grumpy old lady

A couple LLM students asked me to join them on a girls' night out tonight and my very first thought was: "How do I get out of this?"

Mind you, I like them. And because they're LLM (Masters) they're a bit older than the regular law students. But, I'm just not up for it, and not just because I have a nasty cough with my cold. It's not that I'm ageist - it's that I know that their fun activities are different than mine. And in a group, the silliness, and shortest skirt, wins. I would probably have a fun time and I'd be glad I went, but it sounds like so much energy.

I don't socialize with my classmates - that's my rule. I think it's for the best for everybody. I don't want to get in that space where I'm not having a good time and I'm stuck, and then my watching becomes glowering.

And I don't want to see any of my classmates drunk. Drinking is the major pasttime for most, and I don't want it. Two classmates in one day told me their goal is to move west and find a lawfirm whose recreational activities include kayaking rather than shots. Apparently those firms are hard to find. Shrug. The career development office and everybody says it's so important to socialize and make connections and drink along, but I ain't playing that game. If a law firm wants to hire me because I dance on tables when drinking, then I shouldn't work for them. If they don't want to hire me because I prefer a good night's sleep over a night at a bar, then they need to look onwards.

At 22, I drank heavily sometimes too. I hit my peak at about 18 with alcohol abuse, and enough black outs and puking nights and hangovers lasting days made me think it's not so much fun after all. And I'm not real good with just a little - my tolerance is all screwy, so just a couple give me a hard drunk too sometimes - but sometimes it doesn't, and I can never tell if I'll be unaffected, lightly buzzed, or dancing on tables (or with lamps). And I really don't like to guess at all if I'm driving - which is always the case in this country.

I need another day to this weekend - not enough time to do all I want/need. I totally want to skip class, but I'm afraid of not getting something important. My Legal Profession class at 8:30 on Monday and WEdnesdays is a TOTAL yawn. How do I know? Because he keeps telling us how important it is. Show, don't tell! And there's a class of 150 but he insists we all email him anytime we're missing. Why? There's no good reason. We're adults - most are 2Ls and 3Ls who already have jobs. This is a waste of time for us all. He actually spent 20 minutes on Monday checking that our seating chart is correct and people hadn't moved. He's the brilliant one who had us do the seating chart before we didn't have class for another 12 days - of course people forgot.

Whatev. It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood.