A Bad Day of Work Followed By A Considerably Better Day of Work

You'll be happy to know that I though I have continued to sniffle disgustingly, I feel much much better and my head no longer feels like a black hole. My improved physical condition arrives just in time for me to get my first assignment, which I received Wednesday morning to be due the following morning. This assignment was for one of the lawyers who interviewed me and who I really like, so I really wanted to do a good job. The assignment is interesting and I'm excited to do the research -- except they don't have our lexisnexis (law research database) passwords setup and though I can use my own school password I can't print to the network printers and I *have* to print the cases --so basically I am screwed.

Meanwhile the office lady who takes care of all this is dealing with people on the phone every five minutes because her father is dying and has been moved into hospice care so the last thing I want to do is go hassle her about passwords and crap. So I email her (passive agressive I know) to help me "when she gets a chance" and then spent the next five hours with my thumb officially up my ass.

I decide to wisely use the time to read a lot on the internet, especially about this Eurovision song contest (which is a sort of cracked out American Idol) where Finnish group Lordi, who dress like monsters were the big winners. The internet is ablaze with Lordi -- from Slate to Go Fug Yourself, Lordi is everywhere. God bless the Finnish. But I digress.

At 3:30 the lady comes around and we finally start getting setup which takes another hour so at 4:30 I finally get started on the project and realize I'm fucked. 6pm rolls around and I am exhausted and realize I need a journal so I figure I'll take my work home and pick up the journal at the UT library on my way. I gather up my stuff and roll out to the garage.

As I opening my trunk to toss my bag in the car, this fat sparrow half flies/half falls into my trunk. At first I'm all "awww, wook at tha widdle engwish sparewhoah" and then I'm like "get the fuck out of my car so I can go home." Fat Sparrow has other plans and flies deeper into my trunk. Fuck. I get an umbrella and try to poke the sparrow out. No dice. And then I can't see where sparrow has gone. Damn. I start taking things out of my trunk-- which since i just moved here has a bunch of crap in it like my bike rack and a random box of crap and cd's, etc. My car crapfest starts attracting people who think I have a flat tire, but then I explain to them that a bird has flown in my trunk.

The crowd is now intrigued. One guy actually crawl in my trunk to find the bird, but alas, it does not appear. Crowd now things I am crazy girl, which is a bad development. I finally just thank my would be helpers, throw my crap back in the trunk and drive off. I am terrified that bird is going to somehow get into the cabin of my car and go all Hitchcock's "Birds" on me. Or worse, die in some panel in my car and smell hellacious. At any rate, I stop by UT on my way home, and of course the library is closed. I take this opportunity to open my trunk though while I'm parked and yell inside it at the bird in hopes of "encouraging" it to leave. Again, no dice.

I go home now thoroughly weary and notice there are about 10 people in front of the house where I'm subletting. Oh fuck. My housemate, who is a supernice guy and I really like is having people over to grill. And normally this would be great -- except that this is sooo not my day. Jesus, Tupac, and Santa Clause could all be coming over to grill and I would still feel the same level of aversion, becuase contrary to popular belief, I am actually shy and really have to force myself to be outgoing. Also contrary to popular belief, I cannot talk to *everyone*. Especially when the people at this party are entirely law review students and all you have in common is that you're in law school, and not even the same law school, and they're like 15 times better at it than you are. Fuck. But they are all really nice and under more normal circumstances I would psyche myself up for this and be more talkative but I am so tired and stressed because project is nowhere near complete that I am not in a good frame of mind.

In an effort to seem not-crazy and like a decent human being as opposed to resentful housemate (which I am not, let me be clear), I drink some beer and try to chat with people, but as I previously mentioned topics are limited. It's starting to get dark so I decided to go check on cujo-bird in my car. I open my trunk and the fat sparrow squawks at me and looks pissed. I'm like what the hell bird? Screw you too, and then thankfully it flies off. That's right -- I love the environment

So I rejoin the party and think I swiftly drink two beers which = bad and before I know it I'm feeling kind of bleary. Panic now officially sets in, and I crazily run around and tell the LR students it was nice to meet them but I have to go draft a memo. Hopefully, I do not seem too strange, but hell they're on Law Review so they should understand. I work on my memo until about 1am at which point project is not finished but I certainly am so I crash.

At 4:30 a.m. my sister calls to tell me she got accepted to her program in London (she'd just finished her interview and they ofered her a position) which I am so proud of her for -- just not at 4:30 in the damn morning. I get up one hour later and go into work to finish my memo, which I turn in twenty minutes late. I spent the rest of the day trying to focus on my computer until it's time for the meeting at 3:30 where we'll be talking about what was in my memo.

This is the good part -- the attorney told me that i did a "great job." Yes, I will work like a complete crazy person for two words of affirmation. Thank god tomorrow is friday because I cannot begin to imagine what else could happen to me if this week were any longer.