Bucket lists and ruins of the world.

Dip Girl (who is still a diplomat, but now married so maybe "girl" is unfair, but I am still Law Girl on her blog so I will leave it) and I have seen a lot of ruins together; we joke that it has kinda become our thing and have discussed where else we have to get to. (Easter Island, Nepal, Italy, Jordan, Egypt, Italy, Greece, India and Myanmar are all currently on the list- whether we will wait to make them happen together is another question.) I just got back from visiting her and a joint trip to Machu Picchu, which we added to our locations that already included Mexican and Cambodian temples.

Machu Picchu is on a lot of people's so called "bucket lists" and it is amazing. However- and I fully realize that this is coming from an extremely privileged and nit-picky place- Machu Picchu is amazing, but I would recommend other ruins first. There are tons of things Machu Picchu has going for it: the mystery surrounding its purpose and the "lost" city mythology (granted this is a very western view, people who lived in the area knew it was there,) the fact that it is in a cloud forest, the hiking around the site. However, like many tourist sights, it is very expansive; and it is difficult to get to, even if you don't do the hiking, llamas (I loved the llamas). My favorite part of ancient sights is the way details can remain. I loved the carvings in Cambodia and Mexico, the way mosaics in Rome remain. Unfortunately there aren't as many of those details at Machu Picchu, and I (mistakenly) went in with that as an expectation. Additionally, for all the work it takes to get to the site (you fly to Lima and connect to Cusco, then you take a train from Cusco, or as we did because it was the low season, take a car to a city further up the sacred valley to catch a train, then you take a train to Aguas Calientes (an incredibly unattractive place)  where you catch a bus to the site. In the dry season you can hike, but to prevent wear on the Incan Trail the Peruvian government has significantly reduced the number of people allowed to do that, and you are required to hire a porter. You can also walk parts of it along unattractive roads with busloads of tourists going past you) there is really only a day worth things to see, (that is with hiking up the mountain behind the site) and you spend a good portion of the middle of the day pushing through crowds. (And we were there in low season, I can't even imagine what peak is like.) Granted the whole of the sacred valley has more, but many people miss that taking the train quickly through and not spending any time in Cusco.

None of this is to discourage people from going. Peru is amazing, the people are wonderful the food is INSANE it is so good. (Although, unfortunately the food around Macchu Picchu is homogeneous back packer fare, over priced, un-inventive imaginings of dorm food: that  people would leave with that impression of Peruvian food is a tragedy, and another way the site disappoints.) My point is that it doesn't deserve the premier place on people's bucket lists it gets. Macchu Picchu is served by being an amazingly photogenic place, but I think that it has elbowed its way higher in some people's estimations than it deserves because of the gorgeous photos people bring home. The Mayan and Aztec ruins in Mexico are amazing: closer to the states, better food and accommodations in close proximity, some sites are basically devoid of other tourists, it is inexpensive and you can add it on to a beach vacation. Cambodia has dozens of temples that you can explore, and while the town around them is rough around the edges, it has some of the worlds best spas and makes for a relaxing home base. There are options beyond Macchu Picchu that if you don't have the luxury of traveling you might want to examine before you buy your ticket, and if you do Macchu Picchu don't be in such a rush to check it off your list that you don't have the opportunity to appreciate it in context.

My point in all of this is the Peru should be the destination, not just Macchu Picchu. It is fascinating and beautiful and will make you fat in the best possible way. However, without the context of the world around it Macchu Picchu is poised to disappoint people who have been waiting their whole lives to see it.

I promise to post more about my trip, they will be happier I promise. It was an amazing trip.

How can you not love that face?

Some days my greatest achievement is not crying at my desk.

I think there is a reputation of law practice in general, and litigation practice groups within firms most especially, as stressful and emotionally trying places. (Although I think most people think their jobs are especially stressful and emotionally draining so I am reticent to claim special status.)

Anyway, we are in the midst of a trial. It isn't a trial I have done much work on, but once a trial start it becomes an all hands situation; whatever other priorities you may have had get put on hold and you help as soon as you are asked. I was asked to help with a research project that seemed like it should have an obvious and straightforward answer but, as is often the case with simple questions, had no discernible answer whatsoever. I cobbled together the best answer I could, but it was not what the partner wanted. (The partner who is under a huge amount of stress, who is sleep deprived, and who just wanted a clear answer.) He was not happy and I heard about it.

So I kept my head down and worked. I kicked off my super cute and impractical shoes and kept my "desk shoes" on- even in the library and copy room. I billed a ton (which is the upside of this) even with my headache from straining to keep it together. I talked myself out of buying a new pair of amazing work pants, that I really want but absolutely do not need. (When I get upset I have a very bad habit of saying f**k it, I am going to buy it.) Basically it was an entire day teetering on an emotional razor-blade because I felt incompetent.

The partner wasn't loud, or rude or mean; just exceedingly disappointed; which is so much worse. In telling the story to her my mom asked "but why didn't you defend yourself to him?" That is a complicated question. I am sure part of it is a passivity born of being taught the importance of being "nice" above all. But that isn't it alone, a part of it is that you can never be certain that there isn't a better answer you didn't find, with millions of cases and statutes and rules, not to mention articles and legislative history- you can't read it all. Plus there is the ever looming fact that the line between explaining and making excuses can be thin, and taking responsibility and fixing the problem (or at least moving on) is much preferred to perceived excuses.

Anyway, today is a new day and last night the second chair sent me an email thanking me for my help, which I am taking to mean I am not getting fired.