Next Year, Baby....

Okay, so I TOLD you there would be more where that was coming from, and I am (finally) following through with my promise. This is, in large part, because it involves a New Year's resolution where I "share" something with you, my small, but ever loyal blogging audience.  This year for Christmas, I received a camera from by boyfriend, Pete. And not just any camera, a digital SLR camera...something I have been wanting for AGES.  (For those of you who aren't too familiar with cameras, it's a mighty nice camera, and the beginning of a line of professional cameras.  If you want the technical difference between your everyday point and shoot and an SLR camera, click here and here.  Long story short, it get a better picture.)  After talking to Andrea about my awesome gift, she told me about one of her friends who received a camera last year and did something she called "Project365" where she took one picture everyday, posted it, and watched her year evolve. 

This idea intrigues me, and it is now one of my new year's resolutions to participate in my own "Project 365". I intend on coming up with a new name for it just to make it my own, but the concept is the same: EVERY DAY I will take (at least) one photo, and post it both on here, and on a Flickr feed (I have yet to figure out the address to share the feed...if anyone is familiar with Flickr...please help me out! When I get it, I'll post it for certain).  I'll add captions and stories, and potentially post more than one picture everyday on this blog, and post the single best picture on Flickr so as to keep the number of files small...and within my monthly "limit".  There are no parameters on the content of the picture...just something from my life that day.

This has two practical implications for you, my loyal band:
1) I need your help!  I am committed to doing this, but I am also a stereotypical American who sticks to their resolutions for about six weeks and then falls off the deep end. So, if you notice I haven't posted anything by about noon every day, I need you to post and comment and bug and harass me (but only under those circumstances) to make sure I post and remember to take the pictures. 

2) No more personal dirt...through words, anyway. Not that I've been all that great about writing about what's going on the past couple months, but I won't really be writing about my life at all beyond the scope of my pictures. But, I believe that you'll gain a lot more than what you loose.

I don't have any of my 2008 artsty-fartsy pictures, or pictures I've taken with my new camera, available to me at this point and time, so you'll have to do with one of my favorites from London in 2007, and a picture of my brother Ben and I during the annual family Christmas tree hunt.  :)  See you tomorrow!  And Happy New Year!!

Testing Testing, 1, 2, 3!

This is a test...of the e-mail posting system.  There is more...oh so much more in store for you, starting tomorrow! Yippie!

Per a request from the "Emily Friedman's Fan Club", I will try and update more frequently.  Tonight, I must go to bed.  To sustain you for now, I will share this clip with you and tell you that I get to go to his concert on Sunday with a really great boy. :)  More soon.

Two Days Drive

I caught up with one of my dear friends from undergrad tonight on my way home from, well, home. He's in a band --Two Days Drive--that is making waves in Denver, and I'm trying to help that wave reach Kansas.  Check out their MySpace page:  http://www.myspace.com/twodaysdrive

In case you're wondering which is my friend, he's the bass player, Jed.  He's the third guy back on their background picture.  Woot woot! :)

Public Service Announcement

AHHH! It's been forever since I've updated. I apologize. I just haven't had much gusto to write lately. Hopefully that desire, and your loyal readership, will return soon.  Until then, this is my public service announcement: REGISTER TO VOTE! The 30 day deadline is almost here, so hop to it.  Follow this link to "Rock the Vote".  They will help you complete the form making it simple to slip it in an envelope and put it in the mail.  I'm off to be nerdy and watch the vice-presidential debate...hopefully it will be an entertaining one. :)

RESULTS

I PASSED THE BAR

I PASSED THE BAR

I PASSED THE BAR

I PASSED THE BAR

I PASSED THE BAR!!!!

Want to see for yourself?  http://www.kscourts.org

I'm number 00024

Keep waiting, keep keep waiting

STILL no bar results. I apologize to any of my fellow classmates who read this blog and have gotten antsy about the bar because of what I said.  I've been exchanging e-mails with my friend Matt while at work and we're both freaking out.   There was one point today where my stomach had such butterflies in it, I was sure that it was going to take off.  This has to come soon...I'm not sure I can handle many more days of this.

Welcoming a new child of God

I'm off to Lincoln, NE for the weekend.  My dear cousin Ali just had a baby (whose name is Josie) 6 weeks ago.  She (Josie) is being baptized this weekend, and since it's the long weekend, I thought I would go and see Ali, meet Josie, and the rest of my family that will be there.  

Since I'm leaving tomorrow right from work, I also apparently "get" to tailgate at a Nebraska game on Saturday. Generally, I don't take sports that seriously, and root for most everyone as long as they aren't playing KU or Iowa.  But there are only TWO teams that I can't stand---Nebraska and Texas.  Thus,  I say "get" to tailgate is a very loose sense.  I've actually tailgated at a NE game before: we all got red t-shirts and put "Iowa' on them, so as to blend in and not get killed by the other NE fans, but show our silent dissent. (I was going to insert a picture of that lovely event, but alas, I cannot find it.  Instead, this is a picture of my cousin Ali and I at our other cousin's wedding.)  Do not worry...I will be staging the same sort of protest again this year...only with a KU NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP T-SHIRT.  (I may take the Orange Bowl T-Shirt along for good measure.. :)).

No bar exam results yet.  Anyone care to place a wager on how many times I will refresh the page tomorrow at work?  I think a 3-digit number would probably be an appropriate guess.

Sleeping on clouds

It's here. It's finally here. My new bed has arrived, and tonight, I get to sleep on my Simmons BeautyRest Pillowtop.  I don't think I've ever been more excited to go to sleep in my whole life. :)  

Finally catching up

I apologize it has been so long since I've updated. I've heard your pleas, and I've returned.  Life has been good. I started work at really like my job. It's only been 7 days, but I feel like I'm already making a difference.  They have given me a lot of responsibility right off the bat which is both exciting and frightening.  Apparently my boss has been talking me up to the powers that be, so I have a lot of expectations to live up to before I even begin.

I'm mostly settled in my new place.  There is still some work to be done, and I'm still sleeping on an air mattress (new bed comes Tuesday), but some of that won't get done for a while.  Other than that, there really isn't anything too exciting.

School has started at KU and honestly, I thought it would feel more weird than it actually does to be in the working world while everyone else is in school.  I think the lack of weirdness has been aided by being pretty removed from campus: I work in Topuka, live far away from campus, and really just like what I'm doing. My roommate does works for St. Lawrence which does mean I'm somewhat connected to student life, but she's working and not studying, so I don't often think about it.

What has been weird (not yet hard) is the lack of people in Lawrence. By lack of people I don't mean actual people, but people I know and want to hang out with.  (If you're in Lawrence and reading this and want to hang out, let me know.)  I didn't realize how many of my friends aren't here,  am trying to transition to that, and trying to figure out how to make new friends.  I really enjoy my roommate, but don't want to be her Lackey either.  I know it will all work itself out; God continually takes care of me, but it's a little awkward until then.  We've started a Catholic Young Professionals and graduate student group, so hopefully some solid friendships will evolve from that.

I got a new phone: I had to move up in the world to a PDA/ smartphone: the Motorola Q.  Since I'm on Verizon and still have a year in my contract, its not worth getting out of yet to get an iPhone. Plus, I'm currently still on my family's plan and get a pretty cheap rate.  The phone I got is working okay; it's windows based, and while I don't hate windows like many Mac users, its certainly not my favorite. The other feature I'm frustrated with is the calendar.  I can synch my calendar with my work calendar (yippie!), but anything personal I put in there shows up on my work calendar (NOT yippie).  I can make them private so the people I share my calendar with can't see exactly what I'm doing...just that I'm busy on Saturday night...but I still don't know if I' like that.  I'll keep working through it and see what happens.

We still don't have wireless at our house (cable has been turned on, but none of the modems have been hooked up; I'm at a coffee shop updating), so I can't guarantee when I will update next. (Not having internet at home has been the biggest obstacle in updating.) But until then, I hope this will keep you all content. :)

Just a moment in time

Again, I'm just checking in, as life has been too busy to really sit down and update.  Vacation was awesome. We went to Okoboji, a lake in NW Iowa that my mom has been going to since she was a kid. It was the perfect thing to do after the bar. And the weather was perfect, too. We got back yesterday, but I've been busy running errands and doing random things, such as purchasing my big girl bed (a Queen Pillow Top Beautyrest...MMMMmmmMMMMmmm).  Tomorrow it's back to KS, but for now, I must go to sleep.  I promise to update more , and more frequently, very soon. :)

Checking in

I just wanted to check in with those of you who visit me here! I was in Wichita all weekend for my brother's basketball tournament and to see friends. I watched about 14 7th grade boys games and boy do I have bleacher butt. I also got to see some friends and hang out a lot with my dad and brother. It was great. We made it back to Iowa around midnight last night, and now we're leaving for vacation this morning. I'm not taking my computer, so I won't be updating until Thursday at the earliest. Come back then. :)

Completely....

Done.  Completely done.  Exhausted.  Completely exhausted. Moved out. Completely moved out.  Moved in. Completely moved in. On vacation. Completely on vacation. :)

Hit by a mac truck.

Day one:

 Morning session: not so bad.

 Afternoon session: raked over the coals.  I may have to come back to Topkea in February. :(

Mary + Martha = Goodness

I'm sitting here, nearly completely ready to take the bar exam, trying to keep in mind things that are  truly important in this world, and of course, my thoughts turn to faith. Today is the feast of St. Martha.  This is the Martha who is the sister to Lazarus and to Mary (not the mother of God, nor Mary Magdeline, I think) and the moments before Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead appears in today's gospel.  In this reading, we see Martha coming out to greet Jesus on his way to their house.  Jesus asks her if she believes that Lazarus will be risen from the dead, and she says "yes, in the resurrection".  But Jesus tells her things are much simpler than that; he is the resurrection and, unbeknownst to Martha, he will bring him back to life just a few moments later.

The other gospel passage where we prominently see Martha is another time when Jesus comes to visit her family (verses 38-42, if you are curious). While Jesus is there telling the word of God, Mary sits at Jesus' feet while Martha does all the preparations for the meal.  Eventually, Martha complains to Jesus that Mary isn't helping with the preparations and imposes upon Jesus to get her to do so.  Jesus than repudiates Martha, telling her that we all have our places in life and that Mary has chosen the better half...to listen contently to the word of God, realizing He and all of His promises encompass everything we will ever need.

I find myself often being a Martha. Part of it comes from my family...my mom is DEFINITELY a Martha, and I'm sure I get much of my inability to sit down and restrain myself from helping at dinner parties from her.  But part of being a Martha means that I over think...everything.  I worry about what is to come before facing what is right in front of me.  Martha is a woman of great faith and trust in God, and I would like to think that I am the same. But I often get so caught up on everything around me I forget to focus in on the things that really matter.  Today my prayer is obviously to get through the bar exam, but to show the faith of Martha with the simplicity of Mary.  I have to remember that ultimately, this is not up to me anymore (nor was it ever really). I've done what I can do and the rest is up to the big guy upstairs...and as one of my friends put it...he is certainly big enough to handle this one exam.  Moreover, I know that no matter what happens, he has shown me time and time again that I won't be left to fend for myself.  "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat (or drink), or about your body, what you will wear.  Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not more important than they?"  (Matthew 6:25-26)

I thank you all for your prayers. I know the calm I'm feeling this morning is a direct result of that. I ask that you keep them up because I will certainly need them over the next 36 hours.

Thoughts from a more calm, but still nervous, me

Well, I'm in my hotel room at the conference center where the bar is being administered.  I'm a little calmer than when I wrote this morning, but rather than having a near panic attack, now I just have the butterflies.  Things are going to be okay...I've studied all I can and I probably know more than I realize.  Now I just have to apply it.  

I'll see you all on the flip side....

Terrified

I am scared out of my mind.  The test is here. I'm not performing well on my practice questions.  It seems that everyone else can rattle off more elements than I.  I have never been this scared about a test in my life.  

Dear Lord, please be with me. Please help me think through things clearly and correctly.  If it is your will that I not pass, please help me deal with that in a mature and positive manner.  Regardless, I know I can't do this without you, so please, just be there.

A day of stupid

Today was a day of stupid: me being stupid, other people being stupid, the whole world being stupid.

My first stupid move was to get up and go for a run. I haven't run in a week and a half (or worked out at all, for that matter) and something inside of me said thought that would be a good idea.  Wrong  Although I did 3.75 miles, a good portion of it was walked. And oh yeah, did I mention I didn't drink any water yesterday and it's about 400% humidity outside.  Stupid #1.

I think that stupid #1 was a significant factor in stupid #2: performing horrendously on the practice questions I did this morning.  Part of the stupidity is that many of my errors were just reading errors.  (That's where stupid #1 comes in...I'm just exhausted.)

Stupid #3: I bolt out of the library because I'm freaking myself out by my practice exam, and make my way to Kansas City to take care of a couple errands I MUST do before bar/ vacation.  On the way there, I stop at the public library to return some CDs I borrowed.  Unfortunately, I broke one of the CDs, but being the prudent person I am, I purchased another and took them in to tell them of my situation. But the library doesn't accept replacements...of the exact same thing.  They can get them somewhere else cheaper. What the hell?!  What does it matter if you can get it cheaper! I already bought it! Here it is! Just take it!  Now I'm stuck with a CD that I only mildly liked and had to purchase via bestbuy.com b/c it's not a common one.  That is the world's stupidest policy.

Stupid #4 On the way, stupid man with Louisiana plates, a trailer, and two confederate flags nearly causes me to get into an accident.  Then, when I pass him, he gives me the look of death and cuts me off so that he nearly avoids hitting a semi.

Stupid #5: I take my computer to the apple store (one of the errands I needed to do) and they basically tell me there is nothing wrong with it.  (Note: I did tell them how stressed I was, how I drove an hour to get there, and I had already done some preliminary work on my own and it wasn't helping and they let me see a mac genius when I didn't have an appointment.  Thank you Apple Store, seriously.) But, I got home this evening and the problem is still there. I may be going back soon.

Stupid #6: I get to my second errand and tell the lady the basic of what I need and I stare at her like a deer in headlights because I'm so tired I can't articulate what I need/ want.  This happens at least 3 times.

Stupid #7: I walk out of the mall and have no idea where my car is. Literally, no idea.  Please keep in mind, it is still 400% humidity out there.

So, now it's 9:18 p.m. on a Saturday night. The night before my last day of studying.  My second to last night in my house.  And I can't tell you how anxious I am to bid this stupid, stupid day adieu.  

3 down, 4 to go

This is day 4 of 12 hours of studying.  I'm exhausted, and I look like it, too.  More specifically, I look like I've been crying for days.  Last night was the first time (fortunately)  I started reviewing elements of certain things in my mind while sleeping (contract formation).  I also seem to be grinding my teeth a lot more at night, and if don't wear my retainers (yes, I still have retainers) my jaw hurts all the next day.  But overall I would say I'm doing pretty okay.  We are in the home stretch for sure.

Yesterday, after three years, was my last day at the library.  It was kind of anti-climactic both because 1) the bar and 2) there are SO many of us who are moving on and ending our tenure at the library this week.  I will miss my job.....never again will I get paid to sit and do whatever the heck I want.

If you're in Iowa...watch out. My 14 year-old brother got his permit two day ago.  He's proud b/c he only had to take the test once (which is one time less than I had to take it...but the first time, I only missed by ONE question).  He says he "beat" me. Well, I have a feeling he'll continue to beat me in a lot of things in life. That's just the way it's going to go.

Okay, on to studying.  Keep those prayers up!  They are helping!

T-minus 7 days

I'm exhausted. I have never felt so physically worn out in my whole life (or at least as long as I can remember). I haven't been doing anything except studying, but it's a draining experience like none other. I've given up working out for now...I don't even really think about going to the gym (which is very weird for me). I'm going to take the Monday right before the exam (read: a week from today) off to make sure I am well rested and at my mental best for Tuesday and Wednesday. I'm not stressed out about passing. I'm sure i have the ability to pass, and have come to peace with the idea (fact) that God will take care of me no matter what happens. I'm just worried about not reviewing everything before I have to apply it. I know I'm not going to know everything, and that's okay. And knowing I"ll be okay no matter the outcome is great, but despite those two factors, it doesn't relieve me of a continued effort to learn and know as much as I can before it's go time. Today, I did my duty. I didn't get nearly as far as I would like, but ask me about personal or subject matter jurisdiction qualifications (the basics); I can tell you. :) Oddly enough, I'm even understanding commercial paper (just a little bit) in my emaciated state. Hopefully I retain some of that information.

Third Time's a Charm

Last update for the day, I promise:

I don't often go and look at my actual blog; I just post comments and let it go.  But something inspired me to go look at the actual page.  In doing so, I realize that I appear fairly bi-polar right now....happy in some posts, extremely disgruntled in others.  That's me dealing with the harsh realities of the bar exam, but trying to keep things in perspective. Don't worry...I'm okay (but I'll still punch you if you tell me I'm going to do fine). :)

Grrrrrrrr.....

I think if I hear ONE more person tell me that "you'll do fine" on the bar exam, I'm going to pop them in the nose.

A broken, but oh so beautiful, record

I've said it before, and I'll probably say it (or at least think it) about one-hundred trillion times throughout the rest of my life, but I have the best friends in the whole world.

Last night I asked a couple of my friends (my burley man friends, as I like to call them) to help me move my big stuff-- bookshelf, desk, dresser-- to my new house.  My friend Jeff brought his truck, and we loaded everything in there without any problem.  The problem came when we went to journey from existing house to new house: the truck, with all the stuff in it, didn't make it up the first hill. (I was driving ahead of the truck, and all of the sudden it wasn't in my rear-view mirror anymore. I kept waiting for a movie-esque moment where you see the car come above the horizon, dust trailing behind as the sun cooly sets in the background. That didn't happen)

I went back to see what was going on and the boys were stopped on the side of the road. Jeff said that he dropped the battery when coming up to lawrence, so he was pretty sure that it was the cause of the problem.  We first tried to jump the battery with a little mini-starter Nick (my other burley man friend) had, but remembered that he used this week and forgot to charge it. No good.  Then we tried to find jumper cables. I didn't have any; neither did Jeff or Nick. I called my roommate (since we were only 3 blocks from my house), no go. My boss lives close to where we were, so I tried going to his house to see if he had jumper cables. Not home.  Jeff's dad was in town, so he came over, then went to someone's house, found jumper cables. Woo hoo!  Actually, not.  After playing with jumper cables for at least 15 minutes, we're still stranded.

Jeff's dad then comes up with a plan: call AAA, get the truck towed to Jeff's Uncle's shop, pick up Jeff's grandpa's truck, and then move the stuff to my place then. Okay, sounds goods.    Jeff's aunt had already started calling AAA under her account, but since I remembered that I have AAA also, and you must be present to redeem AAA, I told her to switch to my card.  She and Jeff's Dad were late for a dinner, so we told them to go and we could take care of it from there.  I told AAA my membership number, and they told me that my account had expired. WHAT?    I was transferred 3 times before they told me that we had simply failed to renew.  Next phone call: an angry one to my parents.  And oh yeah, did I mention that I took a 6 hour practice test for the bar and am only 11 days away from the actual test at this point?

Apparently my mom HAD renewed our AAA membership...or was in the process. I did technically expire in June, but they told my mom we would be fine until July 31 (yesterday was the 18th...).  She had sent the first part of the membership fee in in June, and sent the second part (to make the complete membership fee) in just on TUESDAY.  Well, apparently they hadn't processed it yet. So, my mom called in, and 15 minutes later, my membership was renewed.  In the mean time, Jeff had called his mom, got her membership number, initiated the AAA process (which often takes a while) with her membership, while Nick went to the place where his parents/ aunt were having dinner to get her AAA card for when the people came to get us.

Finally 1/2 an hour later, the tow truck came and we executed the plan as anticipated.  My friends Adam and Jody even showed up with their truck so that we only had to make one trip from the tow place to my new place.

My friends are the best. They stuck with me through the whole thing, kept me calm, and came to my rescue. They selflessly gave and asked nothing in return. I often feel I don't do a good job of doing the same thing for them, but hopefully the next time they need me, I can remember this situation and jump all over the chance to pay it forward.

This sucks

Despite my last post, I'm back to complaining.  Today was NOT a good study day.  I stayed up too late last night watching a movie I thought would relax me, had a very frustrating day studying, and am now so tired I can barely function. I"m going to bed...after I get another scoop of frosting to help me wallow away exhaustion.

I am the luckiest

A lot of things have happened over the past couple weeks to cause me to stop and contemplate the fragility of life. Around the 4th of July, a law student was murdered. Last weekend when I went home, I saw a family friend who has been diagnosed with Lou Gerigh's disease and isn't projected to live for many more years. Last night, a motorcyclist was killed and a brutal traffic accident, and I was also told that one of my friends, and one of the most resilient and extraordinary women I have ever met, had a stroke last week. She is 35.

I realize that I've been complaining a lot about how this summer is just awful, but I hope everyone knows that below that sarcasm and minor pieces of truth, I am truly grateful for everything I have, my talents, my gifts, my family, my friends, my faith, etc. Hopefully there won't ever be a day where I don't wake up and, at least at some point, realize how lucky I am to be alive, living this messed-up, awful, beautiful, magical little thing called life.

My summer....and my sentiments

This is how I've spent all summer...both the action and the facial expression clearly express its bleakness.

Hoe down!

Sorry for not updating for a while.  Life has been busy.  Other than studying, I went home this weekend for one of my good friends' weddings.  Because I don't have much time or motivation, I'm just going to post a few pictures.  She had a square dance caller for her dance and made everyone bandanas.  It was awesome. Of course, I had to be the boy when were dancing (again not enough boys, me being the tall one, like always), but Megan (my bff from HS) was a good dance partner and it was fun anyway.  And by the way, when she and I are together, we act like we're 12...every time. It's awesome. :)

whine and cheese

My phone is broken. I don't know what happened to it.  Monday, I made a comment to my roommate that it didn't like the sound it was making when it opened and closed.  Last night, it assumed the position you see in the last two pictures.  In order to keep it closed, I have to secure it with a rubber band.  Verizon says that the warranty only covers manufacturer's defects, and since I don't have insurance, I'll just have to get a new phone.  That means going back to my chocolate. Not so crazy about that.  I can still use the phone for now, but it's not the most functional thing.  Bah.

I picked up a dress from the dry cleaner today. The dress cost me $15.  The dry cleaning cost me $10. Seriously? Seriously.

We took a practice MBE today. I didn't do crazy good, but I think I did all right. I have 2 1/2 weeks to kick it into gear and earn a lot more points.  Prayers, please.

I removed myself from facebook until after the bar. Sorry for any confusion that may cause.

I'm done complaining for now. I'm just too tired to continue. 8 hours of class tomorrow. Can't wait for that....

Snip, snip....ahhhh!!

I got my hair cut. It is MUCH too short. So short I feel kind of bald. It's my own fault...I told the girl to go shorter, and next thing I knew...BAM!  Fortunately, I get to live in a hole for the next 3 weeks so 1) it's okay I look awful, and 2) hopefully by the time I resurface, it will be somewhat presentable. Ick.

asdfjkl;

I'm kind of devoid of things to post right now.  It seems my mind has been wiped of anything creative to say the past couple days, so I will just post random thoughts that will hopefully be entertaining.

-  The career services lady (Laverta, for those of you who know her) is hosting a 4th of July Ice Cream Social in the law school in about 10 minutes.  She has her whole waiting area decorated (balloons, wall decorations, tablecloths, themed utensils, etc...) and has been playing patriotic marches all day.  She's so cute.

- I love Bowl Appetite Three Cheese Rotini.

- I made it to DogDays at 6 a.m. on Tuesday. The friend I promised to go with didn't show up. boo.  Now it's Thursday, and although the exercise itself wasn't too killer at the time, my hammies are still sore.

- I saw my new house on Tuesday.  I'm a little nervous about moving, but i think it's gonna be great.

- Ice Cream is also delicious.

- I have been able to get my contacts in to my eyes on the first try for the past 4 days I've worn them. Yippie!!

Okay, my random thoughts are now also exhausted.

A blessing in disguise

This weekend, most of us received our packets telling us that we have officially been approved to take the Kansas Bar Exam on July 29-30.  A bunch of papers came enclosed, and one of them listed all the topics that are going to be tested on the exam.  I put all those papers aside to read the week before the exam, but one of my friends examined the documents a little more closely than I and noticed that two of the topics we all thought were going to be on the exam were not listed.

I e-mailed the attorney admissions people who told me the following:  "Rule 704 states the topics which can be covered, however,  the letter from the Board for the July 2008 examination states the specific topics which will be covered."  Using my analytical reasoning skills that I so keenly developed in law school, I determined that those two subjects that were omitted from the list will NOT be on the exam.

Since I'm the representative for our bar review class, I asked the bar review company to check into this and see what they found.  They received the same answer.  Basically, something happened with the bar examiners that caused them to slip up and not make them available for testing next month.  Now, why they tell us this is beyond me.  Don't get me wrong, I'm more than grateful, but commercial paper has consistently been listed as one of the topics that could potentially be tested, and was not tested for many years, until this past exam.  If I were the bar examiners, I would have just let it go.  But lucky for me and the rest of my classmates, I'm not on the Board, and we know that conflicts and corporations aren't on there.

Don't interpret my joy about this situation to mean that I'm not going to study them; truthfully, I'm nervous that they may somehow appear and then I'll be screwed (especially with conflicts...I never took that course and don't know the first thing about conflicts of laws except that the supremacy clause beats everything else.)  It's a big thing to just throw out two topics, but it will certainly help me focus my studying a little better.

On a completely different note, before my stress fracture, I promised my friend Matt that I would do Dog Days with him the summer.  (For those of you who aren't familiar, Dog Days is a fitness camp--kinda-- run by an ex-marine.  He does it for free to whip Lawrence into shape.)  Well, I'm fully healed and am sticking by my promise: I will attend (and most likely get my butt kicked by) my first Dog Days Session tomorrow morning.....at 6 a.m.

It's coming....

Today and tomorrow mark one month until the bar. Doomsday approaches.


On another note, I haven't talked about my contacts for a while. You probably thought that I had mastered the finicky pieces of plastic, but you thought wrong. There was a delay in between the time that I did the trial run to the time that I actually acquired the pair(s) I am supposed to use regularly. In that time, my aptitude for putting in my contacts completely left me. When I finally got my "regular" contacts last week, it again took me at least 20 minutes to put them in. That time has since gradually decreased, culminating with me successfully placing my contacts on the FIRST try on BOTH eyes today. It was definitely a feeling of accomplishment.

Other than fiddling with my contacts, I spent the majority of today packing up my room. There is still a lot of crap strewn all around, but a lot of the big things that I don't use on a daily basis are in boxes and ready to be moved to my soon-to-be new residence. Fortunately, my soon-to-be roommate gets possession of our abode Tuesday, so even though I'm not moving in until after the bar, I'll be able to move a bunch of my stuff (which will help eliminate a lot of stress in the 24-hours we have after the bar to be out of our house).

Tonight, I'm working a shift for someone at the library. I have no energy (even writing this entry is draining), and if I"m this exhausted with still a month to go, I can't imagine how indecipherable my sentences will be after a month of even more intense studying and the actual test. On the bright side (and pulling it all together now...), because I was prescribed daily lenses, I was able to take my contacts out at school. Because I carry a toothbrush/toothpaste with me almost everywhere I go, my teeth are also brushed, and thus, I am half way to my bed already. :)

Things that make you go HMMMMM.....

I had one of those moments today where I heard about something, something I was "involved" in, and wonder if I should have taken a different route.  Let me back up, a few weeks ago, a situation happened that caused me to be very upset with a friend of mine, along with many other of my friends.  I've been contemplating  what/if I should do something to confront the situation, when today I heard that people who were both directly and indirectly involved have confronted our mutual friend about what happened. I'm sorry to be so vague, but the details are really irrelevant.  This caused me to step back and wonder WHY I didn't do anything. 

Generally, I'm a non-confrontational person. I don't like fights, arguments, or even disagreements.  That doesn't mean I sit by and let people walk all over me, but I certainly choose my battles. Often times, even when I choose to confront the issue, I will take the easier way out by talking to the person in a less direct manner.  I know this isn't always the most appropriate, but it's either that method or none at all.  I've certainly learned to become more confrontational over the past couple years having lived with the roommates that I do (not to say that they are bad roommates by any means.  In fact, I think we've worked out pretty well together. Just one roommate responds best to facing things directly and I've learned and --at least I think-- improved upon that.)

Is the less non-confrontational way better? Do I need to be more confrontational and say what's on my mind? What I'm upset about?  Or is that not me?  By changing that style, will I significantly change who I am and how I handle the ways of the world?  Obviously this isn't going to be settled by one post here, and it will take some development over time, if things are to change at all, but they are interesting questions to pose.

On a side note, I'm much more sore from running yesterday than I ever anticipated.  Guess I lost more of my running aptitudes than I thought.

And I was runn-ing!

Today was the day: the first day in 6 weeks I have put my feet to the pavement and taken off running.  I ran the Lawrence Half-marathon in April, and as a result of my training, suffered a very minor stress fracture.  I went to the doctor and he told me to stay off of it for 6-8 weeks. Because I got booted off of my parent's insurance and only have "major medical" coverage, I haven't been able to go back to the doctor (unless I want to pay for the entire visit...probably close to $300 or more if you count in the x-ray they would have to take). That being said, I haven't gone back. But it's been 8 weeks since the race and 6 weeks since the doctors appointment, so I self-diagnosed myself as "healthy" again.  I ran about 3.25 miles in 30 minutes.  Not too bad, but I will definitely aim to improve that. :)

Last night I got to play games again!  My friends and I gathered for a rousing rendition of "Scategories", probably my favorite game (which shouldn't be too surprising considering my soon-to-be profession and how you spent a lot of the time playing advocating that your answer fits the category).  I made some brownies to share with everyone, but much to my dismay, my box of Betty Crocker Fudge Brownies turned out to be Betty Crocker chocolate cake!  EEK!  I've drafted a letter which I intend to send them asking for a refund of my money because they have breached the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose in not supplying me the correct mix.  We'll see what happens with that.... :)

It's 9:30 on a Friday night, and I'm off to bed. Lame? Yes. Necessary? Yes. How it will feel: AWESOME. 

Cilantro: God's gift to taste buds

One of the few things I am still finding pleasure in during these bleak days of bar preparation is food.  Although fortunately (or unfortunately, depending upon how you look at it), the higher summer temperature is sufficiently keeping my body temperature up, and is thus decreasing my appetite, I still have (and make) plenty of opportunities to indulge in the delectable dishes I enjoy so much.  Tonight I made some black bean mango salsa. Since it's supposed to be refrigerated for an hour before eating, and I literally just finished, I have only gotten a small taste of its potential...but if that one bite says anything, I won't have any problem eating all of that...very quickly. 

One of the other things that brings me joy is getting a latte in the morning. Fortunately, I have not developed an addiction to caffeine...I can go an entire day without having a headache from no caffeine...but I just love the taste of them.  And as elitist and wrong as it may sound, no one makes a better latte than Starbucks.  Sorry you local coffee shops...I will patronize you when I can, but sometimes (most of the time) you just don't cute it.  My staple: skinny latte with sugar-free hazelnut syrup. Mmmm.

Some of the other things (read: food) that are getting me through the bar exam: lots and lots of propel mix packets, bowl appetite, bagel bites, wing and yummy's nights, ice cream in general, almond and cranberry trail mix, banana chocolate chip bread,  gummy bears, and frontega chicken sandwiches.

Yes, that is a lot of junk food. yes, my diet isn't super great right now.  Yes, I work out a fair amount to keep off the extra poundage.  Yes, you're going to have to deal with it. :)

Shakenspeare

Have I ever mentioned that I LOVE board games? Well, I love love LOVE board games. (Clarification: by board games, I don't mean games that are restricted to moving pieces on a board. In fact, most of the games I enjoy most actually have nothing to do with boards.  But I'm pretty sure that you all know what I mean when I say board games. Oh, last point, this includes card games as well.)  For the past couple weeks, I've been attending a book club to discuss Walker Percy's Lost in the Cosmos (good book...deep book...read it when you're ready and able to think long and hard).  Tonight was our last night, and afterward we plated Taboo for quite a while. I loved it. I made a fool of myself at some points (see Shakenspeare supra), but had so much fun.

With the exception of when I'm at home, I don't get to play board games that often.  My roommates don't like them (actually, I only know about one of them for sure...the other I've never asked) and it seems whenever I'm with my other friends, we always have something to do. Hence, no board games.  I do believe that my soon-to-be roommate enjoys them, so playing them more frequently is almost assured. Woot.

Really, this post has no point except to exclaim that I LOVE board games. :)

Worry shatters the peace of life-- faith puts things back together.  Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.  John 14:27

Waiting for the World to Change

Despite catching the bouquet at the wedding, it was actually a pretty good weekend. I have to admit that I wasn't really looking forward to this wedding. I know and really like Adam and Jody, but they aren't my closet friends, and frankly (I didn't think it was possible) I'm wedding-ed out. But I'm really glad I was there...whenever I get to the actual wedding and realize the significance and the beauty of what goes on, my fears are washed away and am thankful to be part of such a big day in the lives of two wonderful people. This wedding was no exception.

It turned out to be especially because of the rest of the group that was there. I basically have three friend groups here in KS: the law students, the older St. Lawrence Crowd, and the younger St. Lawrence crowd. The older St. Lawrence crowd has really spread out all over the country and we don't all get together very often. But we were partially reunited this weekend and it was great. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy my time with the other two groups just as well, but there is just something about being with people who you know believe in the same things you do, and have experienced many of the same things you have. Most of the people I was with have either been through grad school, are currently attending grad school, or will be entering grad school in the fall. That perspective on college and life creates a different understanding of life; the conversations you have change and the fervor with which you discuss and comprehend things changes. But, we have still been through enough things together to have fun. Now, I have to admit, I'm really a transplant into my "older" St. Lawrence crowd. They all went through college together, and I sort of went through their last year with them. Despite that, there is some sort of connections that was more than welcome this weekend and will continue to be so.

Sunday I hit up a Royals game with one of the friends I met last summer and two of his friends. It was also really fun. The best analogy I've come up with for what the bar exam does for you is a pop culture reference to Harry Potter. In the HP series, Harry fight the evil lord voldemort; voldemort's little worker dudes are the dementors. In one of the books (I believe book three) one of Harry's friends describes dementors in the following way:

"Dementors are among the foulest creatures that walk this earth. They infest the darkest, filthiest places, they glory in decay and despair, they drain peace, hope, and happiness out of the air around them... Get too near a Dementor and every good feeling, every happy memory will be sucked out of you. If it can, the Dementor will feed on you long enough to reduce you to something like itself...soul-less and evil. You will be left with nothing but the worst experiences of your life."

That is what the bar exam is like. And things like the wedding and the Royals game are absolutely necessary to maintain your sanity. The game was hot (not sticky, fortunately), but we got some sweet hats, I got a tan (just a little burn), won a free sundae from Sheridan's, and the Royals came out with a victory. A great time.


Lastly: my new internet love-Brad Paisely and John Mayer singing "Daughters". MmmmMMMmmm Totally worth the 4:30 video.

Some people only know how to make a living. With God as your Father, you can know how to make a life. "If you love Me, keep my commandments. He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me." (John 14:15)

Uh oh

I caught the bouquet at the wedding I was at tonight. Just before the bride threw it, I had a "premonition" I was going to get stuck with it. Next thing I know, it was in my arms. I didn't even move or grab for it...it was just like some magnetic force propelled it to me. *expletive expletive expletive* Just my luck.

Lights! Camera! Satire!

Tonight I went and saw the Topeka Bar Association's bar show for the annual KBA conference. The bar show is basically a musical that is written, directed, produced, and acted by attorneys that belong to the bar association. They also take the chance to make fun of politicians (this year, Governor Seblius and her "bid" for the VP nomination and buttering up to Obama was a strong theme), and other poignant current events. The conference moves around the state every year to one of four locations, and this year it was Topeka's opportunity to host. Although it certainly wasn't the Wichita Bar Show (undoubtedly the best...sets...costumes....dancing...) it wasn't half bad. Plus, I got to see my friend Nathan in a corn costume. :) But, it reignited in me the desire to perform and sing. It will be 4 years until the bar show gets back to Topeka, but I hope that wherever I am in the future, I get the chance to be a part of it.

39 days until the bar.

I have yet another wedding tomorrow. This is my third wedding in five weeks. I have two weeks off, then my last wedding until October. PHEW! My back account can't really handle all these weddings....

Old Time Rock and Roll

Tonight I needed some "Emily Time", so after work, I went down to the new ice cream shop in town to get some delectable tasties, sit at the park, and think. As I was doing so, I noticed that across the street people were gathering, and remembered that once a week during the summer there were concerts at the gazebo in the park. Luckily, I had a lawnchair in my car (a recent Target clearance purchase!), so I got it, got some dinner (yes, I had dessert before dinner), and went over to the other side of the park to listen.

I found out that it was the Lawrence City Band that played there every week. And boy, they were good. I was expecting something reminiscent of the River City Boy's band at the end of "The Music Man", and was pleasantly surprised to find completely the opposite. In fact, I would even go so far as to say that when I closed my eyes, it sounded like there was a recording playing. I don't know if it was the way the sound bounced around the gazebo, but it was wonderful and better than any band I've heard for a long time (including the Wartburg Concert Bands...sorry guys.) And it's not like they were playing simple songs...I was listening to the individual instrument lines and the stuff was challenging. It was just great.

And did I mention that the evening was perfect? 80ish degrees, no humidity, sunset, park. heaven.

If I had remembered that this is a college town with a great music program and that many of the professors probably play in the band during the summer, I wouldn't have been as surprised with what I heard. But when you study for the bar for ump-teen hours a day, logic tends to go out the window.

owie!

I bruised my thumb swimming tonight. Swimming, you say? A no contact sport? Yes, I hit my thumb TWICE on the lane dividers. It's on my right hand, so I'm not looking forward to writing tomorrow. You can't the bruising it very well, but it's there. And it hurts.

Red Vines v. Twizzlers: the age old question

My absence the past couple days was due to my very fun weekend in St. Louis for Margie's wedding. I've been to a LOT of weddings and so often seen the big group of college friends that hangs out and always seems to be having such a good time. I've always wanted to be a part of that, and this weekend, I was. So many good friends were around and we didn't care how goofy or ridiculous we looked dancing...we just danced and had fun. One of my friends, however, totaled her car on the way to the reception. Fortunately everyone involved in the accident is all right (minor whiplash if anything), so there is a lot to be thankful for. But she, and the other girls in the car at the time of the accident, emerged with smiles on their faces and positive attitudes that made the evening/ day very fun. I get to have several more of those college weddings within the next couple months. Although they will all be great, the one in Mississippi is one (I think) I'm looking forward to the most.

On the way to the wedding, the people in the car and I got into a very intense discussion about twizzlers v. red vines. One guy, my friend Chris, asserted that they tasted exactly the same, to which his girlfriend and I quickly argued the opposite. I took a poll via text message, and just about everyone who has heard of red vines thinks they taste completely different. The send arm of the poll was to see which people preferred: twizzlers won 11-6 (or something like that). My personal preference is Red Vines, and I will continue to eat them despite general opinion.

Last thought for this update: I saw a guy in the class below me last night who is working at the attorney general's office over the summer as an intern. He told me they have my office all set up and ready to go! I don't start work until August 14, but it's very nice to know that they are greatly anticipating my arrival. However, this just adds to the pressure to pass the bar...as if there was none before... :)

My home

My home state is being destroyed by mother nature. In Cedar Rapids, 400 city blocks are under water. At least 3/4 of the state has been declared a disaster area. The entire flood plain of the Raccoon River in Des Moines is full. People are facing evacuation. Homes are being destroyed, memories are being lost, and hope for some relief from all this rain is fading. I get upset just watching it all on TV. As much as I like to hear about my home, I like it significantly less than when it's on the news for something like this.

Fortunately, my specific home is safe. My small little suburb isn't near any large pool of water that is causing significant damage. I'm sure there has been some water in our basement, but nothing to the extent of what other people are facing. Waverly, however, (home of my undergraduate university-- Wartburg College) is feeling it, as they lie on the same river that is invading Cedar Rapids. Several of the dorm buildings have been damaged, and friends still living in the town have been evacuated. It's a bleak situation for me, and I"m not even anywhere near the damage.

Furthermore, the storms just keep coming. And it's not just rain, it's destructive tornados. A tornado killed four boy scouts, all around my brother's age, on Wednesday night. Another town was destroyed about two weeks ago. 170 some tornados have run through Kansas, and 134 through Iowa. When will it end?

Despite all this horror, I'm trying to find reason to celebrate. Many of the boy scouts who survived the tornado went from terrified to courageous in a matter of instances. People are coming together to help save homes, and businesses, and lives. The rain will end. And at the end, the state of Iowa will wake up beaten, but not broken.

This weekend I'm off to celebrate the wedding of one of my dear friends in St. Louis. Yet this past week's destruction of the place I love so much will prominently linger in my mind. I ask for your prayers and thoughts for the people of the Hawkeye state.

near Hades

I've had several conversations with people in the past couple of days who ask me how my summer and bar review are going. At that point and time I find myself at a complete loss for words to describe the complete torture and near hell experience that is studying for the bar. Doctors might be able to understand, but even then, their test are cumulative over a year or (at least to my understanding), and are not the culmination of 3 years of schooling after which, if you don't pass, you have to wait 6 more months in which you drain your bank account. I study 8 hours of day right now, and that number will grow as the bar comes nearer. I hate to be a glum-bum all summer, and I've resolved to be positive as much as I can. But there is truly no way to understand the hellish experience of studying for the bar exam without being there.

Water, water everywhere!

The city I went to undergrad in (Waverly, Iowa...Wartburg College) is experiencing MAJOR flooding (as is the entire area of the state). Here's a link to some helicopter footage: http://www.whotv.com/ If you scroll down to where you see the video box, and then scroll down just a click or two with the video choices, you'll see it...it's called "13 Raw: Chopper 13 video in Waverly". It hasn't gotten to the school itself yet, but I know some of my friends still live there and had to be evacuated. And, my best friend from HS lives in Mason City, Iowa...flooding there closed down their water plant. They have water back now, but it's not safe to drink. Please keep all of them in your prayers.

On a much more fun note, my friend Tim is getting married in November in Mississippi, and I bought my plane ticket yesterday! We're flying in to NEW ORLEANS on Thursday afternoon, spending the evening and night there, then headed over to Mississippi for the wedding. Several of the people I am going with are IN the wedding, so they have to be there for the rehearsal and all that jazz. But it's also Halloween the night before the wedding, so we're going to have some dressed-up fun. All in all, the weekend is going to be amazing, but most likely a debauchle. If any of you have ever heard me talk about the trip to Austin during my 1L year, its going to be like that...but worse (or better, depending on your perspective.) :)

The Joys of being a Huffy Owner

As I mentioned before, I brought my sweet two wheeled ride down to KS after graduation. Starting this past week, every morning when I come out of my house, a spider has made an AMAZING, GIGANTIC web that stretches from the handle to the back wheel. It's a beautiful site (despite the fact that spiders gross me out) and I feel so bad that every morning I have to knock it down. Silly spider, it just doesn't understand. But mad props for your perseverance.

I need some of that perseverance to get through all this bar studying. I can't even tell you how much it sucks. Ugh.

I shower...really!

I'm sure everyone in my bar review class thinks I'm a scuz bucket: I show up to class (nearly) every day in sweat pants, my glasses, a hat and no make-up. There is logic behind my choice of such apparel and I would like to take this opportunity to say just why I appear so disheveled.

First, the sweats: I work out most days after class (or ride my bike to and from class), and I find it ridiculous that I would have to wear different clothing to sit in a class everyday for 3 1/2 hours. If we were going to meet important people, or there was a chance I was going to run into someone of significance in the hallway or commons, I might try jeans. But, sweats are just more comfortable...and more practical for me.

Glasses: I ran out of contacts, don't have my new set in yet, and get eye strain when I don't wear them. This is not me being lazy...it's simply my only mechanism.

Hat: I have a light sensitivity in my eyes, and the room in which we have bar review overwhelms them. The direct light in the classroom reflecting off the white paper of our worksheets (yes, we just completed 19th grade and we still use worksheets) is too much for my eyes/ brain to handle. I have to wear a hat to shield my eyes from some of that light so that I don't get too much and my brain shuts my eyes down for me and I pass out, thus making bar reivew worthless.

No make-up: see the "sweats' justification above.

Honestly, I doubt that anyone really cares what I'm wearing to bar review everyday. But should they be interested in why I dress this way, here is my answer :)

They say history repeats itself

Have you ever met someone and thought to yourself, "If it weren't for one tiny little issue...," you two would be perfect together? I have friend like that. From my perspective, we've skirted around admitting we like each other for almost a year now. And I do like him...I really do. Except our "tiny little issue" is a big issue: religion. And it's not that one of us is faithful and the other the opposite. Quite the contrary actually. in fact, we both have such a deep believe in God that the deeper issues of faith are the problem (saints, Mary, salvation upon "conversion", etc.) I keep trying to think of ways to work around this problem to see if it would work; I imagine scenes from the movies where people decide to put everything aside for the sake of love and not worry about anything else, or suddenly everything just coincides and they live happily ever after as we ride off into the sunset.

But this is real life, and if there is ONE thing my time in England taught me is the importance of my faith. Not just my faith, my Catholic faith. I'm not going to go into lots of details because I feel this is neither the time nor the forum to express such thoughts. But I do ask for your prayers...prayers in the belief that either something with him will work out, or that God continues to help me be patient until someone else comes along.

Things that make you go Hmmmm.....

Yesterday was the deadline for our professors to turn in our grades. I've had one grade, the last final I took mind you, since before graduation. I've been waiting for the other two (one of which is LEGAL AID....where there is no final!) since then. I checked this morning and saw that there were now marks in the grade spots: B+ in Legal Aid and a "WG" in Complex Lit. I don't understand either of these grades. A B+ in Legal Aid? Seriously? I'm not sure what else I could have done to get a better grade. Everything was always done on time, I communicated with my clients, I made a couple of mistakes, but that's part of the learning process. I was never told that I could improve upon anything, and was told that I was a great intern. Thus, I am befuddled at receiving a B+. Also, what the heck does "WG" stand for? The guy I work with said he also received that mark and neither of us could figure out what it meant. I thought it might mean "withhold grade" b/c I have some sort of outstanding charge on my UBill, but I checked and I don't. This lack of a grade makes me nervous; our transcripts have to be to the bar examiner's by June 15 in order to sit for the KS bar in July. I will be FURIOUS if it doesn't make it there in time. What further frustrates me is that this final was during the first week of finals. There are only 9 of us in the class. I understand the professor has other finals to grade, but right now, I can't sit for the bar because I have yet to receive a grade in that class. This day is not starting off well.


BUT..on the other hand...yesterday was a wonderful day. The weather was picture perfect: 85 degrees, no humidity, no wind. I sat outside doing bar exam stuff all day, then went on a long bike ride. It was just fabulous. Today, however, it is as humid as the day is long, and also quite blustery. Ick. Good thing I have to work. Then again, it's not like I would be outside anyway. Stupid bar exam.

Bug eyes

I don't really "need" contacts, or glasses for that matter; I have been fortunate enough to have been blessed with very good eyesight up to this point and really only need them for driving distances. But recently, my eyes have been straining when I don't wear my glasses, and subsequently i have become Emily Four-eyes for the past couple months. To remedy that, I went and visited my eye doctor today while I'm at home in Iowa. He prescribed some contacts for me. Good. Great, even. But, the thing about contacts is you have to put them in your eye before you can wear them. This is where my trouble begins. I spent 45 very frustrating minutes being coached on how to use contacts. My 13 year old brother has contacts and has for a while; if he could do it in his awkward pre-pubescent stage, then I could certainly conquer contacts. I became very frustrated after the first 30 minutes or so, but after the lady at the dr's office made a music analogy, I was golden and finally accomplished the task. I was also able to take it out and put it back in on the first try! Yippie! So, no more glasses long term for me. Woot.

P.S. I told this story to my 13 year old brother, the one with the contacts, and he told me that he got his contact in on the first try. Damn him.

GRADUATED

Just call me (Juris) Doctor Emily :)

I don't wanna grow up

Last night it finally hit me: I am graduating. Of course I've known this day was coming for more than three years, but I didn't quite realize what it would feel like. I'm never going to go to school again, and if I do, it will most likely be under completely different circumstances. I'm never again to have such little responsibility and never again going to be able to qualify for the student discount. ;) For those of you who aren't Jayhawks, there is a tradition here that you shouldn't walk through the campanile until you graduate, and when you do, you walk through it, down the hill into the stadium for the all university ceremony. All of this is optional, but I've chosen to do it. I'm a little bit torn about who to walk down the hill with: my church friends or my law school friends. Last night when I was talking with my church friends about our plans to walk down the hill together, I got this inkling inside me that wanted to walk down with the law school people...a most unexpected feeling. Granted, if I walked down with the law school friends, I'd want to be with the St. Lawrence friends. Either way its a no win situation, and I probably won't decide until the very last minute. But whatever happens, all I know is that last night a group of friends and I sat around a fire pit and just talked for hours. That's how I'm going to remember my last days at KU...as perfect.


Last random tidbit: the juris doctor degree is a doctoral degree. That means I wear the robe that has the three velvet stripes on the end and have a massive hood. It's really surreal....and I look pretty darn sharp. ;) I'll post pictures after graduation tomorrow.

Getting my fingers dirty...again

I've decided to start blogging again. I'm sure my comments on here won't be nearly as interesting as any of the stuff I had to say about London, but hopefully they will be at least mildly entertaining and/or thought provoking. Blogger wouldn't let me have a new blog, so while the URL of the blog is new, all my London posts and pictures are available in the archived stuff.

So....I've successfully completed law school. Monday was my last day, and despite a final that tested every bit of knowledge, strength, and study power I had, I survived and think I did well enough to pass/ graduate. Who knew, huh? Hooding/ graduation is this Sunday. The fam is coming down and it should be a good ole' time. I got to thinking last night about graduations in general. Are they really a big deal? I mean, was there ever really any question that I would graduate from high school, or college even? I don't say that to sound pretentious, but I've been blessed with a good, supportive family and an intellect, and not graduating was never really an option. But was it an option for law school, either? Of course, I never had to come to law school, and even though attorneys seem to permeate this world, there are very few (relatively) who have doctorates. But once I started law school, failure/ giving up was never really an option. If it wasn't an option, does that make this an accomplishment? I kind of just see it as another thing that I've done, no different from thousands of others, that is my path in this thing called life.

Tonight is also the last Coyotes for quite a long while. It just won't be the same group. The group has changed a lot over the past three years, but it gets harder for me to enjoy it every time I go. I won't be able to dance a lot tonight because of my silly little stress fracture, but I suppose that's just the way it goes. But, before I go, a nap, preferably in the sun, is in order. :)