Super-Soaked

I forgot to mention that my shower head broke on the first day. The faucet and shower head are located in the center of the tub rather than on the (logical) end of the shower. It appears that the Dutch do not believe in cleaning themselves from above because the shower has only a small hook on which to hang the hand held shower head. This hook is not sturdy enough to hold said shower head in the event that you should want to end the shower and turn off the water. In hindsight, I should have taken the shower head down and then turned off the water but, typical American, I assumed that I could just end the water flow when I wanted. The shower head fell and snapped leaving a super-soaker for a shower head. I begged my parents to buy me the latest super-soaker when I was a kid. Mom, save your money. Buy me a decent shower head. The Beatles’, “Happiness is a Warm Gun”, plays in my head as I take a shower. The water pressure has to be adjusted according to which body part I am cleaning as some body parts are more sensitive to water pressure than others.

I had my first real day of work today. Yesterday was all formalities. I actually read our client’s indictment and talked about the case with my bosses. The attorneys on this case seem like very nice people. They have a pretty laid back approach which lends itself well to my personality. I had to be at work by 2:00 so I mounted Willie and took off into the Den Haag traffic. Unfortunately, it was raining. I knew this when I left but I had no idea just how constant the rain would be. It wasn’t raining hard, just a drizzle. But it rained the whole way and I began to worry about my laptop which was resting in my backpack. I don’t think this backpack is waterproof although I suspect it is water resistant. Not wanting to risk ruining my lifeline to the rest of the world, I took off my rain jacket and wrapped the backpack in it. As always, I figured in getting lost time but the rain, coupled with Willie’s back wheel injury, slowed us down more than I expected. By the time I reached the tribunal I had nearly fallen over by getting caught in the tram tracks, stopped three times to look at the map, and gotten soaked from head to toe. Fortunately, my computer and ipod went unharmed.

I walked through security with a chip on my shoulder. The guards weren’t sure what to do with me. That place is locked down for real. The guards change everyday and they do not understand the whole intern concept. Every guard asks for an extension to call. This is an impossible task since the ADC does not really have an appropriate extension and even if they did, I don’t know the number. I just started working. My new bosses basically laughed at me for being wet and stupid which was a welcomed grumpy mood breaker.

The case I am working on is exciting. If this guy did everything they say he did, he raped about a hundred people and killed another two hundred in one day. Stay dry.