Day Fifty-Nine: Angels Among Us

This week has been particularly difficult for me. The bar exam (as previously mentioned) is a monster, and you don't really realize how much time, energy, and of yourself you invest in it until it's over. I had to move the day after the bar exam in July, but then had a week and a half to calm down and relax and recuperate. Since this was the second bar and I was only taking half of the test this time, I somehow thought that I could sleep in the day after and be just fine. But as Wednesday wore on, I found I was completely wrong; I'm still "recovering" and it's late on Saturday night.

Fortunately, I've been blessed with incredibly patient and wonderful people who remind me that my PBSD (Post-Bar Stress Disorder) will not last forever and work hard to keep me calm until it passes. Sometimes, those people take the form of angels, bringing me messages from above that someone much bigger than anything I've faced is also on my side.

Day Fifty-Eight: Streaking in the Moonlight

Hey everyone! I'm back! I don't have all of my pictures with me at this time, so you'll have to check back in to see how the middle of the week shaped up. But for now, here is my picture for today!

This picture is actually the result of some great teamwork. Pete and I were on our way to Old Chicago to indulge in some of their "heavenly" nachos. As we pulled into the parking lot and got out of the car, anxious to both eat and warm up from the cold that has recently entrapped Lawrence, Pete's astronomer's eye caught Venus and the Moon in a perfect dance. He quickly pulled out his camera and attempted a shot. For some reason, the camera set the shutter speed at about 10 seconds, and after 5 or so, he got impatient and realized we needed to use the tripod. In an effort to get it out as quickly as possible (it was COOOOOOOOOOLLLLDDD), he handed the camera off to me, shutter still open. This is what resulted.

I guess you could say that this isn't actually my picture, but we decided that it "belonged" to the person holding the camera when the shutter closed. Voila! That's me! (Plus, he got a really sweet car picture earlier in the day.)

It's not quite clear from where all the streaks of light came; the red is the Old Chicago sign, the crescent in the middle that looks like God's thumbnail is the moon, and the streaks of yellow are probably some sort of street/ parking lot lights, but that's all I can tell. It's also a mystery why the lines aren't all moving in the same direction (see the upside down "V" at the top left of the picture? Notice that the arm of the "v" on the right is moving in a direction that doesn't fit with the rest of the picture. Weird.) But, regardless of what the content of the picture actually is, it turned out pretty sweet.

Day Fifty-Seven: It's just another story caught up in another photograph I found

Pictures of the past are always interesting. There are pictures of happier times, and pictures that capture moments we want to remember forever. There are those school pictures where we plastered our bangs up as high as they could go with using half a can of hairspray each day, and those pictures where our baby-fast clings to out chins, not quite ready to let our true selves emerge. Pictures can make us laugh or cry or want to run in the opposite direction. Regardless of how they make us feel, we can't deny that they are shadows of the past-- illustrating both who we were and how far we have come.

As I was poking around Pete's house the other day, I came across this picture that his Dad sent him for his birthday as "Memories of Birthdays Past". There were several pictures in the envelope from (approximately) birthdays 2, 8, and 14. It's fun for me to see the Pete I know today in these pictures from the past; it's a Pete I never knew, but the same wonderful, jovial, sincere, thoughtful person resounds from the ink and paper. And 29(ish) years later, I think he's still as cute as he was back then.

For those of you who were wondering, I never actually plastered my bangs up with hairspray. I left that to the other girls in my class. But baby-fat...oh baby...maybe someday I'll share those. Maybe not. :)

P.S. I have to give mad props to Jamie Cullum, the artist (and my absolute FAVORITE) from whom I stole the title for this entry. Thanks!

Day Fifty-Six: Letting Off Some Steam

Day Fifty-Five: The Greatest City in the WORLD

Day Fifty-Four: When Irish Eyes are Smiling

Day Fifty-Three: Swoosh!