It's a really, really small world

Would you like to know how small the world is getting? Tonight I heard people talking out in the hall and I was all excited because they were speaking English - American English!!! So I stuck my head out and introduced myself. Strangest thing - they are all from St. Paul, Minnesota! They are here because one of the women's son is getting married to a girl from Austria next weekend. We hit it off almost immediately!! We all went to dinner together at this great little restaurant and they invited me to go to the wedding next weekend! I've officially been dubbed the "wedding crasher." I'm totally delighted and tickled pink. It made my entire day and Dianna (the woman whose son is getting married) decided that it was fate that we were supposed to meet here. I love them all...they are amazing.

It's a Robbie Williams kinda day

I haven't written in awhile simply because I haven't had much to report. Last night was fun - Victoria invited Vanessa and I over for potato pancakes. Her roommates are Czech and offered to make us all potato pancakes. They were amazing. I was so stuffed when I got home. It was madness. But it was fun to sit and chat with everyone. That's the beauty of it all - last night we had the following countries "represented": US, Australia, Germany, Switzerland, Czech Republic and Austria. It is just so much fun to get everyone in the same room.

Today I'm continuing on my existential crisis. Sara has advised me not to think so much (really Sara? Really?) and enjoy myself. Sotirios has advised me to "tone it down." Me...I'm turning 30 in 2 months. While I believe that I spent my 20s laying the foundation for my life (and they have been tumultuous, at best) and that my 30s will be spent building the career I want, there are a whole slew of questions that my 20s have left unanswered. Such as: where am I going in this life? What am I doing with all this? Why do I feel like I've accomplished diddly squat thus far? Why am I still single after all these years? Do I really care about that as much as I think I do? The list never ends. Thus, I'm fondly naming this my existential crisis. The time is ripe for it, when you really think about it. I'm away from everything I know and everyone I know - I'm insulated from what is normally defined as my life, I'm turning 30 and graduating from law school in the spring - the time is right for this. We'll see what comes of it. I have questions to answer. I have to say though, I'm not crazy. I'm not strange. I'm tired of being told that I am. It's not strange and it's not crazy to spend time actually considering what things mean. It just isn't "cool." Fortunately, the one thing that I am certain of is that I don't want to be like everyone else. I'd rather be just like me - even if everyone thinks I'm stark raving mad. It's far preferable to be who I am than to be just another follower of the flock. I guess if that makes me odd...I guess I'm going to have to learn to live with that.

Chicken Little and the Tall Poppies

Most days I feel like everyone else knows what they are doing and I am the only poor slob that is running around going “Ack! The sky is falling! The sky is falling!” I often feel like everyone else is on this track for 100% perfection, me – I’m just trying to be OK with the idea that I’m still trying to sort out my life after all these years. So, you can imagine how being in this environment wears on me. I get really exhausted listening to other people tell me how great they are. If you’re that great, do you really have to TELL me that you’re that great?

Sometimes I wish I had (a) been born during the age of Enlightenment and (b) as a guy. Why? Because during the Age of Enlightenment, women were still property. For all that I really like being female, it would have worked out even worse then. Why the Age of Enlightenment? I thought you’d never ask. Because it was “cool” then to talk about ideas, philosophies, big thoughts. I feel like my brain is clawing at the sides of my cranium trying to get out. Logically, I should invest this intellectual energy in the care and feeding of my paper – but it’s not that sort of intellectual energy. It’s this floaty, three feet above the floor analysis of life, the universe, and everything.

OK – I’m going to carry on depressing myself with the plight of the Buddhist Monks in Myanmar while swooning to Vivaldi and drinking my coffee. By then, my lunch break will have concluded itself and I will return to the bright & cheerful land of e-Apostilles and SMART Cards.

Doesn't that just say it all?

Doesn't that really say everything? Disconnected. Really? Need I say more?

After much drama yesterday, I finally arranged to get my flight changed. I called the airline twice, some random travel agent called 1travel.com twice, and - finally - cheapseats once. Cheapseats was able to get a resolution to the issue (Thank you CheapSeats.com). I got an email that they were able to change my tickets to December 16th and that I just need to contact the desk here in Vienna at the Airport to get my tickets reissued. On the day I fly, I will owe 60 Euro. Not a bad deal. It was a whole heap of drama, I'm really relieved to have it taken care of. I'll call the airline today and go get my tickets, problem solved. Sara & her brother will be here December 2nd through the 14th, then I'll have a day & 1/2 to wrap everything up, then go back Stateside.

Phew!

In other news, last night I was conference calling with Dad & my Aunt Patti (all hail Skype!) about my car. I do believe I have the specs clearly laid out for them - I'm more concerned with make (#1 Volvo, #2 Saab, #3 Audi) than with model (although a Volvo C70 would not be unwelcome!). Clear on price (around 8K but can go to 10K if it's the right car), clear on payment terms (cash), discovered that I only pay tax in my state of residence (MN) and that I should be able to get transport plates from MN. I am actually excited to get a new car. It's nice because they have the next nearly 3 months to look and find the right car. I told them that I want a car that in 10 years they are going to have to shoot on the side of the freeway because I've driven it to death. Ideally, Uncle Ralph is looking for a lease vehicle with 70 to 80K miles on it. Pretty excited to get a new car after all these years without stickers on the side of it. Company car was nice, but there is something about having my OWN car. Plus, I'm paying cash for it so I won't have a car payment. Just insurance, gas, repairs - oy!

The inner workings of the mind of a genius…or how I spent part of my day contemplating my navel.

Ah, genius. It is so hard to describe. In the event that you, dear reader, have been trying to confirm that either (a) I am really brilliant or (b) I am really totally insane – here is how an average thought process goes in my head. Oh joy! Oh happiness! A glimpse into the inner sanctum (try to hold your applause).

This is a real, live thought process that happened to me today:
#1 – I don’t trust my judgment of people.
#2 – Well, men really.
#3 – Why do we date men and then marry them? Should we keep our options open.
#4 – There’s that M word again.
#5 – Why do married people in Austria wear their wedding rings on the right hand?
#6 – The wedding ring in Anglo-American cultures is worn on the 4th finger of the left hand, dating back to ancient custom which referred to the fourth finger of the left hand as containing the vena amoris or "vein of love” Hahahaha
#7 – Hmmm…Jewish couples wear them on their left hand, but it goes on the right during the ceremony.
#8 – Don’t think I could ever participate in a Jewish wedding ceremony. I don’t know if I could handle my vows including the words: With this ring, you are consecrated to me according to the law of Moses and Israel. I’m sorry – consecrated?
#9 – According to Dictionary.com, the word consecrated means: to devote or dedicate to some purpose; to make (something) an object of honor or veneration; hallow. Which way does this go if I’m consecrated to someone? Who is doing the venerating?
#10 – You know what I venerate? COFFEE. I should go support the flagging economy and git me sum.

And that, folks, is how genius is born. By my complicated and detailed intellectual thought process, I have single-handedly solved economic crisis around the globe – through the prudent and committed consumption of coffee. Which is where these meanderings invariably land me.

Random Day

So, this morning I send Vic an email that I'm craving cookies - replete with picture of Cookie Monster. Suddenly we decided that we needed good old fashioned chocolate chip cookies - a la America. They don't sell such vulgar things here in Austria. All the elegant cakes and lady fingers that you could want - but nary a chocolate chip cookie in sight. So humble, yet so desirable. So, we made this random run to the grocery store during our lunch break and subjected ourselves to the hilarity of trying to sort out what all this stuff was in GERMAN (is it baking soda or baking powder? Do we just try it or not? No chocolate chips? What about chopping up a chocolate bar? We settled on M&Ms). We scrambled back to my place and whipped up a batch of what ended up not being half bad M&M cookies. We used gelbzucker (yellow sugar) instead of brown, vanillianzucker (vanilla sugar) instead of vanilla extract, and baking powder instead of soda, but all around - a success!

I emailed my high school about a visit while I'm home in December. They've totally renovated the building and I'd like to see it. I'm not keen on reliving the so-called glory days (ha! You couldn't PAY me to go back.). The assistant superintendent, who was principal while I was in high school, emailed me back and invited me to call him while I'm home and they'd give me a tour. Then he indicated that perhaps I could share my experiences with the seniors. Oh boy. Am I qualified for such a thing? I am delighted to oblige, but yikes. I admit, considering the whole of what I've done in the 11 years since I graduated, it's certainly been a unique path and I think I'm on the right track - but am I qualified to tell 174 students what to do with themselves? Do I even know what the heck I'm doing with myself yet? I spend more time trying to figure that out than I do anything else. I hope some day I look around and realize I've finally become the success I want to be and I'm no longer just thinking about it, hoping about it. I keep taking stabs at it. Until then, I guess I'll go tell a bunch of high school seniors that it's not as big a deal as they think it is - not to think that your life ends the day you graduate, to care less about what everyone else thinks and work hard for yourself. Spend less time trying to fit in and more time chasing what you want. In 10 years, no body gives a damn what the popular kids did or are doing - probably sweeping floors or flipping burgers somewhere. In 10 years, everyone in your life will be different and there will be very few constants. Everything is a variable number. There is no such thing as y = mx + b. It's all more like ax^5 + bx^4 + cx^3 + dx^2 + ex + f = 0 where a to f are rational numbers.

Trip to the Zoo

Yesterday was really fun! I went out early and got an Austrian SIM card for my phone and managed to charm my way into getting the Neidermeyer guy into setting it up for me (the instructions are all in German...that could have been a problem), then I went across the street to my Starbucks and procured a latte. I sat there for a bit and read my book. I decided to head over the palace early and walk around a bit. I went and climbed the hill up to Gloriette and had coffee and topfenstrudel at the cafe overlooking the palace. A harpist plays there in the mornings on the weekend and it was really lovely. After which I wandered back down the hill to meet Julie. We went to the zoo and had the best time - I was inordinately happy to see a panda and hippos (hippo parade!). I took a bunch of goofy animal PICTURES and had a good time doing it. Julie and I had (yes, more) coffee there at the park before parting ways. It was a truly great day - beautiful weather, good company, all around fun.

Today I'm in again - I am determined to get my comprehensive outline sorted out for my paper. I need to start writing. In order to do so I need to feel like I have some order and direction. I need to send it to my supervising professor by next Monday, but I feel like by next Monday I should be putting the substantive portion together. I think I am invariably impatient with this part of writing - I want to get to the meat of putting things into writing and seeing the final product come together, but the research must be done and done properly to assure that everything is accurate. That part of the writing process infuriates me. It feels so non-productive.

Mom and I were talking about the institution of marriage last night - I think I mentioned that eventually I'd like to be in a committed relationship and living in sin. It really makes me think about it. I don't know if I'm all that keen on the idea. I've made the clear decision not to have children (and I do believe that the institution of marriage is beneficial for children - aside from that...not much. Tax breaks? Maybe. Everything else can be governed by existing law.), thus - do I ever really want to get married? I am partially opposed to marriage because it is a discriminatory institution - for starters, it has traditionally suppressed women and upon dissolution, women invariably end up with the short end of the stick. Especially if they forfeited the option of a career to raise kids. Secondly, it is discriminatory in that the law doesn't treat everyone equally - if I can marry some poor slob that would put himself up for the task, why can't my sister marry whatever woman she wants to? I think the gay marriage debate is absurd - the law discriminates. Period. End of discussion. You can argue with me all day long about tradition and stuff - but don't even try the religious arguments with me (which, in reality, that is the only argument and that violates our Constitutional guarantee of separation of church and state. If you don't believe in God - where do these arguments fall?) So, I don't know if I ever really want to get married. I'm perfectly content to live with a good man the rest of my life and forgo this one tradition. Hell - I've spent a good part of my adult life bucking societal traditions, why not this too?

Really good day...but really tired

Happy International Day of Peace! They had a ceremony in the courtyard of the UN where the little kids from the kindergarten did a little dance to some accordion music and then there was a moment of silence. In the courtyard there is a bell that was made from donations of coins from all over the world. The bell is a gift from Japan and it is a peace bell - it is said that if you ring it, the whole world hears and wishes for peace. We all then had the chance to ring it if we wanted to. Of course I want to! One of the other interns got this really amazing shot of me ringing the bell (see above). I think it's great - I really owe him for that one.

After work I went down to the UN Bar with a bunch of the other interns and had a couple drinks. Then 3 of us headed over to Charlie P's - an Irish pub near the university. There we had dinner and watched some of the Ireland v. France Rugby World Cup. It was hilarious - when they sang the French national anthem - all these people in the basement where we were started singing. It was hilarious - we found the French contingent - they are in the basement. The Irish were on the main floor - all decked out in their rugby gear. I decided to head home a bit back because (a) I'm tired and (b) I'm planning on going to the Tiergarten (the zoo over by Schonbrunn) tomorrow afternoon and I'd like to be lucid for it. I think Julie (Canada) and Sotirios (US via Greece) are going to meet me there (as far as I know). I'm silly-excited to see the pandas. I just have a thing for zoos - and this is one of the oldest in the world.

Deep ponderings...

There really isn't a lot to report on my end this week. I'm plugging along at the UN - working on electronic signature and e-commerce stuff for one of the lawyers. Trying to get additional paragraphs drafted for a reference document that was started in April and needs additions. It's a lot of sifting through piles of information that I've accumulated. I've decided my strength is the finding of the information, not so much in the sorting of the information. And so it goes...Victoria and I had dinner with Vanessa over at Victoria's place last night which was fun.

I've been pondering my life, again (gasp! Not again!). I was talking to Nancy today - who is amazing. Nancy works on the same floor doing something with radioactive waste (not really clear on what it is that they do there, but OK). She's American and married an Austrian - thus lives here. She's lived in Austria for 26 years. I asked her if she considers Austria home, and she said no. It's where she lives, it's where she works, but it's not "home." I often think I could live and work abroad, but I think that I would miss home. Today was one of those days. I'm not ready to go home for good - and odds are high that when I get there, I'll want to be right back in Europe doing this (because I am fickle that way!!). But today, I wanted to take a vacation and go home for about a week. That is exactly what I need to get perspective, then come back. I love being over here. I love it that I'm doing what I'm doing (still seems surreal at times because I spent so much time in the planning that now the doing is too stunning). I just miss the familiarity of home sometimes.

I'm getting really accustomed to being in Austria. I know where things are, I'm finding my way to the stores that I like and the areas of town that I find enjoyable. I'm carving a little place here. But it all still feels so transient. Today was a weird day. I think that it isn't so much that I want to go HOME as it is that I need desperately to feel connected to people and I didn't feel that way today. Today I felt disconnected. I wanted coffee and bagels with Sara and 2 hours of Law and Order with Leah. I wanted intelligent conversation with Mathea. I wanted to wander around a Target and enjoy all the Halloween stuff that is sure to be put out. I wanted to stop in at Billy Mitch and talk to all the people I know there and feel the warmth of having people know me. I miss all that and today it was exceptionally difficult. I recognize that if you lived in a place for awhile, you would eventually develop a social support network...and that I haven't been here long enough to get that set in. I didn't have it right off the bat in MN and I managed to survive. I had been in MN for 1.5 years before I met Leah and even longer for Sara. But still...that didn't help today. It also makes me question the intelligence of moving away from MN - maybe I do belong there and I haven't given it a real chance. Blamed my restlessness on the state & not on me.

Pictures of Me at the United Nations

Just in case anyone was wondering - I'm not making it all up! Here are the PICTURES to prove it!

I can't handle wearing high heels anymore - I walk so much between going to and from work and then while I'm at work (I have to walk to the other end of the E building to the printer) that I decided to go out and buy flats. I bought a pair of goldish-cream flats and patent leather black flats. Both in the ballet slipper style. I'm such a whiner - but I just can't handle it any more.

Wasted day?

Days like today leave me feeling somewhat torn. It is gorgeous outside - the sun is shining, the sky is the perfect shade of blue, there is a slight breeze - not too much, but just enough to keep the temperature perfect. The birds are out and chirping like mad - undoubtedly confused at the presence of the sun this morning, after two solid weeks of November-like weather. I feel compelled to go out and see what the fuss is all about, but then I want to stay inside and curl up like a cat in the sun that is currently streaming in my windows and read my book. Then, when the sun starts to set, work on my paper - as I really haven't devoted much time or effort to its conception. At least not what I should be giving it. Why does the presence of glorious weather make me feel as if I should go outside? I think it's the knowledge that it's fleeting this time of the year. No guarantees for tomorrow, the day after, the rest of the week. Like as not, I'll stay in and enjoy the temporary feeling of hermit-dom. But I'll feel like somehow I've wasted a perfect day from a weather perspective. Is a day really wasted if one ends up coming out of it feeling like you can charge back into the fray and fight your way to the end?

A Pretty Saturday in Vienna

We had a fun day! I slept in a bit then hung out and drank four cups of coffee for breakfast - I'm on a health food kick it would seem. I met Romain, Victoria and a friend of hers from her dorm named Sandra for a wander around Vienna. We were going to see the Third Man, but it ended up being a really nice day and we decided we'd save the Third Man for another Saturday and spend the remainder of the day outside instead. We did Romain's midevel Church Tour and saw the oldest church in Vienna. Then we wandered our way through the center of Vienna - there were all these festivals going on! There was a Fireman's Festival in one big square, then there was another fall market in front of the Hofburg Palace. It was really amazing. We had fun just walking around - which is free. We also walked over to the Rathaus and the Parliament building. It was the most beautiful fall day. I was just so excited to be outside on a gorgeous day - I took a lot of great PICTURES. So many of the days that I've been here have been rainy and gross. It seems an effort to go outside when it's so gloomy. I was also pretty excited because we found the Shakespeare Book Company near the Schwedensplatz. They have the BEST book selection - intelligent books. I bought "Snow Falling on Cedars" and Jack Kerouac's "On The Road (the Original Scroll)" I'm pretty excited to read that. It should be good. I was so thrilled to find this bookstore, although I seem to be reading when I should be writing.

Friday night was really fun too. Victoria and I went down to the park on the Donau and there are these giant trampolines over the water. We met up with Keene and we all paid the 2 Euro to jump on these tramps for 8 minutes. It was hilarious because Victoria and I were still in our work clothes. Then we walked around the park and met Romain. We went to his house and had a delightful dinner with him and his roommate. It was great - I couldn't help but think I was having dinner with the four corners of the earth - counting me. Romain is from France, Victoria from Australia, and Romain's roommate - Miguel - is from Peru. We had a great time just drinking wine and enjoying the company of friends.

Thus far, a good weekend. I'm staying in all day tomorrow to work on my paper. Not much is open in Vienna on the weekend.

Nice places I've found and all around a good day

I’ve found a place that I simply adore in Vienna. I decided that I simply couldn’t come to Vienna and not visit the American Bar. Honestly, I believe in experiencing the culture of the country that I’m in, but I was curious. So I went with Victoria down to Stephansplatz to show her where to buy a headset. She took off as I was shopping for tights and I decided to stop at Loos – The American Bar on my way back to the U-Bahn station. And I adore it. Apparently, the bar was designed by Adolf Loos in 1908 after an extended stay in the United States. Apparently the bar marked the beginning of the modern architectural trend in Vienna. It was restored in 1985 and then again in 1989. It’s very, very small and dimly lit by tables that have lamps in them with clear tops and wall sconces that have gold curtains to shade them. Green leather booths line one wall and a bar with wicker stools lines the other. If you want to sit outside, the bartender (who I swear I heard speak English, German, French and Italian in the hour that I sat there) is pleased to give you a blanket for your lap and a drink list so that you can sit and watch the people go by. It was so nice to just sit and enjoy the jazz/blues music that is piped in through speakers in a location that you can’t sort out. You can almost feel Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers sitting here to have a bit of something. I ordered a gimlet and it was really good. I must admit, I had two. A wee bit tipsy on the way home, but perfectly content and happy. This, I must say, is MY kind of bar. I so rarely find these places…and I am so delighted that I’ve found one so early in my stay here. So, if you’re on your way to Vienna, add the Loos American Bar to your list of places to pop into to your list. Oh, and then on the way home, I “found” Raul’s Sandwichtoast Bar just across the street and a bit east of my flat – which makes really good toasted sandwiches. See what happens when you actually LEAVE your apartment? Good things!

I was a bit insane today at work. The director called me at 10 am and wanted me to find a specific bit of case law pronto. It simply doesn’t exist. It has to do with waiving Article 34 in an arbitration agreement – thus allowing that there will be no opportunity for annulment of the award. I looked ALL DAY and didn’t find a single reference to that particular provision. I found it for Article 36 (which is somewhat like 34, but not quite), but not for Article 34. Frankly, there is oodles of case law that shows parties had agreed not to appeal as a part of their agreement to arbitrate, but none of them refer back to the UNCITRAL Model Arbitration Law. I wanted so badly to find the ONE case that would help, but it doesn’t exist. At least, not that I could find. I combed the CLOUT case law and did some poking around online. I thought about contacting the National Arbitration Forum in Minneapolis, but somehow feel like asking them would be cheating. I might spend a bit more time tonight searching. Something tells me that it’s out there, but I just can’t find it. It certainly doesn’t help that my computer thinks it’s 1985 and it can act that slowly.

Phew! Still a bit tipsy from the double dose of gimlet. But it was just so nice.

Hoo Boy...One of those days...

So, I've had this headache that I just can't shake. It started Saturday while we were in Bratislava and I haven't quite been able to get rid of it. It's always there, right behind my eyes. Oddly enough my throat aches too - not sore, just achy - like my head. As a result, today at work was problematic. I mean, we're in a forced air, florescent light laden tower. Not good - so I skipped the opera tonight (sorry guys!) and came home to lay down for a bit. After 3 bottles of water and 4 cups of tea, I still have the headache, but it's not as glaring. So...then...

Given that I was functionally computer illiterate this morning, I spent 3 hours fighting with Microsoft Word trying to get it to do what I wanted it to do. My computer kept freezing up and I'd have to shut it down and bring it back up...a good time, for certain. So, I finally get it all worked out. Done, right? Nope! Victoria (aw, dear girl - you asked for it! Hee Hee!) was adding her cases to the same table. I stop in her offices and the dialog went something like this:

Victoria: Um, I think I have some bad news. You might be upset (or something to that effect)
Me: Uh-Oh...what happened? Did you delete my table or something?
Victoria: (laughing somewhat nervously) Actually...

Oh my...it was one of those moments that was so laden with irony that I couldn't HELP laughing. To be fair, it wasn't as if it was intentional - Word is the devil (perhaps now she'll agree with me!). When she was inserting her cases, it was copying OVER mine instead of inserting them. So when she saved...yep. Bye-bye cases! She sorted it out though. It was a moment of the ultimate "WHAT?" I'm sure I had that look of someone that isn't sure if the other person is joking or something - maybe like stunned amusement. As Victoria said: "Now you're going to go blog about it aren't you!? You'll be all - she didn't work all day because she was at the Working Group and then came back and deleted all my work!" THAT is a direct quote. I can laugh about it - because it really is damn funny when you think about it. Imagine this going on in your head...and you'll realize why I think this is so darn funny.

I'm loving SkypeIn - I've talked to most of my friends that I haven't talked to in months. Such fun! I talked to Dad tonight and had a good laugh over some old family stories.

Kofi Annan and my belated revelations

Today was pretty cool - they were dedicating the E building (in which I work) to Kofi Annan. They had a big dedication ceremony in the Rotunda of the C Building. I went down with the other interns to watch...and there he was. Kofi Annan in the flesh. It was so strange to be standing 30 feet away from the former Secretary-General of the UN. This is a man that has done great things with his life. They welcomed him, sang a few songs, and then he spoke. He's a powerful speaker - very metered and intelligent. It was so great to be here while this was going on. When else am I going to be standing 30 feet from Kofi Annan? That was the highlight of my day. Pretty amazing, eh? So, now I work in the Kofi Annan building at the UNOV (well, I'm sure we'll still call it building E, but it's the Kofi Annan building - pretty neat to be there for the dedication).

So, today I got even smarter. Is that possible (hah!). I've had Skype for a long time, but while traveling I'm only beginning to make full use of it. I don't know why I didn't before!?! I would have spent SO much less on communication. I spent oodles on my cell phone and my parents spent the same on calling ME. Today I paid a mere $18 USD for a SkypeIn number for 3 months, including Voicemail. Why didn't I do this ages ago? Now my friends and family can call me and it's as if they are calling the US. No huge rates, no worrying about mondo phone bills, no going the next 3 months without talking to my friends! How simple is that? I wish I had figured this out before. It was always right there, I just never took the time to sort it out. But, that aside, I'm all Skype'd up now. I even went out and bought a nifty headset to use with it. Makes the sound quality better for the person I'm calling. Hooray for Skype!!!

If I only had a brain...

I'm having a ho-hum sort of a day. I meandered my day through work - managed to accomplish quite a bit but with very little sense of the usual urgency that still clings to me (it's hard to put Farmers behind me). This environment really lends itself to it being OK if you have a meanderish day. So...I wandered through my day and finished sorting through my half of the ICCA Yearbook cases. I met with the director first thing thing morning and he looked at the memo that Victoria and I have been working on and advised that he will be submitting it for publication as a reference document for the Rome conference later this month - with Victoria and I as the authors! It's so weird because (again back to Farmers) my hard work at my last job never seemed to be recognized. I could bust my butt to get something right and it would be something else, or in the interim they would have changed their minds. I always felt like what I did was crap and I couldn't get it right. I've been here one week and the director is so impressed with the work that we're doing that he's putting our names on it and the judge is telling me that before I leave be sure to draft a letter of recommendation for him to sign for me. Honestly, I've only ever had Farmers to compare my work to. To be somewhere else where I'm a lowly intern but they still seem to respect that I have a brain, is really nice. A refreshing change. I must admit, I've had no exposure to the bureaucracy of the organization - we're pretty isolated in our little research tower there. I want to go to the Transport Working Group in October, so perhaps I will observe some of it then. Who knows?

I have realized that I need to start putting up some of the things I really love about Vienna too - instead of just listing what I miss about America (we all have our days!) For the record - I do love some little things - like Vollkskornbrot (did I spell that right?), grocery carts that don't just go forwards & back but side to side as well, the public transportation system, how darn lovely everything is, the proximity to culture (opera, theatre, symphony, museums). I'm starting to find my comfort level. I still feel like my day is spent in a line between the UN and my apartment. I will need to work on improving that. I could have gone to the opera with the gang tonight, but I've seen Carmen and didn't feel like seeing it again. I'm going with them on Wednesday, then one day this week Victoria and Vanessa are coming over for dinner (or that's the plan anyway).

Our trip to Bratislava, Slovakia

We had the best day yesterday! We met early and caught the train to Bratislava (just 14 Euro with return. This also allows you to use the public transport in Bratislava while you're there). On the train we met three girls from Germany - Vanessa, Veronica, and Kathanha. Vanessa is living in Vienna and interning with IBM for 6 weeks and her friends came out to visit her here for the weekend. We ended up hanging out with them all day and having the best time! When we got to Bratislava we found our way out to the castle and walked around the grounds. The museum is alleged not to be the greatest, so we skipped going in. The ramparts offer an amazing view of the new city area (See PICTURES). I couldn't help but think about the Communist rule of the area - the cookie cutter, project-like buildings in the new city really spoke of that era. For me, it was the strangest feeling to stand in a country that was once under the rule of a type of government that my own country has fought long and hard to eradicate. It made me think about the lives of the people that live there and what they have been like.

After the castle we walked down into the old town a bit further and looked around. We saw the Parliament house, the main square with all the fountains and statues, and the State Theatre. There were tons of weddings going on so there were brides everywhere! We decided to walk across the UFO bridge to the new city. There we found the strangest thing - a full sized American-style shopping mall. Literally, were it not for all the signs being in Slovak - I would have thought I was in any state in America. It's such a dramatic contrast to the rest of the area where the mall is and the history of the country. Vanessa was fairly knowledgeable about the history of the country and was saying that the mall and people in it would not be representative of the population as a whole. The average Slovakian makes half what a person in Austria does (average income of a person in Austria is 25,500 Euro). The vast majority of the people would not be able to afford to shop in the mall. To us, things seemed cheap. They are on the Slovakian Crown and, for example, I saw a sweater that was nice in an upscale shop for 1,100 Crowns. The exchange rate to the Euro is 33 - so the sweater was about 34 Euro. For a wool sweater of that quality, that is VERY reasonable. But to think that most people can't even go buy a cup of coffee there (my coffee there cost me 69 Crowns or about 2.10 Euro for a medium double chocolate mocha) is a hard thing to think about.

We took the train back to Vienna and decided that we would meet up later in the Nussdorf area and go to a wee little Austrian pub (these are quite renowned in Austria) for wine and dessert. Victoria and I actually met up with them on the D-Tram to Nussdorf (ironic) and we walked through these little cobblestone streets to what looked to be a wide alley between the houses. All the streetlights were on and it was just lovely. You walked back between the houses where candles in big glass jars lit the alley to a small restaurant with wooden benches and baskets over the hanging lights for shades. It was full of people over the age of 60 - we were by far the youngest people there. A cute old man - part of what appeared to be a party -was yodeling in the back. We sat and drank sweet new wine (Strom I think?) and ate Topfenstrudel (an Austrian strudel with raisins and sweet cheese - really good). It was a really great day, I enjoyed every minute of it. When I finally staggered home exhausted at 11:30, I really felt like I had enjoyed my day. Vanessa is going to join Victoria and I for dinner some night. It was great to make some new friends. I had a really good Saturday! I enjoyed Bratislava as well - an interesting way to spend a day.

Smooth sailing...

Thank goodness my luggage arrived and I'm done with that big, stinky old mess. It was nice to be able to get dressed this morning without going "OK - how can I scrape together one more work-appropriate outfit?" It was so nice. After work we all went down to the UN Bar and I met a bunch of other interns that were lovely. I'm really glad that I went down there. We had a good time, then 3 of them came back to my apartment and we made pasta and bread for dinner with apple strudel for dessert - hello carbs! How I love thee! It was a good dinner - really nice to have a few people over and enjoy some conversation and company.

Tomorrow Victoria and I are taking the train to Bratislava for the day. It's only an hour by train from the Sudbahnhof here in Vienna. It should be a lovely day trip. I would love to see Bratislava Castle - I don't know what Victoria had in mind. She said that they have a lot of markets that are fun to visit. At any rate - tomorrow I'm going to Slovakia. Just another amazing country to add to my list of places I've been this year! I know we're also making a sojourn to Prague and I think I might take Mom to Budapest for a couple days. There is SO much to see in Vienna that I don't know if we're going to fit that in too - but we'll see. I'd like to leave some of it up to her.

It's a 3 post day...

My luggage arrived! At 4:24 PM. I missed a whole day of work, hopefully this doesn't cause a big stir. If it does...well...that was the risk that I took. I feel like I put a lot on the line for my luggage. Which never had to happen. There is something about having my pink flamingo PJ's to wear to bed tonight that is soothing.

But I am worried about going in tomorrow. How do you convince someone that you REALLY do not do this all the time - it's a one off deal. I feel terrible. All this work to get here and I'm interning with the UNITED NATIONS - and I totally miss a whole day like an irresponsible child.

Stress

Still waiting - it's after 1:00 here. Went to work for 30 minutes...feel horrible because it's my 4th day there and I'm not THERE - I'm at my apartment dealing with things that were supposed to be done with last week.

I think I'm getting an ulcer.

Note to self: Work on stress management techniques.

The Waiting Game

So, I'm up, I'm ready to go, and now I am waiting for the UPS person to arrive. It could be a few HOURS before s/he rolls on up in here, so I'd best make myself comfortable. This morning, I was pondering what I miss about the United States. Europe is AMAZING, but lets admit - it's different. So, to document so that I don't forget at a later date, I miss:

1. Target (Oh, how I miss Target!)
2. Knowing the language (that could be fixed, I admit. My German is improving every day!)
3. Starbucks (I know, I know, I'm in VIENNA - home of amazing coffee. I just miss the whole "I'll take a BUCKET of coffee to go please", not the coffee itself)
4. Having a car
5. My bed
6. Sara, Leah, Mathea...all the peeps at school...my PEOPLE.
7. Leah's cats - Pooh & Oscar
8. Stores being open past 7:30 at night (they tell me this is an improvement, it used to be 5pm)
9. Bookstores - all in English!

So, there isn't a whole lot...I can learn to live without a car, Target, bunches of English, and stores only being open until 7:30. You adapt. These aren't necessary things. But I do miss my friends a great deal - these people are simply not replaceable. I'm used to not seeing my family at this stage in my life, thus that isn't difficult (yet). I just think of these things sometimes. I've been gone awhile now, so it doesn't seem like such a big deal (the car, Target, English, stores part). It's not even that I'm ready to return to the grind, every once in awhile I run into things that I'm used to having one way in the US and is totally different out here in "the world." I believe it's character building (you learn how to adapt in a hurry).

In other news, Dad bought Mom her plane ticket to come to Vienna yesterday! She'll arrive on November 2nd and leaves again on November 10th. Fun! Mom has never traveled like this before, so it will be fun to enjoy it with her! I'm going to take her to the Spanish Riding School, the palaces (of course!), Prater, and then to the Opera - to get started!

The Good News and the So-So News

OK - so the GREAT news is that my luggage has now cleared customs (thanks to a well timed call from the UN Transport Operation guy that I now owe big time) and it ready for delivery. The less than great news is they tried to deliver this morning and I was (of course) at work and I am going to have to go in late tomorrow so that I'm here to get it. There is no other way around it. My only hope is that they are consistent in their routes and the delivery will happen around the same time tomorrow (they were here at 9:15 AM). I seriously can't wear these same shoes another day. I'm missing half the skin on the back of my right foot and the left is not far behind.

I am loving the judge - he's such a funny guy. I'm basically editing for him. The other day I was making copies (yes - making copies.) and he was all "WHAT?" and dragged me away to do some other stuff for him. Everyone at work is very nice, with the exception of one woman (incidentally the one that tried to make us make all her copies for her). She's not really a bad person, she's just really curt and refers to us as "Hey,_[insert country of origin]___ intern!" As in "Hey, American Intern" and "Hey, Australian Intern!" Uh - if you can't learn my name, I can't make your copies. Other than that (which makes an amusing story) everyone is pretty cool. I persist in my feeling of OLD with the interns - they keep sending intern emails that are invitations to drinking extravaganzas and all I can think is "I'd rather be sleeping." I guess I'm just not down with the drinking binge thing. If they ever get out of the University area, I might join them though. There are some very nice places in Vienna. Either that, or if I can find some other people that are interesting in branching out. Victoria, another guy - Romaia (from France), and I are going to the opera next Wednesday. Victoria and I are also heading to the nearest semblance of a mall this weekend (the Pope is in town doing some Pope-ing, thus it promises to be mass chaos - pun intended) and then take a trip to Bratislava and Prague together. I'm glad she and I are getting along well.

In addition to my judge editing duties, I'm also doing some work for the director of UNCITRAL. Victoria and I have been paired up to research the UNCITRAL Model Law for International Commercial Arbitration, articles 34 and 36 - annulment, enforcement and public policy defenses to enforcement/annulment. It's actually really interesting and I think we've managed to get it all put together. We have totally different styles of research and writing - which is a great learning experience. She's been learning more in the British fashion, being from Australia, and I am obviously of the American contingent. We argue semantics a lot. We also spend a lot of time discussing whether we've arrived at objective working or not (as in "incompatible" versus "varied"). It's an interesting exercise in working with varied (hah!) legal thought processes. If I want to work in the legal field, this is an important lesson to totally integrate. Often one that is overlooked, I think.

Oh! And in other news, I finally met a friendly grocery store clerk. We commiserated on rude people. We really connected and it made me inordinately happy.

First Day at the UN

Wow is all I have to say. It was a pretty jam-packed first day, yet there was nothing specific planned for me when I got there. I successfully got checked in, got my pass (I'm officially labeled an "intern" - on which I will elaborate a bit later) and found my office. I met the other interns - some very cool people. One other girl - Victoria - started with me today. She's a law student from Sydney and we're going to take German lessons together somewhere. Then there is Michael (London) and Claudia (Germany). We're all law students on our floor. I got my Lotus Notes set up (I have an email with the UN in it!!) and by that time it was time to go to lunch. All the interns eat together so it was fun to get to meet a bunch of the other interns. After lunch I was back in my room reading up on Transport law (apparently you find out what you want to do and then go around and ask for work) when one of the interns sent a gentleman in to see me. After verifying who I was and that I was going to be there longer than 1 month, he told me that he needed a clerk, that I would be researching and editing documents for him and that he would verify tomorrow that it was OK with the people at UNCITRAL. He indicated that he "works with" the Law of the Sea. OK, cool - I'm up for learning anything that I can while I'm here. So he got me started on a document that he was working on (which, between the 2 of us, we managed to "misplace" in his system and had to redo the whole thing - whoops.) He then gave me his card and gave me some stuff to read. It would seem that I am going to be working for Helmut Tuerk - a judge for the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. He is a very accomplished, very intelligent man and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work for him. I was just in the right place at the right time - but it is perfect. An amazing learning experience. There is a huge field of debate right now over whether the US - one of the last hold outs - should adopt the Law of the Sea body of law, so to learn more about it and be able to think on that for myself is an amazing opportunity. Whoops, I worked for a judge this year.

On being an intern...it's an interesting experience. I'm much older than most of the interns. They are one smarty-pants group. Just 1 other American (that I've met) - but a lot of other countries represented in their numbers. An amazing command of language (making my own lack of fluency in another language seem just SAD). They are all about 23 - 25 years old. I had the following conversation with Claudia:
Me: Wow...I feel old in this group.
She: Oh, there is one other girl who's older.
Me: Really? How is that?
She: Oh, she's at least 27.
Me: **Speechless**
If 27 is "older" - what am I? Ready for retirement? It was funny. I feel too old to be wearing the label "intern." I've held a "real" job - none of the others have - they've all "just" been students. (I say "just" because being a student is not all fun & games.) So I am a bit on the different side. It's just a strange feeling, like I rewound but stayed the same age.

My luggage is still in a state of flux. NOW they are claiming that I am (a) only here for 4 months & that is too short a time to be a "move to Austria" (durh - not moving here, just passing through) and (b) I have too much stuff for it to be labeled "travel goods" (must be valued at less than 185 euro). So...what now? XS Baggage has done nothing to help me. They are like "bummer" and ignore the problem. I was under the impression that the would send things via an airline and I would pick it up as unaccompanied baggage. It would seem a big part of the problem is that it came UPS. It did not come in as BAGGAGE, it came in as a SHIPMENT. These are 2 different things. Do yourself a favor, dear reader, and avoid this company. It is NOT worth your hassle. I know that they are recommended by ISIC - but I am of the opinion that they don't really research these companies and have never actually had to deal with them. It has been nothing short of disaster from the beginning. I would advise NOT using this company EVER. Unless you really are willing to deal with the hassle yourself while in transit.

Research Day & some Minor Regrets

Today is the day before I start my internship and I'm using it to get my head in the game. I've been re-reading all of the information that I have on the work that UNCITRAL does and has done. Lex Mercatoria has a great compilation of the conventions and documents prepared by UNCITRAL. I am of the opinion that LM has one of the best compilations of international treatises and documents online. That aside, I know that I won't remember everything that I've read, but I want to have more than just a passing familiarity with the documents that are pertinent to what I may be doing. In reality, I have very little information about what I will be doing when I get there tomorrow. I'm hoping that I have the opportunity to really work with these documents and learn everything I can about the field. The most frustrating thing about the law for me personally is that there is so much of it, I want to know it all, and that is outside the realm of human possibility. I question if there is even a mainframe large enough to contain all the laws from every country in every part of the world. Not to mention the laws that govern relations between them.

Today I can't stop pondering what is going to happen next. I find this partly amusing seeing as I haven't even finished what I've begun. I still have my internship to work through, my paper to write, next semester to pound through, graduation, the bar exam...all that in the next year. Being out here makes me think about what I want to do though. I am so hampered by my student loan debt. I would really, really love to do the Peace Corps for a few years, but Uncle Sam is going to need to be paid. Not only do I have federal loan debt, but private loan debt as well. To the tune of $150K USD. If you don't come from money, it feels like you just can't do undergrad AND professional school in the United States without piles and piles of student loan debt. Taking into consideration that I worked while going to law school to limit my debt, it's frightening to think of what it would be like if I hadn't worked. An acquaintance of mine has a young child and did law school - to cover housing, tuition, daycare and expenses she took over $220K in student loan debt. We've mortgaged our futures. Every one of us. I struggle with the disappointment sometimes in knowing that what I've had to do fiscally to get to where I am will really limit what I can do with the future. I know that this is a choice I've made. Sometimes you have to sacrifice one dream to pursue another. My life has been one great big series of irreversible choices. Law school & debt, not having kids, the work I've done. I can't go back. I can't do it differently. I may never get to the Peace Corps, to the place where I make a difference in the lives of other women, to where I get to help level the playing field for women in the rest of the world, to use the voice I've been given to make a difference for someone besides just me. I may never get to realize that dream. The crashing reality that you really can't have everything. I believe I'll have a great life and really make my mark on the world - but I will do so at the expense of other things. Some days that is such a bitter pill to swallow.

Trying to find my way home...

So...I'm a little blue today. As in the past, I have no desire to actually go home, but I am missing my friends horribly and wish I could just have a moment with them. One dinner, one night hanging out & watching Law & Order with Leah - just one day. I'm feeling terribly, terribly alone today. Normally - being an introvert - this is not an issue. Today, it is. I decided to get some books to read and found 2 for cheap at The British Bookstore on the Mariahilferstrasse. Then I went over to Bobby's - a British/American food store. They really don't have a lot to offer, but I was able to get some Wheatabix, Aunt Jemima Pancake Mix, and some pancake syrup. They also had a bin of free books in the breezeway that people had left so I picked up 2 more. I don't know if it is the stress of both starting at the UN and having my luggage all messed up that is getting to me, or if it's the fact that for some reason, I'm not sleeping very well - either way, I'm feeling really down this morning. I'm so far away from everything I know. I don't really want to go back to that, but I really could use a hug or something.