Well that was fun

Left house - 8.35.

Got to desk (albeit via a detour for egg white sandwich and iced coffee*) - 11.15.

I kid ye not.

Gawker's take on the story tells you what you need to know, although it is rather exclusively east-sided - and while I work east-side, I am very much a westsider. It's one of the unexpected transitions I have taken in NYC, having gone from being a southeasterner through and through - and remaining so - in my Londoner identity, I am now living on the northwest corner of Manhattan.

To commemorate this situation, I present my top ten suitable songs for this morning:

1) Going Underground (or not, as the case may be) - The Jam (with an honourable mention for Down in the Tube Station at Midnight)

2) Drowned World / Substitute for Love - Madonna

3) Crosstown (or any bloody kind of it today) Traffic - Jimi Hendrix

4) Underwater Love - Smoke City

5) Stuck in the Middle (of Manhattan, the bus, whatever) with You - Steelers Wheel

6) (Pounding the) City Pavement - The Subways

7) People Under The Weather - Jehst

8 ) It's Oh So Quiet - Bjork (office is DESERTED)

9) Ain't No Sunshine - Bill Withers

10) Train in Vain - The Clash

*Yes, I have become yankeefied to that extent. Yikes indeed. You'll be pleased to know I counteract this by having a cup of Yorkshire tea every morning, what with Yorkshire being so unbelievably English that it nullifies the yankeeness.

Counting Down

I have started the beginning of the end of my summer of work. It has been so much more instructive than I could possibly have hoped for at the start. It has also been an incredibly long summer, what with finishing exams so late, then Malawi, then straight here into work. Therefore I cannot articulate just how much I'm looking forward to some basic R&R and reading of lovely fiction books and just being a slob for a while. Not that I'm not a slob right now - our bedroom currently impeaches me on that point - but the need to laze is becoming increasingly urgent.

However, it really is hitting me that next year is my last year of school and then I don't really have any more excuses for not delving into the world of work. And not just any old work, but one where I am challenged intellectually, where I have to take responsibility for what I produce, that sort of thing.

I'm scared.

This is all a bit much.

So for now, I shall think of the DVD of extras waiting for me at home (First series, finally, after many viewings of the second) and catching up on The Soup. That hopefully will spur me on...

Upward Mobility

I haven't really spoken much about my work - understandably, as I'm essentially on trial here to see if they want me afterwards - but one thing that drives me nuts about office culture as a whole is the way men absolutely refuse to leave the lift before I do. They just can't do it. And I can't go first without automatically saying "thank you," even though I really, truly do not want to do so, because it will encourage and reinforce such behaviour.

A woman I worked with once went nuts because some bloke passed us in the corridor and didn't stop and wait for us, who were going two-by-two, to go past. Given that I was working somewhere I thought the staff would not be bothered by that sort of thing, I was somewhat taken aback, and mumbled that I thought it was much worse to not say thank you when someone holds the door open for you (NB: I definitely do think that!). Why should a man have to wait for me to go past? Why is it "polite" in that definite gender context, and not impolite for a woman to rush past a man?

I don't think it's due to harmless, old-fashioned manners. I think it's still a way of men controlling women's movements, albeit in an oblique way. I always feel it's them treating me like a guest, instead of being there as equals. Not that gender differences should be unnoticed - or noticed - but rather in this sort of situation - where women still make up less than a fifth of partners at law firms - I appreciate every acknowledgement of equality and gnash my teeth at every remaining trace of our inequality. And as long as men continue to do this, we will never be their equals in the workplace.

And we won't be as long as law firms give etiquette classes to their summer associates, "for fun," which set out so many manners based on gender. Apparently, women need to walk in front of men going upstairs, and behind them going downstairs, all presumably based on the fact that having a uterus makes us think about pink and sparkly things which, in turn, make us giddy and need the potential support of a hombre when we faint. We also need men to walk on the side of the pavement nearest the street, presumably to shield us from running screaming across the traffic if we see a baby or a nice pair of shoes.

Treading Water

I am not the tidiest person at the best of times, nor the most domestic, but this whole working business has really messed up (hee!) my house arrangements. I honestly feel as if part of the point of this summer is to learn how to balance things - going out, sleeping, being a good partner - with the demands of work. Not that this is the most realistic form of work, although it's not the easy ride that some people would have you believe.

I'm not sure if I'm coping well, yet. At points I've felt as if I were drowning, a little, but luckily at those points the people round me have brought me back above the surface. But what I am becoming increasingly aware of is that my tendency to take too much on is going to send me insane if I don't curb it. I am full of admiration for my friends who manage their social and work lives so well. I am learning, however, that sleep is the number one priority to keep me compos mentis, and the gym is a good thing, too. From those all things will follow as they should. Hopefully.

READ IT NOW

Every woman and man should read this fabulous article on career woman, marriage and quite frankly, misogyny. I shall be sending it to you forthwith so you may as well read it now, friends, and comment to me independently on its wonderful accuracy, wit and insight.

Kittens and rainbows and ponies

I'm needing to think about pretty, harmless, nice things because I have been in the logistical hell and emotionally draining nightmare that is... early interview week. It's hardcore. We have to speak to a million people, schmooze up to them and tell them why they want us as associates, and why we want them as colleagues/bosses/employers.

It's hard.

I've enjoyed it, finding out from firms about their ethos and atmosphere. I've also not enjoyed it, such as agonizing over an interview that I think I messed up today. In fact, talking it over with others, I definitely messed it up. And I was excited about getting that interview, and the firm. And I should have known the answer to the question, been prepared for it. But I wasn't, and now I'm going to pay for it.

Oops.

Still. Not Bitter. Or Angry at Myself. Oh no.

I may not be telling the truth there...

Probably Just Turning

For quite a while now, I have thought that Barack Obama is the best thing to happen to US politics since... not sure what - not exactly knowledgeable on the stuff. But he is articulate, interesting, intelligent and always seems to get to the crux of the matter. I'd forgotten just how much I love him until this morning, I decided to listen to some of his old podcasts I have stored up...

This was the first one I listened to and it reminded me a) just why Barack is THE MAN and b) just why Alito's nomination and subsequent election to the Supreme Court was such a disaster, not just for us pro-choice people, but for all liberals and those who aren't on the extreme right. Disaster. Roberts, well, wasn't going to be avoided. But this was a... disaster is the only word.

I was going to write about my favourite things about Ticoland, but Barack has taken over all thoughts... will think more and then write more.

PLUS: I now absolutely have to buy a kickarse suit and haircut in order to make sure that I ace the interviews I have lined up for interview week at Fordham. Not that I'm even sure I want them, yet. But you never know...