Appointment Affadavit

Today, I stood in front of the American flag, and lifted my right and hand repeated the following words:

I, Laura Joost, do solemnly swear and affirm that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.

That was intense. Never having taken marriage vows, I can't really compare the two with any certainty, but I definitely felt like a ring should have been exchanged and that I'm now wedded to the United States Constitution. We should be very happy together.

More than anything, I wonder exactly how literally I'm required to take this oath. How far do my legally binding obligations extend? For example, would I ever expected to deploy Nicolas-Cage-National-Treasure-style antics to defend the Constitution from foreign and domestic enemies attempting to steal it? If someone besmirches the honor of the US Constitution, must I tackle them in the street? Does it matter that I was trying not to giggle while taking this oath?

Then I visited a magical rooftop garden overlooking the Belvedere Palace. This is an abrupt transition, I know. But it was a very diverse day at work. Maybe the garden wasn't magical, but it had all my favorite plants: ripe raspberries, fuchsia, lavender and so many more. So jealous. Now I want a rooftop garden. So, I bought a basil plant... but that just is not even worth mentioning in this same paragraph. The garden itself went up and down along the roof line of this gorgeous 7 story building. It had a 360 view of the city center! Can't communicate how breathtaking this was.

THEN we went to pick up the new intern in my office. His name is Peter, he seems cool. Did I mention my roommate arrived last night? Her name is Erica, and again, she seems cool. Her arrival was a real mix-up, too, but she's in good spirits about everything. So for all the isolation of the last few weeks, it looks like companions have arrived!