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.