First of all, I need all my bloggy friends to send prayers/healing thoughts/whatever you prefer to my best friend, Christen. She's been dizzy, nauseous, and has had a headache for about two weeks now. She went to the doctor, they gave her some anti-nausea stuff with directions to use it until Wednesday and directions to call if the symptoms came back...they did. So, she has to go back to the doctor, they have to check more things, and I'm terrified and helpless. So, good thoughts, hope that it's either nothing or something simple, like, maybe she needs a new eyeglass prescription.
In other, happier news...totally dating my roommate now. Crazy, right? Whatever, I've known him for six months now and for most of those six months, the thought was in the back of my mind and I kept finding ways to push it away because I figured it was a bad idea. Who knows, maybe it's still a little crazy, but I couldn't keep ignoring what I felt or inventing things that "annoyed" me so that I could try to push the feelings aside. He's a nice guy, the last few days he's been totally respectful, and before I went ahead with anything I laid all my relationship issues on the table and he was really understanding about it all. We decided to maintain separate bedrooms for a while to try to make it a little less like we're "living together" even though, well, we are. So, there you go.
And, on another happy note, my mom and I depart for PARIS today! I'm so excited. I can't even describe how excited I am about this. On that note, I'd better go pack!
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Spicy Taters and Eggs!
Okay Ginger, here's my recipe for the month. I didn't even think to take a picture, I was just experimenting and then when I was almost done eating it I thought, well, this should be my recipe this month!
So, some background. When I was a kid, my dad used to make this thing for breakfast that he called Taters and Eggs. Like the name indicates, it's sliced up potatoes and scrambled eggs, all mixed up in the pan. Pretty simple, but I've always loved it. I'm not usually a fan of the sweet breakfast foods like pancakes, so when I wanted something "special" this is always what I craved. Well, today I went to make some, but I decided to kick it up a notch and make it a bit spicy. I thought, hey, I like spicy potatoes, and people put Tabasco sauce on their eggs all the time so I can't imagine they'd interfere with the spice. Anyway, it was delicious. So, I'm going to share the recipe.
Ingredients (for one serving):
One medium russet potato (or whatever other kind of potato you'd like to use, just make sure it's approximately the same size as a medium-sized russet potato).
Three eggs
Olive oil, about 1/2 a tablespoon
Chili powder
Paprika
Cayenne pepper
Wash and peel the potato (or don't peel it, whatever). Cut it into lengthwise quarters, and then thinly slice up the quarters. You want the slices to be somewhere around 1/8 inch, thin enough to cook quickly in a frying pan. When you've started slicing the potato, start heating the olive oil in a ten-inch skillet. When it's hot and the potatoes are sliced, throw them in and get them cooking. When they have a nice even coating of the olive oil, grab your chili powder and give your potatoes a nice, even, light coating, then stir the potatoes around to get it all over all of them. Chili powder is a pretty mild spice, as spice goes, so don't worry too much about accidentally going overboard. Take the paprika and lightly coat the potatoes and stir them again, just like with the chili powder. Then take your cayenne pepper and really, really, lightly dust the potatoes with it and stir them around again. The cayenne pepper is the one you want to watch out for, go too crazy and those will be some SPICY potatoes. Of course, if that's what you want, then go for it, just keep in mind that I like spice and even I have nearly out-spiced myself with the cayenne pepper.
Once you've gotten the potatoes all spiced up, keep moving them around every minute or so to make sure they cook evenly. As soon as they're just about fully cooked, turn the heat down to medium and give the pan a minute or two to cool down. Once the pan cools, take your three eggs, whisk them up in a bowl like you would for scrambled eggs, throw in a dash or two of salt and get that mixed into the eggs, then pour them in right on top of the potatoes. Quickly stir the whole mixture and get the eggs fully cooked, for about a minute or so. Immediately remove the pan from heat and serve. Enjoy!
Ginger, I know you can't have eggs. I don't know how you'd improvise scrambled eggs, but you could always just make the spicy potatoes on their own as a side dish. =)
So, some background. When I was a kid, my dad used to make this thing for breakfast that he called Taters and Eggs. Like the name indicates, it's sliced up potatoes and scrambled eggs, all mixed up in the pan. Pretty simple, but I've always loved it. I'm not usually a fan of the sweet breakfast foods like pancakes, so when I wanted something "special" this is always what I craved. Well, today I went to make some, but I decided to kick it up a notch and make it a bit spicy. I thought, hey, I like spicy potatoes, and people put Tabasco sauce on their eggs all the time so I can't imagine they'd interfere with the spice. Anyway, it was delicious. So, I'm going to share the recipe.
Ingredients (for one serving):
One medium russet potato (or whatever other kind of potato you'd like to use, just make sure it's approximately the same size as a medium-sized russet potato).
Three eggs
Olive oil, about 1/2 a tablespoon
Chili powder
Paprika
Cayenne pepper
Wash and peel the potato (or don't peel it, whatever). Cut it into lengthwise quarters, and then thinly slice up the quarters. You want the slices to be somewhere around 1/8 inch, thin enough to cook quickly in a frying pan. When you've started slicing the potato, start heating the olive oil in a ten-inch skillet. When it's hot and the potatoes are sliced, throw them in and get them cooking. When they have a nice even coating of the olive oil, grab your chili powder and give your potatoes a nice, even, light coating, then stir the potatoes around to get it all over all of them. Chili powder is a pretty mild spice, as spice goes, so don't worry too much about accidentally going overboard. Take the paprika and lightly coat the potatoes and stir them again, just like with the chili powder. Then take your cayenne pepper and really, really, lightly dust the potatoes with it and stir them around again. The cayenne pepper is the one you want to watch out for, go too crazy and those will be some SPICY potatoes. Of course, if that's what you want, then go for it, just keep in mind that I like spice and even I have nearly out-spiced myself with the cayenne pepper.
Once you've gotten the potatoes all spiced up, keep moving them around every minute or so to make sure they cook evenly. As soon as they're just about fully cooked, turn the heat down to medium and give the pan a minute or two to cool down. Once the pan cools, take your three eggs, whisk them up in a bowl like you would for scrambled eggs, throw in a dash or two of salt and get that mixed into the eggs, then pour them in right on top of the potatoes. Quickly stir the whole mixture and get the eggs fully cooked, for about a minute or so. Immediately remove the pan from heat and serve. Enjoy!
Ginger, I know you can't have eggs. I don't know how you'd improvise scrambled eggs, but you could always just make the spicy potatoes on their own as a side dish. =)
Monday, July 5, 2010
Happy (Late) Independence Day!
It's been a while since I blogged. I need to get back to the studying since I took basically the whole weekend off for the holiday, but I wanted to quickly post and say hi to everyone.
So, remember the guy that I said I had a date with in my last substantive update? Well, I'm still seeing him. As we can find the time, at least. Between my studying and his job as a paramedic, it's been difficult. But we're still making an effort, at least. So, I'll tell you more about how that's going when he and I get the chance to really spend some time together. So far I like him, but that's about all I know.
I had fun with Jenn and Matt last night at the fireworks. It was weird though, there was this abnormally long gap between the 1812 Overture and the fireworks show. So there we were getting irritated and bored while waiting for the fireworks to start. But it finally started and I got some really good fireworks photos this year. I'll have to remember that spot for later years if I want to go back for more photos. Next year I might stay home and find out how much I can see from my balcony. I've heard from various Quincy residents that if you have a balcony that faces the city (like I do) you have a pretty great view. Not a photographer's view, but now that I finally got the photos I want, that's fine.
What, you want to SEE the photos? Alright, alright, don't get your panties in a twist. Here's my flickr album: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bridgetem/sets/72157624238854095/
There are some fireworks from previous years in the same album...you'll know which ones are this year's from my oh-so-creative title on each one: July 4th, 2010. =)
The studying is going quite well. We had a practice MBE (multi-state bar exam...the multiple choice part) the other day. I actually missed physically going in to the practice day because I slept really poorly the night before, but I did it at home and timed myself...and made sure to sit at my desk, rather than on the couch or something. I know, I missed the experience of being in a huge room with a bunch of other test-takers, but it's not like I haven't taken standardized multiple-choice tests before. Anyway, supposedly, the average national score is 105 on the practice day. Passing on the bar exam is roughly 128 (raw score, not scaled). My score on the practice day was 130. So unless being in a room with a bunch of other people is going to distract me more than the cat coming up and meowing at me or climbing in my lap or hopping on the desk and trying to lay on the testing booklet, all I need to do is maintain that score, rather than improve on it. Hooray! As for the essay day, which is Massachusetts only, I'm pretty well set there too. We've been turning in practice essays to barbri for them to grade and give back to us...so far I've gotten a little above a 4 on each essay I've turned in, and the goal score per essay is a 4 or a 5 (out of 7 possible). The score is mostly a reflection of organization and at least demonstrating adequate knowledge of the law. As I've learned from the practice essays, adequate does not mean perfect, because I know both the ones I turned in were not perfect. So, yay!
And, with that, I should go study now, so that I don't lose all this progress. At this point, I probably won't write again until after the exam, so...see you all when it's over!
So, remember the guy that I said I had a date with in my last substantive update? Well, I'm still seeing him. As we can find the time, at least. Between my studying and his job as a paramedic, it's been difficult. But we're still making an effort, at least. So, I'll tell you more about how that's going when he and I get the chance to really spend some time together. So far I like him, but that's about all I know.
I had fun with Jenn and Matt last night at the fireworks. It was weird though, there was this abnormally long gap between the 1812 Overture and the fireworks show. So there we were getting irritated and bored while waiting for the fireworks to start. But it finally started and I got some really good fireworks photos this year. I'll have to remember that spot for later years if I want to go back for more photos. Next year I might stay home and find out how much I can see from my balcony. I've heard from various Quincy residents that if you have a balcony that faces the city (like I do) you have a pretty great view. Not a photographer's view, but now that I finally got the photos I want, that's fine.
What, you want to SEE the photos? Alright, alright, don't get your panties in a twist. Here's my flickr album: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bridgetem/sets/72157624238854095/
There are some fireworks from previous years in the same album...you'll know which ones are this year's from my oh-so-creative title on each one: July 4th, 2010. =)
The studying is going quite well. We had a practice MBE (multi-state bar exam...the multiple choice part) the other day. I actually missed physically going in to the practice day because I slept really poorly the night before, but I did it at home and timed myself...and made sure to sit at my desk, rather than on the couch or something. I know, I missed the experience of being in a huge room with a bunch of other test-takers, but it's not like I haven't taken standardized multiple-choice tests before. Anyway, supposedly, the average national score is 105 on the practice day. Passing on the bar exam is roughly 128 (raw score, not scaled). My score on the practice day was 130. So unless being in a room with a bunch of other people is going to distract me more than the cat coming up and meowing at me or climbing in my lap or hopping on the desk and trying to lay on the testing booklet, all I need to do is maintain that score, rather than improve on it. Hooray! As for the essay day, which is Massachusetts only, I'm pretty well set there too. We've been turning in practice essays to barbri for them to grade and give back to us...so far I've gotten a little above a 4 on each essay I've turned in, and the goal score per essay is a 4 or a 5 (out of 7 possible). The score is mostly a reflection of organization and at least demonstrating adequate knowledge of the law. As I've learned from the practice essays, adequate does not mean perfect, because I know both the ones I turned in were not perfect. So, yay!
And, with that, I should go study now, so that I don't lose all this progress. At this point, I probably won't write again until after the exam, so...see you all when it's over!
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Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Spicy Teriyaki Tuna
Okay, this is for Ginger's Asian Style Noodles meme. I'll admit, I've never made it with noodles, always with rice. I didn't have time this month to try it with noodles, but since I invented the Spicy Teriyaki Tuna part ages ago, I figured this is the right time to share. So, because the tuna has a teriyaki sauce, I think it will go well with udon or soba noodles. I was personally going to go with soba, had I managed to actually make it this month. I was going to cook them up and then just put the Spicy Tuna Teriyaki on top, sort of like when you go to a bento stand (if any of you have ever done that...).
So, for the main deal, the key to this is actually a specialty package of tuna from StarKist. It's StarKist Tuna Creations - Sweet & Spicy Tuna. My inspiration actually came from the recipe on the back, but I didn't have everything necessary and I was trying to just throw together some food with what I had in the house. So, I looked in the fridge and discovered I had a bottle of Kikkoman Teriyaki Sauce. I thought that would work...and it did. It's a kind of thin sauce, so if you like a thicker sauce, you might want to mix it with some cornstarch first. Or just make your own, or find a thicker pre-made sauce. But that's up to you. So now, without further ado, the recipe:
1 package StarKist Tuna Creations - Sweet & Spicy Tuna
1/2 to 1 cup frozen corn (I always just throw it in until it looks right)
2 to 3 cups frozen broccoli cuts (again, I just throw it in until it looks right)
Kikkoman Teriyaki Sauce (or your own teriyaki sauce, or any other teriyaki sauce you like)
1 Tbsp. cooking oil - sesame or vegetable oil both work well, but I've used olive oil before when that's what I had and it doesn't end up tasting like olives, so it should be fine.
Prepare noodles according to directions on the box. Set aside. Heat the oil in a wok or large skillet on about medium high. Stir fry the broccoli until it's a bit warm, around two minutes, and then add the corn and warm it up for about a minute. Add the tuna packet and stir fry for one minute, then add the teriyaki sauce. I always just eyeball it, so I don't know exactly how much is in there -- I'd say add sauce until there's enough for it to kind of boil around the tuna and corn, and the broccoli pieces are at least partially covered. Let it simmer for a couple minutes until everything is hot, then remove from heat. Spoon over noodles. My suggestion would be to keep the noodles and tuna separate so everyone can decide on their own sauce-to-noodle proportion...but that's how I like to serve spaghetti too, so maybe that's just me. =)
So, for the main deal, the key to this is actually a specialty package of tuna from StarKist. It's StarKist Tuna Creations - Sweet & Spicy Tuna. My inspiration actually came from the recipe on the back, but I didn't have everything necessary and I was trying to just throw together some food with what I had in the house. So, I looked in the fridge and discovered I had a bottle of Kikkoman Teriyaki Sauce. I thought that would work...and it did. It's a kind of thin sauce, so if you like a thicker sauce, you might want to mix it with some cornstarch first. Or just make your own, or find a thicker pre-made sauce. But that's up to you. So now, without further ado, the recipe:
1 package StarKist Tuna Creations - Sweet & Spicy Tuna
1/2 to 1 cup frozen corn (I always just throw it in until it looks right)
2 to 3 cups frozen broccoli cuts (again, I just throw it in until it looks right)
Kikkoman Teriyaki Sauce (or your own teriyaki sauce, or any other teriyaki sauce you like)
1 Tbsp. cooking oil - sesame or vegetable oil both work well, but I've used olive oil before when that's what I had and it doesn't end up tasting like olives, so it should be fine.
Prepare noodles according to directions on the box. Set aside. Heat the oil in a wok or large skillet on about medium high. Stir fry the broccoli until it's a bit warm, around two minutes, and then add the corn and warm it up for about a minute. Add the tuna packet and stir fry for one minute, then add the teriyaki sauce. I always just eyeball it, so I don't know exactly how much is in there -- I'd say add sauce until there's enough for it to kind of boil around the tuna and corn, and the broccoli pieces are at least partially covered. Let it simmer for a couple minutes until everything is hot, then remove from heat. Spoon over noodles. My suggestion would be to keep the noodles and tuna separate so everyone can decide on their own sauce-to-noodle proportion...but that's how I like to serve spaghetti too, so maybe that's just me. =)
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Monday, May 31, 2010
And...done.
Well...I graduated. And now I have to prep for the bar. So...I'm done, but not done. But graduation was a great day. I really did work hard to get there, so even though I now have more work ahead of me, I still feel good about what I've accomplished so far.
All the lawyers here call the state "Pass-achusetts", so I'm hoping that means I shouldn't be concerned. But it's still going to be two more months of intense studying...Pass-achusetts or not, I have to study for it. The only reason so many people pass here is because of how Mass deals with the scoring -- rather than say you failed because you just missed the mark on one part of it (essay or multiple choice), if you can make up for it on the other part and your overall score is good enough, you pass.
In spite of how busy I'm going to be, apparently I have a date...sometime this week. We haven't made the official plan, but he's been texting me and stuff so I don't think he's going to forget about me, lol. I met him last night, he's a friend of Vanessa's...or maybe a friend of one of her friends. Whatever. He's nice and interesting, and he seems intelligent. He's a paramedic, which is pretty cool (and with how often I like to hit my head/sprain my ankle/otherwise injure myself, that could be useful, lol). And when he asked me to dinner, I warned him that I'm not one of those girls who just eats a salad at dinner and he told me he thinks that's hot, lol. I'll just have to warn him that I may be short on time, especially at the end of July. I have this tendency to meet guys when I'm not looking for one because I'm going to be busy or I'm moving across the country or something, so I've learned to just go with it.
Oh! Part of commencement week was a scavenger hunt all over Boston. It was on Tuesday, which was, of course, the hottest day EVER. Okay, not ever, but it got up to like, 90. Anyway, so my team didn't win, we ran out of steam (and so did Abby, Amanda's chihuahua) so we didn't get nearly as much stuff as some of the other teams. BUT, we ended up winning most creative with our interpretations for the photo requirements, so we still each got a $15 iTunes gift card, woo!
Well, I think that's about it. I might be back to complain about bar studying, but I'm not sure. I'll at least try to keep you all posted on the new boy.
All the lawyers here call the state "Pass-achusetts", so I'm hoping that means I shouldn't be concerned. But it's still going to be two more months of intense studying...Pass-achusetts or not, I have to study for it. The only reason so many people pass here is because of how Mass deals with the scoring -- rather than say you failed because you just missed the mark on one part of it (essay or multiple choice), if you can make up for it on the other part and your overall score is good enough, you pass.
In spite of how busy I'm going to be, apparently I have a date...sometime this week. We haven't made the official plan, but he's been texting me and stuff so I don't think he's going to forget about me, lol. I met him last night, he's a friend of Vanessa's...or maybe a friend of one of her friends. Whatever. He's nice and interesting, and he seems intelligent. He's a paramedic, which is pretty cool (and with how often I like to hit my head/sprain my ankle/otherwise injure myself, that could be useful, lol). And when he asked me to dinner, I warned him that I'm not one of those girls who just eats a salad at dinner and he told me he thinks that's hot, lol. I'll just have to warn him that I may be short on time, especially at the end of July. I have this tendency to meet guys when I'm not looking for one because I'm going to be busy or I'm moving across the country or something, so I've learned to just go with it.
Oh! Part of commencement week was a scavenger hunt all over Boston. It was on Tuesday, which was, of course, the hottest day EVER. Okay, not ever, but it got up to like, 90. Anyway, so my team didn't win, we ran out of steam (and so did Abby, Amanda's chihuahua) so we didn't get nearly as much stuff as some of the other teams. BUT, we ended up winning most creative with our interpretations for the photo requirements, so we still each got a $15 iTunes gift card, woo!
Well, I think that's about it. I might be back to complain about bar studying, but I'm not sure. I'll at least try to keep you all posted on the new boy.
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Tuesday, May 11, 2010
And you all thought I'd fallen off the edge of the world...
Nope, I'm right here.
I suppose all the readers I know about are also my FB friends...or at least email buddies (hi Nikki!), so you're probably all aware that I didn't actually fall off the edge of the world. But, regardless, I guess it's time for a post.
Let's see, where did I leave you? Oh, right, okay, so I've had two choir concerts since last time. The March one was the fun one, and I got to be part of a group of 10 singers doing "California Dreamin'", so that was a blast. If you'd like to see that (and the rest of the concert), the whole thing can be found on YouTube here. Then our May concert was actually just this last Sunday. For that, we did Brahms' Requiem. It went pretty well, except that about halfway through, apparently some little old lady complained about being cold, so they shut all the windows in the church...nearly killing half the soprano section (those high notes can really make a person light-headed), as well as a few members of the other sections. I'm surprised I wasn't among those who almost fainted...I'm prone to overheating, AND I'm a soprano. Anyway...I mean, I'm all for making sure the audience isn't freezing, but there has to be a better solution than nearly killing the performers. Perhaps by shutting SOME of the windows and finding a Snuggie for the little old lady.
So, that's choir. What else? Oh, the roomie and I are getting along swimmingly. When he's home in the evenings (only Sunday-Tuesday right now because he works in a restaurant) we've taken to sitting in the living room instead of retiring to our separate bedrooms right after dinner. Severus seems to like the company in the daytime, too, so it's good all around. Oh, and he's still cooking and being helpful with cleaning and such...and still doesn't seem to mind my little OCD things. He just puts stuff where I tell him it goes and that's that.
The job search is still pretty fruitless...but I'm staying calm only because I have that possible back-up plan from my 4th internship. A couple weeks ago I mailed in some stuff for what I've been calling the perfect job -- it's a Junior Tax Attorney position at a small, tax-only firm...and they do litigation as well as transactional stuff, so I wouldn't have to give up on getting to litigate just to do tax law! So, we'll see how that goes, I'm crossing my fingers. And I'm checking postings on a weekly basis just to see what's there.
As for school...I'm in my last week of classes, next week is finals, and then the following week is grad week, culminating in commencement on the 28th. It's so close...but it hasn't really hit me yet. I think it might have something to do with the bar exam looming just after. I'm done, but I'm not really done. This would be why the celebratory graduation trip to Paris is in August. Well, that and the fact that BarBri starts the week after graduation. For some, it starts the week OF graduation, but I happened to sign up for the video lectures as opposed to the live ones. Not planned, I just wanted to take the evening class...for two reasons. One, now I get to lay by the pool with my BarBri books piled around me during the day, and two, it really fits better with my studying style, because I know I won't study AFTER going to a class in the morning, but I will study before. Especially if I isolate myself at the pool with no facebook or TV. You'd think all that water might distract a swimmer like myself, but I know from experience that the pool at my apartment isn't really all that warm, so it feels great for about 5 minutes on a really hot day, then I get cold and have to get out and warm up in the sun again.
Speaking of Paris...the trip itself is all paid for, and money from family members has started to appear in my registry on gogift.com for spending purposes once my mom and I are there, so that's exciting. I've been practicing my French -- a friend at school went to Switzerland for one of her internships so we had a "French Lunch" last week. I held my own pretty well...she definitely had to remind me of a few words, and my verb conjugations in actual conversation could use some work (meaning, I know how to conjugate the verb for the pronoun I just used, but I have to think a bit too long about it) but I certainly did better than I thought I would, so that was great.
Umm...oh! My 27th birthday came and went. The Boston party was a blast, as was the birthday weekend in DC. Although getting on a plane twice in 4 days gave me a cold, and then right on the heels of that the pollen count in Boston jumped to record levels (according to various sources), and the pollen in spring is the kind of pollen I'm particularly allergic to, so I've been sniffly, stuffy, and sneezy ever since. But I still had a good birthday so that's what counts! =)
Well, I think that's about all the time we have today. I'll try to write again sometime around graduation...before I start drowning in bar prep.
I suppose all the readers I know about are also my FB friends...or at least email buddies (hi Nikki!), so you're probably all aware that I didn't actually fall off the edge of the world. But, regardless, I guess it's time for a post.
Let's see, where did I leave you? Oh, right, okay, so I've had two choir concerts since last time. The March one was the fun one, and I got to be part of a group of 10 singers doing "California Dreamin'", so that was a blast. If you'd like to see that (and the rest of the concert), the whole thing can be found on YouTube here. Then our May concert was actually just this last Sunday. For that, we did Brahms' Requiem. It went pretty well, except that about halfway through, apparently some little old lady complained about being cold, so they shut all the windows in the church...nearly killing half the soprano section (those high notes can really make a person light-headed), as well as a few members of the other sections. I'm surprised I wasn't among those who almost fainted...I'm prone to overheating, AND I'm a soprano. Anyway...I mean, I'm all for making sure the audience isn't freezing, but there has to be a better solution than nearly killing the performers. Perhaps by shutting SOME of the windows and finding a Snuggie for the little old lady.
So, that's choir. What else? Oh, the roomie and I are getting along swimmingly. When he's home in the evenings (only Sunday-Tuesday right now because he works in a restaurant) we've taken to sitting in the living room instead of retiring to our separate bedrooms right after dinner. Severus seems to like the company in the daytime, too, so it's good all around. Oh, and he's still cooking and being helpful with cleaning and such...and still doesn't seem to mind my little OCD things. He just puts stuff where I tell him it goes and that's that.
The job search is still pretty fruitless...but I'm staying calm only because I have that possible back-up plan from my 4th internship. A couple weeks ago I mailed in some stuff for what I've been calling the perfect job -- it's a Junior Tax Attorney position at a small, tax-only firm...and they do litigation as well as transactional stuff, so I wouldn't have to give up on getting to litigate just to do tax law! So, we'll see how that goes, I'm crossing my fingers. And I'm checking postings on a weekly basis just to see what's there.
As for school...I'm in my last week of classes, next week is finals, and then the following week is grad week, culminating in commencement on the 28th. It's so close...but it hasn't really hit me yet. I think it might have something to do with the bar exam looming just after. I'm done, but I'm not really done. This would be why the celebratory graduation trip to Paris is in August. Well, that and the fact that BarBri starts the week after graduation. For some, it starts the week OF graduation, but I happened to sign up for the video lectures as opposed to the live ones. Not planned, I just wanted to take the evening class...for two reasons. One, now I get to lay by the pool with my BarBri books piled around me during the day, and two, it really fits better with my studying style, because I know I won't study AFTER going to a class in the morning, but I will study before. Especially if I isolate myself at the pool with no facebook or TV. You'd think all that water might distract a swimmer like myself, but I know from experience that the pool at my apartment isn't really all that warm, so it feels great for about 5 minutes on a really hot day, then I get cold and have to get out and warm up in the sun again.
Speaking of Paris...the trip itself is all paid for, and money from family members has started to appear in my registry on gogift.com for spending purposes once my mom and I are there, so that's exciting. I've been practicing my French -- a friend at school went to Switzerland for one of her internships so we had a "French Lunch" last week. I held my own pretty well...she definitely had to remind me of a few words, and my verb conjugations in actual conversation could use some work (meaning, I know how to conjugate the verb for the pronoun I just used, but I have to think a bit too long about it) but I certainly did better than I thought I would, so that was great.
Umm...oh! My 27th birthday came and went. The Boston party was a blast, as was the birthday weekend in DC. Although getting on a plane twice in 4 days gave me a cold, and then right on the heels of that the pollen count in Boston jumped to record levels (according to various sources), and the pollen in spring is the kind of pollen I'm particularly allergic to, so I've been sniffly, stuffy, and sneezy ever since. But I still had a good birthday so that's what counts! =)
Well, I think that's about all the time we have today. I'll try to write again sometime around graduation...before I start drowning in bar prep.
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Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Oh goodness! Where have I been?
Pardon my absence. How long has it been, two months? I think I was busy...now I'm not sure what kept me so busy, I just know my weekends were full for a long time, and weekdays were full with work.
I think I'll give all relevant updates in backwards order...it's easier to remember that way.
Today, I went to the BU Dental School to have my first dentist appointment in...well, years. I didn't know until THIS year that I could sign up for a student dental plan and get cheap dental work...so I could have been going since 1L year, but, oh well, I'm going now. For students in the Boston area, it's $250 to sign up for a year, and then all x-rays, exams, cleanings, and fillings are free. So I got my x-rays last week, and then went in for the exam today. The cleaning comes later. So today, he told me that apparently the reason one tooth has been bothering me is because there's a broken filling. He said he should be able to just fix that without a root canal, hooray! He also assured me that root canals are no big deal if I do need one on that tooth, and it should be really cheap at the dental school (wait till you hear the cost for a crown). Then there are a few teeth that look like they have some small cavities forming so we're going to fix those since that's all free too. And then there's one tooth in the back that has a big filling, it doesn't desperately need a crown but since it's only $200 to do it at the school as opposed to roughly $1000 in the real world, we're going to just take care of it. So, first I'll be going back for the cleaning, then they'll fix that broken filling, then they'll fix the other tiny cavities, then probably at the end of the summer I'll get that crown.
Yesterday was the first day back to class...for my last quarter of law school. I'm taking: Law and Literature, Welfare Law, Employment Law, and Human Rights in the Global Economy. I'm in class from 10:15 to 5, with 15 minute breaks to run to my next class...but then I have NOTHING Tuesday, Thursday, or Friday. Tuesdays and/or Thursdays I'll be doing my cushy work-study job, and Fridays I'll just hang around at home unless a professor uses one of the reschedule periods. Anyway, so I'm actually pretty excited about all my classes. Law and Literature is exactly what it sounds like...reading actual BOOKS and then talking about them. We'll be looking at them from a legal perspective, but still...reading books!!! Hooray! And one of our assigned books is Pride and Prejudice! Hooray again! Welfare Law is with my favorite professor, which is the main reason I signed up for it, but it looks like it's going to be really interesting. Employment Law is going to be good, people seem to often have the question "If I get fired, can I sue?" I already know that usually the answer is no (in the US, at least), but now I'll know when the answer is yes. And Human Rights in the Global Economy is going to be really fascinating, we'll be talking a lot about what human rights actually are (food? shelter? physical/personal security?), and who, in the global sense, has the responsibility to ensure that these rights are honored. As law classes go, it's a pretty "fluffy" quarter...which is exactly what I want for my final quarter.
Speaking of it being my final quarter...well, I still don't have a job after graduation. BUT, the law firm I just finished working at sorta-kinda offered me a job. I say sorta-kinda because it's a small firm, they're not really certain what their hiring needs will be when I'm out of school and done with the bar and everything, so they couldn't make a firm offer. But, they loved me there (my evaluation for school said something about "the suberb lawyer [I] will become"), and both the managing partner (aka, guy with his name on the door) and the office manager encouraged me to check in with them during my job search and apply if there's an opening...so, if the stars align and they have an opening, I should be able to work there. So, it's a half-relief. Oh, and the managing partner said he'll write letters of recommendation for me, so that will give me an edge for anywhere else I apply. Now I need to go to career services and figure out where to look for job openings. I'm still applying for a tax LLM, too, so hopefully I'll get into that and I can do that next year if I end up jobless. If I'm REALLY jobless...I've talked to a lot of people who graduated last year when the legal job market was basically dead (it's currently on life support, but I would no longer call it completely dead) who started their own firm or are considering doing so as new lawyers...it's not the optimal way to do things, but it can work. I want my own firm someday anyway, so if I have to resort to it now, then, okay. So, I'm not in a total panic about still being jobless.
Let's see, so that gets us back to February 19th, which was my last day at my internship. February 6th, my choir did a Cabaret night thing, which is a fun little dinner, and we provide our own entertainment by signing up to perform something. I signed up, and did Defying Gravity from Wicked, and I totally kicked ASS. People were complimenting me all night (I had to go first, some "newbie" rule), and even Monday at rehearsal I was still getting compliments. It was a great feeling, I haven't rocked the house like that in a while. Also on the subject of choir, I'm in a little group of about 10 singing...well, I want to surprise Jenn with the song when she comes, so I'm not telling what it is, let's just say it's going to be awesome. We just did it for the whole choir last night, they said the 10 of us have a really nice blend, so that will be fun. I'll tell you all what song it was (or Jenn can tell you) after the concert on the 14th.
Okay, so going back from February 6th takes me back to February Ist...or, well, actually January 31st...when I FINALLY got a new roommate! He's awesome. He's already picked up on most of my little OCD things (like the "leftover spot" in the fridge), he cooks, he puts dishes right in the dishwasher (I hate when people leave stuff in the sink when the dishwasher is RIGHT THERE...unless it's soaking), he handwashes anything that is too big or otherwise shoudn't go in the dishwasher, he cleans up after himself, he's not noisy, he's nice...it's fantastic. His name is Marcelo, he's from Brazil, he was a physical therapist there, a few years ago he moved here. He's now working on getting a PT license here; he has to take a few classes that they wouldn't transfer from his old school, and then he can take the licensing exam. So, US licensing requirements aside, I basically have a resident physical therapist. Good for me, with all my back problems and my stupid knee that hasn't been the same since I hurt it in 2001. So, anyway, after all the trouble with finding a roommate...well, I guess the universe was just making me wait until the right person was ready to move. Lucky for me my landlord is awesome...well, actually, his uncle was paying through December, January I still just paid my half, so really Kevin only lost out on half the rent in January. With all the vacancies all over the place, I'm pretty sure getting half the rent for just one month was better than making me move out and getting no rent at all. He would have let me stay had I not found someone for February (he told me) but still...better for both of us that I found someone. Paying all the utilities on a rather big condo...in winter...with electric heat...yeah, that was a bitch. Although my new energy-efficient furnace helped with that...but it still sucked.
Um, okay, so, January. I don't think there was any significant news for that month. Just working and stuff. Oh, wait! Work! I went to a trial! It was so cool to watch. It had nothing to do with asbestos litigation (the primary focus of this firm...I think I told you guys that but just in case I didn't). It was a dispute between insured and insurer, we represented the insured, we won, hooray! I also made some good friends at work. So, yeah, January was good.
So, now that I've covered that...here's what's coming up. Tomorrow after class I get to go shopping with Vanessa for a new dress for Barrister's Ball (law school prom). Friday there's another law firm cocktail hour and I still get to go even though I don't work there anymore (I told you they love me!). Saturday Megan and I are going to a wedding. Choir concert is March 14th. In a few weeks, Megan has a birthday dinner. Barrister's Ball is also in a few weeks. And from April 9th-11th I'm going to DC for my own birthday celebration! I'm going to have a local party too, either the weekend before or the weekend after (Jenn, I need your input on that, you tend to be the busiest), but I'm excited to be finally visiting DC! Actually, I need to go reserve my plane tickets...I looked at all my options and it's (oddly) cheaper to fly than take Amtrak, I've already refused to take Greyhound any farther than NYC (after the "fun" of getting to Richmond to see Mraz), and I don't want to drive 10 hours for just a weekend (and I absolutely don't want to drive 10 hours ON my birthday to come back), so flying it is! I'll be staying with my "twin" (the girl I met over the summer), her birthday is the 10th (mine is the 11th, if you forgot) so we thought it would be fun to celebrate together.
Alright, I think I've covered everything. Everyone feel caught up now? Good, because I'm hungry, and I need to study. I should update again soon, now that I'm back in class I can get back into a good blogging rhythm.
I think I'll give all relevant updates in backwards order...it's easier to remember that way.
Today, I went to the BU Dental School to have my first dentist appointment in...well, years. I didn't know until THIS year that I could sign up for a student dental plan and get cheap dental work...so I could have been going since 1L year, but, oh well, I'm going now. For students in the Boston area, it's $250 to sign up for a year, and then all x-rays, exams, cleanings, and fillings are free. So I got my x-rays last week, and then went in for the exam today. The cleaning comes later. So today, he told me that apparently the reason one tooth has been bothering me is because there's a broken filling. He said he should be able to just fix that without a root canal, hooray! He also assured me that root canals are no big deal if I do need one on that tooth, and it should be really cheap at the dental school (wait till you hear the cost for a crown). Then there are a few teeth that look like they have some small cavities forming so we're going to fix those since that's all free too. And then there's one tooth in the back that has a big filling, it doesn't desperately need a crown but since it's only $200 to do it at the school as opposed to roughly $1000 in the real world, we're going to just take care of it. So, first I'll be going back for the cleaning, then they'll fix that broken filling, then they'll fix the other tiny cavities, then probably at the end of the summer I'll get that crown.
Yesterday was the first day back to class...for my last quarter of law school. I'm taking: Law and Literature, Welfare Law, Employment Law, and Human Rights in the Global Economy. I'm in class from 10:15 to 5, with 15 minute breaks to run to my next class...but then I have NOTHING Tuesday, Thursday, or Friday. Tuesdays and/or Thursdays I'll be doing my cushy work-study job, and Fridays I'll just hang around at home unless a professor uses one of the reschedule periods. Anyway, so I'm actually pretty excited about all my classes. Law and Literature is exactly what it sounds like...reading actual BOOKS and then talking about them. We'll be looking at them from a legal perspective, but still...reading books!!! Hooray! And one of our assigned books is Pride and Prejudice! Hooray again! Welfare Law is with my favorite professor, which is the main reason I signed up for it, but it looks like it's going to be really interesting. Employment Law is going to be good, people seem to often have the question "If I get fired, can I sue?" I already know that usually the answer is no (in the US, at least), but now I'll know when the answer is yes. And Human Rights in the Global Economy is going to be really fascinating, we'll be talking a lot about what human rights actually are (food? shelter? physical/personal security?), and who, in the global sense, has the responsibility to ensure that these rights are honored. As law classes go, it's a pretty "fluffy" quarter...which is exactly what I want for my final quarter.
Speaking of it being my final quarter...well, I still don't have a job after graduation. BUT, the law firm I just finished working at sorta-kinda offered me a job. I say sorta-kinda because it's a small firm, they're not really certain what their hiring needs will be when I'm out of school and done with the bar and everything, so they couldn't make a firm offer. But, they loved me there (my evaluation for school said something about "the suberb lawyer [I] will become"), and both the managing partner (aka, guy with his name on the door) and the office manager encouraged me to check in with them during my job search and apply if there's an opening...so, if the stars align and they have an opening, I should be able to work there. So, it's a half-relief. Oh, and the managing partner said he'll write letters of recommendation for me, so that will give me an edge for anywhere else I apply. Now I need to go to career services and figure out where to look for job openings. I'm still applying for a tax LLM, too, so hopefully I'll get into that and I can do that next year if I end up jobless. If I'm REALLY jobless...I've talked to a lot of people who graduated last year when the legal job market was basically dead (it's currently on life support, but I would no longer call it completely dead) who started their own firm or are considering doing so as new lawyers...it's not the optimal way to do things, but it can work. I want my own firm someday anyway, so if I have to resort to it now, then, okay. So, I'm not in a total panic about still being jobless.
Let's see, so that gets us back to February 19th, which was my last day at my internship. February 6th, my choir did a Cabaret night thing, which is a fun little dinner, and we provide our own entertainment by signing up to perform something. I signed up, and did Defying Gravity from Wicked, and I totally kicked ASS. People were complimenting me all night (I had to go first, some "newbie" rule), and even Monday at rehearsal I was still getting compliments. It was a great feeling, I haven't rocked the house like that in a while. Also on the subject of choir, I'm in a little group of about 10 singing...well, I want to surprise Jenn with the song when she comes, so I'm not telling what it is, let's just say it's going to be awesome. We just did it for the whole choir last night, they said the 10 of us have a really nice blend, so that will be fun. I'll tell you all what song it was (or Jenn can tell you) after the concert on the 14th.
Okay, so going back from February 6th takes me back to February Ist...or, well, actually January 31st...when I FINALLY got a new roommate! He's awesome. He's already picked up on most of my little OCD things (like the "leftover spot" in the fridge), he cooks, he puts dishes right in the dishwasher (I hate when people leave stuff in the sink when the dishwasher is RIGHT THERE...unless it's soaking), he handwashes anything that is too big or otherwise shoudn't go in the dishwasher, he cleans up after himself, he's not noisy, he's nice...it's fantastic. His name is Marcelo, he's from Brazil, he was a physical therapist there, a few years ago he moved here. He's now working on getting a PT license here; he has to take a few classes that they wouldn't transfer from his old school, and then he can take the licensing exam. So, US licensing requirements aside, I basically have a resident physical therapist. Good for me, with all my back problems and my stupid knee that hasn't been the same since I hurt it in 2001. So, anyway, after all the trouble with finding a roommate...well, I guess the universe was just making me wait until the right person was ready to move. Lucky for me my landlord is awesome...well, actually, his uncle was paying through December, January I still just paid my half, so really Kevin only lost out on half the rent in January. With all the vacancies all over the place, I'm pretty sure getting half the rent for just one month was better than making me move out and getting no rent at all. He would have let me stay had I not found someone for February (he told me) but still...better for both of us that I found someone. Paying all the utilities on a rather big condo...in winter...with electric heat...yeah, that was a bitch. Although my new energy-efficient furnace helped with that...but it still sucked.
Um, okay, so, January. I don't think there was any significant news for that month. Just working and stuff. Oh, wait! Work! I went to a trial! It was so cool to watch. It had nothing to do with asbestos litigation (the primary focus of this firm...I think I told you guys that but just in case I didn't). It was a dispute between insured and insurer, we represented the insured, we won, hooray! I also made some good friends at work. So, yeah, January was good.
So, now that I've covered that...here's what's coming up. Tomorrow after class I get to go shopping with Vanessa for a new dress for Barrister's Ball (law school prom). Friday there's another law firm cocktail hour and I still get to go even though I don't work there anymore (I told you they love me!). Saturday Megan and I are going to a wedding. Choir concert is March 14th. In a few weeks, Megan has a birthday dinner. Barrister's Ball is also in a few weeks. And from April 9th-11th I'm going to DC for my own birthday celebration! I'm going to have a local party too, either the weekend before or the weekend after (Jenn, I need your input on that, you tend to be the busiest), but I'm excited to be finally visiting DC! Actually, I need to go reserve my plane tickets...I looked at all my options and it's (oddly) cheaper to fly than take Amtrak, I've already refused to take Greyhound any farther than NYC (after the "fun" of getting to Richmond to see Mraz), and I don't want to drive 10 hours for just a weekend (and I absolutely don't want to drive 10 hours ON my birthday to come back), so flying it is! I'll be staying with my "twin" (the girl I met over the summer), her birthday is the 10th (mine is the 11th, if you forgot) so we thought it would be fun to celebrate together.
Alright, I think I've covered everything. Everyone feel caught up now? Good, because I'm hungry, and I need to study. I should update again soon, now that I'm back in class I can get back into a good blogging rhythm.
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