impending graduation

We had to order cap and gown this week. It triggered some fear, I gotta tell you. In undergrad I made a tragic error. When my Arabic professor asked me what grade I "deserved" I made the mistake of telling him the truth. I like languages, they come easily, I could have done more = B+. Low and behold, even though I killed the exam, the man gave me a B+ and i missed cum laude by the GPA distance between my honesty and an A-. I kicked myself for weeks. My early adventures in university level academia had been less than stellar--my class attendence was impeded by the Illinois winters. So, the fact that I fought my way back to nearly cum laude kinda broke my heart. In irritation, I blew off graduation and went to New Zealand to hang out with my best friend.

Now, 8 years later, another graduation is on the horizon. This one I will attend. I've earned it. Besides, who can resist getting to wear this get up:

The Doctoral regalia consists of the following pieces:

1. Cap/Tassel: puffy and round as opposed to the stiff square ones worn in undergrad.
2. Gown: usually black (ours are) with three velvet stripes on the sleeves and stripes down the front. 
3. Hood: the circular fabric that hangs from my neck down my back. Honestly, it doesn't look much like a hood. It is ceremonially placed on as a sign of graduation. In my case, because Adam graduated from the same law school--he will come on stage to put mine on with a professor, seriously making my graduation a family affair. 

Luckily, my graduating class is only about 40-50 people :) and I get to invite everyone I want. Thus, my hope for a very large, very loud, cow bell plus cheering section the day before the wedding. Here's to being 5 weeks shy of done with university forever.

law school quotes

remember i told you about "martha's jackass doctine"??  here's today's conversation:

prof "my ex-wife is awesome and what am i, martha?"


mar: "you are jackass."

prof: "yup, and even if i'm a recovering jackass, after attending martha's jackass anonymous program, i still don't get to modify the parenting plan in a major way."

five minutes later:

Prof: so she's a great parent and i'm...martha?

mar: still a jackass?

prof: but a fit parent right?

mar: sure

prof: what's your exam number again?

mar: haha....but my doctrine gets me bonus points!!

prof: i'll take that into account. so jackass i may be, i'm still fit and its my constitutional right to make decisions for my child.

my new favorite music video

spring break, what?

So, it finally occurred to me on Monday that next week is Spring Break at Law School. This SHOULD mean that i go somewhere tropical and warm, lie in the sun, sip virgin pina coladas and attempt to get Vitamin D the natural way. I SHOULD be exploring ruins in some far flung land, whirring around an island on a moped, or riding in a tuk-tuk. I SHOULD be sleeping and napping my days away leisurely. Last spring break, we went to Vegas for a couple days...where i did in fact lie in the sun. Here's a last year pic: I know you can't tell, but its at the Bellagio...watching the really dope water show.

Reality always being a creature by far different from my imagination (as Adam is quite likely to tell you), this will not be the case this year. However! After quite the drought of snow--since we thought we were having spring and all the cherry blossoms bloomed--the cold set back in this week and it is once again dumping snow at my favorite ski resort nearby: http://www.stevenspass.com/Stevens/info/mountain-cams.aspx. Since i have no reason to study on Sunday maybe there's a weekend run up the mountain in the making. It would be my first trip up this winter (in part due to too much going on and in part due to the robo-thumb). And we did just get Adam's grad present from me--a new Burton deck--that needs a break-in.

My spring break will be spent at work--and working on outlines for my classes. Since i'm full time this semester in addition to the full time jobbie job, i feel like i really need to get a running start and not leave all this outlining and comprehension stuff to the last minute. This summer I am taking an online class...so for the first time since 2007, i will not have to go to school physically over the summer. IT'S AMAZING.

Adam got a couple of interviews in Alaska for April. We are hoping a few more will contact him in the meantime...which makes this moving thing all the more real. Anchorage, for better or worse, it seems you are my future home. Please say some prayers....it would be amazing if we could get this to all work out--jobs, bar, etc. If you happen to be in Anchorage and know of some hiring law firms or contacts, send um along.

In fasting news, I apparently don't have to answer any questions in Family Dissolution while i am fasting. I am exempted...which is great, but now i know i don't have to read either ;)  I also need to find a scale...it's possible  i've gotten close enough to the bad number that i need to check. You'd think, since i hang out in a hospital 8 hrs a day that i could manage that, but so far, no luck. If anyone knows where one is hiding let me know.

from my basement office....i bid you farewell.

Farewell my lunch...

and more importantly, farewell my caffine IV.

Tomorrow starts the Baha'i Fasting Month. 19 days where i will try to focus on something other than my incessant need for sugar and coffee. 19 days, where i will try to rise above. The rules are simple: focus on something other than physical needs, don't eat or drink anything from sunrise to sunset, try to maintain a prayerful state. I've found most religions have a form of fasting. Ours looks most like Ramadan in its practice. It's a month i love--it always brings clarity, focus, and determination. I get to pour my stubborn will into something worthwhile. I think of it like exercise--feel the burn, know you are doing the work. Refocus, meditate, find time for my soul.

The truth is i've struggled pretty hard with this over the years. I have always wanted to make it through the whole month fasting--i've only managed it twice. There are a list of exceptions to fasting--including doctor's orders--which is where i get in trouble. According to my doctors, i'm banned from fasting. I have a hard time sustaining my body weight (as my eating of immense amounts of junk doesn't actually help me add weight it just holds me steady at a whopping 102). Usually after a week to 10 days i lose those 2 safety pounds, plumt into double digits and have to go back to eating something for lunch so that my pants don't fall off me.

My professors (one of whom will have to deal with my brainless and two of whom will have to deal with me coming in and out of class to pray) have been duly notified--and are sympathetic--one is in Lent right now, one lived in Egypt, and the other is my Law and Religion professor--who seems to be hoping to hold it together for the most part in there, as i am the voice of many things unmainstream :)

And so it begins.

more fun lawschool quotes

My dad pointed out i haven't shared any quotes recently:
So, from my favorite class: law and religion in response to the comment "the judge is just wack" my professor said: "ok, so to which analytical prong of Reynolds does judicial wackness go?"

in fam dissolution:
"who wants to discuss this case?" (i'm busy playing peggle and look up as he walks towards my row with the panicked oh-god-im-going-to-lose-my-high-score-look), "don't worry martha, you're exempt today, you don't have to close the window"

when discussing reputation and the concept of goodwill (following a game of hangman to figure out the word patronize): "in developing countries, you go to McDonalds because you know what you are going to get...ususally for me its gas, but that's beside the point"

more law school quotes

From Divorce class tonight:

" i mean no reflection on papal people, but....don't worry, i'm catholic, i'm gonna feel guilty about this later."

"so if you fall off an aircraft carrier, yeah its probably moot and you are going to die--or get sucked into the propeller, but if you don't die, then its going to take forever to turn that sucker around....the catholic church is kinda like that"

"so connivance means you have a floozy friend and you get your husband drunk at a bar with her and leave"

"the fault based systems are primarily in the sooooooooouth where there's a heavy bible-thumpin"

"in FL they said, why is the state of california like a bowl of grapenuts? just a bunch of fruits, nuts and flakes. i'm just telling you so you see the different fundmental underpinnings."

Holy law funniness...

Shamelessly jacked from: http://abovethelaw.com/2009/12/toilet_caption_contest_winner.php
After Pablo sent me a link to this blog, i read it alot...most of it is about the dumb shit lawyers do...they have been having a caption contest for this picture however.

ATL Caption Contest: Study Stall

The picture came from a law student at Fordham, in New York, who said:  I attend a law school here in the city, and this is what I walked into after my Property Class. Funny, I don’t find classes this hard — but obviously I am doing something wrong. He probably gains an extra 4.5 hours of studying a week this way! P.S. I am willing to bet that book makes it to the same table as his lunch. I’m just saying.

The caption that was a landslide:  "Pictured in stalls from left to right: 3L, 1L, 2L."

If you don't get it, let me know and explain further, but the summary is that the number in front of an L is how many years you have been torturing yourself in law school.

t minus 3 weeks

the other morning i woke up to find my car covered in a slick cold substance i call evil and most people call frost. digging through the jeep of wonders, i located a pair of gloves and a scraper and proceeded to blow my morning timetable scraping the car free of the evil icyness.  later, the local news said this was the first time it had dropped below freezing at the airport since March 21...it seems winter has actually come. This poses two problems to my morning schedule:
1. it means i am going to have to account for time scraping the car.
2. it means i am going to have to account for time drying my hair, so it doesn't freeze when i walk outside.

i'm not a morning person. i have never been, so far as i am aware, a morning person. in fact, i have spent the vast majority of the last 20 years being nocturnal. at one point i completely reversed my sleeping pattern--getting up at 6pm and going to bed at 6am. It was nice. i liked it. the world is quiet and there is less traffic.

classes are over and the ramp up to finals is on. I have one on the 12th and one on the 16th. gratefully, i am much more on top of things this semester and will actually have time to prepare. Colelctive deep breath---its the home stretch of the marathon.

anyone wanna give me anxiety meds?

Tonight is the final part of the culminating assignment for my pre-trial advocacy class. I have to go argue a motion at the King County Courthouse. Up until about an hour ago, i was all good with this...no big deal--8 minutes in and out. Rumor is that i am a pretty good arguer--so this should be no biggie.

Then--out of no where--my stomach started churning when i was looking up directions. Dear God, this is supposed to be a mind over matter thing---so why are we playin it the other way around? A close friend used to take anxiety meds before her presentations at work. I always thought she was a little crazy---i get it now. this really has nothing to do with me, its just some bizzaro reaction to stress/nerves, which if i could control it, would make it so i would be the smoothest thing to ever attempt to convince you of anything.

Today though, it's a problem because usually in highly stressful situations (read: bombs and rockets blowing up) i get VERY calm...almost sleepy. So, this nervous, tummy-jumping, heart irregular thing makes me unhappy. T minus 2 hrs. i just want this over so the feeling will go away. YUCK.

How do YOU calm yourself back down---suggestions appreciated.

Fabulous quotes from my class

Talking about the 4th Amendment (search/seizure):
"consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds"

Refering to our ability to go around in circles about thermal imaging violations for an entire hour:
"It's a 4th amendment hamster ball"

Following some hypothetical question
"ok....wait, did you just say a ninja?"