For the past few weeks I've been working with my teammates to develop case theories, trial strategies, and curve balls to test the competing AAJ team prior to their competition. We, as the scout team, get to have all of the fun. We get to deliberately break the competition rules, (mildly) disregard the Rules of Evidence, and openly flout (some) rules of courtroom decorum, all to make sure the competing team is prepared. If the competing team's varied changes of trial strategies, opening statements, and evidentiary offerings is any indication of our success, we should be extremely proud of ourselves.
Over the past few years I have used my federal tax refund for a variety of "investments," such as last year's trip to Coachella. For this year's investment, I decided to turn my refund over to my sister-in-law, along with carte blanche to find me new clothes and the like. I am notorious for finding a piece of clothing I absolutely love and buying every version of it I can find, which is not conducive to a varied and exciting wardrobe. Brittany, on the other hand, is a master of seeing the potential of every article of clothing in the store and instantaneously knowing whether and how it will work for a given person. I walked away with blouses (rather than t-shirts), unique cover-ups (rather than plain cardigans), and a number of adorable dresses (rather than jeans, although I did buy a fair number of jeans also). Thank you, Uncle Sam!
