Law school proved to be far less fun than I anticipated. Nevermind why I–who had seen “The Paper Chase” like everyone else of my generation–might have had any reason to think law school would be fun. To deal with the stress, I learned to cook. My best friend was a cheap wok and a not so sharp knife. The theraputic nature of chopping things up cannot be underestimated.
Life after law school also proved to be less fun than I anticipated. First I couldn’t find a job so I had no income so I couldn’t really cook any more because I had nothing in the house to cook. Then I found a job that required me to move across the country to work in an office that I quickly learned was full of crazy people. And again, I cooked.
When I was having to come home at 8pm at night, way too late to cook dinner but yet completely stressed and unable to sleep, I learned to make jam. At the end of an evening of chopping and simmering, after a day of pushing rocks up hill with my nose, I would have two or maybe three jars to gaze at and feel like I had accomplished something.