Life Update

After a hectic summer, I finally have time to update this blog with some news. Since that time is limited, I'm going with bullet point style:

• Philly: most of my summer was spent in Philadelphia, working at a big law firm there.  Time well spent, it turns out, since I received my offer for full-time employment there this week! I will begin in September 2013, after I graduate (unless I get a clerkship, then it will be delayed).  I have been loving this city, particularly the FOOD.  We have already adopted the Bards' bar as our favorite hangout, and Audrey Claire as our regular restaurant. The past few weeks, we have hit up numerous trivia nights (Philadelphians call it quizzo but I'm still a southerner).  If you're interested, Irish John is the best emcee, and we have seen him conduct trivia at Cavanaugh's and The Nodding Head.  Cavanaugh's was less crowded so that has been my favorite so far. During the summer, I went to so many lunch places to eat that were SO delicious, but I can't remember them all anymore! When I return next fall, I will have to compose a list of have beens and need to gos, and will share it here. 
• Boston: after I finished the summer associateship, Scott and I traveled around the east coast, visiting friends and family, and attending a wedding in Allentown. Our main weekend was spent in Boston and East Haven, CT (surprisingly further away from each other than you would think).  My friends Molly and Lindsey from college were in Boston, as well as some of Scott's friends from college/DC.  We crashed on Molly's couch on Thursday and Saturday, and went to East Haven on Friday to see one of Scott's high school friends.  My recommendation for food in Boston would be Shojo, a recently-opened modern Asian place in Chinatown.  Everything that was ordered was absolutely delicious, and the atmosphere was very cool.  We got drinks in Cambridge at Lord Hobo's and Trina's Starlite Cafe, which were both very interesting and had a good selection of beverages. Scott and I took the Duck Tour in Boston, which I recommend in any new/big city.  It gives a nice overview of the city, either if you don't have a ton of time to tour (as in this case), or you want to get a sense of what there is to see and where everything is located. As for East Haven, it was a cute little beach town near Yale, small and quaint. We didn't really do anything too remarkable there, but if you're looking for a quiet vacation spot in the area, it might be worth looking into.
• Hamburg: I am finalizing preparations to leave for Hamburg on the 30th.  I finally got a room (yay!) from a law student that is studying in Paris.  Although dealing with law students is not ideal (hypocritical, I know), at least I am fairly certain it is not a scam.  I held my ground on not signing anything or paying before seeing the place, so I am meeting the girl's mom on that day and paying her in cash for the deposit.  The deposit is high compared to what I would pay in the U.S., but her mom agreed to sign something saying she got the deposit and I will sign the lease then.  AT&T and the iPhone actually have a pretty good international setup.  My phone is already set up for usage, and I can sign up for certain minutes/texts/data which makes it a bit cheaper than roaming the whole time.  I plan on using gchat video mostly to communicate with people at home. The courses are interesting at the school, as each week has a different course schedule than the previous week, which will take some getting used to it.  I have filled out numerous information sheets for UVA, the state department, and Bucerius, the school in Hamburg, and I think I am mostly ready to go.  I still need to pack, find international electricity adapters, and finish up the little things at home, but I am getting very excited to head out. 
• The puppy: mom and dad agreed to take on Elle for the semester while I am gone.  Mom had previously fought any sort of dog, and Elle is not exactly an easy one to take care of, but they really wanted me to go to Germany, so they are getting used to each other now.  They got her an invisible fence to roam around in outside, which gives her exercise and keeps the house from getting torn up.  She absolutely loves sniffing and digging out there, so I am confident it will be an incident-free semester. 

I think that is all that needs to be updated now, my next post will be from Hamburg!