An efficient routine (summer intern)

8:30 alarm ring

8:41 wake up

8:55 dry shirt, iron hair...no, wake up...dry hair, iron shirt

9:06 start car engine. Shakira on radio

9:35 arrive office

10:10 make a cup of tea

1:00 have lunch. not pizza again.

2:31 fall asleep

2:32 make a cup of coffee

4:21 look at the clock, check email

5:04 look at the clock, check email

5:06 look at the clock, check email....

6:00 print something, pretend to be busy

6:17 leave office. Shakira on radio

8:00 have dinner + CSI: Las Vegas

10:00 study for patent bar, apply for job

12:00 MSN

12:40 lay on bed. read a few pages

1:00 set up alarm. fall asleep

Law Review

Few days ago I learned that I did not make it to the Law Review. That is not surprising, since I never turned in my competition assignment.

Several classmates in (maybe half of) my small section class made it to one or the other law journals. Those classmates include Augustine, Karen, Laura, Kathy, etc. Congratulation to them! This is an achievement since GWU Law only has 5 journals. Other law school with similar or smaller class size has much more journals than GWU (ex. Georetown has 15 journals).

Although I never expected or seriously imagined myself joining the law review, I still feel somewhat lost when I heard the name list. Although it was a battle--a time-limited, massive-reading, smart English writing competition--that I knew I have little chance, I still felt defeated by the winners of the battle.

"That is not my game", I try to remind myself, "an English writing competition will never be my game." How I feel was vividly portraited in the book "One L," in which the main character described how he changed from not caring about the law review at all to suffering the depression when he learned that he failed to make the law review; how a high-achiever was encouraged and harmed by the competitive atmosphere of the school. I don't feel nearly as bad as he did. But "joining the law review would have been nice" I wonder.

Absence all the excuses, I do appreciate one precious reward from the competition experience--I know one more thing that I'm not good at. After doing poorly in guitar, jazz percussion, piano and singing (singing was really bad), I learned to focus on things that I'm better at and enjoy learning things that I'm still, well, learning.

Odyssey Banquest

The very generous firm that I'm interning right now hosted a banquest on Odyssey on a Friday night.

The purpose of the banquet was to establish relationship with foreign clients, who came to the firm to attend a 1 month training program. Summer interns, including me, were just lucky to take advantage of the event.

Odyssey is a flat ship that cruises along the Potomac river. It departs at 8PM and returns to the port at 11PM. On the deck of the ship one could enjoy the night of Washington DC. The food was ok, but the scenary was amazing. Washington Monument, Lincoln memorial hall, Thomas Jefferson memorial hall, Raegan airport, War College, etc.

There was dancing on the boat. Surprisingly most asian clients, those from Japan, Korea and Mainland China, really enjoyed dancing and refused to leave the boat when the ship returns. The Koreans had no problem emptying the bar. The tour ended at 12 PM, an hour later than expected.

The internship so far has been much more fun than I expected. Although a no-intern-only-vacation summer vacation would be much better. Alas, I guess the only chance I could ever have another summer vacation is to pursue an academic career......

Reflection

One day in May, when I checked in a hostel in Cambridge, UK, I met an Indian man.

Around 45 years old, he was lying on the lower level of a a dorm-like double bed when I entered the room. He was doing nothing but lying.

First I wondered what's wrong with him. Why would a person who traveled from so far away, to such a beautiful place on such a glamorous day, stayed at the hostel and lied on his bed?

Later I realized he was not just killing his time or idling. He wasn't spending his time for nothing. His eyes showed spirits. He was looking at the ceiling but his mind was searching somewhere inside. I learned that his name is Vikram and he came for a conference in Cambridge.

He told me that everyday, he finds an hour or two to do nothing. "Nothing?" I ask. He said nothing, is a misleading word. "I reflect on myself, and ask what I've done today."

"I do not ask what I've not done today. But ask what I've done but did not fully appreciate."

"My time goes by faster than you, Michael. I cannot rush by everyday blinded."

After meeting Vikram, the pace of my UK trip slowed down. I can travel anywhere, I think, because everyday is a trip.

I'm looking forward to a trip that offers spectacular landscapes, combined with space to reflect. I had the luxury to do that on my Amazon River trip, of which every night I sit on the deck of the boat, admiring the reflection of the moon on the Amazon River.

A trip to Tibet is also something I wish I could join. Yellow desert, starry night, the sound of Jeep's engine. One day I will visit Amazon again, and I will visit Tibet.

* * *

I started this article one and a half year ago. Never was I able to finish it until someone told me about Tibet.