Help, I am a victim of law school disorder

(I don't know why this photo applies exept for the obvious causal link between law school and alcohol)

Today I completed my last class of the semester. I wont have another class until year 2007 (sounds much more dramatic that way)...

I feel a mixture of emotions but the overriding one is the feeling of being on pause. I can't be totally relieved but there is still a steep calm in the air. I finished all my classes, but I can't put a sense of closure behind me until the last final. Feelings of ecstasty and acceptance are around the corner- I can sense them, but in order to get there I have to cross the finish line first. Its exactly like how you feel the night before your last race of the season, when you are about to resign to restful sleep but you know you have an arduous path ahead.

Anway, we had to turn in a reflective essay to our civil procedure professor yesterday and I created a list of the little things I have learned about law school:

1. a brief is certainly anything but "brief"
2. a good memo is actually multiple pages long (how about 11?)
3. If you dont learn how to read rules, your kids wont go to college
4. Law school has nothing to do with learning the law

These are the things law school has given me this semester:
Fear, confidence, anxiety, passion, humility, frustration, a profound love for alcohol, and a new social network of like-minded massochists.

Does this sound like boot camp to anyone else?

cheers to Riesling...

All you need is love

and to be at least 18 years old to get married in my family apparently.....

This year I have attended an abundance of weddings (ok, well four)...only to be matched by even more in the upcoming year. When you have 40 cousins, and they start to break the age barrier, you find yourself all of a sudden bombarded with wedding invites.

I attended my cousin's wedding Friday after Thanksgiving. It used to be that weddings were only something I saw in movies but they have become oddly familiar events and I have become a self proclaimed wedding critic. Wedding days are like a mini Christmas season-- for the entire day everyone is in anticipation and celebrating moments of joy-- plus you get to see the family members that you otherwise never see.

Each wedding has its own feel to it. Its amazing how much you can customize in order to achieve the feel of your choice. In this wedding, the bridal party took stage to Coldplay's "Kingdom Come", wow, a song I would never have chosen but worked well.

It's amazing to watch years and years of a couple's future together become solidified as a commitement within a short ceremony and by a couple simple words. It seems like getting cable service is more complicated than solidifying (supposedly) years of commitment from another person.

I know I've said it before, but I will say it again-- weddings are awesome for three main reasons: free food, free alcohol, and free dancing! I have not really met m cousin's new wife but from her choice of wine at the reception, I know I already like her. I got to know that wine pretty well.....and to think my family once thought I was "reserved" and "quiet"...... I had never seen my dad so worried about me. But he had no need, I was being looked after by my loyal younger sister and sexy boyfriend.

Sweat, rain, and snow: my first half marathon.

I am sitting (very gently!) on my ass in front of my computer trying to recall the past morning. It's a morning I have been anxiously and nervously anticipating for over three months. Now the excitement is over and all I have left is a slight pain in every muscle of my body, booty muscles are very much included....

I just ran my first half marathon- ok, yeah I admit, its not the real deal, full 26.2 miles of an actual professional marathon. It's like the "going to second base" version of the marathon, not only half as far and less committing as going all the way, but you still finish with some of your dignity. In long distance racing, runners often lose control of their bodily functions... I'm convinvced that the half marathon is the utilitarian's race of choice-- the most fun (fun being measured in miles) you can have without too much puking, etc.

Only once did I have to step in the puke of the runner in front of me.

There was snow (go- figure, snow in Seattle), rain, puddles, sweat, pain, ipod music, numbness, hills... it was abeautiful way to start the morning! I really felt like my training had paid off, I kept on my goal pace the entire race and even kicked it into the finish line.

I have to say that the best part was having all the downtown mainstreets blocked off so that we could run in style. I also liked the part about running on the I-90 curve that eventually led us through the I-90 tunnel! Feeling a good kick at mile 9 was a plus too....but nothing beats the inumberable amount of free stuff that the vendors were giving away at the finish line...

When I crossed the finish line, I was numb from head to toe. When warmth began to enter my body I realized how much my legs and ass hurt. I can barely walk. My average mile pace was 7:25 which means I finished in 1:37:00 or so....I got 11th place out of my age group.

I can't explain how amazing it feels just to be a participant, one of among 6 thousand people, and to just soak in the energy and excitement of those around me. It was a great race...but I feel like I never want strap on my running shoes ever again.....

On Display

Life as a law student is pretty much like a sinewave. The highs, then lows and everything in between. Personal favorite: the high-lows....

Last night Jessie and I dispelled the urban legend that there is decent public transportation in Seattle as a broken Bus #3 tottled its was downtown at 5pm full of beer breath passengers (this concludes the part where I hypocritically bash public drunkeness).

Because the phrase "planning ahead" does not exist in my vocabulary, we got to enjoy a very fancy meal at an upscale restaurant from the bar. Major Pluses: it was slightly more acceptable for me to spill my food, quick and easy access to facilitator of alcohol, simple exit strategy.

As far as dates go, I must say that Jessie and I know how to pair our activities.... We got buzzed then went to see dead asian people. Ok, technically they were scientifically preserved cadavers (Bodies the Exhibition) but it's definately more fun to quote the Sixth Sense-- "I see dead people". Coincidentally, the muscles and body tissue resembled the chicken we has just eaten and some kind of chow mein noodle (today I'm purchasing "Vegetarianism for Dummies").... How often do you get to hold a brain? Yeah, pretty hot!

After letting the awe and complexity of the human body soak in for a moment or two, we met up with more friends at Streamline where no one had the decency to play Justin Timberlake on the jukebox. ("Sexyback" vs. Al Green..? no competition....) then off to some sketchy frat bar in Freemont. "Jessie Palmer" was the special of the day (thanks to dry erase markers). I learned that I will never again have a "Three Wise Men" ;), that you should really only use restrooms for their expressed purpose, and that I suffer from hangover deficiency.

It was really fun driving to the airport at 6:30 am this morning.....

Abode

My new room is spotless, it's a little creepy and very out of character for me. No trinkets, no nicknacks....shh, the special blankie is hiding under the bed..... ;)
This is where all the study magic happens.... I will spend hours in this exact spot.

Back Burner

It wasn't until I was about knee deep in unpacked clothes, books, shoes, and trinkets that I had a mini break down. I guess its an appropriate analogy to my life right now- knee deep in junk.

There's a lot I need to sort out, but I'm just too busy to do so. When I'm not too busy, I'm too tired. When I'm not too tired, I'm holding an unwholesome beverage in my hand.

I'm going to keep putting things on the back burner until winter break. I need to walk around with a sign on my neck that says, "Life on hold until further notice".

But when I try to pin-point what exactly it is I need to sort out, I can't. Then I think, what's the point-- what if its all in my mind? There is only drama if there is one purpose, one meaning. If all life is relative then there is no right "track" to get back on.

All I need to know about relativity, I learned in law school.