Friday, April 27, 2007

Breaking the News

This week I finally told some of my best friends that I'm going to law school in the fall. Up to this point only my family and my recommenders knew of my plans (hopes) to start law school in August. I didn't want to tell anyone until I actually got accepted by a school that I would be happy staying for 3 years. I also didn't want to tell people have them get all excited for me and have them encourage me and then to fail to follow through. Over the past few years (since I left the big bad corporate world) I've changed direction so many times that I think my friends are lost keeping track of me! I finally found something that I love and I'm putting it on the back burner for a few years until I get my JD and then I'll hopefully come back to it with better opportunities open to me.

It feels like such a weight off to finally tell my girls what I've been keeping secret for so long. They are so supportive of my decision (as if there was any doubt!!!) and this is one of the many times that I'm so blessed to have the best girlfriends in the world! It would just be so much better if we all just lived in the same region!

Thanks Girls! I heart you!! When is our next big adventure??

Monday, April 23, 2007

"We're Adults! When did that Happen?"

Today Amie turns the big Three-Oh! HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAPPY Birthday!!


Where did the years go? Is 30 just around the corner for me too?!? I'm not done with my 20's yet! I remember turning 20 and not wanting to leave the teens. 20 seemed to mean that I was supposed to be mature and responsible and all that merde. But now 30, yowza! 30 is big business! 30 means that I need to find my career, husband, house, and family and FAST!

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Prayers for Virginia Tech

There are no words...


The Virginia Tech family is in my prayers.

Friday, April 13, 2007

American University - WCL

My review of WCL

Getting to WCL (Metro)
I was staying near the Metro Centre stop (xfer point for the Red, Orange, Blue lines) so I took the Red Line up to the AU-Tenley town stop. From there the law school shuttle picks up, across the street from the AU main campus shuttle. I've heard horror stories about what a hassel it is getting to and from WCL, from my experience it wasn't a pain in the butt that people whine about. The shuttle drops off behind the WCL building or there is the option of taking the undergrad bus, which seemed to run almost every 8-10 minutes and then walking (down the hill!) to the law school. I also found that a bunch of the metro buses run right past the law school! Driving to campus, as almost everyone has commented is not fun if you're a 1L b/c you have to park at a commuter lot and take a shuttle. But they just opened an independent lot very close to campus and it's $75/mo to park there. I forgot to ask if you can "buy" parking passes (for the lot under the building) from 2L/3Ls like we did in undergrad.

Near the Tenleytown Metro stop there were a few places to eat, a Best Buy, Container Store, and a gym.

While I was on the bus I heard a bunch of 1Ls comparing spring semester to fall. All (4) of them said that they had barely started outlining (12 weeks into the semester and only a few away from finals) and they agreed that this semester was harder because they slacked off so much at the begininng. I stored this tidbit away for future reference...Do NOT slack 2nd semester!! The girls also were talking about their lack of social lives this semester and how they're constantly tired and just can't get up the energy to go out. Boooo!

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I sat in on a 1L class at WCL. It was not as scary as all the stories that i've heard. In the hour that I was there they covered 2 cases. The prof only cold-called one girl, and she wasn't really all the prepared. I don't think she'd done the reading, she didn't know what the facts or holding were. Most of the class was volunteers. When the prof started the class he jumped right in and everyone started typing furiously to keep up with what he was saying. After a little while he slowed his pace and started posing hypos and asking questions instead of straight lecturing. I tried to spot the "gunner" but couldn't pick him/her out. I've heard from others that many students in class are on IM, surfing the internet, etc and not really paying attention. The class had maybe 60 students and I could see ~25 screens from my seat, only 3 were surfing and didn't have any notes up on the screen. A couple switched between IM and taking notes. From what I could see a lot of people seemed to book-brief, i didn't see any rainbow highlighting though.

Large Classroom
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The classrooms that I saw were all clean, bright, and modern. There is a lot of sunlight coming into the rooms, which should help keep people awake. The whole building has wifi and each seat in the classrooms have power source and are hardwired for the LAN.

Lockers
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Hallway, Lockers
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Every 1L gets assigned a locker. 2L and 3Ls can request to be assigned one. This really did remind me of high school!

Laptops: I only saw 2 students in class without a laptop (one guy was in the back and I think he was asleep thru the whole class). There was probably 30% Macs and a Lot of Dells. The Macs work on the network and no one seems to have a problem using them, except for exams. For exams there were a couple of different scenarios 1) the law school brings in a bunch of laptops for students to borrow for exams 2) the profs let the students use their macs without the exam software and they go by the honor code that noone will cheat.

Library(Very Bright)
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Quiet Room in the Library
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Study Desks in the Library
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I stopped by the library and, well, it was a library. Lots of light from the skylight, there seemed to be enough study desks, but since it was a Friday it wasn't very crowded. All the desks had a light and power source.

Ceremonial Courtroom
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WCL Cafeteria
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Eating options around campus included a bagel/sandwich place, starbucks, chickin out (i assume to be a rotisserie chicken place), and the WCL cafeteria (which I was told by a 2L is not great)

Pool at the AU Main Campus
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There is no fitness center at the law school, but students can use the main campus facilities. Working out is a priority for me so I had to check it out. Maybe I'm spoiled, my undergrad had the most amazing, HUGE, gym, in NYC I had a beautiful place to workout (that I paid a pretty price for too...OUCH!) and if I wanted to get outside I had Central Park at my doorstep. After visiting the AU gym, i'm majorly disappointed!! It was tiny and way too crowded. There is a nice jr. olympic pool and diving well, but the cardio section, while equipped with brand-new machines was only about 500sq ft and every machine had wait to get on, and this was in the middle of the day, i could only imagine peak-after-class-ruch hours! They had about 10 elliptical, step, and arctrainers, all with personal tvs! The treadmills were ok, but they didn't have tvs and faced a blank wall. The weight and stretching area was cramped with a lot of equipment and no place to move. Overall, my review of the gym was that it has the right equipment, but it needs to expand. I'll prob end up joining the gym by the Tenley metro stop if I move to DC, or finding someplace close to home and only use the one on campus in a stressin out emergency.

Around the campus were some beautiful houses (definitely out of the student price range!). i didn't really look too closely at apt or condos close to campus b/c I'd probably live near Dupont. I was told by a student to avoid at all costs the apartments that the school recommends (can't remember the name). She said that they're expensive, not worth their price, and its very likely that you could be placed with and undergrad roomie!!! I did check out a couple of apts and condos in the dupot, adams morgan, and georgetown areas. Expensive, but not that bad compared to NYC. If I end up in DC there's a chance I'll be buying rather than renting (after moving every year or 18mos for the past 16 years I'm ready to put down roots somewhere.)

All the students that I met seemed very nice and helpful, albeit a bit stressed out and tired. A couple of them told me that last year they had been deciding between the same schools that I am, and none of them regret their decisions to go to WCL. They did all complain about the cost though (of course!) My superficial description of the students is that there is just about every type there, but a majority of the students were dressed in jeans/tshirts/sweatpants/baseball caps. A couple were in business casual, a few guys had collar-popped shirts, and there were more "vivians" than "elles". Like I said, this is my superficial impression of the students.

Overall, WCL is among my top choices (if I get in off the WL). The cost is going to hurt, but there are some programs that i really like (clinics and study abroad) and I LOVE DC! I had the best time going out with friends, I checked out a few of the rowing programs on the potomac, and buying is more affordable than in NYC!

Cheers!

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

About Me

I love everything Pink, but I try not to go over the top; There are some green and blues in my wardrobe too.

I have spent a lot of time traveling around the world, but there is so much more the I need to see. I'm working my way through 1,000 Places to See Before You Die, I've got a good portion of Europe, the US, and Africa.

My life has a soundtrack. I love listening to music and I'm rarely without my iPod. When I drive, I usually have the top down, music up and i sing without caring who hears me.

I love water, being in it, looking at it, touching it. I have been known to take a 2 hour bubble bath and on occasion I fall asleep in the shower.

"I cannot catch, cannot throw. In all honesty, I am afraid of the ball. Balls are something that Cinderellas attend, not orbital devices that cause serious bodily injury." (I borrowed this quote from Think Like a Woman, Act Like a Man's blawg, it's so perfect!

I can't do my hair and makeup in the morning with my shirt on, so once or twice (a week ;-) ) I'll step outside before I realize that i forgot to finish getting dressed.

I love to wear dresses and skirts, I do own jeans and trousers, but those are only for the coldest of days in the winter. I'm never caught in shorts, even at the gym I wear this:
I can sleep anywhere. My best friends can vouch for this and my family has a collection of pictures from family trips of me sleeping (they're not attractive pictures, i try to keep them out of the public eye), but don't worry i don't drool.

I've only had cable for a total of 4 years in my life and it doesn't bother me. With itunes I can download my favorite shows: Grey's Anatomy, House, Numb3rs, NCIS, CSI: Miami, Law&Order SVU. I appreciate the shows with intelligent writing and charaters. I can't tolerate reality tv or courtroom tv (judge judy, etc).

I'm stubborn as all hell, but I'm also fiercely loyal.

I wish I was more eloquent and a better writer.

My favorite time of day is nap time and bath time. No, I'm not a 2 year old, but I still take naps and bubble baths.

Bad manners is my pet peeve, especially table manners. If you talk with your mouth full, I'm likely to ignore you, or get up and leave the table.

I watch tv with closed captioning on and i prefer to watch dvds with foreign subtitles or dubbed in an attempt to improve my language skills

If you're wearing white pants/skirt/shirt, wear nude colored bra or panties, not white, I don't need to see that!

My body doen't adjust to sudden temperature changes so if it's cold outside i'm usually hot when I go inside and in the summer I'm usually freezing.

I don't have a great sense of taste so I usually eat by texture. I can't handle slimy or mushy, don't get me started on bananas!

I drink a lot. Not just wine and martinis, but tea, coffee, water, orange juice, smoothies, I could easily live on a liquid diet. Living in France I learned to appreciate cheap wine and the fresh squeezed OJ that mom used to give me every morning growing up (oj in france is so bitter! blech!)

I speak 4 languages, but my goal is to be proficient in 10.

I can't make a decision to save my life. My family knows that to give me a hard time give me 3 choices, I can handle 2 but, 3 throws me!

My grammar pet-peeve is passive voice (thanks to my h.s. freshman writing prof drilling it into us!)

I love fromage! Goat cheese, feta, mozerella, cheddar, brie...everything but stinky cheese, don't give me no blue cheese, roquefort, blech!

I would much rather be a passenger/navigator than driver in a car. Driving makes me nervous. Its a good thing my best friend loves to drive!

I love penguins and dolphins and monkeys

Give me a map and my trusty compass (My fave Pirates quote: "This compass is broken! It doesn't point North!" My Johnny: "We didn't want to go North anyway!") and I can navigate us anywhere!

I'm always up for an adventure to destinations unknown, but please, when I get there, let there be wine!