Okay, so I'm once again renewing my attempt at being more faithful to this whole blogging thing. :) My goal is to post several times a week, even if I feel like I have nothing to say.
Today's posts is one of those times when I don't have much to say. This week has been difficult. Nothing set me off, I've just been feeling rather grumpy all week. This is quite unusual, considering that the weather was gorgeous today, and I've had lots of classes cancelled this week. Nonetheless, it's been a barely-keeping-my-head-above-water type week.
In the midst of the distress of this week, however, I've been mediating on Psalm 20:7-8. I read it on Monday morning - it's as if God knew I was going to need it this week. I've included it below with my own annotations. :)
Some trust in [law degrees] and some in [money],
but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
Isn't that amazing? So simple, and yet so easy to lose sight of. I am not in law school because I chose it, or the career chose me. I am here because God called me here. And when law school feels so hard that I feel like quitting, I need to be reminded of that fact. He is the one who brought me here, and He will carry me through.
Last Thursday night, Bri, Sara, MaryLou, and I went to Baylor's All-University Sing, which was amazing! All of the sororities and fraternities put together 7-minute song-and-dance routines, including backdrops, costumes, and props. Some of the routines were quite elaborate - such as an "Alice in Wonderland" theme, a backdrop and props to look like a huge desk, and a masquerade ball. We had a great time!
Thanks to the free photobooth, we have this winner. :)
MaryLou's parents arrived late Thursday night, so we've been enjoying the fringe benefits of their visit - a piano tuning, lots of good cooking, a trip to Sam's to pick up food, and homemade ice cream for MaryLou's birthday.
Last Thursday was an incredible day. I learned that morning that I got the internship at the Supreme Court of Texas that I interviewed for last week. Even though it's been 5 days, I still almost jump up and down every time I think about that fact. :) I'll be in Austin for the second half of the summer, and I can hardly wait!!
I also won two baseball tickets on Thursday through my energy company (it's a long story). So on Sunday afternoon, Jocelyn, AnnaGrace, and I attended one of the Baylor games against Oral Roberts. It was a little cold at first, but the sun eventually came out and it ended up being a lovely afternoon.
Sunday evening, we had people over for MaryLou's birthday dinner. Her mom cooked "Gourmet Chicken Breasts" - chicken wrapped in a croissant roll and bacon, and covered with a mixture of sour cream and cream of chicken soup. It was delicious!!! We also had homemade vanilla ice cream. I've never had homemade ice cream before, so it was quite the treat!
While MaryLou's parents have been here, her dad tuned our piano. He bought a book and a kit and has been hard at work all weekend. Surprisingly, the piano came into reasonably good tune. To celebrate this fact, we had a "duel of the keyboards" between the piano and Bri's keyboard.
AnnaGrace and I totally won that one. :)
The festivities with MaryLou's parents wrapped up this evening with a trip to Sam's Club to stock up on food - because all the cooked food in the freezer isn't enough. :)
After the trip to Sam's, I headed home and watched two episodes of "The Firm." I became addicted to this show yesterday, and have already watched 3 episodes. Yes, it's now 8:35pm, and I have done no homework since I've gotten home...Oh well!! :) Anyway, this show is amazing. It's based on a John Grisham book (I don't think I've read it - though all of his novels do tend to blur together in my head). He's also the producer of the show, which I think is great. The plot is about a defense attorney (Mitch McDear) who lives in D.C. after spending 10 years in witness protection running from the mob. As much as I usually hate defense attorneys, this character is actually a really decent guy.
In the pilot episode, Mitch is assigned to defend a teenage boy accused of murdering a classmate. After he agrees to take the case, the judge tells the boy's father, "You'll find a lot of good human beings in this courthouse, and a lot of very talented lawyers. What you won't find is many people who are both." Unfortunately, I have seen the truth of this statement up close and personal. It seems that in order to be a "brilliant attorney," you have to be willing to sacrifice your life, health, and any other "inconveniences" that get in the way of pursuing your career.
The show has a lot of great sub-plots, as well as numerous dilemmas for the main characters. I think the show does a great job of showing the difficult decisions that an attorney faces while trying to do what is right. I think it also does a good job of showing exactly why defense attorneys are needed (and ones that are committed to maintaining justice and finding the truth). As much as I rail at defense attorneys sometimes, they do serve a legitimate purpose. We need honest people serving as defense counsel - ones who do their best to accurately represent their client and find the truth. This is how we ended up with one of the best legal systems in the world - not by throwing people into jail without a fair trial.
Okay - so that should be enough of a teaser to at least get you to go check out the pilot episode. Go on - right now! It's free on Itunes, or you can find it on Hulu.
And if you need any more convincing, here's the official trailer.
In closing, here's another good quote:
"I am not letting some jaded public defender screw this up and
plead him guilty. You want to fight me on that, you put in a
complaint with the Bar, and we will air this out in a hearing."
I am happy to report that another set of exams has come and gone. I am now 5/9 done with law school! Or, in other words, 2/3 of 2/3 done. J
This last round of finals was the most enjoyable yet (though the jury is still out on whether it was successful). Mom and grandma came down and spent the entire week cooking for me and the eight or so others that joined us every night. It was wonderful not to have to think about what I was going to eat – and I definitely ate better than I would have otherwise. I also now have a freezer that is busting at its seams with all the food they left me. J
Last quarter, I was able to schedule my exams so that I had my last one on Tuesday. This gave me five full days before the new quarter started. On Wednesday morning, I had to take mom and grandma to the airport. They accidentally booked flights out of two different airports, so I got to visit both Dallas airports within the space of about 30 minutes! J Then I headed up to the McKinney area to have lunch with Joy and Joel. The last stop of the day was Denton, where I stayed until Saturday. I got a haircut, went to Mellow Mushroom, and slept in until 11:30am on Thursday morning. It was glorious. It also gave me a nice change of scenery and breathed new life into my routine. When I came back, I was ready to start the new quarter and plug away – I can’t wait to be 2/3 of the way done!
Here are my classes for the quarter: Family Law, Employment Relations, Remedies, Constitutional Law, and Personal Injury Trial Law. To be honest, I have no interest in personal injury law – I just signed up for it because I’ve heard it’s an easy class (I know, shame on me).
Interestingly enough, I’ve never even thought of practicing employment law (nor about the subject matter), but I think I’m really going to like the class. Currently, we’re talking about how to define the employment relationship (independent contractor or employee – it’s harder than it sounds), and the ramifications of at-will employment. Maybe this doesn’t excite you, but I think it’s fascinating – especially when you take the law and you apply to real-life situations and see how it works. Unfortunately, the outcome doesn’t always line up with what seems fair.
Another pleasant surprise relates to family law. I’ve always thought family law would be the worst field in which to practice – I’ve always thought of family law as synonymous for “messy divorces” – and really, who wants to be involved in the ending of a marriage?
In other good news (it’s been such a long time since I wrote such a happy post, hasn’t it? J), I have an interview at the Texas Supreme Court. I am SO EXCITED – and this is the understatement of the month (or maybe the year, since we’re not that far into it…). After talking with a lawyer back home over Christmas break, I decided I would see if I could work for a judge this summer – and where better than a supreme court? Plus, of all the cities in Texas, Austin has got to be the best. The city has tons of outdoor parks, trails, and lakes, plus the headquarters of Whole Foods.
Well, that’s all for now…I’m off to read the John Adams biography I began many months ago…
