Go Bears!

In honor of Cal's bowl game on Saturday I wore my Berkeley sweatshirt (which I wear on most chilly days anyway, but still...). While walking across the Hoover Dam (an entry about the Miller-Christmas-Family Vacay in Vegas will be posted soon) a random woman yelled "Go Bears!" to me. I of course responded with an equally enthusiastic "Go Bears!" Cal then went on to win the bowl game. I wouldn't say that I was responsible for this win, but I bet our "Go Bears" exchange at least contributed to the good JuJu. I love being an alum of the best public university in the US.

Don't You Wish Your Law School Friends Were Cool Like Mine?

I received one of the most amazing and unique Christmas presents ever this year from my law school friend Dave. He made Me, Randi, and Bri Lego scenes(?). Rather than writing about them, I'll just show pictures.

This is Me, Randi, and Bri. My Lego thing is a coffee shop, Randi's is a court room, and Bri's is a bar, with a stripper pole. I like how I'm literally glowing in this pic. We're going to put these on our desks at work.

This is a close up of me in my coffee shop. Note: it's a corner (pretty sure you didn't remember that off hand and got it off of fb Dave), pink coffee mug, shutters, handmade lego chair, brief case (that opens) for lappy, smooth floors, and fancy lamp (doesn't turn on). Dave was going to put a plant in the corner, but was apparently out of plant legos. If it was the thought that counted this wouldn't matter....bummer.


This is a dorky pic of Dave, who if he ever reads this, will probably kill me for posting this pic. He's using his lego mug that Randi and I got him for his B-day last year in the law school library. Dave hearts legos (though I doubt he would use that phrase). I don't know if this is a fair introduction of him onto the blog. He's way cooler than this makes him out to be, and he obviously gives great Christmas presents.

Milestone

I AM HALF WAY DONE WITH LAW SCHOOL!!!

Taken Off Guard

I was going over my Reproductive Rights notes at Starbucks today when a woman came up and asked what I was studying. I hesitated for a second deciding whether or not I should tell her specifically what I was studying or give her a more general description. The lady didn't give me a choice. When I told her I was a law student studying for finals she asked what courses I was taking. I really didn't feel like getting into it with some stranger in the middle of Starbucks when I was in a productive mood, but I was afraid that if I only listed 2 classes she'd think I was a slacker (3 is much better right???). Of course she zeroed right in on my Choice class and asked if I was taking it for any specific reason. Again, trying to avoid a political discussion I gave the most neutral answer I could think of: "I'm generally interested in the topic and it seemed relevant." Before I knew it she was asking me if I could agree that secular humanism affected judicial decisions like Roe. I just kept telling myself to smile and nod. She just assumed I supported abortion rights. I wanted to tell her that I agreed with her, but I didn't know if she was the sort of pro-lifer I wanted to associate myself with as she spouted off random studies that link abortion to cancer, started quoting doctors, and throwing out lots of big words. She was clearly ready to confront and change my liberal ideology. Even after I politely mentioned that I don't agree with abortion, she was still very confrontational. She left telling me about how tragic she thought it was that the academic community shunned conservative view points and seemed to be warning me that if I spoke up in class about what I really thought I would probably fail whether or not what I said had any academic merit.

The irony in all this is that I've been stressing about this very thing as I prepare for this final. Taking this class has been a challenge, and most days I am the only one advocating "conservative" viewpoints, but overall I have really appreciated the opportunity to study this topic through a legal lens. Now, as I create my outline and think about the various issues that come up I'm continually asking myself, "how would I answer this?" and "what does my professor want to hear?" I hope that I can achieve some sort of balance as I write my final, making clear and convincing arguments for what I know is right and true, but not forgetting my audience and how complicated this topic really is.

Baby It's Cold Outside

Waking up to this makes the cold a little more bearable and it gives me an excuse to start listening to Christmas music.

Discuss Please

I am admittedly stealing this post from Cinr, but I thought she raised what could potentially be a really helpful discussion. I realize our reader pools overlap to a large degree, but I would still love to hear from everyone (copy and paste your comments people :) ).

How do you study the Bible? Do you have any suggestions for unique/alternative/helpful approaches to digging into God's Word?

A Stitch and Lecture

While being incredibly stupid at work 2 Thursdays ago I cut open my thumb. Here's a piece of advice: don't try to clear out a paper jam in a shredder with a pair of scissors. When I was still bleeding almost (and the almost is very important) six hours after the incident, my friend and coworker, Randi, insisted that we go to urgent care. I questioned the quality of care I was going to be given when the intake nurse didn't know how to spell scissors, but that was only the beginning.

My doctor, who affectionately referred to himself as Father Doctor Martinez, was...well, crazy. The following is a list of all the ridiculous things that happened that night.

• After the nurse told me I only needed to have a tetanus if I hadn't had one in the last 10 years (which I had), dr told me I need one if I hadn't had one in the last 5 years (which I had not). For most this might not be a big deal, but for someone who has a totally irrational fear of needles this is not okay. Dr. fed me some BS about how statistically the shot only lasts for 5 years in 50% of the population while it lasts for 10 in the other 50% and since there was no way of knowing which 50% I was in I would have to get the shot.
• Dr. was a big fan of statistics...made up statistics that is. When I came in he asked what time I cut my finger. It happened 15 minutes shy of 6 hours before he asked me this question. He then started to lecture me about not coming in earlier. He left the room and came back 5 minutes later with a graph that looked like this:He then proceeded to explain this graph to me, until Randi interrupted him and said, "As law students, I think we can read a graph." By the time he finished his little rant, it had been 6 hours since I cut my hand. If he had just put the damn stitch in when I first came in his whole little speech would have been unnecessary.
  
• First he told me I couldn't have stitches because I waited to long to come in (see above) then he decided I needed a stitch because the cut probably wouldn't stay shut and heal on its own. He then gave me the choice of whether or not I wanted novacaine or not. However, he wouldn't just straight up make a recommendation, though he did tell me a story about 12 times about how when he was a kid his dad put 9 stitches in the bottom of his foot without any novacaine. Since I'm so awesome (read: afraid of needles) I opted for being stabbed only twice (instead of 4 times) and got my stitch without any medication. It hurt like hell, but was over soon enough.
  
• While stitching me up dr told me to think of that boy I used to like in high school, who was all dreamy, but I could never talk to...and who ignored me....awkward silence followed.
• When asked the list of questions about smoking, drugs, and alcohol I responded, no, no, and not habitually. Dr went off about how even "Father Doctor Martinez" needs to party every once in a while. He also told me and Randi that he was going to dress up as Barack Obama's twin brother for halloween and how he might need a bullet proof vest...another awkward silence.
  

Believe it or not there is more, but this entry is already long enough and I don't think that words can really express how ridiculous that trip to urgent care was. In closing I leave you a picture taken by Randi on her iPhone while Doctor Father Martinez cleaned my cut (I don't know why the pic is so small...but my face pretty much says it all).

Some Random Bullet Points

A new entry is long overdue and, I promise, is on its way. These quick blurbs will have to tide you over.

• A red cup full of eggnog latte goodness was the perfect start to my day. Welcome back holiday drinks!

• I was reminded again of how different growing up in MN would be compared to CA when on a radio poll for most unusual places people have made-out the answers included: a corn field, a highway snow bank, and a Wal-mart dressing room.
  

• It's November 5th and still no major snow fall. In fact, it's been in the 60s for the past couple days. No complaints here.

Mini Life Assessment

So, I'm 3 weeks into school and I haven't had a chance to come up to breath. Between Law Review, classes, working in a law clinic in school, and working 16 hrs a week, I haven't had much (any?) free time. The odd thing is, I'm struck by how grateful I am for each of the things I'm doing this semester.

Law Review - In addition to becoming a bluebooking bad ass and bff w/ CMOS (Chicago Manual of Style), I'm genuinely challenged to think and solve problems while trudging through an onslaught of footnotes to be edited. It's crazy to think how reliant we are on the internet for research. And even though procuring a hard copy of every single source cited in an article seems slightly archaic/pretentious, I'm kind of proud that I know how to find the most up to date current US laws in a book. Not to mention all those photo copying skilz I picked up working at Bancroft Library are totally coming in handy.

Classes - While I'm enjoying all of my classes, I'm most surprised by my Reproductive Choice Law class. I came in with the expectation that I would be a conservative in a sea of liberalism backed by one of the most notoriously left-leaning professors at the school. While this is still true, I have been pleasantly surprised by that professors ability to present both sides of most issues. The class is largely discussion based, and while I may have singled my self out from the rest of the crowd, I don't feel like I can't speak my mind.

In addition to Choice Law I'm taking Employment Law and Modern Real Estate. Our employment law professor plays a song from his "employment law sound track" everyday before class, so that pretty much makes him awesome. My Modern Real Estate class is one of the most applicable classes I have ever taken in my life. Buying a house just seems intimidating, and while I don't expect to buy one any time soon, I feel like by the time this class is over I could handle it with confidence. Also, the professor is a rock star, by day 2 she had everyone's name memorized based on the pictures she has of us on our seating chart. She also has the most wicked MN accent EVER.

Law Clinic - I'm involved in the Child Advocacy Law Clinic. This clinic is one of the reasons why I chose to go to the U. Little did I know that everyone wants to be in a clinic and each clinic only has about 10 spots that are assigned via a lottery system. I got lucky! Anyway, I basically get to be a lawyer, under the supervision of a real lawyer (think the scene in Legally Blonde where Elle takes over as Brooke's attorney). The other amazing thing is that the work I'll be doing in this clinic is exactly what I would want to do if I didn't have a ridiculous amount of school loans to pay off. I call my first client next week!

Work - I love my job! In addition to having a boss who tells the best lame jokes, I'm actually doing law stuff. School is a lot of theory and "learning to think like a lawyer." At work I have cases, I talk to clients, I write stuff for clients, I file petitions for stuff. It's so cool to see the mechanics of all this thinking. And I work with Randi; enough said.

My House - I feel like I need to tack this one on. I really love my new place. It's really comfortable and I'm already starting to feel like I'm developing a sense of community here that I was lacking before. I love the stage where you get to know the people you are living with: who is a morning person, who gets annoyed by perky morning people, who likes to tell stories, who gives comfort, who serves, who likes the same tv shows as me, etc.. Sadly, I am the only coffee drinker and unfortunately I bought the 10 cup coffee maker. Every morning now I'm faced with a problem: can I drink 10 cups of coffee or do I attempt to make a smaller portion. No matter what I always have too much and half of it goes down the drain (literally and figuratively).

Happy First Week of School to Me!

I was picking up some school supplies when I came upon this:


The Post-it flag, highlighter, AND pen has arrived! Additionally, they are sparkly and come in 3 colors. Pretty much made my day!

I do however, have a few criticisms. I don't know about this two-lid action that's going on. I'm worried about losing the post-it flags/pen lid. Also the post-it/highlighter/pen does not have that fancy turning mechanism that keeps your flags tucked away while not in use. The flags could potentially be pulled out while rolling around in my backpack. Lastly, these post-it/highlighter/pens are not as sleek as their post-it highlighter predecessor. While I may appreciate the sparkles, it screams pre-teen adolescent girl, and 12 year olds have no use for post-it flags or highlighters. 3M should have designed the pen with law students in mind. This is sure to be the next hot give away item at job fairs (since most law students don't buy their office supplies and this is an opportunity to scoop up 3 different supplies at once), but all those sparkles will distract from law firm logos.

A How To

This is pretty stinkin' awesome.

Mark All as Read

Should I be ashamed that after neglecting google reader all weekend I skimmed all the headlines for Oddly Enough before clicking "mark all as read" for my news folder to get rid of all those unread CNN and NY Times headlines?

My Ideal Saturday

After a heinously stressful week I was extremely blessed by a fabulous weekend. I went to La Madeleine, one of my favorite DC area cafes, conveniently located just blocks away from my hotel. Though I don't intend to give a full commentary on the food, I will say that I reluctantly passed up a chocolate almond croissant because I was craving something savory. While I very much enjoyed my Florentine Quiche and thought that it provided a great balance to my latte, I still bought a croissant as I left so I could enjoy it later (which I did!).

This brings me to my second favorite part of my morning (note: coffee and food = first favorite part), my trashy chick-lit book. It's the sort of book that as a law student I probably shouldn't be reading (The Economist or The Bluebook would be more appropriate leisure reading). I'm fairly certain - make that definitely certain - that reading this sort of book kills brain cells, but none the less it goes well with a cup of coffee and occasional breaks for people watching.

I think my "like" (I'm not ready to call it love) for this sort of book started with The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and to be honest I try to keep this indulgence at a minimum. However, after finishing both books I brought with me I had no other choice but to buy another book. The book Something Borrowed, and the books that follow it in the series, came highly recommended by a great friend. Basically, I've decided that I'm totally justified in reading these books because they are about a 30 year old lawyer who hates her job in a big firm and with OCI right around the corner this book is keeping my competitive spirit in check. Be forewarned, essentially the plot of the book is the protagonist justifying her affair with her BFF's fiancé. The book is lacking in sound morals, but is entertaining and throws around legal jargon (which makes me feel smart).

While my morning of drinking coffee and reading chick-lit was not the end of my fabulous Saturday, it reminded me how much I love simple mornings with nothing to do.

Perks

It's been a busy past couple weeks and eventually I plan on writing a post about my adventures which will include pictures.

For now I just wanted to say that grant reviewing is not much fun, but it comes with its perks. While a bright blue tote bag with a government logo is nice, my favorite "extras" for this review have been:

1. Doubletree cookies (They'll give you another one if you ask politely at the front desk.)

and

2. Doubletree pens (I've been hoarding them like a crazy person, but I will have enough to last me all year and then some!)

Connecting the Dots

Last week I received a voice mail from my mom in an unusually peppy tone saying I needed to call her back ASAP because she had something important to tell me. Realizing that her excitement was an obvious front for bad news I called her back not knowing what to expect, but hoping it was one of those things that my mom would overreact to but normal people would be less offended by. Sadly, her call was to tell me that her doctor had found an abnormal spot on her liver and would be doing a biopsy. Not really knowing how to respond to the information, I rushed through the phone call eager to end it so I could process what I had just heard.

Cancer? My mom might have cancer? In reality, rather than really processing this I quickly put the thought out of my mind. There seemed to be no point in worrying. The doctor hadn't even performed the biopsy yet and she didn't have any of the symptoms associated with liver cancer. The biopsy was scheduled for the following day and I awoke that morning with a pit in my stomach. It may have been unlikely that they would giver her results the same day as having the biopsy, but I had an unshakable feeling that this might be the worst day of my life thus far. After some quick google searches about liver cancer I knew that if this is what my mom had there was not a ton of hope. I cried and realized this was affecting me more than I thought it was. All day I waited for news, telling only a couple people about the situation because I didn't want to raise too much alarm without knowing anything. Finally I called my mom only to find out the biopsy was rescheduled for Monday.

I managed to keep myself busy enough throughout the weekend that I didn't really have time to think about it. Still, lying in my bed at night trying to fall asleep my mind would immediately jump to the worst possible scenario. What would my family do without her? Why did I have to be so far away right now? What would the next 6 months look like for our family? I was filled with worry. I tried to remind myself that God's will is perfect, that no matter what the outcome he would guide and protect my family. He cares for the sparrow and clothes the lily, he would be there for us. Still, I know that Satan was doing everything to continue planting seeds of doubt. In many ways I gave into this, I dwelled on the worst and ultimately doubted God's sovereignty. Not that sin is justified by good reasons, by how could I feel anything else?

On Monday, the day of the rescheduled biopsy, I took a break from some of the aspects of my normal routine to pray. All day I was stuck in this very dark place, despite my desire to really make a genuine appeal to God. After receiving a voice mail from my dad saying the biopsy went fine, my mom was in the recovery room, and that they would call on their way home I felt stuck. It was done, the news would come eventually, but I only wanted to hear it if it was good. I prayed for comfort and for strength, feeling selfish that my own struggles consumed my thoughts rather than those of my mom, dad, and siblings. Still, God answers prayer and I was immediately comforted by a call from my dad's sister. While I could hear the worry in her voice as she held back tears, her words and prayers were a comfort. It was a blessing to know that I was not alone in my worries, my feelings of distance, and my prayers. This conversation was followed by a phone call from my parents who sounded genuinely hopeful as opposed to their tones of labored hopefulness I had heard earlier in the week. 2-5 days for news, but oddly I felt at peace. No more worrying. I also felt genuinely hopeful and at the same time accepting of what God was doing.

Last night I received one more phone call in this ordeal. My mom heard back, and there is no malignancy in whatever it is that is on her liver. The doctors aren't even going to do anything since it doesn't seem to be causing her any problems. Amidst feelings of joy and relief I was struck by this thought of "Why God? Why all the worrying? Why all the stress if there was nothing there?" In my attempt to connect all the dots I am convicted by two things, which are ultimately the reason for why I'm writing out this story (kudos to you if you've stuck with the long posting :) ).

First of all, I worry far too much. While this is something that I already knew about myself, this situation showed me how much of this is due to isolation. I hold my worries in, afraid to burden others with my fear and allowing them to fester and grow. I don't want people to see my weakness or feel uncomfortable as a result of my vulnerability. I worry that telling people is fruitless because of their inability to relate to the situation at hand. Being told to carry each others burdens is a heavy commandment not just to those called to carry, but to those called to unload.

Secondly, God answered a prayer in this. One of the things I have been reflecting on this summer is why I'm in law school and if I am glorifying God by being here or just holding onto childhood dreams for the sake of my own glory. Ultimately, could I walk away if God called me elsewhere? In all of my worrying one thing was very clear to me, if my mom's life was threatened by whatever was going on, I would go home. While the logistics of this freaked me out, I definitely had a peace about walking away and waiting on God's timing for coming back. I suppose this is easy to say in hindsight, and the fact that I don't have to make good on my promise right now makes it easier to swallow, but in some ways it's another confirmation. I can walk away if I need to, but for now, God has me here.

Summer Fun!

Armed with a brand new library card and some free time I am currently compiling my summer reading list. I am calling upon you, my friends, for suggestions.

Wandering

I've been searching for a place to live for this coming year. I keep showing up at coffee shops and front doors hoping that I find something special. This year has been, well, difficult in the living situation department. I find my self missing things like squeaky stairs and doors letting me know my suite mates were coming home from class, suite mates singing worship songs in the shower (yes, I could hear you ;) ), and peptobismal pink kitchens filled with smells of goodness. I think that's what I'm looking as I search for a new place to live, community. I was so blessed with such an amazing place to live for 3 years. I may be blocking out some of the less fond memories (floods and mice and things living in my closet), but I am so grateful for that experience.

I still have 2 months before I have to move out, but I feel this pressure to get something set in stone. So much of my life feels up in the air right now and it's frustrating to have so little control over stuff that feels so pressing. So friends, I ask for your prayers as I search and make my decision. Pray that God puts me in a home where I find peace and community, and that I wouldn't rush into any decisions just to get things decided. Pray that I would surrender this decision to Him and wait for His timing.

Top 15 Things I've Done Since August 2007

(Because 10 was too few and 20 was too many)
In no particular order:

1. Experienced the awesomeness that is Fudge Puppies at the MN state fair.
2. Drove from CA to MN with some awesome late night driving bonding with the little sis.
3. Participated in a bowling league.
4. Was in a law related musi-cal.
5. Lived through an entire winter (minus that 1 month CA hiatus).
6. Went to a cheese factory in WI.
7. Spent New Years week eating, drinking, and chatting with my favorite people in the world.
8. The Rock Band Chick Band. 2am. 2 weekends in a row. We're ready for the tour.
9. Found where I want to live if I stay in MN: Stillwater.
10. Dunn Bros.
11. Discovered the PERFECT mugs, and bought 4.
12. Got together with the high school peeps for reminiscing.
13. Reconciled.
14. Celebrated holidays at the suburban bowling alley/bar w/ my awesome fam.
15.FINISHED MY FIRST YEAR OF LAW SCHOOL!! wOOt!

Happy Mother's Day

In celebration of mother's day I spent the afternoon with my G-ma and various other members of my extended family. In addition to shielding off questions about how finals were coming along, I had to deal with being the only non-mom adult woman there. One of my cousins wives just had her 4th child a few weeks ago. It seems like every time I come into contact with a baby, someone is shoving it into my arms and saying "you need the practice" in that sort of suggestive tone that really says "why aren't you married and pregnant yet?" They might really think I need the practice though, because they always seem to assume that I don’t know how to hold an infant properly ("don't forget to support the neck"). I suppose this may just be a misinterpretation of the uncomfortable vibes I'm sending out in response to their prior comment. It's not that I don't want to hold your baby, it's just that I don't want to think of it as practice for my future children.

Oh Finals

I remember once in 7th grade we had to go to these parent-teacher-student conferences where we talked about setting goals and stuff. When asked about something I could improve on I remember saying that I wanted to not procrastinate so much. How ridiculous is it that at 22 this is still what I think I need to improve on? Oh well, maybe I'll work on it later.

Infinite

Even though the calendar says it's April I'm having a hard time believing it because every time I go outside it still feels like winter. The intermittent "warm" spells have melted all the snow, but about once a week it still falls and for a day everything is covered in white yet again. There was a snow storm this weekend. While here in the cities we got mostly slush it was worse up north.

I say all this just to preface the fact that this snow storm threatened to ruin my church's "Spring" retreat. We were supposed to go up north, but the snow kept us here in Minneapolis. I was looking forward to getting away for the weekend, and I was not very optimistic about the prospect of having retreat at church in the heart of downtown and less than a mile from law school, the very place I wanted to get away from. However, God is good, and knows better than I do, and I leave this weekend feeling totally blessed.

I've struggled at times with trying to believe that even if I were the only person ever alive that Jesus would still have died for me. I've wondered if the grace I receive in Christ's death is only a byproduct of the fact that God loves all people and I just happen to be a person. This weekend we talked about God's infinite worth, and while God's personal love for me was not necessarily the primary topic, the Spirit definitely laid some heavy things on my heart. I hadn't thought about this struggle in quite some time. I think for the most part I've gotten over it. Still, today I totally had an "aha!" moment. Someone mentioned that God's attributes are infinite. He is infinitely merciful, infinitely just, infinitely gracious, infinitely powerful... and infinitely loving.

I can't even begin to wrap my mind around what it means that God is infinitely loving. By wondering if God loved me as an individual, I stuck his capacity to love in a box. A God who loves infinitely has no boundaries. Perhaps this is why he loves us even when we slap him in the face by doing wrong. It's just another one of those paradoxes of God that I really cannot explain, but still I experience it. God, who is greater than anything I can imagine and is worthy of so much more than I can offer, doesn't just see me in a crowd of faceless people half-heartedly attempting to glorify him, he sees me and he loves me.

A guessing game...

This Little thing changed my life. I was really excited about it a few weeks ago but couldn't find a picture. Well I found one.

What do you think this is (if I already told you about it don't guess.)?

Please respond because I am bored and need distractions. :)

T.O.R.T. - Talentless???

For the past 6 weeks I've been spending my Monday nights (and every night last week) singing and dancing in preparation for The Theater of the Relatively Talentless' (T.O.R.T.) production of "Robin Hood, Esq.". My role was limited to 3 dances, some background standing, and one line ("Yeah...but that's not because you're poor, that's because you're lazy."), but it was so much fun!

For those of you I haven't told about this, I'll give a little bit of background. Every year law students write, produce, direct, and act in a musical. It's always a parody of some other story, but they set the story in the law school (past musicals include "West Bank Story," "Walter Mondale and the Lawyer Factory," and "Frankenlaw"). The writers also incorporate well known songs, changing the words so that it fits within the story. Most of the jokes either refer to drinking or are inside jokes about law school (see my previous post).

I don't typically dance (unless of course it's an ADX dance party) so this whole hip shakin' thing was a little bit outside of my comfort zone. However, after 5 weeks of practicing in what one of my friends refers to as "the fish bowl" I was ready for the big stage. Our practice room was a lounge area with all glass walls in the front entrance to the law school and on the direct route to the library. People would stop as they walked by and literally gawk at us. Needless to say, the nightly audience helped with the stage fright in front of the paying audience.

My cousin, some of his friends, my roommate, and most of the law school were fortunate enough to see me make a fool of myself. Since most of the people who read this were not so lucky, I'll post some pictures.


We performed at a real theater in Minneapolis. It was impressive. ;)

Me and Christine on the first night of dress rehearsals. This is pre-dress after a treacherous commute to the theater because of icy sidewalks. Incidentally, even though Christine and I spend all our time together this is our first picture together.

The Mollys. There are 3 1Ls named Molly and we all happened to be in TORT(Molly on the left is also in my section and Molly in the center is also in my Bible study). I knew a girl in my kindergarten class named Molly, but other than her, my personal interactions with Mollys have been limited to dogs, so the fact that there are three of us is pretty impressive.

The section C ladies. Me, Annie (who had one of the leads as Robin Hood's L.L.M. companion), Jen, and Molly. Note the creative use of our hands to make the letter "C."

The Diagnosis

So a funny thing happens when you go to law school…it takes over your life. Not in the "I'm so busy with all my fun extracurriculars and meeting my friends to hangout" sort of way that college takes over your life. I have literally caught myself considering not showering because it would take away from study time (I admit at times in college showering took a back seat to things like sleep…but studying, NEVER). This sort of life makes developing friendships kind of difficult, and not just because I smell from not showering (note: I shower at least every other day and I do not actually smell). It sucks when you start weighing the benefit of getting to know someone over coffee with the amount of time it will take from your study schedule.

So, once you get past the fact that 1 hour less of studying will not kill you (and realize that you spend more than an hour doing other pointless things that kept you from studying but you aren't trying to cut that stuff out), you start hanging out with law students. All law students talk about is law school. I think that most law students would agree that this is horribly annoying and yet we cannot stop ourselves!

While having a conversation with a bunch of law students about law school someone made a really funny joke. Now, the only reason the joke was funny is because we're law students. Then someone made the comment that over winter break they realized that "real people" don't think law school jokes are funny. For example:

Hypo: Friend trips on a crack as you're walking down the street everyone laughs.

Law Student 1: haha, you totally have a tort against the city.

Everyone else: ignores comment

Law Student 2 (if you're lucky enough to have 2 law student friends): A reasonable person would have been watching where they were going.

Law Student 1 and 2: laughing

Everyone else: having a different conversation

Get it? Yeah, not funny right (and there was a joke within the joke if you caught it…no…okay), but your average law student would totally respond this way to this situation. Then one of the other guys I was with told us what was wrong with us: law school tourette's. So, now that I have a diagnosis, please forgive me (and any of your other law student friends) for saying things that are not relevant and not funny. I'm working on finding a cure.

Psalm 121

I lift up my eyes to the hills
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth

He will not let your foot slip
He who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

The LORD watches over you
The LORD is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night

The LORD will keep you from all harm
he will watch over your life;
the LORD will watch over your coming and going,
both now and forevermore.

I'm having one of those days where I feel defeated. I feel like all the things competing for attention in my life are weighing me down. I think the hardest thing I'm dealing with is realizing that I see my time with God... my relationship with God, as one of those competing things. Psalm 121 has been one of my favorite chapters in the Bible for I don't know how long. It assures me that God is not there to weigh me down, but to protect and provide for me in light of the things that are actually tearing me down. However, turning this head knowledge into heart knowledge is not an easy task (and perhaps the fact that I see it as a task speaks to my struggle). I'm dealing with things I don't want to deal with and wrestling with things I don't want to wrestle with. Prayer is much appreciated :)

Caucussing

As anyone with a pulse knows, last Tuesday was Super Duper Tuesday. While I find this whole amped up primary race to be kind of ridiculous, I was encouraged to participate because I thought it might make me feel like a responsible citizen.

Minnesota has a caucus instead of a primary. I thought it would be interesting to experience the political process from a different vantage point. It was a CIRCUS, literally...okay, not literally, but it was almost as crowded as the state fair and not nearly as organized (side note: everyone in MN shows up for the state fair...because it's awesome).

They shoved three small suburbs worth of precincts into the basement/cafeteria of a local high school and expected each precinct to be able to sit around a small lunch table. I think they thought there would be 5-10 people per precinct and it ended up being about 20-30. Madness. What I thought would be a 15 minute detour on my way to Bible study, ended up taking an hour and a half. Most of that time was just spent asking people to gather around the unmarked table of their precinct.

While I'm glad I had the experience, I was sorely disappointed by the lack of common sense most of the people who were there exhibited (which was further shown by the fact that Romney won the Republican straw poll in MN...jk). I'm not sure this whole caucus thing did our democratic system justice. I guess since the primary is all party run it doesn't really matter though. The two highlights of the night: the crowd spontaneously breaking into "God Bless America" while the mayhem of finding each precinct table broke out (thank you Republican party for living up to stereo types) and the many "Got Milk" posters which included a really awesome High School Musical ad.

A SUPER Super Bowl

One of the things I miss terribly about Berkeley and undergrad is cooking and eating with large groups of people. I don't think it's the action itself that I miss, but rather the community that is experienced in the midst of the action. I believe that eating together is one of the ways we get to live out what the church in Acts looked like. Eating together stimulates conversation and if you're lucky intimacy. As we experience love in communities and within relationships God shows us how much He loves us.

I was reminded of this over winter break while spending time in Sacramento with a few of the people I love to eat with most. We spent several of our evenings in. Different people took turns serving the rest of us and heading up the bulk of the cooking duties. Then we sat around the table for an hour or so and just ate, drank, and talked. Then of course we'd move to another area of the house and talk some more.

When I think back on it, sharing meals was probably the impetus for most of my close relationships. I know that I really got to know the members of my freshman community group because of forced lunch buddies. The women that I was closest to in ADX used to make me dinner, which I happily accepted to avoid the DC. Another way that I avoided the DC was by mooching off of Emily and Ashley when they moved out of the dorms Spring semester. I came to love my discipleship group after a good deal of cafe discussions, both about why meeting at Milano just was not acceptable and about what God was doing in our lives.

I've struggled in the last several months with the lack of connection I feel with the people around me in MN. So, with these thoughts in mind and a desire to seek out closer relationships, I suggested to my roommate that we have a Super Bowl gathering and cook some good food. I totally saw God answer prayer. My roommate picked the menu and for the most part I cooked it, but an awesome thing happened in between, we went shopping. Part of me cringed as I watched the time go by on Saturday and realized I was not going to get my reading for Monday (or any other day of the week) done, but time like this with my roommate is pretty rare and so I made a decision to stop worrying and be grateful. I had fun cooking, and enjoyed eating and watching the game with my roommate and guests.

Okay, hold onto your seats, I'm about to get fancy! Here are some pictures of what we made!


This is a White Chicken Chili that has both corn and cilantro in it. I don't know if it really looks all that appetizing, but I promise it was delish!


This is Pots de Creme (I think that was what it was called anyway). Someone from my roommate's work made it for their Christmas party and was nice enough to pass the recipe along. You can't really tell, but there's a chocolate mousse/pudding under the whipped cream that had just a touch of brandy in it. I just bought these glasses at IKEA and was supper excited when they ended up being perfect for this recipe. The other highlight was the grated chocolate on top. My roommate bought a grater from the dollar store and was disappointed when she found out it wasn't a shredder. She didn't think she'd be able to use it for much, so this creative idea redeemed its value. (Not pictured: guac (10 for $10 avocados in MN in the winter!!!); salsa; sugar cookies shaped and decorated like footballs; sangria; and raspberry chipotle sauce (store bought) over cream cheese with crackers.)

P.S. This blog will not always be about food. If you want to read an awesome blog about food written by two people I love see: www.loveiscooking.blogspot.com

New Blog

Okay, it's been a while. I think the last time I updated my old xanga was last spring. I've intended to start a new blog for quite sometime now, but I couldn't come up with a good title (Stephie, fudgepuppy was already taken?!?). This is not to say that I have come up with a good title, but I think it gets the point across.

Writing out my thoughts has always been a good way for me to process things and lately I feel like my life has given me a lot to process, but little time in which to do it. Perhaps now that I've set this up I'll make more time.

So yeah, check back for life updates, random thoughts, and maybe if I get fancy, some pictures.