2 Down

2 to go. Fall '04's finals, that is.

Update: Just found out via email - A's in both Engineering and Economics! Take that coma!

Mail Call!

Via Snail Mail:

• An uncharacteristically artsy folder from CU filled with an assortment of random information including maps of Boulder, maps of Colorado, maps of the campus, bus schedules, schedule of events for the Admitted Students' Day, and the pies de resistance: an assigned reading for the fake class during this event. Do other schools have assigned readings for their preview weekends? Quel suprise!
• Our first wedding present! A beautiful set of fancy dessert plates. It will be such a nice, new experience to have grown up stuff.

Via Voice Mail:

• A message from a professor at Vermont Law School, letting me know that I could use him as a resource for whatever questions I may have about VLS, law school in general, and what it's like being a lawyer. VLS is such a nice, caring school.

Via email:

• Random messages on the listserv set up for admitted students by Lewis & Clark. I think it's really smart to set up email lists, discussion boards, etc. for admitted students. Creating a sense of community before those deposit due dates is a great way to keep the school's name in mind and to get students excited about attending.

Blogrolling v. Bloglines

I have officially switched over from Blogrolling to Bloglines.

My hope is that Bloglines will do what Blogrolling never seemed to be able to, and that is to tell me when the blogs I read are updated. In theory, I really like the little notifier. I will really like it if it works like it says it will.

While I was subscribing to my blogs, sometimes I was given a choice of feeds to subscribe to. I always chose the atom.xml - will this cause me problems? I don't understand the differences between my choices, so I just picked the one that was familiar. If anyone has any thoughts on this, please do share.

Also, if anyone has tips about how to use bloglines in the most efficient manner, I would appreciate them. It seems pretty straight forward, but maybe I am missing something. Sometimes I do that.

Professor Lakshman Guruswamy

As I mentioned earlier, I went to a lecture last night at the law school given by Professor Guruswamy. I was exhausted but went anyway - I really hate when I plan to do something and then don't go at the last minute. I'm very glad I did because it was a really excellent talk on the future of international energy treaties and the work the Energy Environmental Security Initiative is doing.

Two funny things happened. The first was "weird funny." This guy - a middle aged guy, fairly normal looking, maybe a little hippy-ish with longish hair and a beard - comes in right before the lecture begins and sits down in the front row. The next time I happen to glance at him, a few minutes into the presentation, he has his shoes off and his socked feet up on the railing. It was totally bizarre to me. This was not...No, I can't even think of an example where this is appropriate adult, public behavior.

Okay, the second funny thing was laugh-out-loud funny. Except for J and I had to wait until after we were outside to actually "LOL." So it's question and answer time and Professor Guruswamy is taking one last question.

The questioner says, "So, everything I've read points toward our using extraterrestrial sources for our future energy needs. " The professor nods and confirms that yes, there's research going into space solar power.

The questioner then continues with, "Well, I don't think we should..." at this point I'm expecting the end of the sentence to be something like: "...because it would be too expensive." But,alas, no. The end of the sentence was actually: "...because it would compromise human sovereignty!"

Woah. Compromise human sovereignty, indeed. Now, I've been known to entertain "crazy" ideas in my time. I've even been called a "whacko" a time or two. But this guy actually took the time to mention, at a serious lecture, his reservations about utilizing space-based resources based on his fear that aliens will come and take them over, therefore leaving us hopelessly under their alien control.

I sure do hope real law school is as full of wacky antics as these lectures are!

I Swear There's a Light Around Here Somewhere...

...Maybe at the end of this tunnel?

Haas asks:

What classes represent your finals and midterm? Does next semester look good to finsh out school? Just some thoughts on what to write about.

Thanks, Haas! Well, your second question first, because it is second-most in my thoughts pretty much 100% of the time (after health-related stuff): Graduation!

After I was released from the hospital in December, many people urged me to delay graduation. During some particularly rough days I did seriously consider this option. However, the idea of having to go through the law school application process again was simply intolerable. So, to answer your question, I am graduating in May. 77 days from now, if my sidebar --> is to be believed.

On to your first question: This morning I took a midterm in my "Environmental Issues in Geosciences" class. It's basically an energy class. It was fine, a little more essay-oriented than I expected, but not too bad.

This afternoon I have a midterm in my class titled "Math for the Environment." Very little math, lots of questions like: "What is a thinking space model?" and "Where did the Exxon Valdez oil spill happen?"

Finally, on Monday I have my 2nd out of 4 make up finals from last semester. The first one I took last week, a 24 hour take home final for my architectural engineering class. This next one will be for "Natural Resources Economics" (which turned out to be pretty much exactly the same class as "Environmental Economics", both of which were requirements for my major.)

Back to the books again, but I will post later about something funny that happened last night at a lecture I went to at the law school. It involves aliens.

Putting Two Words Together = Impossible

I can't write a post to save my life today. Well, okay, if I had to come up with something decent to avoid dying, I probably could. But, I don't. So, I can't.

Two midterms tomorrow and a final (from last semester) on Monday. Back to the studying I go.

Celebrate!

Stag is going to law school!

Yay, stag! You rock!

Salman Rushdie

Last night, amongst the most diverse crowd I've ever seen gathered in Boulder, I went to see Salman Rushdie speak. Before attending I knew basically what the average person knows, that he wrote a book called The Satanic Verses and in doing so offended a portion of the Muslim world, and was forced to go into hiding for many years.

I went to the event expecting a larger than life figure. I expected to hear a booming lecture on free speech, religion, geopolitics, etc. The reality, however, turned out to be much different than my expectations. The Salman Rushdie I saw was physically much smaller than in my imagination. He was relatively soft spoken and his speech was very clever and subtle. He spoke about his beginnings as a writer, the writing process, his education, his father, and his books. I think he only mentioned The Satanic Verses once during his main talk.

Of course the book did come up during the Q&A, as well as Ward Churchill. (But, of course. Can't expect to go twenty minutes in this town without hearing about the topic du jour. Last semester: the football team scandal. This semester: Ward Churchill.) I enjoyed the main talk much more than the question and answer period. The pretentiousness climbed above my tolerance levels rather quickly. Plus, he gave away the end to Million Dollar Baby, a movie I have yet to see and still want(ed) to. It was reminiscent of the time Rosie O'Donnell gave away the end of Fight Club. This behavior is beyond rude. If you don't like a movie, fine, but don't ruin it for other people out of spite.

Why Why Law?

I named my blog not as a question as Evan asks, but rather a reminder. I started my blog right after the LSAT. I was such a wreck, and I wanted to remember why I was putting myself through all that LSAT agony. I'm going to law school to better understand how the world works, to learn about complex ideas, and to maybe, just maybe, contribute in some way to making the world a little shinier.

That said, reading Evan's post and some responses made me wonder why people seem to constantly ask each other why they want to be lawyers, or why they are lawyers. Maybe it's just because I am around pre-law and law students almost constantly and other groups of people discuss the same topic regarding their own chosen professions. But, I tend to think this is not true.

For example, J isn't constantly asked, "Why do you want to be a computer scientist?" My mom isn't constantly asked why she is a marketing analyst. When I was leaning towards "Environmental Scientist," I wasn't asked why. Yet, ever since I began the law school application process I have gotten this question from fellow students, friends, professors, parents, etc.

What is it about hearing the words "law school" and "lawyer" that makes people so inquisitive?

Happy Valentine's Day!

J and I officially became a couple five years and three days ago today.

So, I had been his girlfriend for only three days on our first Valentine's Day. He had a big night planned, which was a nice change for me - previous to J, I had an all-jerks-all-the-time dating policy. And jerks don't plan nice Valentine's Days.

Anyway, I drove downtown to pick him up from work, and he has the most distraught look on his face. With the saddest voice and biggest puppy dog eyes he tells me that he had lost his wallet during the day. And so, because I was flat broke at the time, our first Valentine's Day was effectively cancelled. I was just happy that we were together, but he was so worried I would be disappointed. It was just so sweet that he cared so much - I remember feeling like the luckiest person alive - and five years later, I still do!

For the last four years we've celebrated our anniversary on the 11th and have, for the most part, lumped Valentine's Day in. But! This year, since we will now have a new (wedding!) anniversary, we are finally going to celebrate Valentine's Day up right.

Science? What Science?

From the article U.S. Scientists Say They Are Told To Alter Findings:

More than 200 scientists employed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service say they have been directed to alter official findings to lessen protections for plants and animals, a survey released Wednesday says.

and:

More than half of the biologists and other researchers who responded to the survey said they knew of cases in which commercial interests, including timber, grazing, development and energy companies, had applied political pressure to reverse scientific conclusions deemed harmful to their business.

When I was studying at the Biosphere I volunteered for U.S. Fish and Wildlife, surveying for the endangered species Cactus Ferruginous Pygmy-owl. There were two categories of these surveys: Research and Commercial. Commercial surveys are required by the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Basically, you have to make sure that there are no endangered species in an area you want to build on in order to conform with the law.

So, companies hire biologists and they get up at 2am and drive into the middle of the desert to play tapes of owls hooting. Then they listen hard and look around and make detailed records. Of course, I never saw any evidence of any of the owls because there are only like 3 left in the state. I exaggerate, but not by much.

I got criticized from both sides while doing this work, and it was a very valuable lesson. Other students told me that it was ridiculous to work on behalf on the Endangered Species Act because it did not go far enough to protect endangered species or habitat. Biologists told me that I may endure criticism from other biologists because I was "working for big business." (Even though I was not working for anyone, I was volunteering for US Fish and Wildlife, but whatever.) And, of course, company representatives moaned endlessly about the whole process - how it increased cost, building times, etc. I even heard about threats made against biologists, but luckily I was never directly involved in anything like that.

Scientists, like the ones mentioned in the article, are people too. They all have their own motivations. Some may have been idealistic when they began working and have since become jaded and don't mind changing reports as long as the paychecks keep coming. Some may just be hanging on, riding it out until "things get better." Some may feel like they can do more good from the inside and don't change reports, even with the possibility of removal. And so on and so on.

What is more clear cut is that it is never okay to falsify data or to change findings to fit an agenda. And it is absolutely never okay for the government to pressure scientists to do so.

Painfully Awkward

Why oh why am I so incredibly anti-social?!

Tonight I went to a Lewis & Clark "Prospective Student and Alumni Reception." It was downtown at a fancy firm. Well, I thought it was fancy. Anyway, I just have no small-talk chatty ask-relevant-questions skills. I nod a lot and smile. I exclaim things like, "Super!" and "Really!" I ask super insightful questions like, "And why did you choose to do that?"

Oh well. I got to meet the Dean, so that made up for a lot of the painfulness. I can't remember what he said to me, but I'm sure I said, "Wow!" at some point. And who doesn't think a monosyllabic expression makes a great first impression?

Planning Ahead

For a while I went back and forth between wanting to be "a scientist" or "a lawyer" when I grew up. I had some vague ideas about wanting to do good, and wanting to work for the benefit of the environment, for wildlife, and for animals in general. I finally made a real decision during the 2003 Prairie Dog Summit and never really looked back, although I continued to take science classes along with those of a more policy-oriented nature. My favorite classes in college have been those that were very interdisciplinary, requiring knowledge of both science and policy and the desire to make the two work together.

Now, as a 0L learning about the opportunities law school will potentially provide, I'm sure I made the right choice for me. I don't think I would have been happy in a lab, or even in the field. I was thinking about this today after I attended a brown bag panel discussion on 1L summer opportunities. I had no idea that there were so many different options for 1L summers, and I only heard about 6 or 7 student's experiences.

The stories that were most exciting to me were those involving travel, externships, and research. One student had studied in Paris through a Cornell program, and he was inspired to do so by a story he had heard about another student studying in Geneva the summer before. Another student talked about how she had been an RA for two professors over her first summer, receiving both work-study pay and credit. I guess I was just excited to learn that there are more options than just the two I hear most about: Working for a firm or volunteering for a non-profit.

Three Things

1. I just finished my first last semester's final. It was relatively exhausting. Just 3 more to go. This one was probably the hardest of the 4. Very pleased to have it behind me.

2. Yesterday I attended a town hall meeting about CU's new law building. The highlights:

• Move in day is August 1, 2006


• Library space expanding by 50%


• They are attempting to minimize noise and other disturbances during the construction process


• More classrooms, study space, offices


• New cafeteria. One of the speakers seemed very excited about the new cafeteria.


• Lots of windows, sunlight and good feelings. Their words.


• It all seems very nice. Everyone who spoke seemed genuinely concerned about the students' needs.

3. I bought a plane ticket and reserved a hotel room for the Lewis & Clark Preview weekend. I'm going to have some free time in Portland during my trip - Any suggestions about what I should do or see?

Ask And Ye Shall Receive!

I did receive my packet today! It included both a travel voucher to the Admitted Students' Weekend and a nice big renewable merit scholarship! This was all from Lewis & Clark, the law school that won my heart.

But that's not all!

From CU I received a merit scholarship offer of basically a full ride for my first year! Not only is it an offer of money, but the scholarship also has a name. I love it when scholarships have names!

This is the best day!

I Want You To Want Me...

I don't think I'm alone in wanting a law school to really want me. To show me the love. They don't even need to offer me the Big Things like scholarships and travel vouchers out to admitted students' weekends (although these would not be turned down!) Send me a shiny new catalog, a keychain, a pen, a postcard. Just let me know you care! This relationship is a two way street, you know. I give, and I give, and I give...

Vermont has been sending me stuff for over a year. They sent me a holiday card in December, and if I remember correctly they may have even sent a birthday card before I even took the LSAT. Now that's love. Learn a lesson, other law schools.

Colorado hasn't sent too much, but they did turn my application around just two days after sending my complete email. Now that's some warm and fuzzy action.

So, other school, I implore you: Don't leave me hanging. Send me some physical confirmation. Let me stop having these thoughts about some IT person accidentally loading my information into the admitted student database, accidentally allowing me into the website with the pretty pictures of the happy admitted students. I want to be sure I am one of those happy admitted students. Show me some love! Pretty please?

The Circle Of Life

Spartan Apparition, a blawger that I just added to my blogroll, is going to be a 0L when I'm a 1L. Woah. Time just keeps on slipping into the future, doesn't it?

Good luck, SA!

What Is Art? Who Am I?

This seemed like fun, so I made this.

Tired

Just 12 weeks and 1 day of school left and I'm...very...tired.

I won't bore you with the details, but my to-do list just keeps going on and on and doesn't seem to be letting up anytime soon.

I've been trying to compensate by getting up earlier (4 am the majority of mornings lately) and going to bed later (I am a huge baby about staying up late, however, so this means like 10pm). I've been skipping the gym too much, and TiVo is very disappointed with the amount of quality programming I'm allowing to be deleted into the unwatched void.

I take my first last semester's final on Monday. I'm kind of pissed at my chronic illness - this is supposed to be my big slacker-semester before I graduate and now I'm working harder than ever. Okay, now I'm just whining. I hate being a whiner so I'll stop here.

Official Countdown:

Days Until Graduation: 92
Days Until Wedding: 108

Law School as NASCAR

Beanie has written a beautiful post comparing the law school experience to motorsports. A must read.

Blogrolling

I have jumped on the blogrolling bandwagon, and in theory I like it a lot. I like being able to add blogs right from my taskbar, and I like seeing when other blogs are updated so I don't have to click on each one to check. However, it seems like the system sees blogs update only part of the time. Does anyone else have this problem? Any suggestions?

Law School Reviews

If you feel like reading another long post about a different law school, Kristine has one about UT-Austin.

CU Law

I had a little free time today so I spent it over at the University of Colorado School of Law, as I am keeping an open mind and exploring my options thoroughly before sending any deposit checks anywhere.

My initial intent was to simply try and make an appointment with an administrative type who could answer some of my more specific questions. To my surprise someone was willing to talk with me right that very second! This threw me off a little, as I generally like to be ready with notes, lists, spreadsheets, etc. Still, I felt pretty warm and fuzzy at their level of accomodation.

First I asked her about study abroad programs. She wasn't able to offer a lot of information on this subject, except to refer me to another department - and to mention that she knew of one student who had studied at Oxford (lah dee dah!) this past summer, and that some students opt to study for a semester or more at other law schools in the US.

I asked her about the new building. The groundbreaking ceremony was last semester, and they apparently feel very confident that it will be ready for use beginning Fall 2006. I asked how probable this really is, as I have seen on various television programs construction projects running "off schedule." She said she has heard nothing regarding any sort of delay, and has even heard projections of June 2006 as a realistic finish date. It would be fun to be one of the first students to use a brand new law building. I chalked this up as a + in the CU column.

Next I asked about dual degrees. CU Law offers quite a few, the one in which I would be most interested being a JD/PhD in Environmental Studies. It was interesting to learn that a dual degree student at CU usually follows this schedule:

1st year: exclusively law classes
2nd year: exclusively insert other degree here classes
3rd year: combination
Remainder of time, if any: combination

She also informed me that basically any graduate level course at CU can be counted towards graduation credit as long as it is pre-approved with the registrar. Right now I think I would want to take all of my law school courses at the law school, but who knows what options there may be that I might not know about right now. And it is good to have options available.

Next, as I had expressed an interest in International Environmental Law, she sent me up to meet with a professor. He was very, very nice and spoke with me at length about the school's offerings in this subject area. He even kept his actual, scheduled appointment waiting! I was excited to learn that law students have the opportunity to work on the Energy and Environmental Security Initiative, and that there are opportunities for externships in the field.
There is also a journal, the Colorado Journal of International Environmental Law and Policy, that I am told is one of only two of its kind (the other being at Georgetown.)

When I went to another office to find out more about this journal I met a very nice 2L who took a lot of time to talk with me about CU Law's good points. He assured me that it is a friendly, although competitive, atmosphere. He seemed very happy that he chose CU, and proud to be a student there. When I asked about job opportunities and the helpfulness of Career Services he admitted that he actually hadn't utilized their services but his friends had said they were helpful in their job searches. He talked about how he performed his own job search independently which resulted in a position at a non-profit that he is happy with.

My last stop was actually at the Career Services office to see for myself if they seemed to be helpful and nice. They were actually more helpful than I expected. When I asked about positions and salaries for those focusing on International Environmental Law she said that there was no specific data available but that she would pull some information together and email me. I was really impressed. I also was able to look through a book of job postings for students so I could see what types of positions I could expect to find when it was time for my own job search. (P.S. One posting was for a "blawg content writer.")

So, to sum up, I'm still keeping an open mind. We'll see what the money says, and how the ultimate pro/con lists look in the end. Between you and me I'm still fairly certain where I'll end up.

Three for Three

While excitedly checking the mail today for scholarship info from other schools, I came across a very unexpected large envelope from the in-state school I applied to 18 days ago. I'm in! 3 for 3, baby!

And thus concludes my law school application process. I can't believe it's over. (Hey, remember the LSAT? And all those personal statement drafts? Good times, right?)

Today Is The First Day of the Last Days of Last Semester

I am finally finishing up the last of my assignments from last semester and am preparing myself to take last semester's finals. At the same time I am managing to keep up with my current classes somehow, and planning the wedding (with lots of help.)

Classes this semester are turning out to be fairly dealable. A lot of the material in my major classes are review, and one of them is based almost entirely on a term paper (I'm writing mine on how human induced reduction of Beaver populations in North America dramatically reshaped the landscape and hydrologic systems of the Rocky Mountains.) "Shakespeare for Non-Majors" is fine - actually, it's pretty interesting. My teacher is very young (for a teacher, I mean. She's not 12.) and talks about South Park and being a raver. "Math for the Environment" is the strangest math class I've ever taken. For example, we've yet to do a problem involving numbers. One of my recent homework questions was: "Do you believe a person can ever be truly free or truly not free?"

Days Until Graduation: 97

CopyB?

CopyB? Where are you? Blog and LSN data are MIA...

:(

Decisions, Schmisions

To those of you who have asked me via email what the name of this "#1 choice" school is: I'm not ignoring you. I'm just very superstitious and I haven't gotten my scholarship info in the mail yet. For some reason I think if I tell you the name of the school this will somehow change this number from a big number to a small or non-existent number. Yes, logically this does not make much sense. (Invoke Chandler: Much sense?!) Still, humor me. I should get the big envelope today (Postal services gods be willing) and I will shout it from the virtual rooftops.

So, in my mind I am enrolling in this school. I've spent the majority of my free time in the past two days on the admitted students' website. I've been making arrangements to attend the admitted students' weekend. I've begun looking into housing possibilities (and they look good! The cost of living in this city is very reasonable!). I've been researching the public transportation system.

So what is the problem? you might ask. The problem is soon-to-be Mr. WhyLaw still has his hopes on staying here. Even though he likes the new city, he would rather stay here. I, on the other hand, do not want to stay here. Not even a little bit. I don't want to be Ms. Bossy New-Wife but I really want to go to this school. Not to be melodramatic, but it's my academic dream come true.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see what the other schools have to say. But to me, my mind is made up. And I'm pretty stubborn.

I Got In!

I'm in at my #1 choice! I'm so happy!

Lhasa Apso

Stag, this is a Lhasa Apso. More specifically, this is my Lhasa Apso!

My Secret

I want to be just like E. McPan in all ways. So when I saw that she got a cool new blog format I ran out and bought one just like it.

Tell me if it looks weird to you, or if you hate it. Or if you think it's okay. Or if you think it's really groovy.

It still needs some work but I have to go and learn about Math for the Environment now.

Update: Thanks for the feedback. I didn't really like the way the other one turned out, either. What do you think of this one?

If You're Just Tuning In...

Life, while extremely overwhelming to me right now, is not providing a whole lot to blog about. So I thought I would share a bit of random things-about-me just for fun:

I'm 27 (28 in May)

I'm an Environmental Studies major (graduating in May)

I never graduated from high school (got my GED at 23)

I'm a law school applicant (3 applications, one acceptance, two pending)

I'm vegan

My favorite color is brown

My favorite movie is 'Chocolat'

I've seen Legally Blonde too many times to count

I'm engaged! (Wedding is in May)

I spent a semester at the Biosphere in Arizona

I have a Lhasa Apso that I love with all my heart :)

My favorite TV show of all time is Buffy the Vampire Slayer

My favorite currently running TV show is Gilmore Girls

I'm really short (5'0")

I'm a Democrat

I would love to live in Alaska

I would love to live in New Zealand

I have never been to either Alaska or New Zealand :(

I rarely listen to music

I love going to the gym but rarely make it a priority

I'm a (real!) redhead

Okay, that was probably very boring for you, but kind of fun for me. Hopefully more bloggable things will come to me soon...

It's (More) Official

The engagement party last night was better than I ever could have hoped. It was held at a beautiful teahouse in Boulder that everyone thought was lovely. Everyone got along very well - there were no awkward silences or embarassing conversational faux pas involving politics.

J's dad gave a very nice toast and his mom gave me an old, incredibly stunning necklace that had been in her family for five generations! Since my mom is adopted and I know nothing about my father's side of the family I've never been exposed to anything you could call an 'heirloom' so this is very special to me for many reasons. She also included a photograph that had all of the women who had owned the necklace pictured - her mother as a little girl, her grandmother and her great-aunt who raised the grandmother. Talk about priceless, right?

My mom gave us a nice scrapbooking kit - and the offer to pay for the photographer! J's parents also announced that they had booked us a room at a five star hotel between here and Santa Fe for our wedding night. Everyone is being so generous - we are very lucky and thankful to be around so many people that love us and want to help make our wedding day and honeymoon special.

The Devil Is In The Details

Today I am wondering about things. For example, once a person has chosen a law school, sent in their deposit and secured their financial aid, when does said aid come? Is it similar to undergrad where they don't send your disbursement until two days before the first day of class so you don't run off to wherever irresponsible kids run off to with loan money? What about scholarships? If they like you enough to give you a scholarship do they trust you with it before your 1L self is actually sitting in their classroom?

Also, moving across the country is presumably not free. How do students do this? I'm thinking that the answer to this question may lie in the "post-bachelor's-pre-law-school-summer-job" concept. Maybe temp work. Or retail. Or Starbuck's. If you work at a gym as the girl that swipes the membership cards and hands out the towels do they let you work out there for free?

These are the things I'm wondering about today.

It's Only Two Flights Up!

So my mail carrier has developed this annoying habit of just leaving the "Sorry We Missed You!" card in the mailbox without even coming up to see if I'm home. I cannot express to you how infuriating this can be, especially because the package is then not even available for pickup at the post office until the next day.

So today, to combat this needless stress, I have left a note on the mailbox explaining that yes, I am home, and to please not return my packages to the post office but instead, if possible, to actually deliver them.

In law school news: I am considering doing a dual degree program if I end up, for whatever reason, remaining here in state. I feel like with the other law schools I've applied to they offer programs that are specialized enough that I will be marketable with "just" the JD, but the state school here doesn't (at least in "my" intended specialization(s)) so therefore I must do something additional to be employable. I don't have any data or anything to back up my thinking here, so I have no idea if my "feelings" are in any way comparable to reality.

So There, Part II

During my recent hospital stay this awful nurse told me that I would be spending a lot of my adult life in hospitals and that I would die young. Mean, right? (By the way, she was totally full of crap. Actual doctors have assured me of this. And, you know, now this online quiz.)

So There

If only my classmates from the Biosphere could see this score. I was mercilessly mocked during my semester there, for many things but mainly for my nerdiness/dorkiness. I'm glad I have nicer friends now.

A Weekend Away

Today is J's birthday and we're celebrating with a little dual-purpose trip to Estes Park. I've booked us a room in a nice bed & breakfast that we're considering getting married in. Since the wedding is only 4 months and a week away I figure the only way we're going to get everything done is some creative multi-tasking. So, this weekend is birthday-getaway-site visit wrapped into one.

In other wedding news: My soon-to-be in-laws have generously offered to host the rehearsal dinner - as well as help with the honeymoon costs! We haven't settled on a location yet, but we are leaning toward Santa Fe.

My mom is throwing us an engagement party a week from today. It's amazing how traditional people get when a wedding is involved. I had assumed that J & I would be covering all of the wedding related expenses since we're a little older and none of our parents have a lot of extra income. I guess families are just full of unexpected surprises.

One More Application (Finally!)

I know, it is incredibly late to be submitting another app, but I had previously decided not to even apply to this school. But things changed and I'm now considering staying in state, mostly as a compromise but for some other reasons as well.

First, all of my doctors are here and I have like a thousand specialists now so getting together an entire new "health care team" in a new city is not a small task. Not impossible, but it would take some work, and for the most part I like and trust my current gaggle of physicians so it is something to consider.

Other factors are: leaving my family, and my friends, and having to adjust to a new city with its new climate and new transportation system and all the little things one has to adjust to when moving away, when I'm still adjusting to my shiny new chronic illness.

Anyway, I'm at the very least applying, to keep my (our) options as open as possible. Soon-to-be Mr. WhyLaw is reciprocating by applying to a University in the city of my #1 school choice as they have a decent program in his field of study.

Probably March-ish we'll make our big decisions. For now it's all about accomplishing the big task of getting through each day as they come.

Stay On Target...Stay On Target...

On Monday I begin my very last semester as an undergraduate. I also can't believe that in 5 short months I'm going to have a shiny new degree. My class schedule this semester is borderline ridiculous. It's definitely a "filling up the holes in the core curriculum" kind of schedule. For example, it includes Spanish, "Shakespeare for Non-majors," and, of course, don't forget: "Math for the Environment."

Also, because I had to drop my thesis due to my lack of being able to work on it over the break (everyone involved was very understanding) I had to just pick any class that still had a seat left open that would be approved as a class for my major (Environmental Studies). There was one, yes one, class that fit these requirements. So I am now taking a course titled: "The War and the Environment."

The fifth class in my schedule is actually kind of interesting, however. It's called Conservation Trends and it seems to be a small, discussion oriented class about, well, conservation trends. Hence the name.

The important thing is that in 119 short days it will all be over. Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed a lot of my undergrad stay, but I'm ready for it to be over and to get on with life in a world where the average age is over 20.

PSA

I promise I'm not going to blog about diabetes all the time now, because that is obnoxious, but I feel I would be remiss if I did not mention the symptoms. I just don't want anyone to go through the terrifying experiences of my recent hospitalization.

Symptoms of Type 1 diabetes:

• Crazy, intense thirst (remember the juicer?)
• Unexplained (or unjustified) weight loss
• Increased appetite
• Fatigue
• Frequent need to use the restroom
• Nausea, vomiting
• Abdominal pain

So, to sum up, if you experience these symptoms please tell your doctor.

This ends this public service announcement. I now return you to your regular scheduled blogging.

Thank You

Wow, I am so touched by all of the kind words left in my comments and email - and even mentions in some of my favorite blogs! You guys are the best :-)

I plan to blog regularly again, and am looking forward to it.

I said it before, but I'm going to say it again: I wish you all a safe, healthy, happy 2005!

Since Last I Posted...

I was in a coma for a few days, lapsing into it a day or so after my last post. I don't remember any of this, of course, being in the coma, but I guess I was pretty close to not making it for awhile there. But I did, and life is very, very different now in pretty much every possible way. Anyway, it turns out that I have Type I diabetes and apparently have had it since about August. I was in the hospital for about 10 days and during recovery I pretty much lost my eyesight completely making reading and writing impossible.

Happily everything is more or less under control now. Of course I now have to give myself 4 shots a day and I have to be on an extremely strict diet - yes, I'm now a vegan diabetic. The only thing I could do to restrict my diet more is to become Jewish and keep Kosher. Ha ha. The shot thing was extremely difficult for me as I had been known to literally pass out in movies with any type of syringe involvement. But now I can say that I have pretty much overcome one of my biggest phobias and can now fairly easily do things like get immunizations for travel and flu shots and things like this which I never could before.

Aside from medical stuff, I have a few other pieces of news: I got engaged over Christmas, and I got into one of my law schools with a merit scholarship! Yay on both counts :-) Also, J and I will now be staying together which makes us both very happy, but a little anxious about our respective academic careers. The next few months should be very interesting as we work all of this out.

Okay, so I'm happy to be back in the blogosphere and now I'm off to do some commenting.

Happy New Year!

To WB Fans:

Did you catch the Buffy reference during Gilmore Girls last night? I enjoyed it. :)

Wants and Don't Wants

I just want to be jolly. I want to make cookies and go skiing and wrap presents and decorate things. I want to make red and green juice. I want to watch Christmas movies and take walks in the snow with my puppy. I want to know where I'm going to law school next year.

I don't want to write papers or read about economic theories or dissect Dante or do Physics problems. I don't want to try and explain how I'd solve our energy crisis. I don't want to stress about my thesis. I don't want to try and figure out if my applications are complete (why can't every school have an online application checker?)

Thanksgiving

The past three days have made up my Favorite Thanksgiving Ever. I usually hate Thanksgiving, for obvious and not-so-obvious reasons, but this year was really special. Thursday was spent at my sister's and I got to spend lots of time with my niece and nephew. My brother-in-law made a great Indian curry dinner, partially so I wouldn't be left out of the food extravaganza. My mom brought a traditional Thanksgiving dinner from a restaurant because we thought that her parents might not like the Indian food, or would be disappointed if the traditional dishes weren't served, but it turned out they ate as much of the Indian food as the other. They are just full of surprises, those grandparents! Dessert was chocolate pie and key lime pie from the store, pecan pie from my grandma and pumpkin pie from me. Mine was definitely the most popular. I love when mine is the most popular!

Another high point of the holiday was the ton of free clothes that my sister gave me that don't fit her anymore. It was especially nice because I received a lot of compliments on my recent weight loss. I don't remember if I've blogged about this, but I've lost approximately 25 pounds this semester. I'm really short (5'0") so 25 pounds makes quite an impression, both coming and going! It was a goal of mine that I thought wasn't going to happen after my injury, so I'm kind of proud of myself for making it happen.

Anyway, so Friday and Saturday were spent at J's parent's. For once there were very few political or ideological arguments (they are extremely conservative, but not in a religious way) and we just had fun. They have a new puppy, so there were lots of dogs everywhere to keep us all distracted. A high point of this visit was J's dad asking my opinion on things like energy efficiency and land management. I think they are finally figuring out what my major actually is. For awhile there I think they figured I just sat around hugging trees and singing folk songs.

Another free-stuff score during this visit - a major one: A king sized bed to take with me to law school! This has been an unvoiced concern of mine (how to furnish my living space in the new city), with the bed part being a large part. I mean, you can go without a dining room table, even a couch for the living room, but you need a bed. And a desk. The desk part I think I'm going to drop hints for around my birthday/undergrad graduation. Anyway, the bed is pretty cool - you can put these huge water tubes in it and it's sort of like a waterbed. And it will be very fun buying bedding for a huge king sized bed. Plus, this will be an excuse to have to get a house/apartment with a huge master bedroom and those normally have a smaller bedroom I can use for a study. Always thinking, this one.

I'm planning on getting a living space that's a bit above my means when I go away to law school, and here is my justification: I'm going to be moving away all by myself so I think that if I have a nice place to live then while I will still be lonely I can decorate this nice place in comforting ways so it maybe will not be absolutely miserable. Plus, I will be spending a lot of time at home since I won't want to leave the dog alone any more than I need to, so it is important I am very comfortable there - especially since this is where I will be studying. Plus, I'm not very social so I don't spend very much money doing social things, and I also don't buy tons of shoes and stuff. So, this money that I would have spent on these things can be allocated to a higher rent. And for these reasons I can get a pretty little house with a yard and hardwood floors and no one can stop me!

Anyway, I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving and are making fun plans for the upcoming holidays!

Travel

In my engineering class this week we had a guest lecturer from Engineers Without Borders, a group that goes out into remote areas and sets up solar panel systems and water systems and such.

It made me feel like I live in this little plastic box where images of the world are projected onto the sides. And I look at these pictures and I think that I am being educated about the rest of the world, but really I'm just sitting comfortably looking at images.

I've lived in Colorado all of my life, save for one semester and that was in southern Arizona at the Biosphere. I also went to Mexico that semester, which was my one and only time leaving the country. I'd love to travel. To learn about other cultures, yes, but more to live with other types of flora and fauna than I'm used to, and learn all about them. It's a tiny bit selfish, I suppose, but I think that since I've decided to dedicate my life to protecting these animals and plants and their habitats I'd like to be around them and see them with my own eyes.

The law school I would like to attend has a study abroad program. I'm not exactly sure how that would work with law school but I'm definitely going to take full advantage if I have the opportunity. It also says on its website that it places graduates as lawyers in Alaska. I would love to be a lawyer in Alaska! So, there's hope. I think that if you are creative enough you can figure out how to merge the practical and the fanciful in your life and come out happy.

The Future

After some years of being a lawyer and a computer scientist J and I are going to live on an Alaskan cruise ship. By day I will be the ship's naturalist and J will make intelligent robots. By night we'll co-author science fiction novels.

It's good to have a plan.

Christmas Time Is Here - Sort Of

Yesterday I came home from school and did some serious cleaning. I did this for two reasons: One, my little dog is having some allergy issues and I thought maybe clearing out all of the dust might help. And two, so I could decorate for Christmas!

So after I cleaned I braved our walk-in closet which we have recklessly piled with boxes filled with whatever we weren't using at the time. I emerged with a pretty good pile of Christmas stuff which is now prettily decorating our little apartment. I didn't find the lights, however. I love Christmas lights and one year when J and I were both making money I spent a good deal of it on a variety of strands. Colored ones, twinkly white ones, ones that are covered in this brown branchy stuff of various shapes: stars, spheres, etc. Anyway, next I attempt to conquer our "storage space" (basically an outside version of the walk-in closet) to find the rest of our holiday paraphernalia.

Soon we will perform our Winter ritual that officially declares our acknowledgement that it is indeed Christmas Time. We watch our favorite Christmas movies - this year I bought Elf, which we will add to The Grinch and Scrooged. We drink Egg Nog (for him) and Silk Nog (for me), bake gingerbread and various cookies (well, I'll bake - he'll help eat) and wrap presents. Good, clean holiday fun.

If There Wasn't Law School

I have a confession to make. There is a little itty bitty teeny tiny part of me that doesn't want to go to law school. Maybe it is just the burnt out on school part of me.

What else would I do? I probably would go and get an MS in something to do with energy. Or possibly open a vegan restaurant. Maybe a juice bar. That sounds nice :)

Priorities

This week I had a major shift in priorities. Almost 100% of the time school is my all-important #1 priority. It's been this way since I started college more than three years ago. I've chosen to miss many family events and have basically put all of my relationships (other than J, of course - and even he and I basically do nothing but homework) on a back burner. I figured there would be plenty of time to revive those old friendships and spend time with my family once undergrad was over.

Now law school in a whole other state comes after undergrad. With the holidays approaching, my last in the state with my various families, I've more or less subconciously switched around my priorities. I took a whole day off from school to just relax and try to get rid of the leftover stress from last week. Then I took a whole other day off to watch my little niece's Thanksgiving play (oh my gosh, the most unpolitically correct thing I have ever seen in my life) and then just hang out with my mom and sister and little nephew.

I guess I've just had a need to have something more in my life than school right now. Dante will still be there next week.

A Little Less Stress

For the first time in awhile I woke up this morning feeling very little stress. My big event is over, and dispite a few minor glitches it went very, very well. Most importantly, I had people tell me that they not only enjoyed the speaker but they learned some things about the relationships between animal treatment and free trade agreements. So it is all very worth it.

Still, I'm glad it's over. Putting on these events while juggling many other responsibilities is not easy. It will be nice to make some other projects a higher priority. Of course I can't let well enough alone, however: we're setting the wheels in motion for a very big name for next semester. The good news is if I can pull this off I won't have to worry about filling the seats. More about this later as the possibility of success improves.

Another Weekend

I have a busy, stressful, fun weekend ahead of me.

Today I have lots of homework to do, which is not fun but is busy and a little stressful. Tonight, however, I am going with some fun girls to see one of my favorite groups Vox Feminista. They do a different show every six months - this one is called "Pirate the Possible: The Empire Walks the Plank." One of the hooks is: "See sexy live lesbian pirates!" Heh.

Then, tomorrow, finally, my student group's big event will happen. We've promoted this one like no other so here's hoping for a a nice turnout. Of course I'm stressed out about it, but it's pretty much out of my hands now.

Report Requested

My favorite school requested my report today. I hope they like it.

Should I Worry?

None of my schools have requested my reports yet. Should I be worried? Did I miss something?

A Little Perspective

Since procreating is right up there on my list of Things-I'll-Never-Do it was quite surprising to discover that a visitor found my blog with the search phrase pregnancy etiquette announcing

Good luck, random visitor.

Bob Barker Rules

As seen on JD2B, Bob Barker has donated $1 million for an Animal Rights program at UCLA law.

"Animal exploitation happens throughout this country and elsewhere," Barker said. "Animals need all the protection we can give them."

The Bob Barker Endowment Fund for the Study of Animal Rights Law will pay for teaching, research, seminars and lectures. The effort will be led by UCLA professor Taimie Bryant, who teaches a course in animal law.

Watch me as I add one more school to my list!

Patience Is A Virtue?

I am not patient. I am not the type of person who can wait to see if it all "settles itself out." If there's a problem with my phone bill, for example, I will stay on with the phone company for hours to get it straightened out if need be.

Similarly, if someone has done something that makes me upset I will confront them. Not in a mean way (well, depending) but in a let's-fix-it kind of way. I don't like to leave things hanging or festering. I like resolution, results, answers, fixes.

Some people are very quick to get defensive when confronted. I guess this is natural. Still, I prefer talking it all out rather than get a "Fine, whatever" and that's that. It will all just come up again in a day, or a week, or whenever.

I've had a frustrating day.

Who Wouldn't Want This?

I have wanted a juicer for a really long time. But I didn't want a crappy one that would just break or not work well and juicers are kind of expensive. Today I decided that gosh darn it, I deserve a nice juicer. Because I like juice. A lot. I would even go so far as to say that I love juice. Okay, okay - I am crazy for the juice.

I justify this purchase in many different ways. First of all, I buy a lot of juice so I figure I will save money over time since I assume it is cheaper to buy the fruits and vegetables versus the juice I buy now. Second, the juice I buy all comes in plastic containers so this will reduce my plastic usage. Third, juicing will make me happy and relieve stress - hey, life is short. I say if you want to juice, juice.

This is the new juicer:




I haven't decided on a name yet. I will have to wait and see what its personality is like.

Chores To Do

Today, despite feeling crappy (maybe I have the norovirus? Man, I am such a hypochondriac!), I am going out to a farm animal sanctuary to help out for 6 hours or so.

I think it will feel good to get out and do some manual labor for a day. Sometimes this type of activity helps me put things into perspective, in a Zen-like sort of way. Plus, it always feels great to volunteer - especially, for me, anything that involves helping out animals. These particular animals were all rescued from factory farms and the like.

Hopefully I'll be able to post some pictures later. I don't have a digital camera (yet!) but I know some others in my group will be bringing theirs.

Elizabeth Edwards

My heart and thoughts go out to Elizabeth Edwards and her family. It has been reported that she was diagnosed with breast cancer just hours after the concession speech.

Hillary '08

I want Hillary to run in 2008. I think a lot of people want Hillary to run in 2008. However, some of them, and others, think like this:

The former first lady has plenty of name recognition and a wide following. But some analysts suggest she could meet the same fate as Kerry - as a liberal senator from a Northeastern state, despite the years she spent in Arkansas.

"She is a person who has a lot of people wanting her to run. She'll be a strong contender. But she also motivates the base of the opposition," said James Thurber, a political scientist at American University.

Can we please stop wringing our hands over who would "motivate their base"? Why don't we instead speculate over who will be the next best candidate? Or, better, who would be the next best President? I want a Clinton-Obama ticket in '08. Oh, and please: No Jeb Bush!

More Bad News

Just in case you haven't had enough bad news this morning, take a look at this:

The Arctic icecap has shrunk by 15-20 percent in the past 30 years and the contraction is likely to accelerate, Prestrud [vice-chair of the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA) report] said.

The Arctic Ocean could be almost ice-free in summer by the end of the century. Inuit hunters are falling through ice, permafrost is thawing and destabilizing foundations of buildings and vital winter roads while the habitat of creatures from polar bears to seals is literally melting away.

It's Official

I'm a law school applicant!

Cranky

I woke up at 4am and I was cranky. It's now almost 5am and I am still cranky.

I said earlier that I was caring less, and that was true at the time. However, the hyper-overachiever in me has won out yet again, and now the anxiety and stress is bordering on ridiculous. Now, I try not to be negative, and I really don't believe that stress is fundamentally a negative thing. It sure feels negative this morning, though.

Two things that will happen today have potential to help me out. First, I'm submitting my apps. I know, I know, I had a November 1 deadline, but I am only one day late so I forgive myself. Second, the election. Oh, you didn't realize that we're electing the President today? That's okay, you know now. Do I think we'll know who we elected tomorrow? I can only say that I hope so. I hope that there will be a massive, unprecedented voter turn-out and the winner will be undeniable. Hey, I can hope.

Snow!

Continuing a sporadic Colorado tradition, the first snow of the season was last night - just in time for Halloween. Consequently we now have approximately 8 pounds of candy left. Happily I can't eat any of it so that duty falls on J and, eventually, his co-workers.

Holiday Shopping

I have finished a large portion of my holiday shopping. "Demon!" you might say, "but it's only October!" I know, I know. But let me explain. The holiday time is normally very stressful for me, for various reasons. However, I have decided that since this is most likely the last holiday season I will spend with my families I am going to make every effort to make it as stress-free as possible. Hence the early shopping.

I've also decided that if people want J and I to have two Thanksgivings on one day halfway across the state from each other then so be it. They set the times, we load up the car and the puppy and we're there. And if they insist that we "stay over" - hey, it's only one night, right? I will just smile and remember that all of these annoyances will probably be missed next year when I'm far away in another state. Of course J will be there, whether he moves with me or flies out, and we can start new holiday traditions that don't involve us driving hundreds of miles or sleeping in little tiny guest beds.

Caring Less

As times goes on and the impact of any one grade on my GPA decreases I'm finding it harder to get as worked up about things like Dante tests as I once did. However, this has had the effect of my really enjoying the classes I'm interested in. Maybe those students who go to schools without grades like Evergreen have the right idea.

Oh well, just one more undergrad semester to go. My very last registration date at CU is November 3rd, and while I'm not thrilled with the classes (Yet another semester of Spanish...) I don't care so much. My last set of UG hoops will be jumped through, and then: Off to law school where I'm sure there are still hoops, but at least they will be different ones. Maybe they will be sparkly - or on fire.

The Old Weekend

Friday night J and I went to see the opera Cosi Fan Tutte, put on by Master's students at my school. J loves the opera, so depending on our financial situation we go to see 2-10 operas per year. His favorite is Verdi's Aida. Mine is Puccini's Turandot. However, in general I prefer anything by Wagner to just about anything else. The production of Cosi Fan Tutte on Friday was very cute. The set, costumes, acting...Very cute. A weird resume point from the guy who played Don Alfonso: Performed the voices for both Mickey Mouse and Ursula the Sea Witch for Disney movies overdubbed in Arabic.

Saturday I studied for my Dante midterm all day. I'm so not enjoying this class, and studying for this test is like torture. I simply don't care about Florentine politics of the 1300s. I'm usually not a whiney student, but I am entering whine mode for this. Thank goodness it's all over tomorrow.

Sunday I woke up with a pounding headache. Like a hangover, but a not-fair one because I did not even get to drink. Then, instead of finishing my Dante studying, I slept all day.

So now I'm feeling somewhat better but now I have to start my week with studying. This is not my normal way of doing things, but the sickness got in the way. Blah.

Oh, a note for all of you who got your LSAT scores over the weekend: Great job! No matter what number appeared in your inbox, you did it! You took a difficult test. You can now say: I took the LSAT. Lots of people talk about it and never do it, so you are now better than them ;) Just kidding. But seriously, please, stop reading the boards. You know which boards. You are more than your LSAT score.

I voted today! Now will someone please tell my TV?

My Sentiments Exactly

From Jack Bog's blog:

"We vote these clowns back in, we deserve everything we get."

I was thinking along these lines last night, riding the bus home from school. Jack Bog was talking about the deficit, I was thinking about the environment. Apply your own issue - it works with so many.

New Meaning of "Family Jewels"...

From this article on the new and exciting things you can now do with your loved one's remains:

...an Illinois-based company was using science to turn carbon from the cremation process into diamonds for the family of the deceased.

The jewelry, which comes in either gold or blue, gives the family a way to "keep their loved one with them," said Rusty VandenBiesen, chief operating officer for LifeGem.

"People find it a comfort," he said. "A new way to celebrate the life of a loved one."

I think of myself as pretty open minded, but I find this to be beyond creepy.

Where Is The Future Already?

I work on many different computers during the day. I have my home laptop, the desktop in my office at school, various PCs and macs around campus and my boyfriend's desktop at home when I need to print something. I have lots of projects going on and I need to access them at various times and places every day. During previous semesters it has worked to just e-mail myself things and access files either in my inbox or my sent-mail. However, this semester it is not working. I just have too many files to keep track of, especially now with my thesis and its overload of research requirements.

During the past little while I have been using floppies. I know, this seems ridiculously old-fashioned but they seemed to be the most universally accepted so I went with it. The macs at my school have never had floppy drives, but I can't stand macs anyway so that was not such a big deal. However, now they are replacing all of the PCs with non-floppy drive models. Sigh.

Anyway, now I am considering other alternatives. Some students in my engineering class have USB drives. This seems like a very cool alternative. But I need something that is very reliable and I can just throw in my backpack. Does anyone have any experience with these and can give me advice on brand, etc.? Or any other ideas for me?

Update: I ordered this last night and I'm pretty excited about it. Thanks for the advice!

Law School Fair

I have to say it - I love law school fairs. I love law school literature. I love law school pens.

Our law school fair is going on right now and all of the schools on my (current) list are represented so I had a fun time. I think I made a good impression at my #1 choice school. She even said, "See you at admitted students day!" She probably says that to everyone, but it still felt nice.

Chicken Magazine's Answer

Chicken Magazine from Magic Cookie answers the question: "Why Law?"

Just Smile and Nod

Yesterday I was in the office of one of my recommenders talking about, amongst other things, law school applications. She told me this story about a student she had a few years ago that asked her for a letter of recommendation and also for help with his PS. In his first drafts he wrote about how "the law would be good for him, and he would be good for the law." She suggested that he be more specific and show how he was a unique, attractive candidate. He then proceeded to argue with her about her advice. She told me that she ended up writing him a not-very-stunning letter of recommendation. Ouch!

So, the moral of the story is: Just smile, nod, and say thank you!

Balance Unbalanced

You know that feeling you have when you've just taken on more work than you can reasonably handle? I was teetering at the threshold of it all day and was shoved across about an hour and a half ago.

And I was so hoping this week would be relatively pain-free.

On the good news front, though: My resume is now completely updated and ready to be read by anyone whose job it is to evaluate me.

A Breakthrough!

My first PS was crap. It's now trash. However! I now have a first draft of a first essay that I really am pleased with. It was so key for me to write directly as a response to the school's prompt. It's really interesting what a difference it makes to me to have just a little additional structure.

But, oh, the relief! I was starting to feel so bogged down with the incredibly slow rate of progress I was making. I really feel like I'll be able to make my November 1 deadline now, with applications that are decent products.

Next Summer?

So a fellow 0L at my school asked me what I plan on doing next summer. A perfectly reasonable question - and yet it left me speechless with the realization that: There is a next summer. And during this "next summer" I will know where I will be going to law school. And then I will actually go to law school.

I've been so wrapped up in applying to law school that I almost forgot that something will come after the final submit button is pushed.

So, what am I doing next summer? Hopefully a lot of nothing. Hanging out with my boyfriend before the long-distance part of the relationship begins is my only plan. It's a little too overwhelming to think about life after undergrad right now. I think for now I'll just get through Friday and look forward to eating tofu pups and tater tots tonight while watching Debate #2. It really doesn't take much to cheer me up :)

One (Almost) Down

I've successfully filled out one application. It had some strangeness to it - like the question about whether or not my parents are: separated, divorced, married. I wonder if they realize that there are more scenarios than just these three, or if they don't care.

I need to update my resume. I've already decided to break the rule and have it be more than a page long. I'd rather include everything I think needs to be included than to cut things that could potentially make a positive difference.

I'm getting tempted (again) to add more schools back onto my list. After all that work getting them off...

Okay, that concludes my sharing of the perpetual thoughts of applications that run through my head, day in and day out.

Application Questions

It seems that many of us are currently starting the process of actually filling in the actual applications and preparing to send them off. I thought that this would be the simplest part of the whole extravaganza. I was wrong.

I have decided to go with the LSACD On the Web, mainly because going the other way seemed too complicated and there were too many places to get things from, and send things to, and, well, I just wanted it to be easier. So I start filling in the Common Info Form - and everything is going fine at first. My major wasn't listed, but you can fill in your own. Great. Then I get to the High School(!) area and I need to call customer service and ask them what to put there. As an aside, I'm glad that I'm trusting my application to someone who probably makes $5.50 an hour. Anyway, I have a GED, not a HS diploma so I needed some advice. Ultimately, I figured out that part.

But now: Employment history. What to do? I have had a lot of part time jobs, especially before I went back to school. The service representative said to just list what I want and leave the rest off. Is this true? Does anyone have any advice? I in no way want to be less than 100% honest, but I also don't think that they want to know that I worked at Pizza Hut in 1993.

A Draft Completed

I have officially joined the ranks of the Pre-Ls with a personal statement draft. I thought I was going to end up with an analysis of a specific life event, but it's turning out to be more of a narrative of a sequence of life choices. I guess I think it's a decent start.

I keep telling myself: It doesn't have to be perfect, but eventually it has to be done.

It's finally getting done.

Good Luck LSATers!

Good luck and correct-bubble wishes to everyone taking the LSAT today!

The Debate

Bush seemed tired last night. He didn't seem to really care so much about the debate - it was almost as if he wasn't prepped beyond someone telling him to stick to the talking points. Kerry, on the other hand, seemed very 'presidential.' He seemed in control of the situation, he used his time well, he seemed prepared and confident. He also did what I hoped he would do: answer questions clearly. In the past it seemed as if he felt the need to apologize for his actions by way of over explaining them.

This was my favorite moment of the event, from Kerry:

It's one thing to be certain, but you can be certain and be wrong.

It's another to be certain and be right, or to be certain and be moving in the right direction, or be certain about a principle and then learn new facts and take those new facts and put them to use in order to change and get your policy right.

What I worry about with the president is that he's not acknowledging what's on the ground, he's not acknowledging the realities of North Korea, he's not acknowledging the truth of the science of stem-cell research or of global warming and other issues.

And certainty sometimes can get you in trouble.

Off The Grid

This weekend I'm volunteering at the 2004 Tour of Solar and Green Built Homes and it has gotten me excited again about the dream of living Off-grid. What could be better?

First of all: No utility bill.

Second: Getting to build your own wind turbine. How cool is that?

But most importantly: Living with just a little bit more freedom. Knowing that you can provide electricity and climate control for yourself and your family. Knowing that you are decreasing the level of harmful emissions, if even just the tiniest fraction. Lessening your own personal negative impact on your world.

Plus: Being able to proclaim yourself Queen/King of the Hippies and having all other hippies bow down to your green-ness!

Come On, Now...

A funny sign at my school this morning located near the stairs:

SUSTAINABLE ENERGY CONFERENCE

5th Floor - Use Elevator

Moving Right Along

As happens in, you know, life things are ending and things are beginning.

The ended part: My student group had its first event on Friday and it went really well. No technical difficulties, people showed up, the caterers brought fantastic vegan food and we even had the added bonus of a vegan dessert table.

The event itself was a screening of the documentary Peaceable Kingdom with a guest speaker from the film following with a lecture and Q&A. The film was incredibly moving and I think that many in the audience learned something. So, all in all: Success!

The beginning part: I have officially begun a senior's honors thesis which I will defend in April. I'm very excited about the topic (extraterrestrial energy resources and the feasibility of using these on Earth) and about working with my advising team. This is more than likely very boring to others, however, so I will probably write very little about it here.

The stagnant part: The personal statement. Congrats to Janine for finishing a draft! I have a couple of days off of school at the end of this week. I'm feeling confident about making progress during this long weekend. No, really.

Why Law?

Anna Ivey from Vault.com helps applicants answer the question: "Why Law?"

Why are you going to law school? Or if you're already there why did you go? If you have a blog entry that answers this question let me know. I'd like to gather them all together and put them on the side bar.

It's Finally Here!

Happy Fall Day Everyone!

Am I The Only One?

Am I the last to complete the personal statement? I'm about to resort to the plan where I lock myself away somewhere with my laptop and resolve not to come out until I have a decent first draft. The logical to-do-list-obsessed part of me is screaming, "Just write it! Just do it! It's not going to get any easier! Do you realize it's September 21st already? Do you?"

I will write it. I swear. After I write my Dante paper. And my engineering paper. Oh, and after I study for my Econ test. Maybe this weekend...

A Little Sad

Two young kids, one from Colorado State University and one from my school CU Boulder, died recently. In each case the mostly likely cause of death was alcohol poisoning. The girl from CSU apparently drank the equivalent of 40 beers in 11 hours. She reportedly posted on her blog that day that she was going to "get extremely wasted" (or wording very similar) that night.

The boy was a frat pledge at my school who had just won a spot on the lacrosse team and supposedly told his mother earlier that the day had been one of the best of his life.

The alcohol culture at my school is extremely pervasive. I think it is incredibly scary and sad when 18 and 19 year olds feel like they have to apologize for not drinking. I think it is pathetic that the kids that come to class on Fridays with hangovers are seen as "cool." Yeah, yeah, it's all part of the "college experience." But why? Why does drinking necessarily have to be a part of every young person's life?

Maybe some of the young people on these campuses will have that realization where they think, "It could have been me!" and have one less shot of tequila or 5 less beers next time. Maybe.

Invites

I have some gmail invites. Let me know if you want one.

A Living Final

I'm pretty sure I was somebody's final exam today. I went in for my physical therapy - for my syndromed knee and sprained ankle - and much to my surprise I was therapied by a student. There was a lot of Socratic method being bandied about between doctor and student and way too much poking and prodding with nervous, cold hands.

I think maybe before a doctor's office has a new patient be a living final they might ask first. Or at least inform them that they are going to be looked at by someone who may or may not be competent. Just a thought.

I just hope she passed.

Fall Day

Fall Day may just be my favorite holiday. It signals the end of the go-go-go mentality of Summer and the start of settling into a few months of snuggly weather and hibernation behavior. Coffee and cider in the evenings with new TV, wearing a favorite sweater for the first time since early Spring, that satisfying feeling of long hours studying while the cold wind is blowing leaves around outside. That burnt orange and brown and yellow colors that are suddenly everywhere one day. The first snow of the season. The first big snow of the season. Cooking with pumpkins and squashes and apples and cinnamon. The holiday times when everyone's kind of nice.

Eight more days until the day!

Learning Latin

Instead of starting a new book I've decided to try and teach myself Latin. I've gotten through the first five units of the book/audio combo. So far it hasn't been too difficult, and is actually very satisfying. It's nice attempting to learn a language without the constant threat of oral exams and presentations.

I have a fascination with obscure languages. Latin is probably the most practical of the languages I'm most interested in learning. My boyfriend only wants to learn languages that we can actually, you know, communicate with others in. How provincial! ;-)

The tops of my language to-do list are Welsh and Latin. His are Portuguese and Japanese. We settled on Chinese (Mandarin) . Mostly because we want to watch Kung Fu movies without the subtitles.

Wicked

The last time I can remember being truly sad at having reached the end of a book was the first time I read the Hobbit. Don't get me wrong, I've loved lots of books in between, but that feeling of remorse as the right hand side pages decrease in number is unique. This most recent book to hit me where it hurts is Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire.

I love the cleverness that can arise from looking at a story or situation from a relatively minor character's point of view. I also believe that analyzing a "good" or "evil" character in order to find the grey areas of their morals and personality is an excellent exercise. Probably one that should be practiced in real life as well.

Anyway, this book follows the life of the Wicked Witch of the West from the Wizard of Oz from her birth to her death. One aspect of the story that particularly appealed to me was the Witch as a defender of Animal rights. I could feel her pain when she looked around with bewilderment at how Animals in her world were treated, and wondered why no one else noticed - or if so, didn't care. She doesn't use the word "humanity" because to her, to be human is to be capable of the most horrendous acts imaginable. "That's all I want," she asserts at one point in the story, "to do no harm." Again - relatable.

A beautiful story that looks at "evil" and wonders if it really is.

In The Presence of Celebrity

Okay, check it out: Sarah from MTV's Road Rules 11 Campus Crawl is in my Physics class. I'm not kidding you. She just joined the class on Tuesday - after the first homework was due. If I had been paying attention in the hall before class I would have recognized her and offered to give her the assignment, but I didn't. Damn.

Anyway, I've decided I'm going to sit a couple of rows behind her and pretend I'm watching TV. Every time I look at her I get the Road Rules song in my head. You know the one: Doo dee doo, these are the road rules...Hum dee dum, here are the road rules...

Okay, well I don't actually know the song. I do know that this whole minor celebrity extravaganza is going to make physics class much more entertaining.

One Answer

Kristine at Divine Angst provides her answer to the question: "Why Law?"

An excerpt:

Because it's interesting to me, it will allow me to do things I enjoy (like write and research), I'm definitely qualified, and there's a chance—a pretty big one—that when I'm out, I'll actually be able to get a job related to my graduate education.

New Glasses

Did you know that trees have individual leaves? Not just close up, but far away, too? Did you know that it is possible to drive at night? How about reading for more than an hour without getting a blinding headache? These are just some of the things I have learned from my new glasses in the past two days. I have also learned that magnetic clip-on sunglasses are just about the coolest things you can put on your face.

Here's to right angles!

Gmail

Thanks to stag I am now the owner of a gmail account and can gladly get rid of my old Yahoo! account. Be the first to send me a gmail! You know you want to! whylaw at gmail.com

Oh, the drama of it all...

So it turns out my knee has an actual condition. A syndrome, if you will. I guess it's pretty common and is also called "runner's knee." Still, it's been a pretty sucky week because of it. It started hurting very badly during my sports conditioning class on Tuesday - and just kept on hurting. It started freaking me out so I decided to go in and see a specialist. This is where I found out about my syndrome - and how I have to start physical therapy, and how I can no longer go to the gym classes I love - again! I guess it doesn't sound like such a big deal, but I'm pretty bummed out about it. I've found some new classes that are within my new, limited capabilities but I don't think they will be nearly as fun. Plus they don't as well with my schedule. Still, I'll make the best of it and hope that I'll be better soon.