I'll admit it - I already loved Ellen Degeneres, so it's not a huge surprise that I also loved this video:
But every time I watch it I find it more and more inspiring. I think that's all I need to say, as her common-cement speech speaks for itself. But I loved it so much I had to share.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Pieces
My life, for the moment, involves pieces of me that feel scattered everywhere.
At work I still care about the people around me, and I still have a month or so left, so I am not completely checked out yet. But there's definitely a piece of me that is taking it slower and thinking about how I'll find a job once I get to Boston.
Really, if I could do anything right now, it would be to sit on my sister's couch and hold my new nephew and constantly exclaim how cute he is every time he scrunched his face and kicked his legs while dreaming.
But at the same time, I feel like Hubby won't be this relaxed in two years and I would love to spend more time with him enjoying the summer and our last few weeks in Chicago.
I'm still struggling with not having my 'stuff' either. I would like to think I'm not materialistic. And I'm not in the sense that I think of most of my stuff as being easily replaceable. But when you have to live for two months in temporary housing, it's your own 'stuff' that you end up missing quite often. I think "oh, if only I had my x, life would be so much more convenient right now." Perhaps I am a bit entitled to feel that way. If my dumbass neighbor hadn't been smoking in his bed, then I would not have to deal with this inconvenience and I could still be enjoying all of my 'stuff' without a second thought. Apparently my 'stuff' carried a bigger piece of me than I thought it did.
Which, by the way, with the temporary housing and the generic furniture in that housing, and the lack of personal effects around the apartment, definitely reinforces the feeling that the next few months are just something of a place keeper. I'm here, but just for a bit, and in reality, I'm halfway there.
With all the pieces of me kind of floating out there, I'm feeling more pulled in different directions than normal. And I'm finding it difficult these days to do much more than just try to get through the next 24 hours. Which also makes me feel like there's some piece of me that is missing - that somehow in all the hubbub with our lives that a piece of me actually just floated away somewhere. I misplaced it maybe. Or perhaps the movers packed it up because it had gotten soggy with the sprinklers. Or maybe it's waiting for me in Boston, I just left it in the new apartment by accident. Either way, I hope that I can start to feel more like my whole self in August so that I can set up a new life in Boston without feeling like something is missing.
For now, here's to tiptoeing through life and trying to hang on to the pieces of me that I can still account for.
At work I still care about the people around me, and I still have a month or so left, so I am not completely checked out yet. But there's definitely a piece of me that is taking it slower and thinking about how I'll find a job once I get to Boston.
Really, if I could do anything right now, it would be to sit on my sister's couch and hold my new nephew and constantly exclaim how cute he is every time he scrunched his face and kicked his legs while dreaming.
But at the same time, I feel like Hubby won't be this relaxed in two years and I would love to spend more time with him enjoying the summer and our last few weeks in Chicago.
I'm still struggling with not having my 'stuff' either. I would like to think I'm not materialistic. And I'm not in the sense that I think of most of my stuff as being easily replaceable. But when you have to live for two months in temporary housing, it's your own 'stuff' that you end up missing quite often. I think "oh, if only I had my x, life would be so much more convenient right now." Perhaps I am a bit entitled to feel that way. If my dumbass neighbor hadn't been smoking in his bed, then I would not have to deal with this inconvenience and I could still be enjoying all of my 'stuff' without a second thought. Apparently my 'stuff' carried a bigger piece of me than I thought it did.
Which, by the way, with the temporary housing and the generic furniture in that housing, and the lack of personal effects around the apartment, definitely reinforces the feeling that the next few months are just something of a place keeper. I'm here, but just for a bit, and in reality, I'm halfway there.
With all the pieces of me kind of floating out there, I'm feeling more pulled in different directions than normal. And I'm finding it difficult these days to do much more than just try to get through the next 24 hours. Which also makes me feel like there's some piece of me that is missing - that somehow in all the hubbub with our lives that a piece of me actually just floated away somewhere. I misplaced it maybe. Or perhaps the movers packed it up because it had gotten soggy with the sprinklers. Or maybe it's waiting for me in Boston, I just left it in the new apartment by accident. Either way, I hope that I can start to feel more like my whole self in August so that I can set up a new life in Boston without feeling like something is missing.
For now, here's to tiptoeing through life and trying to hang on to the pieces of me that I can still account for.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Is it raining?
Longroad awakens to a strange sound. It's almost as if someone flushed the toilet and the water just keeps running ... and running. As she continues to wake up a bit more she starts to hear an alarm. "What's going off?" Hubby: "It's just the alarm across the street." Longroad: "Is it raining outside?" Longroad runs to the window - no it is not raining outside. What is that noise? It sounds like the ping water makes when it hits your window. The lights are now on and she sees that it is not raining outside - but starting to rain in her bedroom. Hubby: "Is that smoke?"
Longroad now realizes what is happening. There is clearly a fire in the apartment above hers and the sprinklers are going off. She runs to grab her valuables - laptop, passport, wallet, anything portable, G - and she calls 911. As Hubby and her turn to close the door behind them Longroad realizes that the water isn't just slightly raining into her apartment - she can see that it is now gushing down her bedroom wall. The door slams behind her.
Longroad, Hubby and G sit across the street watching the firefighters climb the stairs to the floor above her apartment and then they can see what looks like a dozen flashlights going through the neighbor's apartment. All the while, water continues to gush from the building faster than the water that comes out of her faucet. Longroad calls her sister to inform her that Hubby and Longroad will probably be over shortly, as soon as they can get back into their apartment and survey the damage.
At around 5:30 - an hour after Longroad was awakened, she and Hubby re-enter their apartment. Water is still streaming down the walls at a rate that is faster than most waterfalls. It is also coming through at various points in the ceiling - the entire apartment is drenched, and the floors have an inch of standing water. For a moment Longroad and Hubby jump into action. Cut the circuit breakers. Grab the computers standing in the water. Grab some clothes to take to Sister's place, grab the jewelry (oops! forgot that one before ...), try to find the camera charger, grab the file box that has the insurance policy in it.
As Longroad and Hubby are slushing through their apartment, Longroad's brother-in-law shows up. The look on his face confirms the fact that Hubby and Longroad are now aware of. Their place is officially a disaster. After the initial flurry of activity, and while Hubby is trying to grab a few other essentials, Longroad takes a moment to ponder how in the world they are ever going to begin to clean this up.
Hubby calls the insurance company almost immediately. He is talking to our agent by 9am, at which point Longroad heads back to the apartment with a camera that has a fresh battery. She has also realized that this is not going to just be a weekend clean-up. The agent had talked about setting them up in a hotel and possibly putting them in temporary housing for a few months if need be. Longroad takes a ton of pictures and packs another huge suitcase with as many clothes as she can grab (that are dry) and whatever she can think of that they might need.
Amazingly, Longroad's insurance is faster than almost everybody else's insurance in the building. By early afternoon there is a team of people assessing the apartment. What is wet, but can be saved, will be loaded into boxes and placed on a truck to be sent to a restoration specialist. They will attempt to salvage as much as they can. What is not wet will be packed up and brought to a warehouse for storage until Longroad is out of temporary housing. What the assessor determines is not salveageable - that will be left in the apartment for now.
Longroad and Hubby head back to Sister's while a flurry of activity begins in their apartment. Longroad takes a much needed shower, rests a bit and tries not to think about what this all actually means. Instead, she jokes about how they lucked out by having professional packers do everything for her move to Boston and about how she didn't want to move that dang TV anyways because it was so heavy.
At 7pm the crew at the apartment is finished. They left anything that was IKEA (more than one would like to admit), computer monitors, all the cords that had been sitting on the ground - in the water, the tv, frames with photos in them, and a few other randoms.
The day ended with Longroad and Hubby in their hotel room, looking at the three bags of stuff they have for the next few months. But they had each other, safe and sound. And G seemed ok, albeit a bit confused by the day and the strange surroundings. Hubby grabbed Longroad's hand and sighed. "You know what? When this is all done, we will be better, stronger people for it."
Longroad now realizes what is happening. There is clearly a fire in the apartment above hers and the sprinklers are going off. She runs to grab her valuables - laptop, passport, wallet, anything portable, G - and she calls 911. As Hubby and her turn to close the door behind them Longroad realizes that the water isn't just slightly raining into her apartment - she can see that it is now gushing down her bedroom wall. The door slams behind her.
Longroad, Hubby and G sit across the street watching the firefighters climb the stairs to the floor above her apartment and then they can see what looks like a dozen flashlights going through the neighbor's apartment. All the while, water continues to gush from the building faster than the water that comes out of her faucet. Longroad calls her sister to inform her that Hubby and Longroad will probably be over shortly, as soon as they can get back into their apartment and survey the damage.
At around 5:30 - an hour after Longroad was awakened, she and Hubby re-enter their apartment. Water is still streaming down the walls at a rate that is faster than most waterfalls. It is also coming through at various points in the ceiling - the entire apartment is drenched, and the floors have an inch of standing water. For a moment Longroad and Hubby jump into action. Cut the circuit breakers. Grab the computers standing in the water. Grab some clothes to take to Sister's place, grab the jewelry (oops! forgot that one before ...), try to find the camera charger, grab the file box that has the insurance policy in it.
As Longroad and Hubby are slushing through their apartment, Longroad's brother-in-law shows up. The look on his face confirms the fact that Hubby and Longroad are now aware of. Their place is officially a disaster. After the initial flurry of activity, and while Hubby is trying to grab a few other essentials, Longroad takes a moment to ponder how in the world they are ever going to begin to clean this up.
Hubby calls the insurance company almost immediately. He is talking to our agent by 9am, at which point Longroad heads back to the apartment with a camera that has a fresh battery. She has also realized that this is not going to just be a weekend clean-up. The agent had talked about setting them up in a hotel and possibly putting them in temporary housing for a few months if need be. Longroad takes a ton of pictures and packs another huge suitcase with as many clothes as she can grab (that are dry) and whatever she can think of that they might need.
Amazingly, Longroad's insurance is faster than almost everybody else's insurance in the building. By early afternoon there is a team of people assessing the apartment. What is wet, but can be saved, will be loaded into boxes and placed on a truck to be sent to a restoration specialist. They will attempt to salvage as much as they can. What is not wet will be packed up and brought to a warehouse for storage until Longroad is out of temporary housing. What the assessor determines is not salveageable - that will be left in the apartment for now.
Longroad and Hubby head back to Sister's while a flurry of activity begins in their apartment. Longroad takes a much needed shower, rests a bit and tries not to think about what this all actually means. Instead, she jokes about how they lucked out by having professional packers do everything for her move to Boston and about how she didn't want to move that dang TV anyways because it was so heavy.
At 7pm the crew at the apartment is finished. They left anything that was IKEA (more than one would like to admit), computer monitors, all the cords that had been sitting on the ground - in the water, the tv, frames with photos in them, and a few other randoms.
The day ended with Longroad and Hubby in their hotel room, looking at the three bags of stuff they have for the next few months. But they had each other, safe and sound. And G seemed ok, albeit a bit confused by the day and the strange surroundings. Hubby grabbed Longroad's hand and sighed. "You know what? When this is all done, we will be better, stronger people for it."
Monday, May 18, 2009
One stresser down ...
I spent the last weekend zig-zagging my way through the city that I will soon call home. We walked back and forth across campus looking at apartment after apartment. It will never cease to amaze me at the state in which some people live. It will always never cease to amaze me that some landlords consider their apartments still habitable after they clearly have not been updated or taken care of for at least twenty years.
The first day was a bit disappointing, to say the least. And several of the brokers we had gotten in touch with made it very clear that they didn't want to do the legwork it took to find a decent place that also accepted pets. That amazed me. They get paid when they place people - but clearly they only wanted to place "easy" people. We were not easy.
But then on the second day, I randomly found a post by an individual condo owner that was trying to rent her place out. And even better, she was an alum of the Fancy Business School (let's call it FBS from here on out) that Hubby will shortly be attending. The stars aligned for us this weekend and we were able to convince our new landlords that a small dog wouldn't hurt their pad. We signed a lease on Saturday.
On Sunday, we got up - went and took a bunch of pictures of our new place and then we almost fell asleep in the restaurant where we had lunch. My legs were aching from walking so much and the adrenaline had worn off. But last night when we landed I was extremely content. I couldn't have asked for a better ending to the apartment hunting story. Both Hubby and I got pretty much everything we wanted.
I got the new home part down, now all I need is for the job to fall in place too ...
The first day was a bit disappointing, to say the least. And several of the brokers we had gotten in touch with made it very clear that they didn't want to do the legwork it took to find a decent place that also accepted pets. That amazed me. They get paid when they place people - but clearly they only wanted to place "easy" people. We were not easy.
But then on the second day, I randomly found a post by an individual condo owner that was trying to rent her place out. And even better, she was an alum of the Fancy Business School (let's call it FBS from here on out) that Hubby will shortly be attending. The stars aligned for us this weekend and we were able to convince our new landlords that a small dog wouldn't hurt their pad. We signed a lease on Saturday.
On Sunday, we got up - went and took a bunch of pictures of our new place and then we almost fell asleep in the restaurant where we had lunch. My legs were aching from walking so much and the adrenaline had worn off. But last night when we landed I was extremely content. I couldn't have asked for a better ending to the apartment hunting story. Both Hubby and I got pretty much everything we wanted.
I got the new home part down, now all I need is for the job to fall in place too ...
Friday, May 8, 2009
Blog posts keep writing in my head ...
I dropped off the face of the earth after the bar last year ... Once work started I got very caught up in finding my routine and the blog was about the last thing on my to-do list.
But lately I've been finding myself writing blog posts in my head again. Unfortunately, they come most often when I'm walking to work and then as soon as I hit the elevator banks for my office I promptly forget the amazing prose I've just written. That, and I'm scared to do too many personal things on my work computer. I have so much going on right now, though, that I feel like I have to write some stuff out again. So I'm back!!
I'll start with a small re-cap of where I've been and then in my next few posts I'll give you coherent thoughts (hopefully).
I've been working at medium big-law firm. I have conflicting thoughts about it almost daily. More on that later...
Hubby applied to business schools. He was stressed. I was annoyed. The dog was neglected. But somehow he made it all worthwhile by getting into an amazing business school.
In Boston.
So, now we are moving to Boston. And I am telling my firm in a week. Maybe they'll let me work remotely? I try not to laugh out loud at that idea, since my honest opinion is that they are going to laugh me out of the office and then just ask me to leave right then and there. But we'll see ...
Just in case, I sent in my application to take my second bar exam. It's cool to be licensed in two states right?
My sister is having a baby in 4 1/2 weeks! I'm going to be an aunt. Woohoo!!! I'm trying to live vicariously through my sister at the moment as babymaking has still not hit the longroad household.
Whew! Are you tired yet? Because I am. And the excitement/stress of it all has given me a case of acid reflux that not even Pepcid can fix. But I'm banking on the fact that next week I'll at least have some answers. And hopefully answers can fix acid reflux.
But lately I've been finding myself writing blog posts in my head again. Unfortunately, they come most often when I'm walking to work and then as soon as I hit the elevator banks for my office I promptly forget the amazing prose I've just written. That, and I'm scared to do too many personal things on my work computer. I have so much going on right now, though, that I feel like I have to write some stuff out again. So I'm back!!
I'll start with a small re-cap of where I've been and then in my next few posts I'll give you coherent thoughts (hopefully).
I've been working at medium big-law firm. I have conflicting thoughts about it almost daily. More on that later...
Hubby applied to business schools. He was stressed. I was annoyed. The dog was neglected. But somehow he made it all worthwhile by getting into an amazing business school.
In Boston.
So, now we are moving to Boston. And I am telling my firm in a week. Maybe they'll let me work remotely? I try not to laugh out loud at that idea, since my honest opinion is that they are going to laugh me out of the office and then just ask me to leave right then and there. But we'll see ...
Just in case, I sent in my application to take my second bar exam. It's cool to be licensed in two states right?
My sister is having a baby in 4 1/2 weeks! I'm going to be an aunt. Woohoo!!! I'm trying to live vicariously through my sister at the moment as babymaking has still not hit the longroad household.
Whew! Are you tired yet? Because I am. And the excitement/stress of it all has given me a case of acid reflux that not even Pepcid can fix. But I'm banking on the fact that next week I'll at least have some answers. And hopefully answers can fix acid reflux.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Autos and Planes and Ferries, Oh My!
The posting will be erratic and perhaps scattered in the next week or so. I've been traveling for pleasure this past week, thus the lack of posting. Ever since I was very young I have enjoyed traveling. Whether the trip has been about celebrating a new city or bonding with family and friends, I love the trip all the same. Perhaps it's my affinity for changing things up, my boredom with the status quo or my never-ending fascination with learning.
So, for this long trip I will have attended a wedding in Tiny Town Hubby grew up in, tromped around Seattle and hiked my way around Juneau. I'll update later with some travel reviews and observations. Right now I am going to get some Asian cuisine in Seattle. And then probably happily fall asleep while watching the Olympics.
So, for this long trip I will have attended a wedding in Tiny Town Hubby grew up in, tromped around Seattle and hiked my way around Juneau. I'll update later with some travel reviews and observations. Right now I am going to get some Asian cuisine in Seattle. And then probably happily fall asleep while watching the Olympics.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Creativity = Happiness
Today I put on my spiffy new walking shoes and headed out on a lovely walk to one of my favorite places. A beautiful Big Box that has a symbol that looks like a target. 
Here's a pic of my wonderful shoes. I have been torturing my feet with flip-flops. Don't get me wrong, I love flip-flops, but they do a good number on my feetsies. I'm almost ashamed to show my toes around the neighborhood and when I wear shoes with proper cushioning I feel so much better. So I decided to invest in proper walking shoes. But they still had to be cute of course!! So here is G, checking out my awesome shoes.
At Big Box I had a mission. We are going to a friend's wedding this weekend and all the online options had already been bought. I hate bringing gifts to weddings because I think it's such a pain for the couple to have to worry about carrying gifts out of a reception hall after they've just had the most delightful night of their life. That being said, we are attending this wedding in Tiny Town that Hubby grew up in, so chances are good that they will be fully expecting most of their gifts to arrive at the reception with the guests. Of course I had to make sure that I had the cutest package around, so I spent quite a bit of my afternoon making sure it was fabulous. Here's the result:
And finally, as promised I will give you a sneak peek from my absolutely inspiring trip to the quilt store yesterday. I have an ambitious project ahead of me, and my color inspiration is based off of this fabric:
Isn't it fabulous??? I will post updates as I finish each important step of the process. My guess is that most people under the age of 50 have no idea what it actually takes to make a quilt or how the whole process goes together. The crazy cast of characters that showed up while I was checking out fabrics didn't even dent my enthusiasm. The lady who came in the door looking for quilts to buy and enthralled by the fact that this was a store for the fabric to make the quilts. She wanted to know why anyone would actually take the time to piece something out like that. And then the other lady who brought in her three kids, all under the age of seven, who proceeded to run around the store and yell "chicken-butt" for an hour while she pretended to ignore them. It did dawn on me for a second or two that the scenario may play out another time in my life, except with me as the woman pretending to ignore my children. But then I realized that my fabric time is too important for me to casually bring my children with me. No, quilt time will be mommy time. I spent too much money (what's new?), but feel somewhat justified because I got enough fabric for at least two quilts, if not three. I'm at that age where I figure I'll be making more and more baby quilts and since I have friends from all different parts of my life they won't know when the fabric in their quilts is the same!
Here's a pic of my wonderful shoes. I have been torturing my feet with flip-flops. Don't get me wrong, I love flip-flops, but they do a good number on my feetsies. I'm almost ashamed to show my toes around the neighborhood and when I wear shoes with proper cushioning I feel so much better. So I decided to invest in proper walking shoes. But they still had to be cute of course!! So here is G, checking out my awesome shoes.At Big Box I had a mission. We are going to a friend's wedding this weekend and all the online options had already been bought. I hate bringing gifts to weddings because I think it's such a pain for the couple to have to worry about carrying gifts out of a reception hall after they've just had the most delightful night of their life. That being said, we are attending this wedding in Tiny Town that Hubby grew up in, so chances are good that they will be fully expecting most of their gifts to arrive at the reception with the guests. Of course I had to make sure that I had the cutest package around, so I spent quite a bit of my afternoon making sure it was fabulous. Here's the result:
And finally, as promised I will give you a sneak peek from my absolutely inspiring trip to the quilt store yesterday. I have an ambitious project ahead of me, and my color inspiration is based off of this fabric:
Isn't it fabulous??? I will post updates as I finish each important step of the process. My guess is that most people under the age of 50 have no idea what it actually takes to make a quilt or how the whole process goes together. The crazy cast of characters that showed up while I was checking out fabrics didn't even dent my enthusiasm. The lady who came in the door looking for quilts to buy and enthralled by the fact that this was a store for the fabric to make the quilts. She wanted to know why anyone would actually take the time to piece something out like that. And then the other lady who brought in her three kids, all under the age of seven, who proceeded to run around the store and yell "chicken-butt" for an hour while she pretended to ignore them. It did dawn on me for a second or two that the scenario may play out another time in my life, except with me as the woman pretending to ignore my children. But then I realized that my fabric time is too important for me to casually bring my children with me. No, quilt time will be mommy time. I spent too much money (what's new?), but feel somewhat justified because I got enough fabric for at least two quilts, if not three. I'm at that age where I figure I'll be making more and more baby quilts and since I have friends from all different parts of my life they won't know when the fabric in their quilts is the same!
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Quilts and Friends
Second day of Pleasure = Hanging out with great friends and visiting a quilt store to get fabric for a very ambitious baby quilt.
I didn't quite get through my list yesterday, but I did manage to cross off a few things. And I went through baby quilts like it was my job. It's very hard to find a baby quilt that isn't too cutesy, too grandma or just plain ugly. I think I've managed to figure out a great pattern, but it involves a type of quilting I've never done before and I'm a bit nervous. I'm excited too - it will be a challenge! Today, after spending some time with my friends just hanging out, I will head over to my favorite quilt shop and probably spend at least two hours in a dream-like state just salivating over all the fabric. There's something about fabric shops that just makes me a little weak in the knees. And I have this overwhelming urge to just run up and down the rows of fabric and touch each and every one. The best part about the quilt shop I go to is that the owner is a very cool lady and she doesn't carry lame grandma fabric. She only carries the more modern, fun stuff that just makes my heart melt. So every fabric I touch has loads of possibilities.
I know it's odd that I enjoy quilting so much at my 'young' age. I'm normally the youngest person in the store (well, actually looking at fabric and not being dragged by her mother). There's something about quilting that just works for me. I love the initial designing stage where you sit with an empty sheet of graph paper and calculate how many squares of this you need and how much fabric that actually translates into. I don't enjoy the cutting stage, if I could get someone to do that for me I would and normally my quilting gets stalled with the cutting. But if I can get all my pieces cut out properly, then I move on to the sewing. Putting together the top of the quilt is so much fun. Sewing can be as good as meditating for me. And then you get to the actual quilting, where you put whole quilt together and make amazing textures by sewing a few designs on top of the quilt. Finally, once you are done you have a useful item that is beautiful as well. If only professional quilting paid a fraction of what lawyering does ...
Perhaps tomorrow I'll give you all a sneak peek at the quilting madness that is sure to soon engulf my household. What a wonderful, almost perfect day. The only thing that might make it better would be for Hubby to get off of work early so we could spend some canoodling time together before he drops into bed exhausted. Here's to hoping!
I didn't quite get through my list yesterday, but I did manage to cross off a few things. And I went through baby quilts like it was my job. It's very hard to find a baby quilt that isn't too cutesy, too grandma or just plain ugly. I think I've managed to figure out a great pattern, but it involves a type of quilting I've never done before and I'm a bit nervous. I'm excited too - it will be a challenge! Today, after spending some time with my friends just hanging out, I will head over to my favorite quilt shop and probably spend at least two hours in a dream-like state just salivating over all the fabric. There's something about fabric shops that just makes me a little weak in the knees. And I have this overwhelming urge to just run up and down the rows of fabric and touch each and every one. The best part about the quilt shop I go to is that the owner is a very cool lady and she doesn't carry lame grandma fabric. She only carries the more modern, fun stuff that just makes my heart melt. So every fabric I touch has loads of possibilities.
I know it's odd that I enjoy quilting so much at my 'young' age. I'm normally the youngest person in the store (well, actually looking at fabric and not being dragged by her mother). There's something about quilting that just works for me. I love the initial designing stage where you sit with an empty sheet of graph paper and calculate how many squares of this you need and how much fabric that actually translates into. I don't enjoy the cutting stage, if I could get someone to do that for me I would and normally my quilting gets stalled with the cutting. But if I can get all my pieces cut out properly, then I move on to the sewing. Putting together the top of the quilt is so much fun. Sewing can be as good as meditating for me. And then you get to the actual quilting, where you put whole quilt together and make amazing textures by sewing a few designs on top of the quilt. Finally, once you are done you have a useful item that is beautiful as well. If only professional quilting paid a fraction of what lawyering does ...
Perhaps tomorrow I'll give you all a sneak peek at the quilting madness that is sure to soon engulf my household. What a wonderful, almost perfect day. The only thing that might make it better would be for Hubby to get off of work early so we could spend some canoodling time together before he drops into bed exhausted. Here's to hoping!
Monday, August 4, 2008
August is my Italy
Early in the bar studying I had the pleasure of actually reading a few novels. My favorite by far was Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. Having suffered through severe, debilitating depression before, I understood the need to just get away and focus on yourself for a while. And after spending three years studying non-stop, worrying constantly and getting no break before diving into the bar, I think I could use a month of pleasure myself ...
Such a good plan, ruined by real life. In the past three days, while focusing on trying to relax and do what pleases me, I have realized that I am completely lost without a list. And I mean completely lost. My friends made fun of me during school for my excel spreadsheet with my reading schedule, to-do's and constant lists. But without it I'm more forgetful than a 70 year-old lady.
I do want to make sure I relax this August and do some things I've been neglecting these past three years. But it will have to be on my list. So that I don't forget the other things, like taking the dog to the vet, getting groceries and doing laundry. And it begins ...
Today's pleasure activity: Planning out some fun quilts that I will start later in the month.
Such a good plan, ruined by real life. In the past three days, while focusing on trying to relax and do what pleases me, I have realized that I am completely lost without a list. And I mean completely lost. My friends made fun of me during school for my excel spreadsheet with my reading schedule, to-do's and constant lists. But without it I'm more forgetful than a 70 year-old lady.
I do want to make sure I relax this August and do some things I've been neglecting these past three years. But it will have to be on my list. So that I don't forget the other things, like taking the dog to the vet, getting groceries and doing laundry. And it begins ...
Today's pleasure activity: Planning out some fun quilts that I will start later in the month.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Proof
The Illinois Bar appears to believe that soon-to-be lawyers are somewhat superhuman beings trained to withstand the most rigorous of testing conditions:
1. We are to be in our seats at 8am. The first part of the exam runs until 10am, we are NOT ALLOWED to go to the bathroom between that exam and the next part of the exam, to begin at 10:15. We then go until noon. Re-start at one, and same drill until 5.
2. From 8am-12 and then 1pm-4:30pm we are not allowed to have water or anything to eat or drink while in the testing room. Holy moly, I am going to have to learn how to drink a buttload of caffeine in the morning and not have to pee it out during the exam ...
3. "Many restaurants are available in the vicinity of the test sites; however, because of time constraints and the large number of applicants taking the exam, you may prefer to bring a lunch. The Board does not provide a designated eating area at test sites, and some sites do not permit consumption of carried-in food on premises." Hmm, way to make that one easy ...
4. During the exam, including restroom breaks and any other planned or unplanned interuption (read - fire alarm, terrorist attack, tornado), applicants cannot talk to each other AND they can't talk to anyone else - no one in the lobby, the restrooms "or any other place". Can't you see it, some poor guy who has no idea the bar exam is taking place is just looking for the bathroom and no one will tell him where it is!!!
5. You can bring ear plugs - but they must be inspected and approved by a proctor prior to use.
6. The results of the bar are final. Apparently no appeals, no regrading and no review.
7. And for you lucky folks that fail and want to know why, you are only allowed to look at your essay answers (less than half the test ...) on ONE day in November in either Chicago or Colinsville.
Because memorizing the majority and minority rules, exceptions and complete backwardness of 21 different legal topics isn't mind-boggling enough. We also want to make sure that you are put under the most ridiculous conditions, treated like four year olds (well, minus nap time) and have no idea why you passed or failed the test in the end.
Oh - and Good Luck!
1. We are to be in our seats at 8am. The first part of the exam runs until 10am, we are NOT ALLOWED to go to the bathroom between that exam and the next part of the exam, to begin at 10:15. We then go until noon. Re-start at one, and same drill until 5.
2. From 8am-12 and then 1pm-4:30pm we are not allowed to have water or anything to eat or drink while in the testing room. Holy moly, I am going to have to learn how to drink a buttload of caffeine in the morning and not have to pee it out during the exam ...
3. "Many restaurants are available in the vicinity of the test sites; however, because of time constraints and the large number of applicants taking the exam, you may prefer to bring a lunch. The Board does not provide a designated eating area at test sites, and some sites do not permit consumption of carried-in food on premises." Hmm, way to make that one easy ...
4. During the exam, including restroom breaks and any other planned or unplanned interuption (read - fire alarm, terrorist attack, tornado), applicants cannot talk to each other AND they can't talk to anyone else - no one in the lobby, the restrooms "or any other place". Can't you see it, some poor guy who has no idea the bar exam is taking place is just looking for the bathroom and no one will tell him where it is!!!
5. You can bring ear plugs - but they must be inspected and approved by a proctor prior to use.
6. The results of the bar are final. Apparently no appeals, no regrading and no review.
7. And for you lucky folks that fail and want to know why, you are only allowed to look at your essay answers (less than half the test ...) on ONE day in November in either Chicago or Colinsville.
Because memorizing the majority and minority rules, exceptions and complete backwardness of 21 different legal topics isn't mind-boggling enough. We also want to make sure that you are put under the most ridiculous conditions, treated like four year olds (well, minus nap time) and have no idea why you passed or failed the test in the end.
Oh - and Good Luck!
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