December 29, 2011

Today was supposed to be spent doing laundry, packing for my trip, cleaning my apartment, and other mundane tasks.  But instead, life happened.  This afternoon, I found out my Dad was in the hospital, for the second time in two weeks, for complications of pneumonia and pulmonary fibrosis.  There are so many open questions at this point, it is impossible to know what the immediate or not-so-immediate future holds.  While waiting for word from surgery today, my brother and I spent the afternoon with my Dad, catching up, welcoming a steady stream of visitors, and trying to make him as comfortable as possible for what looks to be a long haul of rest, pain, and frustration.  Again, we don't have a concrete idea of what we're facing, yet, but please keep my Dad in your thoughts, prayers, and hearts.

December 28, 2011

For my purposes, the college football season has come to a close.  As for the professional football season, I will be enjoying the last game of the regular season at Lambeau Field and thus, the regular professional football season also has come to a close.  With this comes the end of our weekly visits to The Tavern, the service at which has really fallen off recently, but that is a different conversation entirely.  Tonight we watched the Longhorns play California in the Holiday Bowl from the second-story patio.  Conveniently, the game was on every television in the restaurant, perfect for watching a stellar defense and an underwhelming offense finish the year with a 21-10 victory.  Thank you, Texas Longhorns, for a better season than last year!  And thank you, Tavern, for a warm place to watch this year's football games, semi-delicious bar food, and unpredictable service.

December 27, 2011

It has been months since I've gone to a yoga class and it definitely showed today.  During the forty-five minute sweaty yoga class at Black Swan's main location, I lost my balance, failed to sustain poses, and was absolutely inept at following directions.  I felt like a complete amateur, and I'm sure I looked the part, as well.  It was a good class, though.  When it comes to sweaty yoga classes, the more packed the room, the more intense the class, as everyone's body temperatures work to heat the room even warmer than originally planned; today's class was at capacity.  On top of this, the instructor had us in new poses, rare poses, and nearly all of them were incredibly consuming.  Hopefully the yogi in me adequately stretched my leg muscles for this evening's track workout, although I'm not sure much can prepare me for that experience.

December 26, 2011

A not-so-wise man once said:  "Take a look at what I'm wearing, people.  You think anybody wants a roundhouse kick to the face while I'm wearing these bad boys?  Forget about it!"  While Rex was talking about American flag-themed pants, I'm pretty sure the line was written for this particular pair of running shorts.  Not only are they the premiere way to tackle a run with any sort of zeal, they make people want to start running solely for the opportunity to wear a pair.  Further, they bring a smile to everyone's face.  On my run this afternoon, I saw no less than a dozen smiling faces admiring my Texas flag running shorts.  At least, I assume that's what they were admiring.  In short (pun intended), I feel like the Chuck Norris of female runners with these "bad boys."

December 25, 2011

December 24, 2011

For many people, Christmas Eve is spent preparing dishes in advance of Christmas Day, wrapping gifts, making last minute trips for forgotten ingredients, stocking stuffers, and a gift for the cousin who decided to join in the festivities after all.  We, on the other hand, decided to take advantage of the gorgeous 40-degree-but-feels-like-twenty temperature, mixed with freezing rain, for a long run around the city.  From a start at Steck and Mesa, we traveled down Steck to Shoal Creek.  Shoal Creek took us down to 38th, where we turned left toward Lamar.  We cursed the long stretch of Lamar down to Sixth Street as the rain began to come down harder.  After a left onto Congress, we greeted the Capitol building and ran on to San Jacinto.  San Jacinto took us through campus, past Darrell K. Royal Texas-Memorial Stadium, and into Hyde Park on Duval with memories of the 3M Half Marathon abound.  We turned off Duval, left onto 45th and back to Shoal Creek.  Although I'd planned on finishing the full 22 miles this morning, I stopped at about 16; my knees aren't used to such long road miles.  Fifty miles on the trails?  No problem.  Thankfully, we'd strategically placed the truck at Shoal Creek and 45th, so I peeled off my rain soaked jacket, gloves, shoes, and socks and drove home.  While disappointed I didn't finish the mileage I'd set out to, a 16 mile run in freezing rain is nothing to scoff at, I must remind myself.  With presents already wrapped and food already bought (save for one last minute stop at Wheatsville), we spent the rest of the day watching football from the couch.  A perfectly challenging and relaxing Christmas Eve in my book!

December 23, 2011

Two days before Christmas and two meals to plan, what some say are the most enticing parts of Christmas:  breakfast and dinner.  Well, the menus have been determined, but the food has yet to be purchased.  Today was spent going to a handful of different stores for four kinds of cheese, salmon, produce, champagne, wine, eggs, waffle accoutrements, and the like.  Specs was the place for wine, champagne, and cheese.  HEB supplied the lion's share of the rest of the food.  I'm sure we forgot a few things, of course, despite our meticulous shopping lists, which we crafted in an attempt to avoid having to brave the crowds again.  Just a few more days before we enjoy the fruits of our labor! 

December 22, 2011

Something has happened over the past few weeks.  It all started with my whining about how utterly slow of a runner I am.  Really?  At twenty-four I run anywhere from an eleven and twelve minute mile?  Ridiculous.  But I was at a loss of how to change it; every time I ran, I felt as if I were giving it my all, but I looked more like an asthmatic with a sprained ankle.  Then something happened.  One day I just started running faster.  At first, it was only by thirty second per mile, a feat in and of itself by some standards; by the end of the week, however, the change had increased to two minutes.  After a lethargic post-finals week, I expected this odd change to have dissipated as a fathom of my memory.  But I was wrong:  today, I ran 8 miles at a solid nine minute pace, and it was easy, relaxing, and refreshing.  I'm still at a loss, but I'll take it while I can get it!

December 21, 2011

Over the past few years, Austin has had an off-again, on-again relationship with the Trail of Lights, a walk-through holiday light show, of sorts, through Zilker Park.  Unfortunately, the Trail of Lights has fallen victim to the economy and smaller budgets.  However, the Zilker Tree remains.  From Mopac and various points throughout the city, the Zilker Tree seems all-seeing, giant, and a picture of the holiday season.  As we parked the car and walked up to the tree, I was mildly disappointed by its less-than-overwhelming size.  Various food vendors surrounded the base of the tree and the void in the center was full of middle school aged children, horsing around, and some families.  After a little people watching, we bought a cup of hot chocolate, with marshmallows of course, cut our losses, and sought a warmer place to spend the rest of the evening.  Perhaps I expected something closer to the Trail of Lights, which is unfair considering the extent of the City's previous holiday decorations, but underwhelming it was.  Despite this, we were able to appreciate the Tree's charm and let it act as a precious cap on our evening of a Diner 24 dinner and a sweet movie.  

December 20, 2011

It isn't Christmas without at least one viewing of "Love Actually," my favorite Christmas movie of all time.  In fact, last Christmas, Kyle, Brittany, and I watched it twice in a row on Christmas Eve; it's just that good.  As "Love Actually" finally came in on Netflix today, we watched it over fajitas and cookie-brownies.  I'm not sure what it is about this movie that I love so much.  Maybe it is the English accents, the outlandish love stories, or maybe the fact that Hugh Grant and Colin Firth are both in the same movie.  Regardless, tonight marked the official beginning of the holiday season, for me at least.  One of these days I'll buy the movie and it will be the holidays all year long!

December 19, 2011

My kind of holiday dinner party:  salad, pizza from Home Slice, wine, and sugar cookies.  Tonight we spent some time with Kate and Kevin to catch up, relax, and see each other before our holiday travels.  After dinner, and while the sugar cookies were baking, we watched Home Alone.  It was so interesting to watch and remember the parts of the movie I always disliked as a kid, the parts that scared me, and the parts I loved.  The movie is a bit ridiculous, but it went well with the evening!  Happiest of holidays to Kate and Kevin!  Thank you both for hosting our relaxing holiday dinner!  

December 18, 2011

Oh Austin, you're so cute:  an Armadillo Christmas Bazaar to showcase the best of Austin's creative talents just in time for holiday shopping.  We dropped in on the Armadillo Christmas Bazaar today to find unique Austin gifts.  Instead of walking out with arms full of goodies, however, I walked out with a list of vendors for future reference.  I was so overwhelmed with the offerings, I couldn't choose between one thing or another.  Instead, I will wait until I move out of this god awful apartment and into something more permanent, so I can develop a decorating style.  The Bazaar offered everything from photo coasters (Fleur de Stone), to wood working (Wolf Sittler), to hand-drawn maps of Texas (Christopher Alan Smith).  All of the booths were so inspirational, I could barely fall asleep as my mind was swirling with decorating ideas for every room in my future house.

December 17, 2011

I haven't been out on the trails since my 50 mile race at the end of October.  With the colder weather, odder hours, and studying for finals, I just haven't been able to get out to the Greenbelt, or any of the other trail systems Austin has to offer.  With finals behind me and a month of relaxation ahead of me, I set out for fifteen miles at the Greenbelt this morning.  As I slide past the "Trail Closed.  No Entry." sign at the Zilker Trailhead, I knew it would be a good, albeit challenging, first run back because the cyclists would be discouraged by the sign I presumed couldn't possibly apply to me.  As I began a warmup trot down the familiar path, the excitement began to bubble.  With the recent rains, I came across plenty of huge puddles, large mud patches, and the like.  With my dearth of trail runs, I also experienced some nearly twisted ankles and had to teach myself how to run trails again.  Running through a nearly deserted Greenbelt was worth it all, however, as I felt as though I was out in the middle of nowhere with no obligations, no appointments to keep, and no deadlines to meet.  This was the kind of Saturday morning I have been missing for weeks.  

December 16, 2011

Tonight was reserved for the true celebration of the end of the semester.  I met up with a handful of friends at TNT, Tacos and Tequila, for some tacos and unique margaritas.  Because I filled upon chips, I settled on a salad for dinner, but had my share of Asian pear margaritas to make the evening sufficiently celebratory.  However, with a long run looming tomorrow morning, I decided to call it a night after dinner.  Little did I know, it was only 9:30 p.m., which I found out only once I got home.  Regardless of my not-so-life of my own party shenanigans, it was a great evening as I was able to see and catch up with my dearest friends.  

December 15, 2011

There is no better way to end finals than with wine, pizza, and gelato.  After deciding an evening out was in order, we consulted my "Restaurants to Try" list and chose Asti Trattoria, a small Italian restaurant in Hyde Park.  It has been on my list for quite some time, so I was excited to check it out.  We were not disappointed in the least.  The waitress helped me pick the perfect wine to go with my tomato soup and margherita pizza.  The soup was fantastic, with dynamic and fresh flavors.  The pizza had a thin, charred crust, and resisted the temptation to become soggy from the moisture of the mozzarella, as margherita pizzas are wont to do.  Although I didn't try Ben's Italian sausage pasta, I took him at his word that it was fantastic.  Dinner was followed by a round of gelato at Dolce Vita, and a longing look into the window of Antonelli's Cheese Shop, all of which made for an evening successful in decompressing the mounted stress from the past few weeks.  Tres bien!  

December 14, 2011

The past three years have flown by.  I remember working on law school applications, deciding between schools, and filing my declaration of intent, among the countless lectures, readings, and finals.  Today, finally, I completed one of the final steps in this whole process:  applying for admission tot he bar of Texas, which otherwise means registering to take the Texas Bar Exam in July of next year.  With the slightest trepidation, I printed the final copy of the application, attached a photo and check, and slipped the application in the mail.  Incredibly, now all that lay ahead of me is a round of spring finals and the dreaded bar exam.  

December 13, 2011

Tabs are an amazing invention.  They point you in the right direction and they soothe the seemingly unassailable stress experienced by law students across the nation.  If you see a law student bent over his or her book and a stack of multi-colored tabs, know that this is a form of therapy of sorts.  When no other avenues of study are available, law students often taking to "tabbing" their books for open-book exams.  Today, I came to such a spot in my studying for Texas Civil Procedure and thus, tabbed "DISC" (discovery), "PLEN PWR" (plenary power), "AMEND PLDG" (pleading amendments), and the like.  At the very least, it required me to read through the rules, yet again, and note important exceptions, requirements, and burden shifts.  There is one risk with tabbing, however:  over-tabbing, to the point when the tabs simply are overwhelming rather than helpful.  Here's to hoping I didn't over-tab this time around.

December 12, 2011

From a quick look at the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, I can tell practice in Texas is going to be a barrel of monkeys it will be so much fun.  It's as if a group of people met in a room, threw a variety of rule options up in the air, then whatever they grabbed before it landed on the floor made its way into the rule book.  In short, it's a mess.  Regardless, here I sit with my Texas Courts book sifting through it all, trying to make sense of it.  On the list of topics are how to get around default judgments, interlocutory review, pleadings, joinder, venue, discovery, privileges, summary judgment, sufficiency of the evidence, all things "jury," verdicts, judgments, motions for new trials, appeals and plenary power, and, finally, complex litigation.  See?   A barrel of monkeys.  Just a few more days and life will resume, I swear.

December 11, 2011

This is what my life has become these days:  editing, editing, editing.  Over the last few weeks of the semester, we put in quite a few hours getting the last articles of our first issue through the final editing stage, table read, so we can get the issue to publication over the break.  Now, with finals and end-of-semester deadlines approaching, I've been editing my seminar paper.  Having not read it for about two months, I was pretty alarmed to read what I had written.  I'm thinking I was trying to fill up 30+ pages so I wrote with a heavier style than usual.  Over the course of six or seven hours today, I shaved about three to four pages off of the final product by reducing redundant phrases, the use of passive voice, and compacting prepositional phrases.  A scintillating Sunday, if you ask me.  

December 10, 2011

This is similar to the look on my face after I sign up for another ridiculous race.  This look says:  "Uh, what did I get myself into?"  Thankfully, this look wasn't on my face today, just on my brother's face.  After a stellar performance at Rocky Raccoon, my brother qualified for the Western States 100.  Entry into the race, however, is by lottery and Kyle determined he had about a ten percent chance of getting chosen.  When his name appeared on the list, his was his reaction; my reaction, on the other hand, was shrieking and clapping.  Unfortunately, his friend, Brian, wasn't picked up in the lottery, so he likely will be Kyle's pacer for a large portion of the race.  Hopefully I will be able to join the two in California to crew, encourage, and soak up the experience of one of the most well-known endurance races in the country.

December 9, 2011

I'm a sucker for romantic movies; I need not going into an explanation of why for most people to understand that reality.  Through the marvel of a well-produced preview, I was convinced I needed to see "Like Crazy," a movie about two students, one American and one from the UK, who fall in love and grapple with the difficulties of a long-term relationship.  Unfortunately, the previews may have been better than the movie itself.  There was little development as to how they actually fell in love.  There were countless questions as to why one did this, or the other didn't do that, and why on earth one character in the movie stuck around?  The ending of the movie was equally unfulfilling.  I'd recommend avoiding this particular movie if you can help it. 

December 8, 2011

So this was a fun exam.  While some professors write very casual exams in that you are able to work through the exam at your own discretion, some professors detail how much time you should, and must, spend on a given task or question.  This was one of the latter exams.  For the first hour and twenty minutes of the exam, we were not allowed to write or type any answers to the questions.  Rather, this was "thinking" and "outlining" time.  I appreciate the necessity of thinking through a question prior to answering it, but this front loading of all of the thinking, rather than working, and writing, question-by-question, was difficult for me to handle.  Once I think through a question, resolve it, and move on to another issue, it is difficult for me to return to the prior question again.  With a twelve essay exam and a further two hours and forty minutes of "writing" time, this proved especially cumbersome today.  I suppose we'll see how the cards fall in a few weeks, but I'm hoping not to have another similarly written exam in the future.  

December 7, 2011

Watching lawyer movies and shows is just the same as studying, right?  in line with my usual finals strategy, I studied until about mid-afternoon today, then took the rest of the day to get caught up on the rest of my life:  groceries, laundry, cleaning, and the like.  To cap off the evening, we watched The Lincoln Lawyer, starring Texas' own Matthew McConaughey.  Besides spending the movie convincing myself McConaughey could walk into any court in Texas and win himself a verdict, just based on his charm and lawyer experience in acting, I also tried to convince myself the time was well spent in light of my impending conflict of laws exam.  I think it may have been a better attempt had the impending exam been one in evidence (An acquittal based on hearsay? Really?).  Regardless, not a bad way to relax the evening before a four-hour, early morning exam on one of the most confusing topics in law.  Thank you Mr. McConaughey; it is much appreciated.

December 6, 2011

Conflict of laws was the hardest course of the semester.  It's intricate, intimidating, and we were held to a high standard by our professor.  Believing my professor would likely best know how to prepare for his own exam, I took his advice and studied by working through his past exams, most recent first.  So, today I made my way through a handful of conflict of law exams, grappling with interest analysis, territorial jurisdiction, the effect of the Defense of Marriage Act on the states' Full Faith and Credit obligation, among other topics.  One day into going through these exams, I can see why the advice would be well taken:  if you do each exam, it is incredibly easy to predict the exact questions that will be asked on the final exam.  As prepared as I might be for the exam, though, I am pretty burnt out on conflict of laws already.  One more day until the exam, one more day of studying.  Onward . . . 

December 5, 2011

Every single year, when it comes time to order the next year's planner, I get caught up in the new editions, new planner styles, and all of the color and size options.  Perhaps it is the excitement of ordering a new planner (Dorkville, Population: me), but I can never content myself with deciding on the tried-and-true black, large, hardback, horizontal weekly planner.  After about half an hour or so of perusing, however, I did decide on my go-to and ordered it just in time for the new year.  As 2012 will be an interesting and busy year, my planner can't get here soon enough; I already have plenty of dates to note:  graduation, the bar exam, my bar trip (fingers crossed, of course), the start of work, bar results, and, pending those bar results, the swearing in ceremony, among plenty of other celebrations, birthdays, and family gatherings unmarred by the stress of final exams.  2012, I welcome you with open arms! 

December 4, 2011

Poor planning led to me running for two hours, twenty four minutes, and six seconds in varying levels of rain in 40 degree weather this morning.  Had I run yesterday, like I normally would, the rain would have remained, but the temperatures would have been twenty degrees warmer.  Regardless, I had 13.1 miles planned and I intended to complete them.  During the first few miles, I kept questioning my sanity and whether I had the resolve to follow through with this plan.  I kept running; it kept raining; the temperature fell.  As I completed the big loop of the two I'd planned, I started to question whether continuing would put me at risk for a cold or pneumonia or institutionalization.  I decided to keep running, it wasn't so bad.  With my feet sloshing around my shoes, water dripping from my hat, and my fingers turning into popsicles inside my gloves, I made the final turn on my route.  I also glanced at my watch:  believe it or not, despite being tired and running in rain and ridiculously cold temperatures, I was going to best my half marathon personal record by about twenty minutes!  I'm not sure how I did it, but the cold, rain, and cold rain was worth the sense of accomplishment this morning!

December 3, 2011

One of my tried and true techniques in studying for a final exam is to go through the professor's prior exams for the course.  The concepts tend to stay the same, as does the professor's testing style.  One risk of this approach, however, is that one cannot be certain that the professor covered the same material, with the same emphasize or time dedicated to a particular topic, as he or she did for your semester.  As a result, I'm left with this question:  I circled "30 acres" and "Cold Springs," ending up with a question mark and nothing else.  Why these two phrases were important, I have no clue.  Chalking it up to a changed syllabus, I cut my losses and moved on . . . to yet another seemingly nonsensical question. 

December 2, 2011

Partly because scheduling wouldn't allow, and partly because I took up our entire birthday buddy weekend, Kevin decided to postpone his birthday celebrations and gatherings until this evening.  Unfortunately, I was unable to attend all of the festivities but, as Kate astutely pointed out, a girl has to eat.  Conveniently, Kevin's chosen restaurant for dinner was right around the corner from my study spot so later in the evening, I took a break and we joined the belated birthday gentleman for some Tex-Mex and great conversation.  Moments like this remind me that this time next year, I won't be secluded from the rest of society for weeks at a time due to finals.  It's a sweet thought!  But, more importantly:  happy belated birthday, Kevin Kozak! 

December 1, 2011

As so it begins:  another round of finals for another semester of law school.  First up on the list is my oil and gas final.  Contrary to what I expected, I've found that I like this course quite a bit.  That being said, 3L-itis struck early in the semester and now I'm playing a bit of catch up.  I've set up shop away from my distracting apartment, my distracting office, and all distracting coffee shops.  I have all of my books, notes, outlines, any prior exams, a cup of water, a cup of hot tea, and am still looking for that motivation I mentioned.  As best I can, I've spent today powering through prior exam after prior exam, trying to wrap my head around the intricacies of the law I didn't notice as I wandered around in my post-graduation daydreams.  Any well wishes for this finals season are more than welcome. 

November 30, 2011

One of my least favorite times of the year:  buying textbooks.  One of my most favorite times of the year:  selling textbooks back to the Co-op.  Unfortunately, I get a negative return on my initial investment, but at least the funds can buy me lunch for the two weeks of finals.  I was only able to sell back two books today, as I still need the others for studying, but I did get quite the chunk of change.  Hopefully I won't spend all of the money in just a few lunch spots this finals, perhaps branching out from Torchy's, Taco Deli, and Freebirds.  Perhaps, but unlikely.

November 29, 2011

So, you know when you've run about five miles in late afternoon and haven't eaten lunch and all you want is a decent meal of some protein and carbohydrates?  Have you ever experienced the disappointment of a not so decent meal in this situation?  If not, take my word that it is irritating, frustrating, and has the capacity to ruin the evening.  After my run this afternoon, I decided to try Phil's Ice House for the first time.  Their menu seemed interesting so, why not?  Here's why not:  they drench the buns in what must be a pound of butter or oil or something similar; they don't cook your meal to order (although I did like the cheddar more than I thought I might); it's impossible to taste any one part of the burger with all of the grease; and, finally, by the time you get through the burger, you are too full of said grease to enjoy rather decent and unique fries.  Maybe on another day when I wouldn't have been quite so hungry, Phil's Ice House may have been a hit, but not today.  Unfortunately, I'm not sure they'll be getting a second chance.