Oh, merde! I forgot that I have a blog!
No, I didn't really forget, but sometimes it would seem that way. The truth is that a combination of school and what many bloggers suffer (call it burnout, block, or what have you) have conspired to both prevent me from writing and keep me unmotivated to write.
I will note that law school is going well. It is certainly challenging, but I feel that I have a hold on things. (We'll see if that feeling lasts past Thanksgiving or, for that matter, very far into November.) There is endless reading, but it's not like reading a novel or even reading a college textbook, it's like reading a refrigerator warranty, a credit card agreement, or a mortgage promissory note. It's dense, detailed, and, quite often, dull. To continue the alliteration, it requires a good dose of diligence, too. I often get a page or two into my nightly reading and begin to think about how dry it is and how much of it yet lies ahead. My mind drifts and suddenly it's two pages later and I can't recall a word from from those two pages, so I have to go back to what I do remember and pick it up there. Right on cue, my brain drifts at the same point as if triggered to do so by a particular word (no doubt a Latin word). I repeat the process, staying alert for the trigger word, and force myself past the blockade.
Not all of the reading is dull. Earlier this week, I knew that things were going to be interesting when a case began, "An unfortunate combination of gasoline, matches, and a seven-year-old boy resulted in the lawsuit which underlies this appeal." (Peterson v. Taylor, 316 NW 2d 869, Iowa 1982). Then there was the case that even my case book referred to as "The Nitroglycerin Case" (Parrot v. Wells-Fargo, 82 US 524, 21 L Ed 206, 1872). Ahh, if only all of life were as blazingly gratifying as torts class!
Fortunately, fall break gave me a reprieve from school earlier this week and I was able to enjoy a bit of life as I once knew it. Chris and I rented a cabin in Grayson County, Virginia, and spent a weekend on the side of a mountain, 20 miles from the nearest grocery store, in the middle of the pasture of a sanctuary farm for rescued animals. Rugby Creek Farm is home to horses, goats, dogs, cats, chickens, donkeys, and guinea hens that have been rescued from a variety of sad situations. Cabin rentals help to fund their full-time animal rescue operation, which recently achieved 501(c)3 non-profit status. We toured the farm and met all of the animals, enjoyed a short but scenic hike in Grayson Highlands State Park, and attended a molasses festival at the Mount Rogers Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Squad. I also seized the opportunity to do something that I've not had the time to do since I've been in school -- I cooked! Bringing some ingredients from home and gathering more provisions from the Food City in Independence (where the local newspaper is called The Declaration), I made a pot of vegetarian chili on Saturday evening. See photos from the weekend in my Flickr.
We returned home on Sunday evening. I had grand plans to catch up and get ahead by reading supplements and getting my outlines in order, but so much stuff that I've put off during school (filing, laundry, software updates, etc) stood up and demanded attention and it was all that I could do on Tuesday evening to finish my reading for Wednesday. Ugh.
I'm already looking forward to the summer and how I'm going to fill my time without school. I'd like to get an internship in a law office or working for a judge for part of the summer, but I'm making plans to go to Madrid for another part of the summer to work on my language skills. I've applied to UNCG's program in Madrid (which focuses on language and culture) and am looking at William and Mary's program (which focuses on European law).
For now, I'm paddling along until Christmas, by which time I'll be looking festive with my red eyes and green complexion. :J
