Sounds Fishy to Me...

This blogging thing has really gotten away from me...in the lead-up to exams, I'm afraid that my nose has become even further buried in my books. :( However, with the first exam just 179 hours away (aka one week), I am hopeful that balance will soon return.

In light of this excessive amount of studying, I decided to embark on a little bit of an adventure and make sushi. So, follow me as we travel back in time one week:

Once upon a time, there was a 1L who was terribly lonely. :( However, on one particular Tuesday night, she received glad tidings of great joy that her dear friend Dr. Strange would be visiting. Lucky for this little 1L, Dr. Strange was in desperate need of a race - and Waco happened to be hosting one that very weekend.

 In celebration of a race well run, the pair decided to exercise their culinary skills by the attempting the art of sushi. Much to their surprise and delight, a simple vegetable roll was elementary, my dear readers. Upon their first success, the pair decided to try their hands at an Alaskan Salmon roll, complete with cream cheese and avocado.

In the art of making sushi, the two quickly found their respective areas of expertise. While the 1L was a mincing and dicing fiend , Dr. Strange's delicate wielding of the knife was better suited to the art of slicing the sushi.

Upon completing the delicate preparation process, the 1L and Dr. Strange partook of their magnum opus with great delight.

The evening's feast was capped off with a crossword puzzle and the two lived happily ever after as shrieks of laughter echoed through the condo.

 THE END

Surprises, Surprises

This past weekend I was in Dallas for Jocelyn's "surprise" birthday party. Although she planned the party, she had no idea that mom and Cassaundra were coming out for a visit. Unfortunately, I wasn't there when Jocelyn arrived at my aunt and uncle's house...on the video, her face was pretty priceless. :)

On the way up to Dallas, I discovered the glory of frontage roads. Ironically enough, the worst traffic we encountered was between Waco and Hillsboro (not in Dallas, as I had anticipated). However, the highway officials were very thoughtful in their planning, and built frontage roads right next to the freeway. I got a little too much pleasure at laughing at all the people were passing by taking the frontage road. :)

We didn't do anything terribly exciting or newsworthy over the weekend. It was so wonderful to be able to just hang out with family and friends. My aunt and uncle were so gracious - there were 14 of us in their little house! (Thankfully, mom had booked a hotel for us!) My 15-month-old cousin was a little overwhelmed, but  he adjusted pretty quickly, and I am sure he enjoyed the attention he got from all of us girls.

Saturday was the Baylor/Texas Tech football game. We lost, though only by one touchdown, which I thought was pretty decent, considering our track record.

On Saturday evening, my aunt came back from a small group meeting toting a wooden rocking horse that she had picked up off the curb on her way home. One of her neighbors had had a garage sale that day, and was throwing out the leftovers. I jokingly suggested that we get a flashlight and go look at what else they had. She completely agreed, so we drove down the street and started digging through the bins. I kept expecting someone to come out and yell at us, but they never did. :) There wasn't much stuff that I was interested in, but across the street someone was throwing out a coffee table. I didn't have room in my car this trip, but my aunt and uncle agreed to hold it until I go back for Thanksgiving. I love finding stuff for free!!

Ross on his salvaged rocking horse.

And now, alas, I am back in Waco facing another week of school. Today marks three weeks until exams, and I find myself shockingly calm. Whenever anyone mentions exams, people's faces scrunch up. However, I am determined not to let myself succumb to panic - we will see how well that resolve holds up! Unfortunately, I think this past weekend was my last roadtrip until after finals...I am now officially stuck in Waco for the next five weeks!

And with that, I am off to work on my Torts flowchart...goodnight!

Decorating

I am getting severely behind in this whole blogging thing. Unfortunately, most of my life is school, so I kind of forget about the blog, even when something exciting does happen. :)

Last weekend, MaryLou and I put up some decorations in our living room. I won a $50 gift card from Kaplan, which funded our little decorating party. MaryLou got the short end of the stick...somehow she ended up being the one to screw all the little plastic anchors and the screws into the wall. Meanwhile, I ran around the apartment pulling decorations out of the last unpacked box, and asking, "How does this look?" I'm lucky  she didn't hit me with the screwdriver. :)

And here is the final product: TA-DA! 

Please also note the "music corner," complete with Ol' Blue Eyes (who I proudly hung myself).

And thus completes our unpacking, and all of our decorating for the moment. The two blank walls left will have to wait until one of us wins another gift card. :)

Symphony Update

I received a pleasant surprise today, along with a reminder that people do actually read my blog. I called the Waco Symphony box office to see about getting a student season pass. Despite almost missing the last concert, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and still planned to get my hands on a season pass. My goal was to see if I could count the ticket price for last week's concert towards the student season pass. However, when I explained that I had been to the concert and I wanted a pass, the man on the other end of the phone asked, "Are you Katelyn?" Now, when you move 1000 miles across the country, you do not expect people in your new location to know who you are. However, I responded that I was. It turns out that I was speaking to the Marketing Director for the Waco Symphony. He had seen my blog post, and apologized for the difficulties I had at the box office last week. Then, he offered me a student season pass free of charge! My ticket should arrive in the mail early next week, and you can be assured I will be in my seat for every concert this season.
On that note, the next concert looks especially interesting. It is entitled, "Cirque de la Symphonie," and combines acrobatics with classical music. It looks quite entertaining, and I am curious to see how it turns out (I wonder what music they will pick??).

Contracts Class

I know I promised this post last week, but unfortunately, the end of the week got away from me, and so it is practically a week late. But, better late than never...

Contracts has been one of my hardest classes - I spent the first month completely lost. While I am slowing piecing it together in my mind, I still don't enjoy the class (minus the fact that I like the professor), and I am terrified about the exam. But, last Tuesday was a nice exception to the confusion that I usually find myself in after class...

The Friday before, our professor took volunteers to be the lawyers and the parties for Lucy v. Zehmer. Allow me to explain the pertinent facts in this ridiculous case. It all begins in the backwoods of Virginia...

Mr. Zehmer owned the "Ferguson Farm," which Mr. Lucy had been trying to buy from Zehmer for years. Each time Lucy would make an offer, Zehmer would decline to sell the farm because he was saving it for his boy. At one point, Lucy and Zehmer came to an oral agreement, but then Zehmer later backed out.

Well, on December 20, 1952, things would change...That night, Mr. Lucy walked into Mr. Zehmer's restaurant, carrying a jug of whiskey. Zehmer entered the restaurant a little bit later. Both of them had been drinking. Lucy proceeded to offer Zehmer $50,000 for the land. The two bargained back and forth for 30 to 40 minutes, and then Zehmer wrote down the agreement on the back of a restaurant bill and had his wife sign it. The bill read:

"We hereby agree to sell to W.O. Lucy the Ferguson Farm for $50,000 complete, title satisfactory."

When Zehmer had his wife sign the agreement, he told her that the whole transaction was just "a joke." However, this was never communicated to Mr. Lucy.

The following Monday, Lucy had the title inspected, and arranged for his brother to help pay for the farm. When he approached Zehmer to tender payment, Zehmer said that the document was a joke, and that he was not going to sell the farm. 

Enter the courts...Now, at this point, you may be wondering, like me, how the courts can enforce a contract made between two drunk men on the back of a restaurant bill. It all comes down to intent. You see, when forming a contract, courts only consider the outward manifestations of a person's intent. So, the issue in Lucy v. Zehmer was: would a reasonable person in Lucy's shoes have understood a contract? 

The court answered in the affirmative. The following factors lend credibility to the document:

(1) The conversation lasted for 30 to 40 minutes, and the document 

contained several very specific terms (such as the title inspection);

(2) Neither of the Zehmers requested that Mr. Lucy give the agreement 

back after he picked it up off the restaurant table;

(3) There is no evidence that Mr. Zehmer was intoxicated to the point 

that he was unable to comprehend the nature & consequences 

of the document was preparing. In fact, his wife suggested

that he should have driven Mr. Lucy home, as Mr. Lucy was also intoxicated.

And that concludes the very length introduction. :) The performance of the above situation was quite humorous - the actors were great at filling in gaps in the story, making for some very interesting moments! Our professor also inserted himself into the action several times, and asked questions. It was amazing to see him conduct a cross-examination!!! He pinned every single witness into a corner...oh, how I would love to see him in a courtroom!! :)

The event was recorded on several iPhones...as soon as I can find it online, I will post the video here. :)

Well, now you know WAY more about Contracts than you ever wanted, I will end this post. Next post: pictures of our newly-decorated living room!!!