Home stretch
Oops, been a little remiss on my blog. But I am in the home stretch. Having run hundreds of 400m’s in my life, I can say that this last 4 weeks has similarities and differences to the final straightaway of a 400m.
Some similarities: your muscles are burning (brain is burning), you can see the end and you’re really happy about it, and you and everyone else is hoping you finish faster rather than slower. Someone will hand me a little medal (diploma) when I’m done.
Some differences: I’m not winning law school. I am (was) a much better 400m runner than law student. But I’m ok with that, because I don’t think I’d like myself very much if I were a stellar law student. (Ironically, I did get all A-’s last quarter. I have no idea how.). Finishing a 400m is pretty simple: lift knees, swing arms, don’t get tight. Law school doesn’t have that simplicity.
This quarter has actually been very nice. I’ve had a lot more time to spend with Cedar and my friends. I even cooked once or twice! I’m feeling very good even though the whole job search is looming large.
We’ve been playing ultimate, which is great fun. My team, Hellfish, has only lost once. Last year we were the Spring League Champions:
In our most recent game Cedar took lots of pictures of me (good work honey!):
The second picture is me landing from a layout catch.
Sadly, I didn’t get any pictures of Cedar, though he had an amazing layout catch and score where he ran down a dying throw and caught it 3 inches off the ground.
Things are moving right along here in Seattle. We’re buying a new Prius! Either silver or black with all the options (Navigation system, remote keyless entry, nice stereo, vehicle stability control, airbags, some other stuff I’m not as excited about like auto-dimming mirrors and fog lights):
Anyone looking for a 1990 Nissan Maxima with 220K+ miles on it? Runs great! I found a picture (hard copy) of my dad and the Maxima when he first bought it, lo 15 years ago. I’ll try to scan it.
Then, at the end of May, we’re moving to a friend’s house while I take the bar. In August we go on a road trip in our new Prius. Then I look for a job, then we look for a house.
On the job front things are going well. Recently I’ve been meeting with a lot of Immigration law attorneys. They have been very helpful and kind. I’m hoping to meet with some more estate planning attorneys soon. The job market is still not great, so it might take me a while to find the job that I’ll be happy with. I’m really grateful that Cedar is willing to support us while I look.
So I look forward to all the big changes that are afoot. Once we get a house we’ll probably get a dog not too long after that, and, despite my previous schizophrenia on the whole dog thing, I think it will be really nice to have a little furry beastie to take care of. I expect that Cedar and I will spend some time working with a knowledgeable rescue organization to find the dog that is right for us. And I think not being in law school will really help in terms of being able to have the dog-ownership experience that I’d like.
Classes are going fine. Death and Gift Taxation is fairly entertaining, despite having to read the tax code. Access to Justice is interesting. I led a class with two other students as part of the requirements for the class. Our topic was “Personal Identity, Role, and Values: Becoming a Lawyer, Staying Yourself.” It was a topic I find very interesting and we discussed the general unhappiness and unhealthiness of the legal profession, why people stopped wanting to do public interest work during law school, and how law school socializes law students to a certain kind of legal work (large firm work). Turns out a study was done here at UW law school and 21% of respondents had a serious alcohol problem (meaning DUIs had happened repeatedly), and almost as many had serious clinical depression. In many ways the legal profession is not doing well.
Bus Orgs is fine. The Professor has made it very clear that he hates it when we come to class late and we shouldn’t come at all if we come late. This is a little unusual as I’ve never heard a law school professor mention tardiness. I was very bad and stayed in bed, skipping Bus Orgs today. It was wonderful! I got an extra 30 minutes of cuddle time with Cedar.
So that’s about everything I’ve got to say. Oh, I graduate on June 12th, start the bar review course on the 13th, take the bar on July 26th-28th, and then I’m free!!!!!! Well, free to continue my job search.
