the summer. I still had 5 open projects as of Monday, and I was slightly worried about that fact. We were told at our Tuesday morning breakfast that, if we had all of our work in early, the summer committee might be able to make offers to us as early as Friday--all of our last days at the firm. For thatt reason, i tried to power through everything. Unfortunately, one of my projects suddenly took off, and I needed to shuffle everything else in order to do my part. Consequently, I ended up pushing everything until Wednesday and Thursday, staying late both nights. The aforementioned was made better by the fact that some of the associates on my floor stayed late as well, and we all ended up ordering pizza together. In a strange way, it reminded me of my high school debate days combined with some aspects of sorority life. We were all in it together, pulling late hours, working hard, yet still enjoying the experience because of the company. Finally, at 11pm on Thursday night, I had turned in all 16 of my summer assignments. As a result, I was warned that I likely would not hear anything definitive about an offer until Tuesday, with my coordinator noting that "it will be like all of the other summer associates are celebrating Christmas, and you're the only one left out." Ironic, of course, given the fact that my family is Jewish. Nevertheless, at 2:30pm on Friday, I was told that I had earned an offer of permanent employment at my firm. Since I was not expecting to hear until Tuesday, I was shocked and very excited. Really, "was" probably isn't the appropriate verb...I am shocked and excited. Of course, saying my goodbyes was rather difficult. I had the pleasure of meeting so many brilliant people this summer that limiting my list of goodbyes was the only thing more difficult than the goodbyes themselves. When I finally turned in my cardkey and my computer, I breathed a sigh of relief and simultaneously contemplated pinching myself in order to ensure that this whole thing has not been some kind of a prolonged and elaborate dream. The jury is still out on that one.
Since all of the summers received offers, we went to South Branch (another of my favs) after work to celebrate. It was great to see everyone one last time, and, yet, it was strange to think that I won't see some of those people for another year or two years, depending upon whether they decide to pursue a clerkship. For that reason, the evening was bittersweet.
However, it quickly took a turn for the worst. As soon as I entered my apartment, the pain in my leg from earlier in the week became debilitating. I decided to lay down and watch some Friday Night Lights on my computer while letting my leg rest and, hopefully, recover. It didn't. Instead, the pains continued and became even sharper, shooting up and down my thigh as well as from my inner thigh to the area near my hip. When I woke up this morning, I decided I would attempt to walk over to Walgreens in order to pick up some pain medication, only to realize that I had lost my wallet. Lovely. Given my condition, I have spent most of the past 24 hours in bed.
I guess the totality of the circumstances support the oft-cited phrase, "You take the good with the bad" or the more cliched version, "Every rose has its thorns." On balance, the past 10 days have been dramatic, busy, exciting, nerve-racking, painful and yada yada yada. However, the most important things have been positive, and the negative things are, hopefully, only temporary. My leg has started to feel better, and no one was able to use my credit cards before I canceled them. So, I'll move on.
Now that my time as a summer associate is over, there is much to reflect on and ponder. I still haven't fully processed all of it, and, similar to the celebratory drinks, this moment is bittersweet. I look forward to relaxing before starting up again at school, but I also really found my rhythm at work this summer and met some great people with whom I hope to keep in contact. At the same time, I look forward to returning to the gym and renewing my commitment to my physical well-being. Of course, that requires my leg to be in working condition, so it may have to wait another week or so.
I know there is much more to share, but it will have to wait until next time.
Un besito,
Alyse
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