Friday, April 24, 2009

Buy A Net, Save A Life, April 25 On World Malaria Day

You've heard of malaria, but do you know how easy it is to prevent it? Probably not. Tomorrow is World Malaria Day. Skip a lunch, or a couple of coffees, or a movie and instead spend $10 to send a mosquito net to Africa. I heard a presentation recently on Nothing But Nets (the program that Ashton Kusher is talking about, and Exxon is advertising on TV) and it is amazing. Ten dollars buys a treated mosquito net that you put over bed to prevent being bitten by a malaria-carrying mosquito while you are sleeping. Buy one--you'll sleep better if you do.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Top Ten Reasons It Is Good To Have Passed The Bar Exam

10. I can spend energy on cleaning my condo again.

9. I can get a makeover.

8. I can exercise.

7. I can diet.

6. I can go to Starbucks and read a newspaper or a novel rather than law outlines

5. I can save money. And I can walk right by the aisles in the stores that sell highlighters and wired index cards and not feel that I have to stock up.

4. I can travel more.

3. I can now feel like a real lawyer.

2. I can spend time with friends and on hobbies that I enjoy. I can rediscover who I am.

1. I can finally get rid of the pile of BarBri and PMBR study guides in my living room!

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Fender Bender At A Stoplight

I was stopped at a stoplight last weekend, and a man rear-ended me. Luckily, there was a policeman right behind him, so the blue lights came on right away. That was nice, because sometimes you have to wait so long for a policeman to arrive. He wrote down all of our information and gave it to each of us. I'm worried though, because a week has passed, and I have not been contacted by the other man. I finally called him this morning, and I think I woke him up. I asked him how he wanted to handle this. He said he had to talk to his dad, and he would call me back. Is he being truthful? I hope I don't have to turn my own auto insurance on him. Regardless, after this fiasco is over, I might try to get some free auto insurance quotes. I am sure I can find a better deal on insurance than what I have now.

Wish I Had A Dog-Friendly Yard

Wish I had a dog-friendly yard. I wish I had any yard at all. But I wish I had a big house with a big yard with a big fence all around that yard. That way, I could open my back door and let my dog out, and he could run around to his heart's content without me taking him out on a leash. That would warm my heart and his too. So, I hope I passed the bar exam and and I can start making the big bucks. If I did, maybe I could get a fence installed and make everyone's life easier!

Dying To Get In Shape

If I needed anymore evidence of how out of shape I am, I got it tonight. I put together my mini trampoline and started jumping in front of the TV. After only 15 minutes, I stopped, thinking surely to goodness I had already done 30 minutes. I used to jump on the mini trampoline for an hour or more with little discomfort. And tonight I could barely do 15 minutes. Hangs head in shame. Why did I not do at least 15 minutes everyday for the last year? Shakes head in disbelief. Well, as they say, today is the first day of the rest of my life. Tomorrow, I will strive to do at least 30 minutes on an elliptical, and at least 15 minutes of some kind of exercise everyday.

Bar Exam Results Angst

It is now less than 36 hours until I find out if I passed the bar exam. I was feeling very positive about it until last week when I had a dream that I did not pass. That shook me to my core. I am trying not to conclude that that means I failed. Maybe it was just to inject some reality into me that I shouldn't be so sure about it. Or maybe it just means that deep down I am more nervous about it than I realized. Or who knows? All I know is that I want to see my name on the success list. And I haven't even prepared myself for the possibility that it may not be up there. I feel that I did so much better this time than I did in July that I can't imagine not passing. But that scares me too. This time if I don't pass, I think it will take a greater toll on me.

Stemulite: Key to Fitness

As I enter the downhill phase of my law study (hopefully), I need to turn my attention to getting back into shape. And into health. I am healthy and not sick, but if I don't change my ways soon I may not be for long. Too little sleep, too much junk food, no exercise. I have to learn to be a grownup again and take care of myself. I have been thinking of trying out some appetite suppressants or diet pills but haven't done anything about it so far. I just heard about Stemulite. I used to be on top of my game physically, and I need to get back up there. Not only will I feel better, but I will look better, and I need that advantage on my side again. I am definitely going to look into this. I studied hard for law school and the bar exam, and now I am ready to work hard at getting myself back in shape.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Slot Cars: A Favorite Childhood Memory

When I was a young child, I loved my extended family. I hung onto them like I knew it could all go away in a second. While it didn't go away in a second, it did go away sooner than I would have ever wanted. When F&&&11stt came into my mother's life, a lot that I loved went away. We moved away, and I missed everyone so much. It was not a good move. But one of my favorite childhood memories involved slot cars. We went to visit my cousin in Wisconsin, and as usual, he was always up on the neatest and latest stuff. Which at that time was slot cars. I was just a litle girl, but I loved it. And I still think of it with fondness. I am going to check out SCX slot cars and see what the current offerings are.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

RVing In The Midnight Sun

My only experience with an RV was unusual. First of all, it didn't go anywhere. I slept in an RV that served as a makeshift hotel room when I was in Anchorage for the Mayor's Midnight Sun Marathon. They didn't have enough hotel rooms in Anchorage for all the runners/walkers, so they set up rv parks for us. It was a hoot! Our group arrived in Anchorage in the middle of the night, and we got a quick lecture on how to use an RV. huh????? Like we were really going to follow and understand how to turn on the hot water heater and such when we were so hog tired after being on a plane for more than 8 hours.

My roommate was coming in on an even later flight, if you can believe that. As I started to get ready for bed, I thought I should take the elevated bed, since it would be easier for her to use the regular bed when she came in later. I climbed up there, and it was so tiny and narrow, it had to be a child's bed, I thought. I tried to sleep but the whole time was worried I would roll off. She came in a little while later and turned on the light and started laughing. You have never been in an RV before have you? she asked. I said, how did you know? That bed folds out, she laughed.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Problem Supervisors

I got together with a colleague from my old job the other day and found out that the problem supervisor is still there. This had been a wonderful job and office--I had been there for years and loved every minute of it. Except for the moments when I had a problem supervisor. There were two such periods out of my long tenure. The good news is that my great supervisors were there longer than the bad ones.

This is a wonderful and well respected organization. It's biggest problem, as I see it, is how they appoint supervisors. Too often they give someone a supervisory job who is terrible at that kind of work. Often they either don't know the work itself well enough, or they are bad at managing people. My last supervisor is both.

I am sorry that she is still there. I would have thought she would have left, and not of her own will, shortly after I left. She doesn't understand what the office does, she only has periferal experience, and she is terribly confrontational. Why discuss something something rationally, when you can throw something at someone instead?

The good news that I did hear from my former colleague is that her superiors have now caught on to her. It's about time. It sounds as if her remaining time there may be limited. It won't be a minute too soon.

Monday, April 6, 2009

SD Flash Memory

I still get freaked out by computer problems. Just tonight one of my cats walked across my keyboard, and then I couldn't type a "period." It would type a "greater than" sign instead. Talking about getting upset! I needed to work on my computer, and how could I get anything done without being able to type a period???? Well, luckily, I remembered what I seldom remember, and that is to restart my computer. I don't know how many awful computer problems can be avoidec by just restarting your computer. I ususally don't remember that until I have called many computer techs. And then, oh yes, I could have avoided the whole problem if I had just restarted my computer. One problem I have had in the past is lack of memory. Maybe a sd flash memory would help? I'll have to check into that.

My Grandpa's Work Bench

As a child, I loved to hang around in my grandparents' basement. My grandpa's office was down there. He was a building contractor, and he had his drafting table down there, along with a lot of his tools and supplies. My name was etched all over the inside of the closet door in that basement. That made me proud. I loved the office. Thinking of his office, I think of levelers, knobs, handles, gadgets, and spring plungers, and his other work apparati. I miss my grandpa Pepe very much.

No Moralizing On The Bar Exam

I heard from a friend who heard from a friend who heard from a friend that an unnamed bar exam grader had earlier complained to someone that too many of the test takers had moralized on her test question, rather than just applying the law to the question. When I heard this, my ears immediately perked up. Because I did not moralize on my questions. Yippee! But I suspect that some people may "moralize" on the exam, because they can't cough up the law itself pertaining to the question. And you have to come up with something to write in the bluebook. . But it is no-no, and I am glad I didn't do it.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Playing Like A Lawyer

I am in that sweet spot--or hot spot depending on how you look at it--of having taken the bar exam and not yet knowing if I passed or not. I can sit here and pretend for a couple more weeks until the results are released that I have passed. My gut feeling is that I did pass, but is that dangerous? When I took it last summer, I knew I wasn't prepared well enough and that it would take a miracle for my name to appear on the pass list. And so when my name wasn't on the list, I was disappointed but not devastated. This time around, I feel much better, though not perfect, about it. Some days I actually feel great about it. I would not be surprised if my name were on the list this time. But that can be dangerous, for if my name is not on the list this time, I will have a harder fall. After all, this time I think I really have a chance. I signed up for a free CLE program this afternoon, and I enjoyed it. For a few hours, I could sit in there and dream that I am a real lawyer now. Hope that will be the case.

Character and Fitness Interview

Well, I had my character and fitness interview today. What can I say? It was short and sweet and less painful than I expected. The lawyer assigned to me fussed at me for my traffic tickets, which I hear is par for the course. And he questioned me about my debt. Yes, my debt--my big bugaboo. My debt has been a yoke around my neck for quite a while. I worried when I didn't have my interview last summer. Was it an indication that I didn't pass back then? Possibly. But not sure. All I knew was that I was concerned because others were getting their interview and I wasn't. But this time around it is different. My debt actually is in better shape now. I am caught up on my credit card payments, and I have made payment arrangements with some of the companies. And in this environment, my debt doesn't look so bad. He commented that he hoped I paid off the debt soon, and I said me too! But he seemed satisfied that I had done what I needed to do. Maybe having to wait on the interview was a good thing after all. And is having my interview this time an indication that I passed? Probably not, but it is a good sign in the right direction at any rate.