laura gives you helpful spring break tips!

in no particular order (but for the fact that the order was somewhat dictated by my usual problems uploading pictures)--

1. BYO intertube. they're cheaper and easier to find at your local target then at some hotel. also, this way you can avoid the uncomfortable encounter that is sure to result when you and your friends presume the intertube you saw flying off a balcony was being given away to the first comer and taker b/c surely that's how the family conveyed that they were leaving for home tomorrow and no longer needed an intertube, so that you went treking thru brush to pick it up, which it turns out is not so true, and the family later finds you having adopted the intertube, clearly marked with their name in huge letters with black permanent marker, considering it a member of your own family and lounging on the lazy river with it. oops. also, you will probably learn that a pack of solidarity to fend off said family members in the event that they come looking for their intertube, will probably leave you all alone and your friends cowering in silence, with eyes that clearly say, "yes, this is your intetube," and then you'll be left with nothing to ride along the lazy river on. RIP pendleton, we loved you as one of our own.

2. sun care is very important! pack a hat, take sunscreen! i say take two SPFs, so that you can slather it on early in the week while your sensitive cville skin is getting used to the fact that aruba has the most freakishly powerful sun you've ever seen, and then, if you're not already bright red, you can tone it down later in the week.

3. don't forget your passport! i say this only b/c it hadn't crossed my mind til today and that could have been disaster.


4. try the local beer. it may be gross, but you can always call it a "cultural experience."

5. don't take a textbook. they weigh a lot and you won't open it. of course, i'm pretty sure i'll take one again this year, but i have a far more guilty conscience than most people, and also one of those unique guilty consciences that is appeased to some degree by empty gestures.

6. have your mail held while you're out of town for the week.

7. see how many of your friends you can fit in a bathtub. just trust me on this one. you can't go wrong.

8. if the cruel hand of fate has ensured that you and your SO will not be in the same spring break destination, remember that while you may ogle the scantily-clad 19-year olds from afar (b/c your SO is very generous like that), those girls surely possess not a bit of the wit and charm that certain someone does. also, if you try to approach them, they will probably laugh in your face b/c you are an old man.

9. if you are not in the sort of relationship that makes those 19-year olds off limits, go on up, say hello, see how far you can get. your friends will enjoy the opportunity to laugh at your expense.

10. if you're a 1L and you're hanging around to do journal tryouts, remember that law review does care if those periods are italicized when they're supposed to be. i'm not sure when that is, and i have never been able to figure out how you would know if a period was italicized, but that's just the way they roll.

but most importantly, whether you're in some far-flung land with great sun, some far-flung land where it's still 40 degrees, or still in cville "catching up" on the semester and getting a "head start" on outlining, just make sure to take some time to appreciate the fact that you've got the week off. i'm sure i'll post again before i go, but have a great spring break!