Sonic Care to the Rescue

I mentioned a long time ago that I had bought a Sonic Care toothbrush from my dentist. It was expensive but it is worth it! I started having trouble with my gums and was getting fussed at by my dentist and hygienist for not flossing enough. That is never fun. They talked me into getting a Sonic Care. I have been using it for over six months now and wow! I went back to the dentist this past week and was worried. With law school and everything, I have let a lot of things slides, including flossing. I was worried about getting fussed at again. I walked in and warned the hygienist, that I had fallen down but promised to do better. (What I didn't tell her is that I hadn't flossed once in six months. That is how crazy my life has been with school.) I sat in the chair, waiting to get the lecture, but at the end of the appointment, she said I had done well! My mouth looked wonderful. The dentist even said my gums looked great! Well it has to be because of the Sonic Care, because as I said, I had not flossed once.

I Love Memorial Gym!

Memorial Gym at Vanderbilt University is a jinx to opposing teams. It has a raised floor, which I think is wonderful, and I think it is unusual. I don't know if that is what jinxes other teams, but it happened again tonight. Vanderbilt Men's team beat the University of Tennessee, the number one team in the nation. Vanderbilt has beaten a good handful of number one teams in the past. I was so proud of the Dores! Don't get me wrong: I have serious allegiances and love for both schools. You wouldn't believe how much. But on the basketball court, I tend to be a Vanderbilt fan. In football, however, when there is a match between the two schools, I am a Big Orange fan through and through. But tonight I am happy for Vanderbilt. Go Commodores!

Intent to Take the Bar

I just finished my first step towards taking the bar exam. (Unless you want to count four years of law school.) I printed off and filled out the Intent to Take the Bar Exam form. I am not sure why we have to send a check for $80 along with that, just to tell them we are planning on taking the bar. Wouldn't just filling out and sending in the form be sufficient? But we have to pay them $80 for that? This year has had so many extra expenses that it has been very hard. So, I have paid for that, and paid for my two bar reviews, which is the major expense. Now I have to pay for the bar exam application and the background check, which are several hundred dollars apiece. Do they think money grows on trees or something?

Playing the Grade Waiting Game

The agony and the torture. I am waiting on two final grades. One will be a good grade--I just don't know if it will be an A or a B. I am so hoping for an A, but it is hard to get an A at my law school. The other grade is probably going to be a bad grade--I just hope not a failing grade. I don't want to have to come back next year just to take that stupid course over. I was hoping to have one or the other grade back today. But no posting as of yet.

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Update as of a few hours later. I did get my grade in First Amendment law and it is.....an A! I am so thrilled! I wanted an A in there so badly. An A in First Amendment is fitting for a lifelong journalist and a First Amendment zealot. I can celebrate and be happy while waiting for the other grade. I know that one will not be an A.

Please Mr. Postman

I always loved that song--no matter who sings it! I live in a condo building, and we have a group mailbox out front. I never thought much about it until I noticed some really nice commercial mailboxes on the Web that would give our building a more distinguished look. We are always looking for ways to update our building, but newer and nicer mailboxes is not something we have thought about before. Our reserves are a little down right now, but I may bring that up as an idea for next year.

On the same Website, there were some really nice residential mailboxes. My favorites were the Victorians, the Daulhaus, and the Gaines Classic column versions. They almost look like antiques. Another interesting kind was the Mayne Signature Plus Post. The mail box is built right on top of a wooden post. That would look nice in many subdivisions.

Nice looking mailboxes can really spiff up a property! My parents live in a very nice subdivision and most of the houses have some kind of specialty mailbox.

Translating the Courtroom

I heard a presentation the other night about the importance of having a qualified interpreter for non-English speaking defendants in the courtroom. I knew that would be important, but I hadn't given it much thought beyond that. The presentation included a video clip about an interpreter and her client who was being charged with stealing. The interpreter did a very poor job of interpreting the judge's questions, and the defendant ended up pleading guilty to stealing even though she had a good explanation for what happened. But the judge never heard this explanation. (It was not a jury trial.)

The presentation went on to say that there is a difference between a registered and certified interpreter. A certified interpreter takes it a step further and interprets the proceedings simultaneously. Similar to how sign language interpreters interpret a play simultaneously to the audience, I believe.

Freak Bikes

I am taking a breather from school for a few days and doing some much needed housework and catching up on on Nashville Scene reading. In one of the issues, they answered a question I had had for some time. Who are the guys riding the interesting, wierd bikes around town? I would usually see guys riding these bkes in Hillsboro Village, and would always do a doubletake. The bikes are tall, and unusual. Engineer types, I thought.

Well, maybe they are engineering types, but they are members of The Rat Patrol, and they make freak bikes. Apparently there are similar groups of people all over the country. In the article, they mentioned that Nashville is not a good city for bikeriding. Too many hills and too few bike lanes, and hard to get bike parts. One of their main tenets: to remain essentially disorganized.