New Year

So the new year is coming up quick. I can't believe it's going to be 2008. When did time start to go by so quick? As of January 1, I can say "Next year I'll be a lawyer." That's crazy! Also, as of today I'm half way done with law school (presuming I pass all of my classes). My papers are in, my finals are taken, and my brain is dead.

Dave and I are leaving Sunday for his grandparent's in Modesto. We're going to spend a few days there with the *entire* family. I'm really looking forward to it. Dave's family tends to be pretty welcoming, even though we have different points of view on a lot of things. Then I leave Modesto on the 26th to head to Phoenix. I'll be there having Christmas again on the 27th and catching up with a lot of friends for sure. Then I head back to Seattle on the 31st. Until recently I didn't really realize how short of time I'm going to end up being in Phoenix. It's kind of sad, but since school ended so late this year, travel got all screwy.

Plus, since Dave and I got Lola I really don't want to be gone too long. Sadly, I'm sure I'm going to miss her like crazy. I mean I won't have a little cuddlebug to sleep with me all of the time.

Ohhh for Christmas Dave got me a beautiful pair of diamond earrings. Since he's working nights until we leave for Christmas, he told me yesterday morning he was going into work for a couple of hours and would probably be home by the time I was leaving for school. When I woke up he was home and told me he got me something from McDonalds. I jumped in the shower and when I got out, I went to the kitchen to get what I thought was one of McDonald's new burrito. To my surprise, there was actually a jewelry box with a bow on it in the bag. I was so excited and really gave me motivation to get through studying for community property yesterday. I'm so excited to put them in.

Why?

Why is it so freakin' hard to keep concentration when you're in law school? In undergrad Jamie and I would sit in Coffee Xchange for hours and do homework. Now I sit in the library and I can't keep my focus for more than like 10 minutes at a time. I wonder if it's possible that law school causes the onset of ADD. I would think it might even cause ADHD but I have no energy ever, so the hyperactivity part of that equation is out.

On another note, I only have 5 classes left of evidence. *YAY* Also, since it's almost the beginning of August all of my friends who have been out of the country & state will be coming back. Not that people haven't been in Seattle all this time, I just haven't had the time to see them. I'm hoping that with no night class in August and just working during the day I'll be able to find time to see people who I haven't seen since the end of finals. I miss my Section B friends!

Freaks Me Out

I figure if I leave blogger open in the background maybe I'll think to write when I have more down time. Just a few thoughts of the day:

1) I think the law school is trying to freeze it's student to death. Going to the bathroom in the law school is like going to the bathroom in Antarctica sometimes. I always come out of it freezing, and frequently shivering. Also, the higher up in floors you go, the less hot water the bathrooms have. Strange.

2) It always catches me off guard when I'm in a class of 60+ people and a professor remembers my name. Especially one with Parkinson's. Talk about having a great mind! I'm always impressed when people can remember names with faces. I'm working on getting better at it and hopefully will master it so I can network better in the future.

A New Normal

Wow, summer has sure flown by. I think it's because I've been keeping so busy - though not always voluntarily. I can hardly believe I have just over a week left of evidence and in 2 weeks I'll be done with class for the summer. That means 26 days of nothing school related to do. Okay, that's a lie. When you're in law school there's always something school related to do. Toward the end of August I'll have to do all my first day assignments (that's right they give us homework before school even starts). I also need to spend some time researching OCI (On Campus Interviewing) and getting my job materials ready. August 27, the first day of school, is when the great job hunt begins. I'll be looking for work for the summer and possibly even for the spring semester. Everybody makes it sound a bit scary, but all the interviews I did for jobs this summer went well, so I'm hoping to not get too nervous.

Why is this little entry entitled "A New Normal?" Well it's because there's been a big shift in my life. I have now officially moved in with Dave. It is so nice not to have to figure out logistics of when I'm going to see him next or if I spend a night there when I'm going to go home for clothes for the next day or anything like that. It's nice knowing that when the day is over I'm going to see him. The apartment is a little cramped since I did move my fully furnished apartment into his fully furnished apartment, but we're making it work. It's been great so far and I look forward to keeping it going.

Okay, back to work, since that's where I am. Hopefully I'll start finding more time to update this. Otherwise, I'll continue on as normal with random posts whenever the mood strikes :)

New Car

So as illustrative by the pictures and the title, I bought a (new to me) car. It's an 88 Jetta GLi. It needs some work but it was a great deal and I have a built-in mechanic in my boyfriend. I'm super excited by it and can't wait to drive it. It has a full Recaro interior. How great is that!?! Oh and that's right, I bought a car I can't drive. It's a stick and I'm quite the best at driving stick yet. I don't think it will be an issue to learn but I'm sure the hills will provide quite a challenge. Nothing I'm not up for though.

Spring break was last week and it was nice to have a break from school. Jamie was in town from Saturday morning (4 AM) until Wednesday afternoon. We had a great time. On Saturday we hung out, caught up, and met Dave for dinner at Rosita's. Sunday Dave took us for a drive out to Snoqualmie and around Seattle and out to Alki. It was a great day for a drive. Then Dave made a nice roast for dinner for Jamie and I. We ended up having a few drinks at Pazzo's and having Jamie and Dave getting to know each other. Monday Jamie and I went shopping. I got a fabulous dress and heels. I'm so excited to wear them out! Tuesday I rented a rental car and drove down to the Point Defiance Zoo. It was great and we had tons of fun. Wednesday we just mostly hung out and drove around Seattle a bit until it was time to take her to the airport.

Time to watch some TV and take some Nyquill for the cold and check out for the evening.

Hmmm....

So, as normal, it's been a while. Dave has started working nights. He's only been doing it since Tuesday, but I'm hoping it goes well. He's liking not being stuck in the shop. I miss getting to see him every night, but did get to see him much more than I expected over the weekend. His hours are 11 PM until 8 AM. I tend to get to talk to him a bit in the morning when he gets home and sometimes before he leaves for work. I'm a little sad he'll be doing it while Jamie is here and she probably won't get to hang out with him as much, but at the same time for that week I have somebody to keep me company.

We have decided we're for sure moving in together. This weekend we were talking about maybe renting a house a bit further South from the school. Wherever we end up, we're going to try to find a place that accepts dogs. If his place accepted dogs, I'm sure we would have had one already.

School is getting stressful. My grades weren't as stellar as I had hoped last semester and I'm hoping to pull them up this semester. Well it's actually time to go get ready for school. :)

Finals???

So I should be studying for my crim law final right now, but I have lost all motivation. I almost feel like I'm done with finals with how good my mood is. Well the mood has decreased a bit because I'm watching the Seahawks game and the 49ers just scored a second touchdown. Either way, finals so far have gone pretty well. I've ended up being a lot less stressed then I expected. I may just be repressing it and taking it out in other parts of my life, but I'm still not applying it to school which is good. I guess only time will tell about how I've actually done on the tests, but I feel pretty decent about them.

I'm excited about the next few days. After my final is over tomorrow I'm going out to drink with kids from school. Hopefully tomorrow night the drinking will continue. Saturday is when Dave is celebrating his birthday with friends. I'm sure it will prove to be a fun time and a lot more drinking. Sunday is dinner with his parents for his birthday. Monday Maria, my mentor, has offered to take me out to lunch and give me a tour of her office. I'm looking forward to finally meeting her since things keep happening and getting in the way. After meeting for lunch with her I'll come home and get all packed and then see Dave on his birthday.

Tuesday the shuttle is coming to get me at 2:30 in the morning. My flight is at 5:30ish and I will be in PHX by 9:00. Then lots of fun in PHX. I'll be home right before New Year's Eve which means even more fun. Hopefully everything will be enjoyable and I'll have a nice relaxing break. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and all that to everyone :)

Final #1

So my first final of law school is today. I really feel like I should be a bit more stressed than I am. Really I studied yesterday with some friends for about 4 hours and ran over note cards and hypos. I've made my own note cards and we can bring in one sheet, front and back, to the exam. Really I'm more concerned about whether I'll be able to write for 3.5 hours and making sure I spot all the issues. Once I have all the issues, I have no doubt that I will be able to analyze them well. I was truthfully expecting there to be this huge stress on me since my finals are worth pretty much 100% of my grade in each class, but really the stress isn't there. I'm actually a little stressed due to my lack of stress. Who would have guessed that I'd be perfectly relaxed the morning of my first law school final? Maybe something is wrong or maybe I'm just going to screw it up so bad or maybe I actually have confidence in myself and know that I'll be fine. Either way, not being stressed about this will be a huge advantage when I walk into that room. I think my biggest fear is today won't go as well as I expected and I will be stressed for the rest of them. The nice part being that once today is done, I only have 4 finals left. :)

Life in General

Well it is that time of year when everyone starts getting stressed out. Finals are just around the corner. I can hardly believe that the first semester of law school is coming to a close. I just have to survive the first round of finals now. I've got most of my reading done for the classes and now it's all about finishing outlines, relearning the stuff I didn't really know how to learn back in August, and somehow fitting all of it into my brain. So far my classes don't seem too bad and hopefully that will continue over to the final. Right now I'm sitting in Civil Procedure listening to my professor inform us that she's not directly answering a question because that's what the court did. It's great. Okay, time for me to take some notes and attempt not to fall asleep. That's the problem when professors decide to start class 30 minutes early. It makes the day seem that much longer!

Oooohhh on a high note I'm going to see Happy Feet in IMAX after classes today. Then I have the entire weekend to outline, make flash cards, and sleep! What a beautiful thing.

No Time

I really want to post more, I just lack the time. Homework is getting done but the free time has diminished greatly. Oh well. I guess that's the way of life. In one month I'll be 1/6 of a lawyer. Next semester has a much better schedule. Well it's just about the same but it's a bit more open with not having criminal law anymore. Hopefully that will help me get some more work done and I might even find some time to go to the gym.