Summer Camp in a Suit

Mr. T is spending the summer in another part of the country.

As a 1-L, first year student, he spent a good part of this year wondering if he would get a summer position.

The change in the economy added an element of uncertainty to the tradition of gaining summertime hands-on experience.

Initially, he verbalized his worry.
Then, he got down to business and started getting his name out.

He applied for a number of positions--many in New Mexico, as well as several out of state.

Some applications consisted of just signing up for the initial interview.

One application for the federal government was convoluted and took a full day to complete.

Sometime later, he received an email stating he was eligible for the job.
Then, he received an email stating he was not.
Sometime after that, he was interviewed by conference call--in between classes on a cell phone, with poor reception and no privacy.

His comment afterwards was that he didn't think it went so well.

He put this option on the back burner, and continued seeking opportunities, mostly in the area of child advocacy and, desirably, in New Mexico. He was offered more than one position, all of them unpaid.


Then he received a call from the federal government--with a contingent offer.


The contingency went on for a little while, as the ponderous wheels of governance sorted itself out. He didn't receive confirmation of the job until 3 weeks before the projected start date. This hasn't left us with very much time.


On the plus side--all the details are rushing at us so fast, we've had little time to think about the reality of absence.

Mr T is going to Washington.

As always, my imagination has been running rampant, and I have visions of going to the Media Museum (the Newseum) and seeing the cherry blossoms at the Capitol (even though they are long gone).

The reality, is that Mark will be gone all summer.
Already, this year has been a change for us.
He hasn't had time to do much more than study.
The lawn has grown up around our ears (sorry Muffin), and my former training partner and motivator is generally planted on his seat at a study desk for more hours than any seat should have to handle.

When Mr. T asked around, he heard that Washington internships weren't all nose-to-the-grindstone.
That's good.
He's been working hard all year.
A summer party in a suit is just what he needs.

(Actually, we're pretty sure he's going to be working hard. Just hope he gets some fun time in, also.)