Megacheesesteaks

So I've been having some really weird and not just weird but also crazily vivid dreams over the last couple of weeks. In that sense, finishing law school is sort of like taking a malaria pill. All kinds of weird things have been happening in the dreams with travels, spiders, junior high teachers, mountainous roads, and more; thankfully, though, at least I seem to have stopped dreaming that either I or Brian has killed someone -- usually accidentally but always in some sort of compromising circumstance -- which I believe came from when I was watching episode after episode of Breaking Bad. Which is a fantastic show. We Netflixed the first season, of course, and then we recorded a bunch of season 2 but did not get all the way through it before we got rid of our cable stations. So I'm totally left hanging on how season 2 will end. Spoil not, please!

The thing about the weird dreams is that I am SO RELIEVED to wake up and figure out that whatever force with which I was contending no longer poses any threat to me. Bug dreams, that is always the case. Such a relief to get out of those. And the manslaughter ones were psychologically devastating to the point that it would take a while for me, even after waking, to realize that this guilt and terrible secret I was carrying inside were totally not based on reality. I find it so strange that dreams can affect my waking self that way.

It happens with minor threats, too, though. For example, earlier this week Brian and I went to Philadelphia for the day, which, yay! because hello, I had been there only once on a road trip and that SO briefly, as in, here let's-slow-the-car-and-watch-the-sunset-so we-can-kind-of-say-we-were-in-Philadelphia briefly. This time I actually SAW the city, which I loved (knew I would!) and I also finally saw the Liberty Bell. I had been pretty disappointed in myself for living a mere two hours down the road the past three years and never going there, but then again, I was hanging out with Long Islanders who have been known to call Pennsylvania "out West" so comparatively I didn't really feel guilty about anything to do with U.S. travel/geography at all. Here's an example of how much a Long Islander cares about the rest of the United States. This is a 100% true direct quote overheard by me on the Hofstra shuttle bus. The speaker was a dumb Hofstra student on her cell phone (double ugh): "So, he bought me a ticket to, like, I don't know. California or Colorado -- um, what's the one with all the mountains?" True story. Seriously.

So the other reason we went to Philly was for some authentic Philly cheesesteak (now that I am a lapsed vegetarian, I eat special meat on special occasions, occasionally), stemming from an incident LAST SUMMER in which we saw this fun documentary called This Is My Cheesesteak about four of the greatest places in the city to get the signature food. We even got t-shirts that say "This is my cheesesteak." This has been a long-simmering desire. Anyway, we saw the Liberty Bell, Independence Mall/Hall, City Hall, many streets, historical alleys, the river, a fun pub, and so forth, not to mention two of the best cheesesteak places (duh, one for lunch and one for dinner). The verdict -- I'm a fan of Pat's Famous Steaks, I gotta say.

What this means is that we walked and walked and walked and walked. I am a daily walker all around town and I was still tired after all the miles we walked in Philadelphia. Walking and walking and walking and cheesesteaking and walking and walking and walking some more. That night when we got home I was drifting off seconds after my head hit the pillow and apparently started dreaming right away (scientists, what gives?) because a few minutes later Brian was still talking to me but he woke me from a dream in which we were stuck in Philly. In the dream, we somehow couldn't get our return bus that night and were totally stressing finding somewhere to sleep there. But really we were home. I was so delighted that he asked me something to wake me up so that I could stop worrying about finding somewhere to sleep.

See, weird, right? I mean, it's no Nightmare on Elm Street or anything but it is totally starting to be a pain in the ass to deal with whatever thing it is I have to deal with in my dreams lately, and get all worked up, only to finally wake up and have wasted all that energy. Not that it's energy, exactly, in my dreams, but I'm finding myself kind of fatigued lately too, so maybe it is. Can you expend energy in your dreams? I have never really thought about this before. The mind boggles.

I can't let this blog entry end without giving props to the Megabus. I have taken it from New York to Washington D.C. (for our Supreme Court trip! Hi Ruth B G!) and Boston and now Philadelphia. It is the latest competitor to the Bolt Bus, Chinatown buses, and of course the dastardly Greyhound. The great thing about Megabus (and Bolt, but I'm finding it more available on the Mega) is that the earliest purchasers get their tickets for a dollar! One dollar! It all depends on availability, so if you're far enough in advance you can find several to many dollar seats on any given day; as it gets closer and the trips book up the prices can go up to $3, or $8, or maybe $15 or $18. I adore the Megabus. Basically, it cost Brian and me the same to go to Philly as the subway ride into Manhattan and back. Plus, many of their trips have double decker buses with headphone jacks to drown out annoying cell phone people and blue seats. Swoon!

Hi!

Well, it has been a while since I blogged. I guess that's what happens when one is busy graduating from law school! That's right, the deed is done. I am the proud owner of a J.D. I guess "owner" is all right to say, seeing as it came at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars -- much of which has actually not yet been paid, and is currently accumulating interest. Student loans -- gotta love 'em! But why dwell on that now? This is the grace period! A time for reflection, pride, joy, sense of accomplishment, and "HOLY CRAP DID I REALLY JUST GO TO LAW SCHOOL?!"

There have been so many amazing people supporting me in this law school endeavor and I am so glad that they (well, most of them) turned out to celebrate with a big party in our back yard on Saturday. Old friends, new friends, and good times around the grill! Then Sunday it was time for the actual ceremony, when more than a dozen tried and true friends and family members schlepped out to Hofstra on Long Island to witness the commencement. They were a fabulous cheering section.

The whole experience was kind of what I imagine and am told a wedding is like: so much is going on that it's actually hard to take it all in, and you have to remind yourself to concentrate on the things being said to commemorate the moment. And there are a zillion people from your past around and it's hard to find individual moments with them all, plus you find yourself saying the same thing over and over in response to the "So, what's next?" Also very wedding-like.

Despite the ups and downs of Hofstra (and more specifically, Long Island) life, I really enjoyed my graduation day. I like the law school dean and many of the professors, and I liked gathering with my friends and sitting there reveling in what we had all just accomplished. Senator Schumer was a nice surprise, too. And I like the pomp and circumstance.

Boy am I tired! Time for some rest ... but stay tuned to see what will be the next thrilling adventure!

Three, two, one...

Three more papers.

All that stands between me and being entirely done with law school: three more papers.

The papers are long, they are half-written, they need revision and cite-checking and more sources and more arguments and less straw men and, just generally, more blood, sweat and tears.

And then, after the three papers, a light glows at the end of this long dark tunnel. I am diligently wading through the papers, toward that light.

Be there soon!