Herein lies the problem with trying to be superwoman...

...eventually, you burn the f*ck out. No, you know what? You burn the fuck out.

I started the official countdown 3 days ago...I figured I needed some extra motivation AND something to look forward to, as in: thank fuck this will be over in x days. It's helped.

And the sleeping pills have helped to.

Except tonight I'm tired. T-I-R-E-D. Tired of working. Tired of studying. Tired of working and studying. Tired of losing roughly 1 1/2 hours every day COMMUTING on the bus. Tired of trying to deal with Husband. Tired of living in an apartment building where I hear people below me and OUTSIDE YELLING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FUCKING NIGHT. (Not unlike the experience E.Spat had - and yes, I'm too TIRED to link it properly, sorry.)

And what is the last possible thing I need to have on my plate right now? Worrying about money. Yes, I'm working a lovely job and getting a nice paycheck with a fabulous 401K and health/etc. plan. However, because of this bar exam, I have to take time off. I'm actually taking 2 weeks off work (well, 9 days, but I don't really count the Friday after the bar exam because I can go in hungover and just have to get through the day)....and because I don't have enough vacation time accrued, I'm taking it UNPAID. Which basically means I'm missing 1 paycheck next month. Which in turn COMPLETELY SUCKS because rent & my whopping student loan payment are both due the first week of August. Fantastic. I'm planning to call Direct Loans tomorrow and see if they'd take a raincheck on my firstborn...or they could have Husband...just not the cat. I'm hoping I get a human with emotions and we can work something out...like let's re-commence the bending over every month in September, say.

And now I've lost some study time when I'm supposed to be getting Agency/Partnerships memorized & down cold tonight. LE BIG, FAT SIGH.

Let's all hold hands in a circle and sing kumbuya (sp?).

Are you serious? It's almost JULY, already?!?

Where have the past few months gone? Why has June decided to fly it wily ass on by?

I was supposed to nail down Evidence tonight (i.e., do more memorization sheets to make sure I have it all memorized) but my tired brain decided I needed a night of & a glass of wine. So I said "okay". It took a lot of arm twisting, let me tell you.

I was planning to go to bed at 10pm, but have gotten sucked into a re-airing of a Frontline episode about the 9/11 commision, Cheney, etc.... and getting ANGRIER by the second.

I may need more wine.

I'm throwing a pity party - wanna' join?

I am T-I-R-E-D. As in my brain is tired of thinking and memorizing.

It's really hard, harder than I ever imagined it would be, to work full time and try to study full time. I wouldn't recommend it. My day starts at about 5:45 am (depending on how snooze-happy I am) and I don't get home until about 12 hours later. Then I have to try and get a few hours of studying in, eat, work out, and not go to bed still vibrating (which reminds me, I need to go take my sleeping pill).

I'm not even really watching ANY TV.

Over the weekend, Husband accepted the fact that if he wants the apartment to be clean, he's going to have to do it himself (he's LUCKY I'm still doing the laundry!). I'm still surprised this went down without a fight. It always seems like we have one really knock-down, drag out super-fight when I'm studying for the bar. I still think it's coming, though, because it's one thing to get Husband to agree to clean. It's an entirely different thing for him to actually do it. And I'm sorry, but putting Dawn on the dishcloth and running it over the entirety of the sink does NOT count as cleaning it. He could even use the Clorox spray, for pete's sake.

What's really starting to grate on my nerves is the RIDICULOUS AMOUNT OF HOURS HE SPENDS PLAYING GAMES! GAMES! People, I'm talking about mindless, non-productive, GAMES. Jeeeeeeeeeeezus. With all the time he spends playing games, he could probably have already solved the whole world peace issue. I've been told this is a "guy thing", but he gets NO SLACK right now.

Seriously, it really feels like I'm working 2 jobs. And it TOTALLY SUCKS my hypothetical left nut.

I have, however, started working out again. Well, maybe I should re-phrase that. Yesterday, I ate really well, got my study goals accomplished, and even worked out - I let the elliptical machine kick my ass and then lifted weights. Today, I had 2 little pieces of dark chocolate (FIBER! BONUS!) but still went and let the elliptical pummel me. Someone at work said: "maybe you should tackle one thing at a time - first the bar, then working out when that's done". That doesn't work for me because I like to be on a schedule. Routines are my friend, we go way back. So I'm proud of myself for yesterday and today. Just gotta' keep building on the good days.

As I start to take longer and longer pauses (I'm tired and am about to go brush my teeth & go to bed for SLEEP, SLEEP, WONDERFUL SLEEP), I will leave you all with a good movie suggestion: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang: hysterically funny dark comedy. Val Kilmer & Robert Downey Jr. have excellent comedic timing; not only are they excellent actors, but they're great to watch together. Watch it when you need a break.

Sleep well, everyone, and those of you going to Bar/Bri in the morning remember this: as much as it sucks to be sitting in a lecture, AT LEAST YOU'RE NOT SITTING AT WORK FOR EIGHT HOURS BEFORE YOU GET TO GO HOME AND STUDY. Gosh, don't you wish you were me?!?

The bar gets blamed for alot...and it deserves it.

I've been holding off on posting because I just feel so whiny lately. Working a full-time job and trying to study for this damn bar exam is a b*tch. Seriously. I can think of a thousand sharp objects to the eye that would be more enjoyable.

The tough part for me is the volume of stuff I have to memorize, and since there's no MBE (which I'm ecstatic about), the memorization is basically just rote. It sucks. It's really hard to work a full day, ride the bus an hour home, make dinner, clean up the kitchen (because Husband is really being LAZY right now - more on this in a minute), and then get all revved up to study for a couple hours and not only be productive, but be able to FOCUS...that magical thing. Writing essays is fun compared to sitting and doing my memorization sheets.

I am now sleeping! I am falling asleep and staying asleep the entire night. It's beautiful! Now if I can just get myself up at 5:00 am to go work out... sigh. If I don't work out in the morning, it just doesn't happen. I've been taking walks during my lunch but that's not the serious ass kicking type of exercise my body needs right now...and I'm not talking for stress reduction, just size reduction.

Husband ... what is there to say? At least he'll go buy me Godiva dark chocolate (my fave) and sneak up and just shove it in my mouth while I'm studying. :-) That's actually quite nice. Of course it adds to the reason I need a body boot camp. He always gets cranky when I'm studying. We already have a cat, I don't need another child! And for chrissakes, please just keep the kitchen cleaned up! I can't study when the house is a mess - not because I'm open to distraction but because my Type A self can't handle it. I've really tried to cultivate the art of letting things sit until he does it during the last (almost) 3 years of married life, but when I'm studying for the bar, I don't have the extra patience for that.

Satuday night we went to see the Black Crowes. It was an excellent concert! I won tickets (I'm having deja vu - did I already write about this?) and even the parking was free (non paved, big whoop), so it was a free night. Husband had a nap Saturday afternoon and he woke up in Grumpyville and proceeded to spend the next several hours picking fights (yes, plural) with me. When we finally got to the concert and each consumed a beer the evening was fine. The cool thing about this venue was that we saw Mt. Ranier and then it was a full moon and it looked like one of those print-type framed pictures you'd find in an art gallery. Gorgeous. The actual performance of the Black Crowes was awesome - they're really great live! I never really listened to them prior to going to the concert (it was free, why not go?), but I left a fan. Not a fanatic, but a definite fan.

Oh, and Husband bought me a concert t-shirt...perhaps to make up for picking fights with me?

I decided last week to order a whopping stack of books from the library. Why? Because obviously I have plenty of time to do fun reading. The one I started this morning (on the bus - didn't have study stuff with me & had to run to catch the bus so there wasn't time and NO I DIDN'T PACK MY BAG THE NIGHT BEFORE AND PURPOSEFULLY PUT THE NOVEL IN AND NOT THE UCC SALES MEMORIZATION SHEET IN THERE. THE CAT DID THAT, OKAY? JUST BACK OFF) hmmm....someone feeling a little guilty, perhaps? Anyways, I started "Me Talk Pretty Someday" by David Sedaris. It's very funny - had me laughing out loud on the bus.

And now it's time for me to take my sleeping pill (I take it an hour before going to bed) and do some studying while sitting in bed. Which really means reading my David Sedaris book as the thought of having to memorize any more than the uh, 20? minutes I already did tonight makes me want to stab things. I don't even want to sit and watch TV (too much input)...I just want to sit. Just sit and do nothing.

How about a little motivation: I only have 6 weeks. AUGHHHH! Crap!

I'm still going to read the fun book while laying in bed. I'm a tired girl...I mean, with all the studying, working, and cleaning up and taking care of the cat I have to do (because somebody is too busy being a Master Gamer)...

Given the right circumstances, I could definitely be a pillhead.

I have had insomnia for about the last 1 1/2 - 2 weeks. I went to the doctor today. I was prescribed sleeping pills. HOORAY. No really, hallelujia.

I'm generally not a pill-drug-etc kind of person (aside from alcohol, of course), but being this exhausted has changed my mind. I haven't been able to study at all this week because my brain just can't focus. Last night I was trying to memorize and literally felt my brain grinding to a halt.

What really sucks is I've gone to bed earlier and earlier every night and I can't sleep. I'm exhausted, and I just lay there, trying to get comfortable. Once I do get to sleep, I wake up several times a night. And nothing makes Jane a grumpy girl like interrupted sleep combined with lack of sleep.

The doctor said that if the sleeping pills work and I sleep the entire night tonight, I'll feel worse tomorrow because my body will be crashing. Yeah.

I'm going to just sit here and let my brain zone out until time to take my pill and go to SLEEP, SLEEP, BEAUTIFUL SLEEP!

Calling all you sympathizers and empathizers...

Warning: this post is a very selfish, bar-studying-induced-crazy rant. I just have to get it out or else things may get thrown and I may become catatonic.

I'm finding it so depressing and just SAD that 2 years after graduating from law school, I am *still* studying for a damn bar exam. Granted, this is my first time with Washington, but I'm so disenchanted with myself for not being able to accomplish being licensed yet. I'd really like to frame my diploma, but I can't because I made a deal with myself when I got it that I wouldn't frame it until I was licensed, because it means all of squat without a license. And where am I 2 years later? Spending another summer studying. I'm not stupid; I understand the amount of hard work this requires and I've never been afraid of hard work. I worked hard in law school and believe it or not, I worked my ass off all three times I tried California (even though my ass is bigger, so unfair!).

I know California was a character building experience, yada yada, and I'm probably ahead of the game as far as preparing and going through the experience of taking a bar exam, but I so wish this bar exam was happening 2 years ago. I feel like I'm the only one left from my law school class still not licensed. WTF is up with that. Of course I don't know that for sure because I haven't kept in contact with everyone (or very many people, actually) and I know the bar exam doesn't define me and I'm lucky to be in a position where I can take it... BLAH BLAH BLAH. Regardless of all that, I still feel like a loser for not having passed yet. And that is the suckiest thing of all. It's starting to feel embarassing when people at work find out I went to law school and am studying for the bar and ask when I graduated. You know, it's almost like I'm turning into that person that everyone rolls their eyes about because "she's still trying to pass the bar".

Is this really about becoming an embarassment to my family & friends or just to myself?

Okay, rant over.

Today has been my first serious, gung-ho, no-messing-around study day. I have done 2 1/2 topics, with memorization and essays for 2 of them. I say 1/2 a topic, because this last topic is kicking and screaming the entire way. I can't get anything to stick in mybrain - the memorization is just not happening. I started at 8:30 am and now it's 10 1/2 hours later, so perhaps I'm a little burned out. Of course I did take a few breaks in there, so it's more like 10 hours. I had planned to go for 2 more hours, but just don't see that happening...which will totally throw my whole schedule off for the month of June, and that is unbelievably irritating. (And not just because I'm type A. Okay, well, maybe...)

A few hours ago I was laying on the floor memorizing and singing my own words to Aerosmith's Crazy: cra-a-a-azy, cra-a-a-a-azy, baby, I've gone cra-a-a-a-a-a-a-azy... From there I've gone into a crash...perhaps something to do with the fruit juice and lemon heads I was popping like a crack addict earlier? Note to self: no sugar tomorrow while studying!

My real dillema is this: I don't think I can do another 2 hours tonight, although I still have 1/2 of one topic to memorize and an essay to do. I just think it will turn into an exercise in frustration and meltdowns. So how do I give myself permission to say I've done enough today without feeling guilty?

OUCH!!!

So today's big discovery at work was the purpose of those little yellow warning stickers in the insides of copy machines. You know, the ones that have a triangle with an exclamation mark and a person holding out a finger over heat waves.

Of course, this discovery came after I'd thoroughly scorched one finger and lightly burned 2 other fingers.

I somehow jammed the copier, and was trying to fix it when I decided my right index finger was one burn + blister short of a perfect day. I just so happened to be copying these memorization sheets for bar study when the jam happened...which is, I suppose, karma's way of telling me I ought NOT be using company resources for personal stuff. Naughty.

In any event, my index finger blistered within a whopping 2 minutes, a personal record for me! The time it has taken for me to type this entry out is probably also a record, given that I'm a finger short on the typing front.

I'm just glad it's raining and univiting outside.

Why, you ask? Do I have a fixation with rain? Not necessarily, although I am a big fan, which is good considering where I live. No, the real reason I'm glad it's rainy today (and forecasted for the whole weekend) is because this weekend is "no really, I'm going to start seriously studying for the bar, really". Sigh. Today it felt like I put in about 15 hours but only produced 3 hours' worth. At least it's a serious concerted effort.

My chiropractor sent me home with an exercise ball on Thursday. I sat on it almost the entire day, and my back was nice and loose. I'm hoping that this is the nice little low-effort magic key to flat abs. Ha.

Anyways, I'm revving up for a nice, cold beer and some poker playing with Husband. I'd better win, that's all I have to say.

My identity thief stole my motivation!

Well, if you think finding out that someone has your social security number, date of birth, and mother's maiden name sucks, try dealing with the aftermath!

I have so far logged between 4-5 hours on the phone, an evening filling in forms/signing affidavits, way too long filling out an online form with the FTC, and longer than I care to admit attempting to file a police report.

And just let me tell you about trying to file a police report. I first went to my city's police department website, and in a shining tribute to the effectiveness of local government, not ONE SINGLE PHONE NUMBER worked. So I then proceeded to go to the main Seattle police department website. To make a very long, painful and extraordinarily frustrating story a bit shorter, I got bounced from automated system to automated system. Once I got through a live person, I kept getting transferred to different precints and departments before I was actually able to make a report.

And I'm fiercely behind in this month's study goals, and I think tonight Husband & I are going to go out and get a margarita...after the ending of America's Next Top Model, that is.

I'm me, no really, I'm ME.

I discovered yesterday morning that I am a VICTIM OF IDENTITY THEFT.

I wish I could add something snarky, like I saw someone who has my exact outfit! or looks just like me!, but alas, this is a very serious, take-10-years-off-my-life reality.

Before I launch into the terrible details, I am ordering all of you to PROMPTLY go and order your credit report RIGHT THIS INSTANT. Pay that stupid $25 fee to have a year's subscription to all 3 reports - IT'S WORTH IT.

I happen to have the year subscription, and have been getting emails from them for the last week that I have "alerts" on my credit report. I finally logged in yesterday morning (after having to call them to see what my password, etc was) and to my absolute HORROR, I saw ELEVEN NEW CREDIT CARDS HAD BEEN OPENED IN THE PAST TWO MONTHS!!!

No, I'm not kidding. I so wish I was.

After spending THREE hours on the phone to the different credit card companies and credit reports (I'm glad it was a slow morning at work), I found out the following:

*Whomever opened these accounts did so from MY OLD APARTMENT in California. We (yes, you too) are now wishing heap of heinous evil to happen to HIM. (I like to think that if it was a girl so badly desirous of money, she'd go find herself a sugar daddy.) I of course had to physically restrain myself from driving down to my old apartment and taking this fellow DOWN (because of course I could actually inflict any real damage).

*This obviously upstanding citizen and contender for the Most Ethical Human Being of the Year award not only has my name, my date of birth, and my mother's maiden name, but also has my social security number.

*I do not know how he got my social security number, but WE (you too) are blaming the terribly inefficient and not-fully-functioning post office branch from there. (I had problems with getting my mail the ENTIRE time I lived there, and they have NOT forwarded all our mail up here.)

The good news, and what perhaps makes me the luckiest identity theft victim ever, is that only 1 credit card had a balance - a whopping $26. One of the credit card companies surmised that because all these accounts are so newly opened, this Model Human Being was just lining up as many credit cards as HE could before going crazy.

I now have a 7 year fraud alert on my credit, so anytime anyone tries to open up an account under my name, they have to call me at my home phone. Oh, and there was a Discover card application that was in the middle of being processed that was, of course, immediately shut down. HA. HA HA. HA. Take that.

I really just wish and hope (as do YOU) that he gets taken down in an extraordinarily emarassing and humiliating way. And I sooo wish I could be there to see it and then jump out from behind the hidden camera and say something witty and evil. Yes, witty and evil. Like YOU GO TO HELL, YOU GO TO HELL AND YOU DIE. You know, something mature like that.

I WANT MY MONEY BACK.

Tonight Husband, the in-laws, and I went to dinner and a movie. What movie did we so foolishly pick? MI:III. I KNOW, I didn't want to give any money to that crazy Tom Cruise either, but the in-laws treated us, so I justified it as empty entertainment. WE ALL LEFT EARLY. No, not kidding. It might have been more effective to just take dollar bills and tear them up.

At one point, I actually LAUGHED OUT LOUD at the reveal of the "plot twist". Don't go see it, wait until it comes out on video. And then wait until they show it on TV...and there's nothing else you'd rather be doing.

Because I'm STUPID, that's why.

Last Friday night I indulged in a piece of carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. Saturday morning, I woke up with a cough. It has gotten progressively worse. The cough, that is. While I have sounded like I'm losing both my lungs on a regular basis, I have felt absolutely fine.

Until this morning. As soon as I got to work and sat down, my sinuses decided it was time to get in on the fun, and decided to permanently attach me to a kleenex box all day. Wowsers did my nose run all day. I still feel fine...aside from the elephant sitting on my sinus cavity and the fact that whenever I cough I sound on the verge of death.

So, why did I eat that damned cream cheese frosting? BECAUSE I'M STUPID, THAT'S WHY. Hmmm, maybe you're wondering what I'm talking about? Well, this is why I'm basically vegan - whenever I eat dairy products (except if eggs & milk are baked) I get an almost instantaneous respiratory/sinus infection. So yes, I'm stupid.

Oh yeah, and when did my over-the-counter cough suppressant wear off? EXACTLY WHEN I GOT ON THE BUS. Yes, I was that loud, obnoxious, hacking person sitting behind you on the bus. I couldn't hardly stop coughing long enough to take some more cough suppressant & pop 15 coughdrops in my mouth. Miserable. I'm sorry if I coughed on you - I was trying to make sure I only coughed into my kleenex, but I AM SICK, I couldn't help myself! I completely understand if you went home and bathed in Clorox. I would have, except I haven't yet made it off the couch.

Oh yeah, and what else is this little dairy-induced respiratory crap hit just in time for? My in-laws are coming tomorrow night. Hooray.

Phase I: complete!!!

I have now finished phase I of my study plan. This entails(ed?) making a 1 page sheet for each topic with everything I have to memorize on it (no margins, small font, etc.). Some topics were a bit attitudinal with this plan, ahem, Property, I'm looking at you, but I'm all done. I'd get up and do the Happy Dance if I wasn't so tired...and enjoying a glass of wine.

Tomorrow starts with phase II: memorization. Which means if you see some crazy girl on the bus tomorrow morning appearing to talk to herself, it's just me memorizing. Be nice - maybe buy me some coffee?

I do have superb news: I GOT HIRED! I found out Friday morning, although it isn't quite official because the HR girl was on vacation and will be back tomorrow. But I got an offer and it feels damn good. Now I'm officially no longer "that temp girl". Tomorrow will be interesting as far as seeing what all the benefits are and how much of a raise I'll be getting over what the temp agency was paying me.

I was incredibly productive today: cleaned, went like gangbusters through 4 topics (I'm superwoman, didn't you know?), and got 3/4 of the way through the laundry. And now I'm looking forward to going to bed in a 1/2 hour. I'm sure this week I'll update more - most likely driven beyond frustration from trying to force knowledge into my head. Sigh. Hope you all have a less brain-intensive week than I will.

Craigslist: where couples find other couples to date.

I know I owe some sort of explanation as to why I ended up ridiculously hungover on Saturday. And yes, I realize I'm finally getting to this on Tuesday night.

Here's the short story:
I went sniffing about on Cragislist in the tickets section, because there are several concerts I would love to see (Fiona Apple and Pearl Jam among the many), and saw a posting for 2 free tickets to a Mariners game. Turns out this couple had 2 extra tickets, and didn't want any money - just beer in return. I called Husband, who thought it sounded potentially very shady, but we decided to go anyways: (1) we were meeting at a brewery across the street from the stadium, so if they looked crazy, we could just be a no-show; (2) they were taking just as much of a risk as we were.

We ended up going and had a surprisingly nice time - the tickets were fantastic, the game was fucking cold, and the couple was very nice (can't think of another adjective starting with "f"). Except the guy was completely blotto...I mean, I'm not sure I've ever seen someone that drunk still functioning. We ended up leaving the game early (it was so cold people were walking around with sleeping bags wrapped around them - & it was too cold to properly hold a beer) and went to this cool place called The Garage (incidentally owned by Eddie Vedder's brother).

We ended up leaving there when we got kicked out because the guy was so drunk he passed out while we were sitting at one of the tables. Husband & I put up a valiant effort to keep up to how much they were drinking, and ended up getting quite drunk ourselves. In fact, I got so loopy I'm fairly sure I have her the info on this website - which I NEVER do!!! Well, hardly ever do. I certainly don't go around advertising this, so I'm hoping that I really didn't give her the website. Oh well.

***
I still don't know if I'll get hired, and at this point I care more about knowing the outcome than the actual outcome. My gut tells me they probably won't hire me, and I'm actually okay with that. If they don't, I guess it wasn't supposed to be, and there's probably something better out there...at least I keep telling myself that. I'm also still studying - although tonight hasn't been as productive because Husband coerced me into going to Target. COERCED. I swear. I mean, he totally had to suggest it twice and everything...what a bully, huh? Both of my bosses are gone tomorrow for all-day meetings elsewhere, and since I anticipate a fairly dead day, I'm taking some study stuff with me. It can't hurt, and you never know - I just may learn secured transactions after all. But let's not get ahead of ourselves...

hung.o.ver.

At this point in my hangover recovery, all I have to say about last night can best summed up like this:

BEER!
BEER.!
Beer.

uh, beer.

(N.B.: This would be entirely more effective had the font option decided to actually work.)

I just sent Husband out for the big hangover reinforcements - gatorade. It's come to this.

Just hand me the bottle of wine and nobody gets hurt.

I have lots of things to say, but am super tired so a few of these things may come out in list form (cut me just a wee bit of slack, Roonie, please!).

1. My inner chocolate addiction has GOT TO CALM DOWN. I think it's a problem when you're having no-sugar-added hot cocoa packets several times per day. I can't keep this up much longer, or the food police are going to be knocking down my door, no-sugar-added or not. Not to mention the fact that I really don't have the expendable funds to be getting a decaf-soy-medium-no-whip-mocha from Seattle's Best Coffee every morning.

2. Between Saturday and Tuesday, I made my short outline for 4 topics. Now I just have to get through the other 50234 topics and then memorize the short outlines. And I'm thinking tonight is going to turn into the second night in a row of not being able to remove myself from the couch.

The bigger issue for me this week occurred when I found out that although I'm doing a bang up job in my current position, and was told just last week of all the possibilities for upward movement within the company, apparently my law degree may prevent me from being hired on permanently. I'm quite frustrated. I hate being in limbo - from the start, everyone there has told me they selected me with the intention of hiring me on permanently, but then one of my bosses mentioned to another co-worker in our group (who nicely clued me in) that they would hire me in an instant but I am taking the bar exam and am leaving...oh, and apparently there now isn't anywhere to move up in the company.

So if I get this situation right, I'm doing a fabulous job, knocking the socks off everyone, but my law degree may prevent me from getting hired and now there's no possibility of upward mobility when last week there was? This, this is rich. WTF is really all I have to say...WTF.

Of course it's not over until it's over. And I really am trying to keep a good attitude - if it doesn't happen, there's something better out there, but IT STILL SUCKS. Words of wisdom? Anyone?

Yes, cat, you now have my attention.

The cat is most emphatically NOT a fan of me studying in the evenings. Actually, he wasn't at all pleased with me studying yesterday. I think it's safe to say that he's just not on board with this whole studying plan at all. I tried to explain to him that this is what has to be done, but he's not buying it.

I'll be sitting at the table, and all of a sudden I see his little head pop up, peeking at me over the top of the table. Now, I ask you: how can I possibly study with such unbearable cuteness like that?

And we're off to the races...

I have officially started studying for the WA bar exam. Actually, I started yesterday evening. I know this may seem a big aggresive, but remember I'm still going to be working up until maybe 2 weeks before the exam, so it's all about maximizing the time now.

Through a fellow blogger (E. Spat), I was able to buy a girl's study materials from last summer, and boy are they fabulous! I actually met up with both of them yesterday, which was quite nice. E. Spat was just as cool as you'd think -actually, more so.

And cool as it was, it's quite jarring to realize that the stuff I write here doesn't just go off and dissapear into cyberspace. It's there as a permanent record. To those of you who have met fellow bloggers, what was it like? Did you find that you had inadvertently already decided what they should be like? And for those of you who already knew me - is this site a fair representation of ME?

Don't you just hate that...

...when you happen to be walking by the glass doors of a filled conference room just as you are adjusting the waist-line of your pants.

Splendid.

So that's what it's like when you get your back cracked.

I went to the chiropractor today.

I finally figured out that the pain that shoots down my leg is from a pinched nerve, and today was so bad I finally reached my pain threshold. And you know that it was pretty bad for me to decide I needed to go get fixed today.

I went after work, and I think I found a great chiropractor. He's more of a sports medicine guy, and attractive to boot. He took 2 x-rays of my lower back, and shock of all shocks, my spine is CROOKED, which is PINCHING MY NERVES. Instead of being straight, it curves to the right. He thought it was a combination of: law school (HA!), some crookedness as a child, bad posture (naughty!), and then the rollerblading incident a few months ago just made it worse. The look on the chiropractor's face was disconcerting at best. Seriously, it's frightening to see your spine curving to the right more than just a little bit when it should be straight and you're only 27.

Needless to say, I'm seeing him again tomorrow and Wednesday, probably every single day for a while. He did some adjustments today, and mentioned that I'd probably be sore tonight. Uh, YEAH, that's one way to put it. Erg.