One down, 729 to go

I arrived at 20 minutes past the time we were supposed to be there this morning because really, could they really mean to arrive by 9 am for breakfast when the first welcome speech started at 9:30?

I was the last person to arrive.

Auspicious beginnings, I tell ya.

Despite sleeping fairly badly the past few days, I managed to get through the day with a socially acceptable level of civility and cheer, helped by multiple cups of coffee that no doubt burned a hole through the lining of my stomach. I talked to a few people I'd met last summer and liked, and found that I still liked them, and met a number of others who met varying degrees of interestingness.

After welcome speeches and paperwork, we were treated to a lunchtime panel with four second year associates who talked about what their first year experiences were like, and what they wished they had known when they started. This included being courteous and polite to the support staff, because "if you get on their list, they can make your life hell."

Two points about that. First, it gave me a horrible impression of the support staff. How professional can they be if they deliberately slow down your projects because you yelled at them? The admonitions made the staff seem vindictive and petty. Second, it's lovely and telling that all four associates thought it necessary to tell the starting class to be polite to people lower in the hierarchy. And not just tell once -- emphasize for literally 5 minutes how important it was. Jesus. What is it about the legal profession that makes any lawyer think she or he can get away with being an asshole?

Other "helpful" tips: ask questions rather than waste time trying to do something yourself, tell people in advance if you need to leave early for some reason or have scheduled vacation time, don't blame others for your mistakes.

Thanks.

We heard about the history of the U.S. group and had a presentation about ethics, and then it was time for the reception, at which three people came up to me and said, "Are you hk? J told me to look for you!" J is a law school friend and has much kindness in her heart. I saw her briefly on Thursday and told her I was dreading the start of work, so she emailed everyone she befriended last summer and told them to take care of me. And so they came, they asked my name, and they looked after me. Damn. That's kindness right there.

By this time, it was 6:30, and it was time for dinner. Yes. No end in sight. Three associates (including my eventual officemate), five first years, lots of cheese, and more calories than I've eaten for the past two weeks.

I walked home, 20 blocks from the restaurant, at 10 pm. There were plenty of people still walking about and cars driving by, but the city felt relaxed, and so did I. I checked my messages and found a text from bigbro that gave me the warm fuzzies. For the first time since I got here, I felt unexpectedly cheerful. Like there might be a way to recapture the hopefulness, the romanticism, the dream of living in New York.