Law Students

French Fries and the Big Boss

Posted on January 24, 2009
The head of our section ("HP" for head partner) stopped by my office yesterday and announced that we should go to lunch. We just had our annual office performance meeting and had all been reassured that the firm's financials were strong, the Austin office was a top performer, and there were no plans of salary freezes or layoffs in the foreseeable future, so despite the unusual nature of the offer, I was fairly certain I wasn't about to be fired...

Vignettes

Posted on January 21, 2009
In lieu of a post with any deep meaning or insights, I offer you three short stories from the past two days, all of which I for some reason feel a need to share.1. $7 of Happiness. Despite having a well paying job and no credit card debt or impending foreclosures, this economic downtown has me feeling a bit introspective about just how much STUFF I have and how little I need it, which has then led me to a moratorium on shopping...

Can't Sum It Up

Posted on January 20, 2009
I have a feeling I'm not going to get much work done today. I have msnbc streaming live on my computer and keep tearing up during the Inauguration coverage. It's not just that I'm excited and hopeful about Obama's presidency, or that I'm relieved to be at the end of Busy's abysmal one, it's a deeper feeling of awe and gratitude that we live in a country that allows this peaceful transfer of power at all...

18 Months

Posted on January 19, 2009
Landon turned 1.5 years old on Thursday. JP took him to his doctor's appointment and gave me a detailed report:Landon said "doc-TOR" several times on the drive over, as coached by JP, but then completely forgot how to say it when the doctor actually came in the room...

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In-Home Getaway

Posted on January 19, 2009
JP and I have had a few opportunities to get away since Landon has been born, but somehow they're never the restful experience I hope they'll be- probably because they always involve a big event, a friend's couch, and/or a very early flight home. But this morning three things came together to create the perfect mini vacation: my office was closed for MLK, JP's classes hadn't started yet, and daycare was open...

Dear Ms. Google,

Posted on January 16, 2009
As I've done before, I thought it would be fun to share a few of the google searches that have brought lost souls to my blog. Most searches involve the bar exam, pregnancy, law school (especially law school and pregnancy), and baby/toddler issues. And because I think several people were looking for answers my blog did not provide, I thought I'd provide a little commentary to help them on their journey for truth:anyone know when they release texas bar exam scores: I get about ten searches a day regarding the bar exam, "easiest bar exam?" "texas bar exam" and the like, but I chose this one because of the phrasing...

Coffee For Dummies

Posted on January 14, 2009
JP is out of town on business. It's funny to say that since his business barely exists yet, but it's a trip taken with his two partners on behalf of their fledgling company, so I suppose it counts.. Things are progressing in that area and he's excited about all they're learning (they're visiting someone who's been successfully doing what they're planning to do), so I'm really happy for him, but dammit I sleep terribly when he's gone...

LSAT prep

Posted on January 12, 2009
I just got an email from a reader asking what I did for LSAT prep, and I figured that since this blog is occasionally about law, others might be interested as well. As always, take this with a grain of salt and feel free to add your own thoughts in the comments to make this post more useful to those who stumble upon it...

Too old for this

Posted on January 10, 2009
I went out last night. Against my better judgment, my deep longing for sleep, and my need to work until at least midnight, I met up with lots of young childless co-workers at a fellow first year's (absolutely incredible) house for drinks and food before heading downtown around midnight...

The Marriage v. The Baby Carriage

Posted on January 09, 2009
Dooce wrote an interesting post Wednesday asking what her readers found more difficult, marriage or parenthood.Like her, my answer was immediately parenthood, and I was shocked to read the comments and see that was the minority position. I found myself nodding pretty forcefully along with this paragraph of her post: "And while motherhood has become so much more natural to me there is still so much uncharted territory ahead, and I find that each age is so different than the one that preceded it that sometimes, although infrequently, it feels like we're starting from the beginning all over again...

Baby Cravings

Posted on January 06, 2009
No, I don't actually want to eat a baby, a la Jonathan Swift's Modest Proposal, but I am definitely craving the having and holding of one.I've said before that motherhood is irrational. I suppose it has to be to ensure the perpetuation of the species...

Redecorating, more fun that doc review

Posted on January 04, 2009
Yesterday I reviewed documents while drinking lemonade under the hot sun in shorts and a tank top. Today I review documents indoors while sipping hot tea wearing sweat pants and fluffy sweat shirt. Our winter weather has commitment issues.On the home decorating front things are coming along quite well...

Doc Review with a View (and Lemonade)

Posted on January 03, 2009
It's nice when a Saturday is so beautiful that doing doc review all afternoon doesn't even ruin it. Of course it helps that things like document scanners, laptops, and wireless internet all exist- I can sit outside on our back deck, sipping lemonade and diligently labeling documents, while Landon runs with a tennis ball in each hand intermittently exclaiming "A BALL!"There's something wrong about being able to wear shorts and a tank top outside in early January, but as I soak up the 85 degree sunny weather, I've got to admit that I'm not missing Chicago too much right now.

Ringing in the Year with Renovations

Posted on January 02, 2009
Happy 2009! Our party turned out wonderfully- JP's to do list was not (near) complete when I got home, so I had about 90 minutes to clean up, prepare and arrange all the food, welcome my childhood friend into my home (haven't seen her since my baby shower in early 2007!), make myself beautiful, and get Landon in bed, but everything got done and I was just finishing my mascara as the doorbell rang with our first guests...

What a Year, What a Night

Posted on December 31, 2008
2008 has been quite a year- and a good one at that! I saw this on another blog and copied the idea, it's the first sentence of the first post for each month - amazing to think when the year began I was a law student with a little baby who didn't sleep and got ear infections all the time...

Work: a four month reflection

Posted on December 29, 2008
I wrote most of this post about a week ago- almost all of it is still relevant, so I'm going to publish it in full and then add a bit more from today's perspective. As you'll see, my thoughts on work are quickly evolving. I think overall I've been on a steady progression of figuring out what it means to be a full-time working BigLaw attorney and mom, but the lessons are learned quickly and frustrations that feel overwhelming in one minute barely seem worth mentioning in another...

Home and Home Again

Posted on December 28, 2008
We are home again, in tact and in possession of a plastic shopping cart, set of play dishes, book about lost ladybugs, and many other new toys for all ages. It was wonderful to spend Christmas with my family and so funny to think that the last time I spent Christmas up at our lake house I was 7 weeks pregnant with the little guy now seen drag racing his shopping cart...

Present Progression

Posted on December 23, 2008
Last night we opened a few presents that had arrived in the mail from my aunt and uncle in Philadelphia. We're struggling with the logistics of getting JP, me, a Landon and his giant car seat, two big dogs that take up the entire back of the SUV, our suitcases, many accessories, and presents (to both give and receive) into my Explorer and on the road to Houston, so I think this year is going to be a series of mini Christmases...

Holiday Happiness

Posted on December 20, 2008
p align="left"I just experienced a Christmas miracle! I was watching TV with JP and a bowl full of Snickerdoodles and announced that I had a craving to see Love Actually. JP groaned and was very thankful for the fact I never spend money on DVD's. He then started flipping through the channels (apparently he was not as immersed in Rachael Ray's Chefography as I was) and what did we come across on the Oxygen Network but bLove Actually!/b I may or may not have squealed...

Saturday Night

Posted on December 19, 2008
I have tequila, a funny movie that requires almost no thought (Tropic Thunder), my JP at my side, my dogs under my feet, and my baby sleeping soundly upstairs. br /br /There are things in my life that are not perfect, all of them blog-worthy (someday, soon maybe, I need more hours in the day!), but right now at this very moment, things are oh so very good.

17 months

Posted on December 16, 2008
p align="left"Dear Landon (aka Buddy, Little Man, Handsome, Little Guy, LanMan, and Sweetie),br /br /This is probably going to be long. I've been meaning to write you a letter for a while, but after working all day and playing with you all evening, it's hard to motivate myself to do much more than sit on the couch and snuggle with your daddy at night...

Mexican Cheesecake

Posted on December 14, 2008
I'm finally getting around to answering more of your questions and I realized I never posted the recipe for the delicious Mexican Cheesecake dip I made for our housewarming party (and almost every other party we throw). So while I work on the more involved answers, here's a tasty appetizer:Ingredients:2 tsp...

First Haircut

Posted on December 13, 2008
This morning we took Landon to get his first haircut. I loved his little duck curls in the back, but JP decided they were starting to look mullet-like and even I agreed we just couldn't have that. There's a Great Clips nearby and since Landon didn't have a particular 'do in mind, spending $11 seemed about right...

Taste of Chicago

Posted on December 11, 2008
Yesterday during a conversation with JP it finally hit me that we'll never live in Chicago again. I know you can never say never, but short of a divorce or living apart from my husband, the odds are pretty darn small that I'll live back in the downtown of my favorite city, and while I must have known this on some level, it had avoided sinking in...

A Reason to Love Law School

Posted on December 09, 2008
I'm not sure if anyone's told you, but law firms don't have Christmas Break. I've heard horrible rumors that there's no Spring Break either. I'm wondering why I counted down the days until graduation... a few weeks off with no strings attached sounds pretty fantastic...

Law School Advice

Posted on December 07, 2008
In the past month I've had two friends (really, younger siblings of friends, but I like to think we're old enough to all be friends now) ask me for advice on law school. And since I was already sharing my wisdom, I thought I'd write it here for other people to add their own...

In Lieu of Words

Posted on December 04, 2008
I am in a funk. I'm not sure why, I suppose it could be exhaustion, Landon's evil molars, JP's finals, a persistent and unusual feeling of inadequacy or insecurity at work, or a wee bit of stress brought by our property tax bill and value of the stocks we were going to sell to pay it...

Second Shift

Posted on December 02, 2008
It's 8:45. I'm at home, but on my firm laptop working on a Series A Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement. The big deal that had me working late last monday is still big string of snafus (at the fault of the other side, their client, and the general suckiness of the economy) but I have hope that someday it will be over and I can get rid of the thousands of pieces of paper lining the walls of my office in neat little stacks (the stacks aren't actually organized, they just look much better than the precarious piles that used to be in on top of my desk)...

Halls, Decked

Posted on November 30, 2008
Around 10 p.m. on Friday night, I decided to decorate our house for Christmas. My in-laws were all asleep upstairs, JP was studying, and I had a lot of tension to work off, so I figured I might as well do it productively.Decorating the house for Christmas was a big deal growing up...

A Thanksgiving Story

Posted on November 27, 2008
The day really began last night when JP and I dragged ourselves to the grocery store at 8:30. It was painful, I have never wanted to shop less, but a large dinner requires ingredients so off we went. I didn't have any particular recipes in mind, but I had a few printed out and your blog comments to keep in mind, and for reasons I can't explain, I wasn't particularly concerned about the tasks ahead of me...

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