HEADACHE ... or, Why Did I Choose This Life?

I've decided that writing an occasional blog here and there will help me cope with the stress that is my first set of law school finals. We already look like we've been beaten down, and it's only Wednesday on the week before :) YIKES!! I've already decided and warned all of my cronies that I'll probably get progressively uglier as the weeks drag on, but that on December 18th, I'll be ravishingly beautiful.

This would be the time when I'm wondering why I came to law school. FML.

I was here until 1:00 this morning, and I'm feeling it today. A little bit of a headache, but the coffee present is helping tremendously. I hate that we don't have a dead day. We had FORTY pages of reading for Crim Law today, and it's not even all that pertinent to the final. Gahh. I wish we had an extra day or two to get our ducks in a row, but if this is it, we'll make the best of it!

I got invited to Google Wave this morning (I think by Seth Jewell ... if so, thanks Seth!), but now I have no idea what to do. To be really honest, I'm not even entirely sure what it is, but I jumped on the bandwagon!!

Property reading now. We're still learning new material. AGGHHH!!!

The Hall of Lost Souls ... or, Why the Law Library Hurts Your Heart

I've been a very bad little blogger, and I know it. So sorry everyone (all 6 1/2 of you!).

It's all come down to this - the dreaded finals week. I can't believe it's already here!! It seems like yesterday that I was sitting in orientation wondering if I was going to get called on the first day or what professors I would like. Now we're into the home stretch - this is the last week of classes, and my first final is on MONDAY. Like, less than a week from now. WOW. Two next week (Monday - Civil Procedure, Thursday - Property) and two the week after (Monday - Contracts, Thursday - Crim Law).

YIKES!

Everyone in the library looks like they're on the verge of suicide. Like they would take out their shoelaces and hang themselves with them. it got so bad yesterday that I went across campus to the BIG library and studied for a few hours. Filled full of undergrads that still have joy in their lives :)

Just kidding (but not really).

And on top of that, my mom is leaving to move to Houston. She took a job down there for now, so she gets to go play Mary Tyler Moore and throw her hat in the big city! It makes me sad that she'll be so far away and that she'll be a little lonely until she starts meeting people, but I'm very excited for her and her new venture. Prayers her way would be greatly appreciated.

As well as MY way ... gotta go now. The finals cometh :)

The Creation of Woman ... or, A Reminder to Pretty Girls

By the time the Lord made woman, He was into his sixth day of working overtime.

An angel appeared and said, "Why are you spending so much time on this one?"

And the Lord answered, "Have you seen my spec sheet on her? She has to be completely washable, but not plastic, have over 200 movable parts, all replaceable and able to run on Diet Coke and leftovers, have a lap that can hold four children at one time, have a kiss that can cure anything from a scraped knee to a broken heart ... and she will do everything with only two hands."

The angel was astounded at the requirements. "Only two hands!? No way! And that's just on the standard model? That's too much work for one day. Wait until tomorrow to finish."

"But I won't," the Lord protested. "I am so close to finishing this creation that is so close to my own heart. She already heals herself when she is sick, AND can work 18 hour days."

The angel moved closer and touched the woman. "But you have made her so soft, Lord."

"She is soft," the Lord agreed, "but I have also made her tough. You have no idea what she can endure or accomplish."

"Will she be able to think?," asked the angel.

The Lord replied, "Not only will she be able to think, she will be able to reason and negotiate."

The angel then noticed something, and reaching out, touched the woman's cheek. "Oops, it looks like you have a leak in this model. I told you that you were trying to put too much into this one."

"That's not a leak," the Lord corrected. "That's a tear!"

"What's the tear for?" the angel asked.

The Lord said, "The tear is her way of expressing her joy, her sorrow, her pain, her disappointment, her love, her loneliness, her grief and her pride."

The angel was impressed. "You are a genius, Lord. You thought of everything! Woman is truly amazing."

And she is!

Women have strengths that amaze men.

They bear hardships and they carry burdens, but they hold happiness, love, and joy.

They smile when they want to scream.

They sing when they want to cry.

They cry when they are happy and laugh when they are nervous.

They fight for what they believe in.

They stand up to injustice.

They don't take "no" for an answer when they believe there is a better solution.

They go without so their family can have.

They go to the doctor with a frightened friend.

They love unconditionally.

They cry when their children excel and cheer when their friends get awards.

They are happy when they hear about a birth or a wedding.

Their hearts break when a friend dies.

They grieve at the loss of a family member, yet they are strong when they think there is no strength left.

They know that a hug and a kiss can heal a broken heart.

Women come in all shapes, sizes and colors.

They'll drive, fly, walk, run or e-mail you to show how much they care about you.

The heart of a woman is what makes the world keep turning.

They bring joy, hope and love.

They have compassion and ideals.

They give moral support to their family and friends.

Women have vital things to say and everything to give.

HOWEVER, IF THERE IS ONE FLAW IN WOMEN, IT IS THAT THEY FORGET THEIR WORTH.

((*Don't forget*))

Long Long Day ... or, Yes - It's Only Tuesday

For some reason, this week has seemed especially long. I think it may be because of DST. It's hard to not feel like you're staying up all night when the sun sets at 5:30. I think DST has made me supersleepy, too. Again, the sun setting so early makes me want to go to sleep at 8:00 ... and I actually have a few times. I think I'm battling a cold too, so I'm sure that has something to do with it. Just been kinda sluggish for a few days. UGH. Ready for that to pass!

On a happy note - Patrick got a new job!!!!* He will very soon be a modular planner in the merchandising department at Wal-Mart. I don't know that either one of us are completely sure what exactly it entails, but we're superduper happy :) He's been going back and forth with what he's doing now (HR at Wal-Mart) and he just hasn't been as happy as he needs to be. He isn't much of a complainer, so he'd never say it out loud, but you could see it in his eyes. He interviewed last week and beat out sixty other candidates! He found out yesterday, and lucky for us, Larry was already on his way up to swap out a few cars, so we got to eat a celebration dinner at Doe's. Five pounds of porterhouse later, we were miserable!!

In any case - congratulations Patty!

I've been pretty swarmed with school. My memo was due Sunday, and I had my conference today. I had some questions that got answered, though, so I'm meeting with my LRW professor again on Monday for a smaller conference. I love her because she wanted to talk about my memo for maybe five minutes, and then talk about weekend activities for the rest of the time :)

There's been some craziness at school. I'm not sure what it is, but I think lawyers as a group are more prone to try to push limits. It's almost as though we think we can get away with more, and that because we KNOW the law, we're ABOVE the law. If the past four days are any indication, that assumption would be a big fat FAIL. Yikes.

I got a holiday job! If anyone in NWA needs a ladies' gift this season, come see me at Bath & Body Works in the NWA mall. It's been a while since I worked retail (especially during Christmas!), so it may be a little stressful, but I'm excited about having extra money for Christmas presents. I figured cookies with bows wouldn't suffice as a gift, so I'll have to work hard for some guap! I actually get to go fill out the paperwork and administrative stuff at 6:30 tonight, so get excited!

I figured out that I haven't put up any pictures of Ex Parte, so I'll do that now. It was pretty cool, and we even had the Arkansas Attorney General drinking our beer! :)

I gotsta read Crim Law now ... ughhhh.

Me and Roni doing the Pi Phi halo!

Good-looking future attorney boys

Isabelle, Hannah and Me



Family!!



Me and my love :)

Re-Post ... or, If I Was This Insightful When I Was Twenty-Two, I Would Have Taken Over The World By Now

I read this on dear, lovely Kari's blog, and it was entirely too good to not re-post. I think a lot of what she says applies to the recent college grad, the quarter-life crisis kids who have no idea where to go from here. She's always had a way with putting words together, and this one seemed especialy good.


Dear Teenage Girl. Love, Someone Who Used To Be Like You <3

Dear Teenage Girl,

Don't sell yourself short. You're not as fat as you think you are. You're prettier than you give yourself credit for. You're not as 'dumb' as you make yourself out to be. You're stronger than you know. You have the world ahead of you, High School will not be IT. This part of your life is only a small piece of the bigger puzzle- don't get stuck on the minute details. That popular boy that you think about all the time will probably spend 7 years in college getting drunk, failing his classes and going on to be a super-super-super-super Senior- isn't that impressive?

Don't cry over the girls who talk about you behind your back. Don't fret over the facebook harassment, the blogs about you, or the girls calling you too fat or too skinny, too blonde or too ethnic, too tall or too short, too smart or too dumb. Don't worry about the 'fake friends' that are only your friend when it's convenient for them. Don't define yourself by the ridiculous running commentary that infiltrates the halls of High School. Don't spend 99% of your time trying to be the person you think people want you to be, or the person you think will make you 'better'. You're perfect the way that you are.

Don't worry about the guys who said they had sex with you, when in reality they never touched you and never could, because you are too good for them. Don't cry yourself to sleep because you are known as a "slut" after thinking your boyfriend really did love you when you decided to have sex, and then cheated on you with your 'best friend'. Also, don't cry yourself to sleep because your boyfriend calls you a 'prude' when you don't have sex- what an incredible feat- to hold strong to what you believe in.

Don't belittle yourself for having a little too much experience. Maybe you slept with a lot of people and the whole school knows, or maybe no one does. You tried to fill the void with a string of guys that honestly meant nothing and probably only brought your self esteem down even more. Maybe you thought you would find love by sleeping with a guy, and then the next, and then the next. Move on, chin up, and remember that you can't go back, but you can ALWAYS move forward.

Don't worry if you were so concerned with your grades that you are almost graduating and haven't even held hands with a boy, not to mention kissed one. You'll have many many years ahead of you to liplock, and you aren't as 'pathetic' as you think you are. It means you have goals, dreams, and lots of ambition and you didn't need to try to 'find yourself' in some guy that you would regret later down the road.

Always remember that life is short. The teenage years can be summed up best in one little phrase "Long nights, short years." One day you will wake up, look back, and realize how far you've come, how far you're still going, and be thankful for all that you've overcome. After all, dear teenage girl, YOU should be your biggest fan, not your biggest enemy.

Some advice to get you through: "Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind…the race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself. Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how. Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements. And do one thing everyday that SCARES you."

Until we talk again, dear teenage girl...

Kari
Former Teenage Girl

Best Lunch Ever ... or, Fatty-Fatty-Bo-Batty/ Skinny-Minnie

Don't lie. I'm the coolest person you know.

Slim-Fast and pizza.

YESSSSSSSSS.

Art Imitating Life ... or, Vice Versa?

There was a pumpkin-carving activity at school a few days ago and the pretty little things are strewn about the building. My favorite was this one on the landing of the stairwell in the main atrium ...


Chomp-chomp-chomping on the 1Ls. The truth if I've ever seen it. Hahahahahaha.