Spreading the holiday cheer

If you follow this blog (and if you're reading these words, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that you do), this post will contain absolutely nothing that you don't already know. However, since I didn't get Christmas cards out to everyone on my list, due to laziness and/or lack of addresses, here's the news in letter form, which you may or may not have missed out on...

The fridge is stocked with egg nog, the Nutcracker Suite is blasting from the stereo, and the Christmas tree has reclaimed its rightful place as the focal point of the living room. It must be that time again, time to look back on the year and report.
The year started off with the promise of hope and change, which we certainly embraced. For me, it was the last semester of law school. It passed in a blur, I suspect because I set my brain to auto pilot and fended off professorial interrogation by slouching stealthily behind my laptop screen. On May 17, surrounded by family and friends, a couple of scholarly geezers handed me my Juris Doctrate and sent me on my way with the anticlimactic understanding that my hard earned degree meant absolutely nothing until I passed the bar exam. Determined to reach its tentacles of misery into my life for as long as possible, law school continued for me until the middle of July, as I spent my days in the law library, engaging in the ultimate cram session: relearning everything I did or should have learned in law school for the bar exam. When I wasn't banging my head against walls of legal theory, I agonized over bleak job prospects, and began to get a little concerned when I started getting rejections for jobs I hadn't even applied for. One day, while skimming the want ads on the wonderful list of Craig, I found an opening for job as a civil litigator in Portland that sounded promising. I never, ever saw myself going into private practice, but desperation makes people do crazy things. After a few interviews came those magical words: "You're hired." Armed with the security of a firm offer, I was able to take the Oregon bar under marginally less stressful conditions, and even managed to pass the beastly exam. In October I became a card carrying ambulance chaser at last! The jury is still out on whether all the effort was worth it.
To speed the process of repressing my memories of law school and the bar exam, Scott and I grabbed a couple of backpacks and headed off for a grand adventure, European style. We spent two weeks trekking through Spain, Italy, and France, seeing the sights, wandering around more lost than not, and loving every minute of it. If any of you have any burning questions about how to ride the trains, or which hostel in Barcelona is the scariest, give us a call and we'll fill you in on all the dirt. I'm happy to say we made it two weeks abroad without being mugged or losing our travel documents, which in my mind was a major accomplishment. Although Scott did get interrogated by the police on a night train from Italy to Spain. Some people just look suspicious, I suppose.
Immediately upon our return to Oregon, we packed up all our earthly possessions and moved up the road to Portland. The new job necessitated a change of address, because really, who wants to spend two hours each day commuting on I-5 between Portland and Salem? The answer is no one. In the spirit of starting fresh, Scott also sought out new employment in Portland, and after interviewing with several banks for managerial positions, he accepted a transfer with Bank of America to a Portland branch. He is currently training to become an assistant manager. In addition to his aspirations for power positions in the financial sector, he is also eagerly anticipating, and diligently preparing for a triumphant return to the classroom in pursuit of an MBA. I suppose it's only fair that I too should experience the thrill a minute life of spouse to an overworked grad student. At least he knows I'll be sympathetic.
Survey says 2009 was a big winner. I am inclined to agree. In fact, as highlights go, I'm fairly certain we'll be hard pressed to have a better year. If I abruptly retire from the holiday newsletter scene in 2010, you'll know it's because my adult life of work and more work has become too boring to merit mention. We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!