North Maple Rag

There was a fencing competition at the gym tonight and I watched for a little while. After the final match, the NYU and Columbia teams huddled up to conference with their coaches. Suddenly, the Columbia team burst out with a loud "Thank you NYU! Mazel Tov!" The NYU Team immediately responded with "Thank you Columbia!" The whole thing was kind of goofy and dorky, and it made me really miss being part of a team.

I've been talking a lot in my interviews about how much I enjoyed and now miss the collaborative nature of my last job. I think it's tough to really know what other people are made of until you've worked together toward a common goal, even if that goal is something relatively insignificant like winning a high school debate tournament or putting on a great college concert. There've been a lot small group projects for my Lawyering class, but somehow, dividing up legal research just hasn't been that satisfying.

Anyway, today I was specifically missing the camaraderie and silliness that I more commonly associate with sports and other competitive teams. A few weeks ago I told some people that I'd play softball this spring. I hope that works out; softball's a great excuse for silliness. And beer. Lots and lots of beer.