Top10...err 11 Spring Break Moments!

These aren't in any specific order.

1. It was almost 60 degrees out on both Sunday and Monday. It was so nice all the snow melted, I went home early from work, and I ran like 3 days in a row.
2. As a result of 1. I got to dig my rainbows out from the back of my closet and wore them at least 5 times (sadly with the current weather they have been returned to the closet).
3. I went to Michael Jordan's house near Chicago and got yelled at through the intercome. I'm pretty sure it was actually Michael Jordan...or at least that's the story I'm sticking to (we actually just saw the gate). This is just one of the amazing things I got to do on my first ever trip to Chicago.
4. I got to spend over 12 hours in a car with Christine. We haven't had nearly enough time to hang out this semester and had lots of catching up to do. We never turned on the radio and didn't even need a no-pressure-to-talk rule, one of the many things I love about Christine.
5. I had 2 Slurpees! There are no 7-Elevens in Minnesota, which makes me sad. Icees and Slurpees are not the same thing. When I noticed a 7-Eleven on the way to Christine's I literally freaked out. Maybe a little bit of an overreaction, but I was excited.
6. I caught up on Professional Responsibility. I had only read for two classes before spring break. Catching up is a feat to be proud of and I got to do it at my favorite bou, awesomeness.
7. I got to see Lake Michigan. I had this vision that we would listen to Sufjan's To Be Alone with You as the lake came into view. Sadly, Josh is lacking in his Sufjan music collection, but I sang the song in my head, so it's okay.
8. Lisa Chu made me (and a bunch of her friends) Pad Thai from scratch. Freakin' delish!
9. Christine and I got manicures. I painted my nails dark purple. Totallyout of character for me, but I was in a trendy mood. This was one of the many awesome things we got to do in her way cute home time. I am so grateful for the time I got to spend with her and her family.
10. We went across this weird bridge in Chicago that was designed by this guy who also designed a really ugly building on the U of M campus. This was mostly exciting because I thought it would be fun to slide down the side of the bridge. Didn't do it, but should have.
11. OMG! I almost forgot. Lisa Chu and Christine met, and the world did not implode. They are each other's doppleganger (I'm a nerd). I built this up a lot and as a result I worry that it was not as fulfilling for them as it was for me. Awesome!

I'm on Spriiiing Break!

Right now it's 55 degrees outside. In Berkeley this would be when people would start busting out their pea coats (has anyone ever noticed that everyone in Berkeley owns a pea coat?), but in MN it gets this warm and everyone immediately runs outside to rejoice after a long cold winter. It's so nice to see people outside. I watched at least 5 people with strollers cautiously navigate a patch of melting ice in front of my house this afternoon. I left my coat at home today and wore flip flops. Flip flops = happiness.

This weather is particularly awesome because this is the first weekend of spring break...and it feels like spring! I have high hopes for this week. I finished my law review obligations on Thursday. TORT was last weekend. I cleaned my room yesterday (after like several months of neglect...). I'm finally reading for PR after not even touching my text book for weeks. I'm so grateful for this opportunity to slow down, to rest, to catch up on life, and do some processing. I'm having one of those, "wow I'm so freaking blessed" days. God is so good and I hate that I don't readily recognize that more often.

Whoa!

Sometimes I have these moments where it hits me that I am in Minnesota, thousands of miles away from beaches (the good kind), sunshine, and my childhood "life." It's weird because Minnesota has never been a strange place to me. I spent a lot of time here on family vacays, my extended family has always been here, and it is where I was born. Even though I've been here for over a year and a half now, I'm still caught off guard sometimes by the fact that I'm not on vacation and that this place is actually starting to feel like home. I can picture myself living here after law school, like settling down here. It's weird, but good.

Since high school I've been thinking about my life in chunks -- this is where I was, this is where I am, and this is where I'm going. It's odd to get to the point in my life where I have to make some more permanent decisions. I'm still not ready to commit to any one place...side track: wow, I just had an epiphany. Is it weird that I don't want commit to living anywhere yet? I feel like most people I know have a general idea of where they want to end up. Might need more time to fully process the implications of that...* Not knowing where I'm going to end up is kind of frustrating and doesn't really jive with the whole plan-it-all-in-advance part of my personality. Yet, I'm sort of getting the impression that God is using this to encourage (and by encourage I mean force) me to rely on him.

* Dave/Randi - insert comment here.

Playing Catch Up

Okay, so it's the last day of February and I am still 3 days shy of reaching 25 things. So, I will try to throw something together in this post.

22. I love people watching.

This might have something to do with that over analytical thing I talked about before. My favorite thing to do is to assess couple's relationships at coffee shops.

23. I have really high expectations for people.

I think this comes out of my general sense of optimism. I see the best in people and I expect them to live up to that. I'm coming to terms with the fact that when I feel let down that is often my problem, and not theirs.

24. I avoid awkward situations as often as possible...which often only makes awkward situations more awkward.

This has been recently complicated by the introduction of Randi into my life, but I love her nonetheless.

25. I am a C, I am a C-H, I am a C-H-R-I-S-T-I-A-N


My relationship with Christ is what defines me, it is what drives me, and it is what I strive toward. This all sounds kind of cliche, but it is true. In college most of my life was centered around ministry (through Crusade and ADX) and it was a lot easier to find my identity in Christ in that context. Learning what it looks like to glorify God in law school is challenging, but I feel like it's a better reflection of what my faith will look like in the long term than what it was in college. It requires a different sort of intentionality and integration and it's something that I still feel lost in.

Normally I'm a big fan of abbrevs.

21. I hate it when people say "Cali" instead of California.

I will never use that word. Unfortunately everyone and their mom refers to California as "Cali" here in MN. The worst part is they always say it with a MN accent, but trying to sound "cool." They over emphasize the a, dragging it out even longer than they normally draw out vowels. I used to think that the only people who called California "Cali" were people who were not from California. However, I've come to the sad realization that this is not true and have heard California natives refer to it as such. People, PLEASE STOP.

Should Probably Get over It

20. I'm still bitter about elementary school.

Suffice it to say that I went to a small private school and was not one of the "cool kids." However, I found my niche at church. My church had an amazing children's program back in the day, we refer to it as the golden years of YCC children's ministry. My oldest friends are people I met in church. It's crazy because in a few years, some of these people will have kids that are the same age as we were when we met. I love that we grew up together. We all lead very different lives now, but it's amazing to see how God has worked in each of our lives over the years. Tuts for life. :)

I was bit by a shark...jk

19. I have a really awesome scar on my left leg.

During the summer between 8th and 9th grade I was surfing with my dad in Carlsbad and my leg got cut open by the fin on my board. The only time I ever saw the wound was when couldn't stand up and looked down. My dad was by my side in about 30 seconds and covered it up with a towel (I suppose to stop the bleeding) and he never let me look at it again. I sat around in an emergency room for a few hours wearing my swimsuit and a sweat shirt, it was kind of awkward (I don't think anyone noticed though, especially considering they had their own injuries to worry about...like one guy who had a huge knife sticking out of his foot and was screaming like a big baby and begging for vicodin.) I had 18 stitches on the outside and more inside my leg. I took the stitches out myself while on vacation in MN because I wanted to swim. I still have some weird nerve damage in my leg. When you press on one end of the scar I get this stabbing pain by my knee, kind of like when your foot falls asleep, but it stings. I'm not a big fan of blood and gore stories, but it is kind of awesome (in a 13 year old boy sort of way).