2nd First Day

Thursday I went to Civil Procedure, which was long and scary. Friday I went to Civil Procedure again, and it was less long and scary. Also I had lawyering, Lawyering II to be precise, and it sounds fun - oral arguments, writing a motion, writing a request for summary judgment. No, that does sound fun, I mean it.

Saturday I went to mom and Duane's anniversary party, which was wonderful. Their guest list is always good but naturally the best part was seeing the two of them. I brought a guest, Law School Friend Natalie, and we drove back this morning.

Then I did my property reading. Then I did my constitutional law reading (which included the entire constitution). Interesting stuff. Now I'm in a cafe with internet access.

Oh! Happily, my phone is charged and functional. I am therefore reconnected with my friends, family, and the rest of the universe in general.

Big Snow

Closed up in dad's house, snow drifting outside the windows and doors, Joey curled up in the chair and a half and wrapped in a blanket, I find myself quite content.

If I didn't have food, heat, or the pleasant murmur of cable television in the background, I might be less content. But I have those things, so content I am.

I wasn't supposed to be in Abilene this long, but I'm having too much fun spending
these chilly days with my mom to go back to Lawrence right now. Also, both my parents have internet access, which is a big plus to someone who likes to check KU's website to see if grades have been posted at least three times per day.

Tomorrow I'm making mom and Duane dinner; unwisely, the entree is one I've never made before, soooo. Hope that turns out okay.

Lesson Saturday in the Kansas City tundra, trip south on Sunday, visit from wonderful friend Laura Monday, and my law movie marathon Tuesday.

Oh yeah, then the first day of class. And purchase of 100 pounds of books and reading of first day assignments needs to fit in somewhere, too.

Winter break

I still have about ten days before the spring semester begins, but the most wonderful part of winter break is behind me. Generally, the part where I basked in the glow of having nothing to do and happily read plotty novels and polished off the box of wine Amanda and I bought at dad's over Thanksgiving. Now I'm starting to feel a little impatient. All this inaction is getting to me.

To remedy my lack of Stuff to Do, I tried to bring Diddy over to a Lawrence boarding facility. My plan was to pick up the trailer in Kansas City, drive to Abilene for the weekend, then pick Diddy up and take him to K-State for the boarding stable's mandatory Coggins test, wait for the results and head home. However, Saturday I got stuck in the snow just trying to drive down the gravel road at the barn leading to the trailer parking area. I had to dig myself out with a shovel. (Great exercise, by the way.)

The next day, the barn owner called to tell me she had pulled the trailer out with her tractor so that I would be able to hook up. It had snowed over night, but I still didn't think I would have any problems. This time I got hooked up all right, but had to dig out the TRAILER in order to get the rig to move.

Feeling proud of myself, I started out of Kansas City and, merging off the entrance ramp onto westbound Highway 152, I slid slowly across three lanes (empty of traffic, thank goodness) and into the median, where the Nitro came to rest on a pillow of snow. Nothing was damaged, but apparently the ten minute process of being winched out of a ditch by a Kansas City towing company costs one $200.

Unhappily, I drove on home on clear roads at 50 miles an hour, but there's no way I feel comfortable risking a similar experience with a horse in the trailer. So there will be none of that horse moving until the spring thaw, as far as I'm concerned.

I'm currently sitting in mom's kitchen, draped in blankets with my feet resting directly on the heating vent. I might wait out the worst of this week's cold in Abilene. I can't imagine even the toughest little riders being interested in lessons Thursday in the record-breaking cold, but I suppose I could be wrong!

I spent a little Christmas money on some black suede snow boots, complete with faux fur. I love them, despite the fact I've been told they make me look like a bear hunter. New shoes are the ultimate cure to the anxiety of grade anticipation.

P.S., I turned 23

And thank you for the cards and gifts - thank yous are practically in the post. They just need a little more glitter.

Finally it's Finals Week [Two]

Hi friends and family.

Law school works like this. You spend two hours reading and taking notes per one hour of class, plus you go to all those classes and take notes and then later you try to mush the reading notes and the lecture notes into one thing that makes sense. We call this an outline. Outlining like this is a law school "thing." We've been harped on this. Outlining is, apparently, what law students have been doing as long as there have been law students. (Which, I happen to know, has only been about one hundred years; before that, there were legal apprentices who followed another lawyer around until they knew enough to pass the bar exam. Fun fact.)

So I've been reading and note taking and listening and note taking more for months, the end result of which being three outlines which are each roughly 60 pages long.

So I studied these outlines and I took two exams (essays, each taking about 3 hours and resulting in about 4,000 words, respectively) and I feel like all the words I've ever learned in my life have been written down and given to a professor to read. It's a strange feeling, especially for a person who spent her undergraduate career writing papers and taking essay exams. Nothing has ever demanded so much of me.

So grades be darned. I did all I could and we'll see what the professors think.

Well, actually, I'm not quite done doing all I can. There's one more test to take - my Contracts final, ironically, which I have been happily banishing from my thoughts since Thanksgiving, but which I must now face. Shoulders squared, chin up.

See you at Christmas.

Happy Thanksgiving

I had the best Thanksgiving vacation. Here's why (in chronological order).

Amanda.
Aunt Patty's wonderful Thanksgiving lunch.
Hailey's horse affinity.
Poppy's recuperative abilities.
Mom's artistic abilities.
Mimi's hospitality.













Not pictured:

*my wonderful scarf and hat hanger, designed and manufactured by mom-Robin. Pictures pending; I want to install it first.

*Mimi being hospitable. I forgot to spring my camera on her.

*Thanksgiving lunch. I was WAY too busy eating as much as I could hold to think about pictures.

Now it's November

But then it was October 23. Here is mom with Diddy when we visited Kristi's pasture to see how the kids were doing. They were scruffy, fluffy, fat and happy to see us. Diddy was at this point getting over his initially feral behavior. Diva has grown, especially in the hindquarters, which makes her look a little disproportionate in profile, though still adorable.

And almost as tall as her big brother - here she's standing slightly downhill from him.
Did I mention Diddy was fat? He is also in charge. Seen here intimidating Molly.