The Philosophy of Pre-Finals

I feel like I should commemorate this time of my life with a post (that's the whole plot of the blog right). But I have nothing meaningful to say. My mind is a blurs of meaningless legal terms that I need to sort out in my mind so when they come out on paper (computer) for the final, I don't seem as insane as I am. Trust me. I'm. Insane. And we are still a week out from finals. One. Freaking. Week.

Many prayers would be appreciated and a post on fun things that Kyle and I have done before my hibernation for finals started and on thanksgiving will come after finals. For now, just listen to "I'll be home for Christmas" on repeat and you will know understand the only thing getting me through finals.

Philosophy of a Memo

Why I have not posted in a while...

The Philosophy of a Hurricane

I'm not going to lie, I wish I was on the East coast, so I could be cuddled up in my pj's listening to a storm with no power (instead of at a library in my pjs, reading CivPro).  School would be canceled for the week and I would use the time to get ahead.  Sigh.  I guess I will just have to deal with the 75 degrees and sunny that it is in Lubbock (yup, we are back to warm weather, my sinuses cannot handle this, I wish it would just pick a season.) and be very glad that I am safe (I don't actually find anything about the hurricane funny or desirable, it is devastating). The song "She's Like Texas" by Josh Abbott has a line "her moods can change like the weather out in Lubbock"...um truth.  (Side note, that song makes my mom tear up.  I think because I have green eyes and live in Lubbock).

In all seriousness though, I am praying hard for all of my friends in D.C. or New York (or anywhere on the East Coast). And can we please just take a moment to ponder this.

These are the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, standing outside in a HURRICANE. Can you believe this? Please stop what you're doing and say a prayer for them.  I started tearing up myself when I saw this picture.  Arlington Cemetery was always my favorite place to go when I lived in DC.  I would wander around for hours by myself, pondering the lives of the names on the identical grave markers, wondering about the courage that they had to give their lives for something greater than themselves.  For me and for every American.  It is such a humbling experience.  I would wonder about their lives, who they left behind, who placed the flowers on their graves, what their stories were.  I would always end up at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and watch the changing of the guard.  Once I saw a group of veterans watching.  These old men were in wheel chairs, and when the change of the guard occurred, every single one of them stood for those soldiers, refusing help from anyone.  And tonight the soldiers they stood for continue to stand in a hurricane for the unknown. God Bless them and watch over them as the storm hits. 

Philosophy of Procrastination

Right now I am doing anything, except for writing my memo.  I have cleaned my apartment.  I have done all my reading.  I have listened to the new Taylor Swift CD (yessssssss).  I have done my dishes (all of my 14 coffee cups were dirty. I wish I was kidding).  I have listened to the new Taylor Swift CD (did I already mention that? Well I've done it 5 times...). I have watched the Pretty Little Liars Halloween special (o.my.gosh. why do I always watch them alone?) while eating Popeye's.  And now I am writing this because Katria told me she didn't know what was going on in my life without a blog update (we text everyday, how is it we never actually talk about what's going on?).

I think winter is about to hit hard here in Lubbock.  At least for the next few days.  And by hard, I mean 50s.  But I think it is actually supposed to freeze Saturday morning.  Or at least that's what my iphone weather channel app tells me.  So of course, it is time for duck slippers.

My parents are coming in tomorrow morning.  I am super excited.  I haven't seen them since I moved here.  It is Family and Friends day at the law school.  It makes me feel like middle school, but I don't even care.  Plus some of the married guys are bringing their kids.  so.  exciting.  (One of the mormons brought his 8 month old baby the other day and I got to hold him.  He was born like 4 months premature or something and so he is tiny!). I don't know how they do this with families.

This is what professional school is doing to us. 

Because nothing else exciting is going on in my life {except losing my lunch box (found it in the printer room of the library) and my keys (found them under the passenger seat in Kyle's car)}, here are pictures of pumpkins.

I guess I'll get back to that memo...

The Philosophy of Negotiations Week

This has been, by far, the hardest week of law school.  Which I will get to in a bit, but first, Gardsky's.  Kyle and I have been told by multiple people that Lubbock has the most restaurants per capita (is that the right term?) than any other city.  Which apparently people take to mean they also have the best restaurants (definitely debatable, with a very strong argument on the side that this is false).  We have been fairly disappointed with every local restaurants {it just took me five times to spell that word correctly, embarrassing.  Last Friday we tried a place called Gardski's.  I was craving Chili's salsa all day, so my suggestion was Chili's.  But Kyle was definitely not in the mood for what he calls "bad frozen food", so me, in my selfless way, gave in to Gardski's {full disclosure, we ordered chips and salsa to go from Chili's later that evening as a condition of me giving in}.  So Gardski's.  Apparently it is one of the oldest buildings in Lubbock (or the oldest restaurant in Lubbock, something like that).  It is in this really old quaint house that I fell in love with.  We ate upstairs and had a rather quirky waiter.  I loved my food (steak), but I don't think Kyle was too impressed with his.  It serves American food primarily I think (hamburgers, steaks, chicken, etc.) and was not expensive at all (yay for students!).  I definitely think it was the best restaurant we've found so far.  http://gardskisloft.com/

Isn't it wonderful?
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Now to this past week. It was awful. Just plain awful.  Tech Law is fairly well known for their Mock Trial, Moot Court, and Negotiations teams.  This week was the intra-school competition for Negotiations for the 1Ls.  I wasn't going to do it, but I thought if I didn't I might regret not participating. So I signed up with a partner, thinking erroneously that it was a one day competition {it was an entire week}.  The prelim rounds were three straight days.  And then there was a "break" where the teams with the most points moved on, and then single elimination after that.  Well my partner and I did much better than I expected {we barely put any effort into it} and we not only broke, but we made the semi-finals.  Exciting right? No. I hated it.  Because I did not get home earlier than 10 o'clock any night this week.  Not too late right? Unless you still have 5 hours of reading to do for school, which you cannot slack on, because, well, it's law school.  Every time it was announced that we won, I cursed a little.  I was so ready to just lose and be able to focus primarily on school and actually get some sleep again.  I felt slightly bad because my partner was obviously more into it than I was and was disappointed when we lost in the semifinals {I thanked the team that beat us}.  I also was grumpy because I did an online quiz that was due on Wednesday last Saturday, got a 100 on it, and then forgot to press "Done" so it was late.  grrrr. stupid me.  So this past week pretty much sucked.  I am glad that I did negotiations in the end {primarily because I won't be tempted to try Mock Trial or Moot Court in the spring}.  But I am so glad it is over.  Side note, the team that knocked us out in the semifinals ended up winning the whole thing.  Good for them.  

In celebration of me getting my life back {as much as is possible in law school} and in celebration of Fall, Kyle and I had a fall date last night.  We went to a pumpkin patch {pumpkins lined up on the side of the road} and got pumpkins to carve!  In full disclosure, I couldn't bare to cut my pumpkin; it was far too round and perfect and happy.  But I did help Kyle with his, and the seeds are on my counter so that I can attempt to roast them later.  I also have two baby pumpkins.  Kyle laughed at me.  While we carved our pumpkins, we watched my annual Fall movie, "You've Got Mail".  If you have never seen it, drop what you are doing and go rent it.  It is by far the best Fall movie or movie about New York ever.  Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, and book stores.  What could be better?  In that movie Meg Ryan talks about reading Pride and Prejudice over and over (guilty) and how Anne of Green Gables made her cry (guilty).  I pretty much just want to be her in that movie.  

"Don't you just love New York in the Fall?"
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"I wanted it to be you."
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So that was my week.  Rough.  Glad it is over.  Who would have thought that I would be looking forward to just a normal week of law school? Weird.  

The Philosophy of What I would Do

Let me preface this post with the fact that I really am enjoying law school.  I actually find all of the material (sans torts), to be very interesting.  I wouldn't trade what I am doing now for anything.  HOWEVER, that being said, when I am up at 1 a.m. finishing briefing my fiftieth case that day I can't help but sometimes think of the things that I would be doing if I wasn't in law school.  Granted, if I was not in law school I would have a job and I still would not have time for some of these things.  So let's say that realistically this is what I would do if I had zero responsibilities in the world.

1. Sleep. This is probably the thing that I miss the most.  I am usually going on five hours of sleep, maybe six.  Totally not healthy.  I got so spoiled this summer sleeping for nine, ten, eleven hours uninterrupted.  Back then waking up at eight o'clock was cruel and unusual punishment and sleeping in meant waking up in the afternoon.  Now a days I wake up at 6  (okay, 6:30 if you count the five snoozes I have to go through to wake up). On Saturdays I allow myself to sleep until nine, and I feel guilty doing it.  
2. Craft. So many things on pinterest calling my name. 
3. Cook.  I have never enjoyed cooking.  But I have found a lot of simple and easy recipes (primarily via blogs or pinterest) that I started to enjoy making.  I was getting to the point where stuff that I cooked was almost edible and then law school started.  Now, if it cannot be made in a crock pot or microwave, I probably do not eat it.  
4. Read for fun.  Oh how I miss the days when a lazy Sunday afternoon meant curling up on the couch or laying out by the pool with a new book that just smelled like adventure (yes, I smell books, what of it?).  Now leisurely reading equates to reading a case that I don't have to look up terms in my law dictionary. 
5. Watch T.V. I watch an episode of Friends or Gilmore Girls while I eat dinner (Kyle is such a trooper to watch them with me).  But I usually do not get to just plop in front of the T.V. and mindlessly watch anything I want.  I desperately miss the horrible reality t.v. shows me and MOH are shamelessly addicted to.  There's just something about watching a show about crazy people that just makes you feel better about your life.  And Brideday Friday on TLC? We shed many a tear when the brides finally said yes to the dress.  I watched the season premiere of How I Met Your Mother during my dinner break today and it made me miss t.v.  Part of this is the fact that I don't have cable, but 90% is a lack of time.  I will have to figure out how to fit in my Gossip Girl and NCIS though when they come back. 
6. Read Blogs.  The whole inspiration in me writing a blog was to aspire to be half as interesting as the people whose blogs I stalk  read on a regular basis.  
7. Have a spotlessly clean apartment.  I'll admit it, the apartment is only marginally clean.  The health department doesn't need to be called or anything, but half of my wardrobe may or may not be on the floor in my bedroom just right now.  Who has time for hanging up clothes though when you have cases to brief?! I will also admit to leaving clean laundry in my dryer and just pulling them out as I need them.  A guy in my class told us that he did this and all the girls around judged him.  Except me.  Because I am just as guilty. 

So these are the things I miss about life outside of law school.  Again, I wouldn't trade it for the world; I am loving it.  And no, I wouldn't be out saving the world if I had more free time; I'd be making homemade Fall decorations for my apartment while watching Toddlers and Tiaras marathons.  Yes, I am serious. 

The Philosophy of Cold

The title of this post could mean two things: cold weather or a cold as in sneezing, coughing, and head congestion.  Whichever way you read it, you would be right.  It is cold in Lubbock, and I have a cold.  Gross right? Both of those.  First of all, I am just SHOCKED that it is chilly here in Lubbock.  I mean this is Texas right?  It's SEPTEMBER. We don't have SEASONS! We have summer.  Yes, I knew it got cold in Lubbock.  I knew the wind chill made Lubbock miserable.  I knew it snows.  But I didn't know it started in SEPTEMBER!!! Okay, maybe I'm being melodramatic.  For two days it has been in the 50s/60s.  But in September?! In Texas?!? Might as well be snowing.

I also have a cold.  It's been coming on slowly and I knew it was inevitable.  I attempted to fight it off by taking ridiculous amounts of Vitamin C pills, but the lack of sleep combined with the germs of other law school students were too much.  Last night I pathetically took Nyquill and tried to sleep in a bit, which only stresses me out more because it takes away valuable study time.  Kyle's been a trooper.  He has a cold too, although you would never know because he doesn't complain.  I, on the other hand, am admittedly the most annoying, pathetic, dramatic sick person to ever think she's dying of a common cold.  I have this incessant need to seek pity by telling Kyle (or my mom if I happen to be at home), "I'm siiiiiick", just in case they couldn't gather that from the massive mounds of tissues surrounding me, the chicken and stars I beg them to make me, or the other groaning noises I make (yes, chicken and stars tastes different than chicken noodle).  Judging my patheticness?  I never claimed to be a well-adjusted, mature sickling.

The Philosophy of Aggie Football

Aggie football.  I miss it.  Growing up baseball was the sport of my house.  We never really threw the pig skin around.  It was definitely a "grab your glove and let's play catch" household.  Nonetheless, college football has found a special place in my heart during the last four years.  The crisp fall air (or in College Station for most of the season, the muggy-its-still-summer air). The jerseys, the crowds, the yelling.  I miss it all.  Every saturday in college I would wake up, don my Aggie jersey, boots, and hairbow, and make my way to Kyle Field to cheer as the 12th Man with Kyle.  This Saturday, I woke up, donned my jersey, boots, and hairbow, and couldn't make my way to Kyle Field.  It was depressing.  (okay, actually I just wore an Aggie Tshirt, no hairbow, and no boots, but that wasn't nearly as clever writing).  Instead I watched the game with other Aggie Tech law students.  Which was nice.  We still cheered on our 12th Man and complained that we ran out of time when we lost.  But we couldn't drown our sorrows at Northgate afterwards and the fact that I had to go home and write a legal memo afterwards just reminded me that I was not in College Station, TX as an undergrad anymore.  I was in Lubbock, TX and still had a lot of reading and briefing to do (wamp wamp).  Nothing makes me miss College Station more than Aggie Football.

This is what I watched over and over again instead of doing my reading Saturday morning before the game.

Philosophy of Sundays

This is what I'm doing today.  Coffee and Contracts (and Civil Procedure and Torts).  Coffee makes it okay though. 

Philosophy of My Apartment

This apartment in Lubbock is the first one that I've rented unfurnished, which was very exciting for me because that meant I got to show off my personality in it! I have always been obsessed with interior decorating and despite being on a law school budget, I feel like my apartment really reflects me. Here are some of my favorite parts!

These chairs (I have two) were given to me by family friends. They are soooo comfortable and are perfect for reading the law.

Kyle and I found the frame from an Amish furniture store the last time I went to Amarillo with him. It was the only thing we could afford in the whole store haha.

This is legitimately the only reason I have time to eat. Thanks mom!

My roommate my senior year at A&M made this for me for my graduation! Isn't she crafty?! She's also my MOH and this reminds me that even though I'm not in college station anymore, it'll always be in my heart :)

The posters came with me from college dorm life but I just love them so much! I put them in frames to give them a bit more of a grown up feeling.

Coffee is a must for law school. And this is my coffee corner. Along with the Aggie football schedule on my chalk board!

I have to represent my Aggies here in this Red Raider town! I found this clock at the Aggie Mom boutique last year. Confession: it still needs batteries.

I stripped and repainted that cabinet! I'm quite proud of it!

Target bookcase filled with all my old philosophy books and some new law ones. It makes me feel so studious.
All in all I love spending time in my apartment. I feel like it is really mine and very homey. I can't wait until winter so I can use my fireplace!!

The Philosophy of Week 1

The best description of law school I have heard is from a guy in my class’ facebook status.  We’ve all been commenting on how we feel like we are studying for finals every night, but he took it a step further and I could not agree more. 

"Law school is sort of like studying for a small final everyday, then finding out when you aren't called on the next day that the final has been moved to day after that...over completely new material."

Remember how Kyle thought that law school was a parody of itself? The big scary case books you see on tv?  Reality.  The scary old men professors who make you stand when talking?  Reality.  The terror you feel every time the professor calls a name and the relief you feel when it isn’t you?  Reality.  The sleepless nights? Reality. 

And it’s only week one.

My life is now consumed with cases and briefs.  And yellow legal pads (I’ve already filled up half of one for each class). And I’m absolutely loving it.  I forgot how much I missed studying.  Yes, I am a nerd.  I’m okay with that though.

 I have a routine that I think I will try to stick to.  I’m at school until 4 every day, go run, eat dinner, then head back to the library.  The only thing I need to work on is getting finished earlier so I can get some sleep.  Otherwise I will crash pretty quickly (like I did Friday night; law school is tiring).  Also, I will have some great muscles after this is over.  My books weigh 38 pounds. 

The Philosophy of Lubbock

So pause on the wedding planning for a bit (maybe for a while; law school is busy!).  Two weeks ago I moved to my new home for the next four years.  Lubbock, TX.  Not going to lie, it has been a rough transition.  I was never too excited about moving to Lubbock or going to Tech law school, but moving to Lubbock and going to Texas Tech meant that I could stay in the same city as Kyle and not do the long distance thing and get married :).  Very worth it. Plus I found this prayer that has really been helping me.  "Dear God, I have tried my best, but if today I lose my hope please remind me that your plans are greater than my dreams".  What a way to put things in perspective, especially in a world that is so goal oriented (myself included).  Sometimes we let our goals and our dreams blind us so much that we forget the other important aspects of our lives and forget to ask God to be a part of them.  I taped that prayer on my mirror and see it every day. Despite the daily reminder, it hasn't been easy. I miss my family; spending all summer with them made me miss them more than I did when I left for college.  I miss College Station.  A lot. 

But the sadness is over.  I am knee deep into law school stress by now, and who knows how long the blog thing will last. Here's an update on what I have been doing since I got here and in the week before my torture law school began (in case you care). 

Kyle's White Coat Ceremony

My wonderful fiance started Medical School and had his White Coat Ceremony.  It was long and somewhat boring as they read the names out and the audience awkwardly clapped (should we clap when the name is called, while the coat is put on, or as they walk away?).  But I could not be more proud of my fiance, the future doctor.  He's doing really well and in a weird way is enjoying med school so far!

Kyle's Family Reunion

It was my first family reunion and lots of fun! We got to spend time with his parents, sisters and wonderful niece and see a lot of the extended family, a lot of whom I've never met before.  It was very cool seeing the gianormous family tree and all of the history in his family.  Lots of Aggies too!

Apartment

After four and a half days of living out of boxes I finally unpacked and decorated my apartment.  I am actually quite proud of the apartment (maybe someday I'll post pictures).  At the beginning of the summer I had no furniture whatsoever, but thanks to the generosity of my family and family friends I got away with only buying a coffee table and bookshelf (both of which were put together by my dad and Kyle).  Despite the mismatched furniture, I think the apartment has turned out pretty decent and ALMOST resembles an adult apartment. Almost.

Law School Orientation

This was three days of "STUDY VERY HARD, but live a normal, balanced life, BUT REALLY ONLY STUDY, but don't die".  No, but seriously, they read us a news article about a guy who was in his third year of law school and had a brain aneurism in the middle of his conlaw final and died.  Cheery right? 

Law School

Maybe my perspective will change after this first week is over, but so far law school is exactly like what they say it is.  Kyle told me yesterday, "So much of law school seems like a parody of law school".  I think he was referring specifically to my 38lbs of books (yes I weighed them) that I was lugging around in a backpack and giant duffle bag (yes, every day this semester I will be doing the same thing).  But so far nobody has cried in my class.  Or died.  That's something right?

The Philosophy of the Saying Yes...to the Dress!

Kyle and I are really trying to focus on the wedding being a Sacrament, but the actual event has a lot of fun things that need to be planned that have nothing to do with marriage as a sacrament and everything to do with the wedding being the one day every girl plans from the time she is old enough to realize wedding dresses are basically just a grown up girl's excuse to dress like a princess and not be mocked (long sentence yes).  Speaking of dressing like a princess...the dress...it's the biggest kept secret of almost every wedding, and also one of the most talked about details.  And while I know what dress I wear won't generate as much speculation as my favorite bride's (Kate Middleton, that's you), I like to think that at least Kyle has some anticipation of what I will choose (or chose, since I already did). 

Don't we wish we could all be Kate Middleton?
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That's right, I picked a dress! It was one of the first things my Mom pushed me to do in the wedding planning process.  In fact pretty much as soon as I was engaged she was ready to put me into tulle.  I decided to wait a few weeks...or months (yes, I am a procrastinator) and I needed to just wrap my head around being engaged and let it sink in for a bit.  Plus I'm not getting married for a year and a half and I was afraid that anything I would pick this early I wouldn't like that far away.  But suddenly I was ready.  MOH Rachel drove up from Austin for a couple of days and we hit up two Bridal shops that day.  I didn't make a decision that day, but after three or four sporadic days with my mom and sister-in-law hitting up random bridal boutiques, and trying a particular dress on literally five separate times at two different places, I finally decided on it. I am a particularly indecisive person (I am lucky that I love Kyle so much and saying yes to him was so easy). Saying yes to the dress was much more difficult.  I literally had mini panic attacks about it late at night and have legitimately lost sleep over it.  Here was my dilemma: I loved the dress.  But I hadn't tried on every single dress in the world yet!  Sound over dramatic?  Yes. But I like to exhaust my options before making a decision.  What if I found a dress I liked even more?  What if I hated it in a year and a half?  What if it wasn't truly THE DRESS?  Once I realized that there was not actually ONE dress that was made from all eternity just for me (dress fate does not actually exist), I also realized that if my dress was suddenly discontinued before I made up my mind I would be exceptionally sad and of all the dresses I had tried on so far (a lot) this was the only one that I truly loved.  So I took my measurements and in true TLC obsessed fashion, said "Yes to the dress".  And then I had an hour long panic that I chose wrong.  But after rambling on and on to my mom and sister-in-law, I suddenly realized I sounded like a crazy person, and to save me and the other women in my house from going legitimately crazy, I stopped.  I am now perfectly happy with my dress, I love it, and cannot wait to wear it. (No details being given out at all, I want everyone, especially Kyle to be surprised)  And like every bride-to-be, I am imagining situations in which it will be socially acceptable to wear my beautiful wedding dress more than just one.  So far I've got nothing. 

The Philosophy of the Proposal!

I would be lying if I said I didn’t know it was coming.  For one thing, we had talked about it.  For another, my dad had told me Kyle had asked him (he’s not too great at secret keeping from his favorite daughter).   When I went to College Station for Ring Dance (basically Aggie Prom), I had a feeling it would happen that weekend, specifically that Friday.  But I had my doubts.  Kyle had stumbled upon a text message that I sent saying I was expecting it on Friday.  I thought maybe he would change his plans.  He had told me he was planning the whole weekend (an anomaly) and I couldn’t know what was happening (which drove this type A personality nuts).  When I got there he said he had a meeting with someone on campus and I had to entertain myself for a bit.  I later found out he was picking up the ring!  That night he took me to a very romantic dinner at a place called Christopher's and then we drove around College Station, visiting all of our special places.  He took me to the Hall (RIP) where we had our first date.  He took me to the Spoons parking lot where he asked me out, the Sonic where he told me he loved me, Lake Bryan, my old dorm. Our last stop was Adoration, something we used to do on dates.  He was running out of time and I figured if he didn’t propose then he wouldn’t that weekend.  He didn’t. The next day my roommate was quite upset, saying "HE CAN'T DO ALL OF THAT AND NOT PROPOSE".  I think she may have been more upset than me.  I knew it was coming eventually, so I didn't panic.  

He did, however, tell me we were going to take pictures at the Aggie Barn with my brother and his girlfriend (bm Jessie) the next day. A little back story on the Aggie Barn:  This little barn between Waco and College Station was a point of contention with Kyle and me once.  On the way to the A&M at Baylor game one year I wanted to stop and take pictures since we were two hours early.  Kyle refused to stop, citing the traffic we would run into, which we never did.  Two years later I still had not gotten my Aggie Barn pictures, something that was on my Aggie Bucket List.   Now in our conversations about proposals, Kyle always made clear that nobody would be there but us and there would be no photographer.  So Kyle proposing in front of my older brother was something I just didn’t think would happen.  I had given up on that weekend and figured it would happen in due time.  So I got all dolled up and headed to the barn. Once we got there we realized there was a sign saying “No Trespassing” and a number to call if we wanted to take pictures.  We called the number and nobody answered.  Kyle still really wanted to go ahead.  Kyle never breaks the rules, so that was my first clue.  As we were taking the pictures, I could hear Kyle’s heart beating really loudly.  That was my other clue.  It still did not sink in until he turned to me and got on one knee.   My Aggie Barn pictures were  worth the wait, because they came with a question that I was dying to say yes to!  

Before He proposed. Can you see his hand in his pocket? I could hear his heart beating loudly.

"I have one more pose for us to do".  

The Philosophy of Engagements...Part Two!

Ironic that the last post I wrote was about all of my friends becoming engaged. Because now I am! I officially suck at this blogging thing, but here goes attempt numero dos.  This may turn into a wedding blog.  Or it may not.  Or I will discontinue the blog until my next bout of creative inspiration.  We shall see. But I will attempt to keep this up (through law school? Ambitious I know…), starting with the engagement story next time! Because it would be nice to look back in fifty years and remember the crazy days of wedding planning.