My August Winter Wonderland

Photos by Alec Perkins: Iguzu Falls, Argentina.

I am using the last of my frequent flyer miles to take Taylor to Buenos Aires next month. Yes, I know that it will be winter in South America in August.

I am always annoyed when people point out how August is not the best time to go wherever I happen to be headed. But what they forget is that I live in Phoenix. I guarantee, that no matter how crowded/cold/rainy it is at my vacation destination, it will beat being in Phoenix in August!

I am making my own travel arrangements again for this trip. Really, I do try to take it easy and use tour packages. For example, lured by Alec's astounding pictures of Iguazu Falls, I decided to do a side trip and looked at packages. I found two-day pre-packaged tours at $500 per person. I thought this was pretty reasonable as the Buenos Aires-Iguazu roundtrip airfare started at $300. While reading the fine print, I discovered the package didn't include airfare. For a lot less than $1000, I can arrange airport transfers, a tour and a hotel. So I am.

But honestly, I like doing all the planning. The trip for me starts with the research. For example, after two hours of immersing myself in reviews of Buenos Aires "hidden door" gourmet restaurants, I'm a little surprised to find I am actually sitting in my study in Phoenix. The bad thing is that after reading all those delightful menus, I am starving and the only things in my refrigerator are Half & Half, low carb tortillas and Diet Coke.

I already booked a car service to pick us up when we arrive in Buenos Aires. We could also walk outside the terminal to find a taxi driver and negotiate a good price to take us to the apartment I've rented. I am generally pretty good at negotiating. This attribute does not apply, however, when I am seriously sleep deprived--like after 24 hours of traveling. At those times, I have been known to wander around international airports muttering Gump-like, "Travel is like a box of chocolates."

So I am going with the expensive chauffer who will be waiting for us at the gate. Arriving international passengers are often grossly overcharged by taxi drivers at airports. I, at least, have the advantage of knowing exactly how much I'm overpaying.

So a car service and a trip to Iguazu Falls might be a tad indulgent. But getting out of Phoenix in August: That's priceless.

What Happens in Book Club, Appears Here.

Now that school is out, and I no longer have to read 40 hours a week, I have time to practice one of my favorite pasttimes--reading. (Do not go to law school if you don't like to read. It's like being a professional pilot if you don't like to fly.)

Putting down my textbooks and picking up novels reminded me that I love to read. (Reading the federal tax code for hours has a way of making me forget that.) I further indulged my love of reading this summer by attending the monthly book club I started ten years ago.

It's an exciting time to be going back to Book Club. This is because my Book Club is dating another book club. We need new members. Their book club is disbanding. We are wooing them to join us.

We invited them out to a meeting last month (discussing Brideshead Revisited.) Before the discussion portion, we made small-talk, trying to get to know each other. Last night we had our second date (discussing My Antonia). The conversation got a little more serious and they ask us what we were looking for in this relationship. I listened as our members spelled out our many Book Club rules: One hour of socializing beforehand, no talking about the book before the officical discussion, the hostess speaks first and then we rotate from her around the circle, etc. What kind of anal-retentive person sets up so many procedures for a book club? Oh, yeah, that would have been me.

My Book Club wanted to know why our visitors' book club disbanded. What book club baggage were they likely to bring to our group? I felt a little better as I saw that rules like ours would have prevented at least some of the issues they'd had.

Those conversations went pretty well, so a third date is in the works for next month (discussing The Nineteenth Wife). Additionally, we made plans to join at Christmas to meet the family (discussing The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo). Every Christmas, Book Club invites husbands/dates to Book Club. So getting together for the holidays is a significant step.

We've all had bad Book Club relationships before. So we are taking it slow. Still, we have high hopes this will be a Book Club match made in literary heaven.

Advice For Incoming Law School Students: What Your Mom Would Tell You If She Were in Law School.

• You can do this. Law school would not have accepted you if you couldn't.
• Pay no attention to all that posturing among your first year classmates. Students who seemed THE most confident at the beginning of the semester usually do not end up at the top of the class.
• Visit your professors during their office hours. If you are looking for a competitive advantage, both academically and professionally, you'll often find it here.
• Befriend 2Ls and 3Ls. You will be amazed at how helpful these people can be.
• Everyone has a theory for acing law school. But you are the expert on how YOU learn best. Listen to ideas about effective outlining, study groups, etc. Then do only what is most effective for you.
• Get involved in extra-curricular activities. They not only fill up the blank spaces on your resume, they can lead to unexpected opportunitites.
• Be willing to be lucky. Even if you consider yourself a long-shot, apply for law review, your dream internship or a prestigious student office. Sometimes, you get it! Then take a few moments to savor the heady thrill of victory. (This is best accomplished with good champagne.) Remember this feeling as it can help sustain you through the not-so-fun parts of law school.