Summertime, and the livin’ is ... easy?

Summer has been an emotional time for me for the past few years and the trend shows no sign of abating.

In the summer of 2007, I sold the historic bungalow that I had come to treasure as my home. I ruminated over whether I was doing the right thing to shed the responsibilities that come with home-ownership ahead of enrolling in law school, but when the time came to sign on the dotted line, I was ready.

I spent the rest of that summer tolerating my job and counting down the days until I could leave it behind and enroll in law school. Inasmuch as my job was something to be tolerated at that point, leaving was bitter-sweet event, to be sure. I had many wonderful memories of some colleagues and unbelievable stories about others, as anyone would after eighteen years in one place. My work had provided me with many opportunities for which I’m grateful. For better or for worse, however, when I left, the organizational culture had been undergoing a shift and I'd gone from being an insider looking out to an outsider looking in. When it came time for me to go, I was ready.

In the summer of 2008, I realized a years-long dream and enrolled in a summer study-abroad course in Spain. For two weeks after arriving in Madrid, I felt nothing but giddiness. After that, the one-two punch of being away from the Boyfriend whom I loved and of living in a foreign country where every day presented a new challenge, puzzle, or frustration hit me. I found some comfort in the romantic attentions of a handsome man whose acquaintance I made while in Madrid, but that brought with it more emotional turmoil. Every day was a cycle of missing the Boyfriend in the US, looking forward to going out with Madrid Man, feeling very much at home in Europe, and longing to be regarded by people in the street as something other than just another American tourist. I reveled in weekend trips to visit friends in France and Italy, which were emotional experiences of their own, and longed to stay in Europe, but when it came time to go home, I was ready.

After I returned to the US, my Boyfriend proposed to me on a weekend leave from his temporary work assignment in Maryland; we deepened our promises to one another and called ourselves married. Our newly-wedded bliss was short-lived, as he returned to Maryland and I temporarily installed myself with my grandparents in the small town where I grew up. By day, I interned for a district attorney and loved learning about criminal law. By night, I struggled with a paper that I was writing for school, missed my Boyfriend-Turned-Husband, fretted over how to disclose Madrid Man to him, and debated the nature of my recent nuptials with my grandmother. In the interstices, I renewed my relationship with my grandparents, who entertained me with their own antics and their doting over my dog.

In the summer of 2009, I went to Beijing for five weeks. I didn't pick up a romantic interest in Beijing, which made some things easier and some things harder, no pun intended. My emotional experience was otherwise similar to that of Madrid -- life in a foreign country can be grinding, regardless of how eager you are for the experience. Even now, however, I get nostalgic for both Madrid and Beijing.

I spent the second half of the summer in Charlotte, living with a close friend whom I've known for years and working for the public defender. Both experiences were fulfilling and edifying. I treasured both the quality time spent with my roommate, as well as his generous hospitality, and the experiences that I had at work, with an equally warm and generous cohort of colleagues. I found a career that I could do after law school, do well, and enjoy.

By the time the summer of 2010 came around, my Boyfriend-Turned-Husband and I had come to an impasse and amicably released one another from our vows. The summer started with a bang – law school graduation and my birthday on the same weekend! I was on an emotional high not only because of the events that were transpiring, but also because the guy that I had then been dating for a few weeks went out of his way to celebrate my accomplishments with me. This was tempered only slightly by the fact that, during many of my graduation festivities, my mother and father were in the same building together that wasn't a courthouse for the first time in perhaps thirty years. I was able to let go of my anxiety and let adults do as they would and, of course, everything turned out fine. I owe a big thank-you to my mom’s boyfriend for being instrumental in making everything go smoothly, to my family for rising to the occasion and being so proud of me, to Dating Man for generally making me feel special, and to my ex-Boyfriend-Turned-Husband for his support and understanding throughout law school.

As the current summer wears on, I top one emotional hill only to see more hills and valleys undulate infinitely toward the horizon. In my bar exam prep course, an "exceeds standard" mark on a practice essay one day gives way to "needs significant review" feedback on practice multiple choice questions; the next day, they invert themselves. My plans with Dating Man were cancelled one recent evening when his father fell ill; it was to be the last time that his father would fall ill. I struggled with whether I take time away from studying to go the funeral in an unfamiliar town hours away. I discussed the matter with a friend, ran through a cost-benefit analysis, analyzed the ramifications of each decision, made a rational decision not to go, and then went anyhow. It was SO worth it! I saw Dating Man in a new light. I think that we established a new connection, and my presence seemed to fulfill an emotional need in both of us.

As I type this, I feel like I'm in some sort of purgatory. I'm staying in Elon and studying for the bar exam for the entire summer, as if I've embarked on some sort of monastic vocation. To some extent, it hearkens back to Madrid and Beijing -- being unsure of what to do with myself in unfamiliar surroundings and having no one at hand to commandeer as an accomplice. This is the common thread runs through this summer and the three before it.

My ex-Boyfriend-Turned-Husband is caring for my dog and I return to Greensboro each weekend to give him a chance to visit family and friends out of town. I'm enjoying living in my own space during the week and don’t mind spending my weekends in Greensboro, but the transition between the two locales is emotionally draining. During the week, I feel independent and engaged in important self-actualization, but the weekends snap me back into an emotional spot that I didn't realize I was in and couldn't appreciate leaving until I'd gone back to it.

The fall lurks before me and my plans for that time are still unsettled. On the one hand, I look forward to finding a new routine in my own space. On the other hand, my summers have become times of profound feeling and thinking, of growth, and of enrichment. Maybe I should just move to Florida so I can experience summer year-'round!

Ni hao!

Greetings from Beijing, where I'm doing another study-abroad. I'm at the Law School of Renmin University of China, studying Chinese business law through a program sponsored by Indiana U/Purdue U-Indianapolis. I arrived on 20 May and will be abroad until 30 June.

Unfortunately, I can't access my blog from China, except through Elon's VPN, which is a bit of a cumbersome process. Never fear, though! I've been keeping a blog/journal by posting notes on my Facebook profile, so have a look over there. As always, photos are on Flickr, at the following URL.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jrervin/

Huitou jian!

Believe It or Not!

I can’t believe that I spent nearly two months in Spain and wrote only one entry for this blog. It’s true that I was busy enough experiencing living in a foreign country and documenting that experience through photos, not to mention the commitment required for my two Spanish courses in Madrid and the independent study that I’m doing for law school! It took a couple of weeks to adjust emotionally and physically to being abroad. It was quite an adventure living in a cosmopolitan city of six million people in a foreign country where I had to use my foreign language skills on a daily an hourly basis to survive. In the end, I not only survived, but flourished, and came to love my temporary home! I made many wonderful friends of classmates, my señora and her family, and other madrileños. I learned a great deal about myself, too, by finding the assertive part of myself, by pushing the limits of my tolerance for daily annoyances, by pressing myself to persevere in difficult tasks, and by stretching to communicate with people with a completely different perspective and approach than I.

I can’t believe that I finally met Enrico, my Italian pen-friend of seventeen years! After my Spanish courses ended, I flew to Italy and spent a few days in Modena getting to know Enrico, his family, and his hometown. After Italy, I went to France to spend a long weekend with friends who live south of Lyon, near Montélimar; they live in a fairy tale – a medieval village with a castle towering over and surrounded by mountains and vineyards. In both France and Italy I had to pull out and dust off my French in order to talk with my friends, find my way about, and get along in daily life.

I can’t believe that I’m already back in the States and working in my internship in the District Attorney’s office and living with my grandparents. Pepper and I have installed ourselves in Rockingham with Mamaw and Papaw. I awaken early, put on a suit, and head to the courthouse, where I observe in court and do research to help the prosecutors to prepare for upcoming cases. Deputies, jurors, defendants, defense counsel, and even judges have all addressed me as if I were already a lawyer; at least I look the part!

I can’t believe that on 4 July, the day after I returned from Spain, Chris, my boyfriend of two-and-a-half years, proposed to me over lunch in the restaurant where we rekindled the friendship that we initiated fifteen years ago. I was dumbfounded and couldn’t speak for a moment, but I eventually gathered enough wits to accept! After some discussion of what to do next (set a date for a ceremony, elope, plan a reception), we went on to purchase the rings that we’d chosen before I went to Spain, said vows to one another in private, and are now married – husband and husband. Chris wrote about this event in his blog far more eloquently than I did here!

I can’t believe what an amazing man I have in my life. Chris is intelligent (especially so in ways that I’m not), gifted in dealing with children, a great cook, disarmingly handsome, a gentle lover, and has a seemingly unending capacity to love. He is a good friend, was a great boyfriend, and will certainly be a wonderful husband and father.

I can’t believe the reactions of our families. Chris’ family comes from a religious background, but most of them root their faith in love and choose to express that emotion over others. Chris’ sister voiced her delight at the prospect of my being her brother-in-law several weeks ago. Chris sat down with his parents just a couple of days after our exchange of rings and was pleasantly surprised by their reaction and their willingness to engage in dialogue. My own mother expressed unabashed pleasure at the news, exclaiming “You picked a good one!” My dad was surprised at the quick turn of events, but was delighted and wished us much happiness. My grandmother was also caught off-guard by the surprise news and I was caught equally off-guard by her reaction. My mother had apparently told her that someone had gotten married and that she should phone me for details; she did and when I revealed the newlyweds’ identity, I was met with silence. When I saw her in person the next day, a disrespectful comment on her part resulted in a confrontation between us which ended only with ruffled feathers being smoothed, rather than any meeting of the minds, or, for that matter, any congratulations.

Having covered what I can’t believe, you might be wondering what I can believe. I can and do believe that life is a series of challenges to which we must rise and that the greatest injustice that we can commit against ourselves is to think that we aren’t good enough to achieve great things or that we don’t deserve to have great things happen to us. :J

Four Dollars

Ugh. I saw this horrid sight for the first time in my life, but probably not the last.

It's kinda funny -- last week, a classmate and I were fussing about fuel prices when I speculated, "I'd be that diesel will be up to four dollars per gallon by Labor Day (beginning of September), maybe even Memorial Day (end of May)." Or... tomorrow! This followed a fifty-cent rise in the price of diesel over a two week period. Ugh. :J

Get Out, already!

Wow... nothing for nearly two months and now two posts in one day! What's next, parity of the dollar with the euro?

I'm Founding President of OutLaw, an organization of students at Elon University School of Law who are interested in legal issues affecting the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender community. OutLaw is open to all Elon Law students.

On Wendesday of this week, OutLaw hosted its inaugural programming event, the Out Lawyer Forum. Three local attorneys came to the law school and spoke to about two dozen students, faculty, and staff about practicing law as an openly-gay or -lesbian lawyer in Greensboro. Panelists included Ron Johnson (partner in the law firm of Johnson, Peddrick, and McDonald who has practiced in Greensboro since 1974 and is a Board Certified Specialist in estate planning and probate law), Rebecca Perry (who has practiced family law as a solo practitioner in Greensboro since 2002, is a Board Certified Specialist in family law, and is an active member of the State Bars of North Carolina and Texas), and Andrew Spainhour (who worked as a lobbyist's assistant in Washington DC before turning down job offers in New York to become corporate counsel of Replacements Ltd). Law school Dean Leary Davis and his guest, David Campbell, a scholar of the role that diversity plays in leadership, welcomed the panelists and audience as the program began.

All in all, the program was a great success. Read all about it!

http://www.elon.edu/e-web/academics/law/outlaw_forum_3_08.xhtml

:J

My Day in Court

Well, it had to happen sooner or later. Everyone has their day in court for one reason or another and yesterday was mine. I emptied my pockets and walked through the metal detector and into the court house. I took the elevator up to the fourth floor and checked with the prosecutor's office to find out where I should go. Down two floors and into the packed criminal court room. A second-year classmate interning with the prosecutor's office saw me come in; her mouth flew open and she grabbed the docket sheet to see where my name was on it. I found a seat and took it quietly, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible.

I had had enough continuances and it was time to face the fact that I had to spend a day observing criminal court for my criminal law class. The prosecutor's office told me where I should go to see the most action. Luckily and to her relief, my classmate didn't find my name on the docket sheet. There were plenty of others, though! It took about twenty minutes just for docket call--reading all of the names from the list of cases to be heard. Probably one-third to one-half of the cases were continued to another day. Probably a fifth were dismissed and another third were deferred pending payment of restitution or completion of an alternative sentencing program. Several people plead guilty, so I saw the process that follows that. A few people were released after time served in the county jail since arrest and agreeing to pay court costs. It looked as if there would be two or three bench trials that afternoon, but I couldn't stick around that long. My accompanying classmate, Jon, and I left at lunch recess. It was, indeed, an interesting experience and one that excites me for what's to come this summer.

So... this summer. It looks like I'll be interning in the prosecutor's office in the county where my grandparents live during the second half of the summer! It's an unpaid position, but I look forward to soaking up some rich experiences in the courtroom and spending some quality time with my grandparents during my six weeks there. I came to law school with the thought of practicing estate planning; I never imagined that I'd go into criminal law and I'm still not committing myself to anything. However, my IT career put me nearly half-way through the thirty years of State service required to retire with full benefits, so the thought of going back into State service after law school, finishing my thirty years, and walking out the door with pension and health insurance at age 55 is very attractive. I wouldn't be limited to working as a prosecutor, either. Several (but not all) of NC's judicial districts have public defenders. All of NC's public universities have a University Counsel, and tons of attorneys work in the NC Department of Justice, as that department handles litigation for all state agencies. It's quite likely that a return to State service is in my future.

My internship is the second half of the summer. During the first half, I'm going to Europe to take UNCG's culture and conversation course in Madrid for a month and then spend a couple of weeks visiting friends in France and Italy. Of course, I'm looking forward to my trip to Europe, but I also can't wait to return to my internship!

For better or worse, Chris will be working in Maryland all summer. That'll be good because he'll be away from home himself, which might keep his mind off of the fact that I'm away, too. He'll also be able to spend time with and become better acquainted with some of our friends in that area and the area itself, which has always held some appeal for me. His being away could be bad because he might get bored living in a hotel room for months. But, we've survived his previous travels for work and it has real benefits, so we'll get through it this summer, too.

So, there's a nutshell update. There's no rest for the weary, as I have a 15-page Motion for Summary Judgment to crank out this weekend. For those not in the law, summary judgment is a decision about the case based on the facts as presented to the court in pre-trial documents; the facts are undisputed and so clear that a trial is not necessary. (It's the job of the jury in a jury trial or of the judge in a bench trial to decide the facts -- basically, who has the more compelling story or who's telling the truth.) The movant (party making the motion) is asking the court to rule as a matter of law; the only question to be resolved is how the law applies to the facts, which is always the job of the judge. Summary judgment is much quicker and much less expensive than a trial, so is often viewed as a preferred method of resolving cases. Woo-hoo!

So, I'm off to summary judgment land! Don't worry; I won't send a postcard. :J

Computer Blue

Note: I wrote this entry shortly before Christmas, but waited until now (a month later) to post it so that revealing the details of my computer SNAFU during exams wouldn't violate my school's honor code, which requires anonymity in exam grading. :J

Exams actually got off to a quite exciting start. As I rebooted my computer to take my very first law school exam, Windows flaked out on me and I had to hand-write my exam! For some unknown reason, Windows Vista had suddenly decided that my license was no longer valid and locked me out of most functionality, generously allowing me into my Web browser where I could buy a new license for $215. After four hours on the phone with Costco and HP, a crying fit, several nights of fitful sleep, and worrying at least an hour or two off of the end of my life, I was no closer to a solution. With a functional browser, I was able to send my crucial documents to myself in e-mail and download them onto a flash drive via my desktop computer, which allowed me to continue studying at home and in the lab at school. I borrowed a computer from school for my second exam. I finally faced reality and hit the virtual reset button, restoring my hard drive to its factory condition. I took my other exams on my own computer, but spent two full days reinstalling all of my software and readjusting my configurations.

Through all of this trauma, Costco (which offers limited support for computers that it sells and whose staff was great) and HP were very helpful. I got bubkes from Miscrosoft, though. Even HP got from Microsoft the same run-around as I and I never spoke to anyone at Miscrosoft whom I felt could have helped me with my problem, if they understood what it was. To add insult to injury, I would have had to pay $59 to speak to anyone beyond the guy that could only take my credit card information in exchange for a new license key.

All's well now, but I wonder... when it comes time for me to buy a new computer, will I join the ranks of the millions of Mac users and housekeeper that declare, "I don't do Windows?" :J

And That's Final!

Exams are over, at last, and my first semester of law school is history, but a relaxing winter break is hardly in the cards for me.

To celebrate the end of exams, Chris and I went to Asheville for the weekend, dined at one of the restaurants on Biltmore Estate (The Bistro), and took a candle-light tour of Biltmore House. The food was excellent and it was fun to see the House in its full holiday finery, but I had car trouble on the trip. My car, Diego, decided to help me to develop an appreciation for irony and chose one of the coldest days of the year, in Asheville, in the snow even, to fry his water pump and overheat. He is now convalescing at the mechanic's while I get a work-out on the bus.

Right after all the family visits and festivities, I'll be consumed with packing and moving, since my roommate bought a new house a few weeks ago and will close the deal just before New Year. My cat, Cilantro, displeased with my scarcity around the house since I entered law school, has taken to urinating in a few choice spots around our current house. He can't do that in the new house, so as part of the move, he's going to Virginia to live with Jeff. I'm sure that I'll enjoy the brief visit with Jeff and his family, but I'll for sure miss Cilantro's rich personality and his antics. (Yes, it was just over a year ago that my other cat, Curry, passed away of complications from diabetes.)

On the brighter side, Chris has kitted out his condo with a doggie bed, kennel, and bowls in anticipation of my dog, Pepper, spending more time there. The ability to bring Pepper with me to Chris' along with Cilantro's move will give me a lot more flexibility with regard to traveling with Pepper and staying in Greensboro without feeling guilty about leaving her behind and imposing on my roommate to look after her.

I'm keeping my spirits up during all of this with feeling good about exams (grades in February), thinking about how much worse some of these scenarios could have turned out, and looking forward to my trip to Spain this summer!

Let's wrap things up with a random thought... Is it any wonder that two-thirds of personal bankruptcies in the United States are because of medical bills? My grandpa had heart surgery to replace a valve a few months ago and the bills have started to roll in. The first one was an eye-popper. For two weeks of hospitalization, two days of which were in intensive care, the bill was $110,000. Where I live, that's a modest house! Yes, his insurance will pay much of that, but can you imagine his reaction if he didn't have insurance? I dare say that his heart surgery would have been for naught at that point.

¡Feliz Navidad y prospero año nuevo! :J

Fall Break

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

I Heart Papaw

Papaw's surgery went well on Friday. The doctor did replace one of his valves, but decided against also performing a bypass; this, after removing the vein from his leg and cleaning it in preparation for attaching it around a partial blockage of one of his cardiac arteries. That decision gave me pause -- I mean, the doctor's already in there and at Papaw's age, it's not like the doctor will likely ever go back in there! I learned, however, that doing the bypass carries with it the risk of dislodging calcium deposits in the artery that could travel and lodge themselves elsewhere and potentially block the flow of blood to a crucial area. This combined with the fact that other arteries had taken on some of the job of the partially-blocked artery tipped the risk-benefit analysis against doing the bypass.

I visited Papaw in the hospital on Sunday and found that he continues to recover quickly. He was predictably feeble and a bit foggy because of his pain medication, but considering that he'll soon be 84 years old and had just had this chest sawed open two days before, he's doing darn well! I'm very thankful for that, because I heart my Papaw! :J

Life Happens

Yep, life goes on, even when you've built a fort of Aspen case books around yourself. I found out yesterday that Papaw will have open-heart surgery tomorrow (Fri, 21 Sep) to replace a faulty valve. I knew from a doctor visit that he had several weeks ago that the procedure was inevitable, but found out just yesterday that the blackouts that he's been having are a result of this faulty valve and that the next blackout could be his last. So, he and Mamaw are headed to Charlotte today for pre-operative tests. He'll likely be in the hospital for a week and could have another week in a rehabilitation center after that. Though it's a major event, I'm not unduly concerned about the procedure itself; it's the recovery that concerns me. I'm afraid that Papaw will go stir-crazy not being able to move about freely and that the added responsibility of intensely caring for someone will wear on Mamaw. I hope that their financial situation and their pride will allow them to hire a home health-care worker.

It's been almost a month since my last blog entry. Some topics have crossed my mind, but I've not had time to develop my thoughts on them or commit them to writing. I miss my daily walks around UNCG; I occasionally walk around downtown, but it's not as enjoyable. There are many conservative people around me, but I have found that most of them are quite cool; "conservative" seems to have different implications for my many classmates who are 12-14 years younger than me. When I've visited UNCG, I've experienced something akin to culture shock at observing how people dress on that campus (hip, trendy, casual) compared to how folks dress at Elon Law (stylish, dressy, casually/comfortably conservative). Those are just a few of the things that have been crossing my mind lately (besides elements of intent, personal jurisdiction, bargain for consideration, and adverse possession). :J

Here's your sign.

The more astute among you might have noticed that I've been curiously inactive here and on Flickr since I entered law school. It's true; I've been incredibly busy and, though things have happened on which I'd like to comment, I just haven't had time to write anything.

The title here is a tip-o-the-tuque to Bill Engvall, but has nothing to do with common stupidity. Often, when at an important crossroads in our lives, we might ask God for a sign of what action we should take or for affirmation that we're on the right path. Though I'm unsure of what God was signaling, a sign came through LOUDLY and CLEARLY two Sundays ago.

Chris and I went to church at College Park Baptist Church in Greensboro and sat near the back (Though American rather than Southern, it's still a Baptist church.), next to the aisle. A few minutes into the service, as we were settling in for the sermon, I heard a VERY loud crash and a womon's scream. I don't think that I realized what happened because I don't remember jumping or being startled; I think that I had one of those moments where your hearing goes out for just a split second and you miss a syllable of a conversation. I noticed what looked like bird's feathers drifting down from the ceiling into the aisle next to me, looked down to see the little, grey bits covering the men in the aisle across from me, and then looked on the floor to see the vent diffuser from the ceiling now lying on the floor. This 3-feet-across hunk of metal had somehow become dislodged from the vent and dropped 25 feet to the floor in the middle of worship! What's more, it had missed me by about 6 feet and the gentlemen across from me (who were now covered by bits of insulation and compacted dust) by only 2-3 feet!

Everyone in the sanctuary just sat quietly for a couple of minutes, stunned, wondering what to do. The Pastor paused, conferred with the worship leader, then announced that we were moving worship to the smaller chapel. We made our way out of the sanctuary, filed the much smaller chapel, and finished our worship. (Ironically and, perhaps, foolishly, I sat directly beneath a brass and glass chandelier in the chapel.) I shared this event with several church-going friends and discussed the shared experience with a staff member at school who also attends church there, but mostly got on with the week and just enjoyed the shock value in telling the story.

Chris and I returned to College Park this past Sunday and, upon entering the sanctuary, looked up to see what had become of the gravitationally-challenged diffuser. It had been reinstalled in its proper place. During worship, the pastor reassured us by sharing the news that a professional had reinstalled the diffuser and checked the others to ensure that they were secure in their spots.

The funniest part of all this happened during the offering this past Sunday. As the ushers approached the altar in preparation to collect the offering, we noticed that they were wearing hard hats, which they then used instead of collection plates to collect the offering! Ha! A congregation with a wry sense of humor--I could make it my church home! :J

Bollywood Balderdash

This weekend was Chris' birthday and in his honor, some friends came over on Saturday for a cook-out. After eating burgers, hot dogs, cake, and ice cream, we ended up playing Beyond Balderdash. The original Balderdash involves coming up with definitions for unusual words and tricking your opponents into picking the wrong one (hopefully your own), while trying to figure out for yourself which is the correct definition. Beyond Balderdash find the players bluffing movie plots and the significance of dates, abbreviations, and then names of famous people. Among the terms for which we made up explanations were two movie titles for which we came up with a group of plots that were so creative that I had to share them here.

New Pastures

1. A businesswoman from Los Angeles moves to the country to make a new life after losing her husband in an earthquake.
2. Documentary about triple-crown winners after retirement.
3. Czechoslovakian production with subtitles about three jailbirds who get into trouble when they arrive in their hometown.
4. Cutting-edge research scientists attempt to publicize a cure for the Hanta virus in the face of government opposition.
5. Aliens, dissatisfied with life in outer space, disguise themselves and take up residence in rural Iowa.

The Mysterious Mr Wong

1. A small production about a Chinese immigrant cooking homeless people from the streets of New York in Chinatown.
2. Foreign comedy about a case of mistaken identity between a jewel thief and a dentist.
3. Bela Lugosi stars as a Chinese crook trying to capture twelve coins that will make him powerful.
4. The last Charlie Chan novel committed to film, noted for a cameo appearance by Vincent Price.
5. Hong Kong police seek a mafia figure.

What a hoot! This was a fun game, one that I look forward to playing again, perhaps with some of my new law school classmates! You'll have to cut me some slack on the title of this entry; I couldn't think of any other B word related to cinema with which to achieve alliteration with Balderdash. By the way, in both cases, the third plot outline is the true one. :J

Whitewater, take me away!

Shorty entry tonight.

Roomie Leslie heard about a man-made white-water facility in Charlotte, so on Saturday, several of us headed down to the US National Whitewater Center. Chris; my cousin, Jenny; two of Leslie's work friends, both named Debbie; and I piled into a rubber boat with helmets and flotation vests with a guide and two other tourists and spent two hours on rapids in classes 2-4. It was awesome! I was quite anxious about the whole affair, not knowing what to expect and wondering what I'd do if I went overboard. Fortunately, the facility gave us a good run-down of basic paddling techniques and safety procedures, so I felt fairly well prepared before I got in the boat. Our boat did tip twice, but my feet stayed wedged fast under the inflated cross-braces, so I stayed in, though the womon in front of me went for a dip. Our biggest mishap was arriving a few minutes late for our appointed time and having to wait for 90 minutes until they could squeeze us in. If you go, DO make a reservation and DO check-in at the training pavilions early! Leslie; Christopher; and another of Leslie's work friends, also named Debbie (I'm beginning to think that all of Leslie's work friends are named Debbie, even the guys.) went flat-water kayaking due to Christopher's age. Debbie's boyfriend elected to bring his bike and he enjoyed the several miles of trails that meander around the facility. We'd entertained notions of stopping at Northlake Mall or Concord Mills on the way home, but we were so beat that we headed directly home, stopping only after we arrived in Kernersville for a yummy dinner at Don Juan's.

Law school orientation starts Thursday, just 3.5 days from now. I'm excited, but I'm also a bit bummed because I've scarcely made a dent in the list of projects that I wanted to work on between leaving work and starting school. I'm going to Rockingham to visit Mamaw and Papaw for a few days this week, but I'd also like to visit Mum if only I had a bit more time. If I were to be realistic about it, I could lay out until Christmas and still not get everything done! You'll recall that I have to wear a suit to the first two days of orientation (the first day for photos and the second day to look presentable for big-wigs). Well, I had a look at the forecast for Thursday and it's calling for a high temperature of ONE HUNDRED degrees F (38 C)! Yikes! I guess it's all in a day's work. Er... :J

Last Hurrah

Just before my final days at work this past Monday and Tuesday (30 and 31 July), Chris and I headed out of town for a brief get-away. We had wanted to go to New York and see Fantasia Barrino play Miss Celie in the Broadway version of The Color Purple, but that trip fell apart as we studied our respective budgets. We scaled back our plans and decided on a couple of road trips instead of one big, fantastic voyage.

So, last Friday, Chris and I piled into the car and headed north to Lynchburg. Chris lived in Lynchburg for a few years and I had visited Lynchburg often over the previous several years, as it's the hometown of my ex, Jeff, and his family sstill lives there. Upon arrival in Lynchburg, I met Jeff's mom to exchange some of his and my possessions that had gotten shuffled in the moves. I brought her some of her favorite candy treats and Chris and I both enjoyed chatting with her. We then met a friend of Chris' for lunch at a Lynchburg-style Chinese buffet (complete with all of the normal, Americanized Chinese fare, plus french fries, pigs in blankets, pizza, cheese and seafood tartlets, and an array of dishes made by combining the same six ingredients in different proportions; kinda like Taco Bell, but "Chinese" instead of "Mexican"). As much as I deride it, I enjoy an occasional dose of Lynchburg-style Chinese food. After Lunch, I paid homage to tradition by hitting the J.Crew outlet (J.Crew is based in Lynchburg and this is a real outlet attached to the warehouse!) and the outlet of the Old Virginia Candle Factory, which is always a good place to find Christmas and birthday gifts.

I'd planned a surprise for Chris on Saturday, who organized and surprised me with several adventures when I visited him in the Philippines. (I'd have no idea where I was going and end up on a donkey headed up a volcano or on a plane to Fantasy Island.) We were planning to go to church at Pullen Memorial Baptist Church in Raleigh on Sunday and I wanted to find a hotel near Raleigh so that we wouldn't miss church like we did the last time that we tried to attend Pullen when we ended up too hungover to go! So, I was poking around on Google Earth to find a nice hotel with a spa and spotted the Carnivore Preservation Trust, an animal rescue facility near Pittsboro that has tigers, leopards, ocelots, servals, jaguars, and other carnivorous cats and keystone species. It sounded like fun, so I made a reservation and we ended up enjoying an educational, 90-minute tour of the facility and introduction to several of their eighty resident animals. We watched tigers feast on whole chickens, saw a male tiger spray (Think garden hose.), and enjoyed the antics of a deceptively comical kinkajou.

Leslie, my roommate, had gone to the Raleigh-Durham airport to pick up her nephew and her sister, so we met them and had dinner at Southpoint mall in Durham after screening Knocked Up on our own. After dinner, we headed to Raleigh. I gave up on finding a hotel with a spa in my price range, so I just got us a room at the Holiday Inn next to Pullen so that we'd have minimal excuses for missing church the next morning. We did roll out of bed and attend church, where we were treated to a Taizé-style worship service (the main feature of which are musical chants in-between the components of worship) that also incorporated vignettes of prayerful dance.

After church, we visited some of Chris' friends, Andy and Megan, who'd recently become parents. Another friend, Brooks, who knows all of us one way or another (I met him at Wake Forest Baptist Church.) and who happens to now be the youth minister at Pullen, also joined us and we spent a lovely afternoon catching up and taking turns holding the baby. Andy is a software developer, Brooks used to work as a Macintosh technician, and I was until just recently a database administrator, so it was predestined that the three of us would end up geeking out for a while. Sure enough, we headed up to the Andy's study to "ooh" and "ahh" over the Commodore 64 that he'd recently purchased on eBay to relive a bit of his youth. I mistakenly identified it as a Commodore 128 until he pointd out that it was a 64 in its second-generation case. He'd kitted it out with a monochrome monitor, two disk drives, and a HUGE mouse that plugged into the joystick port. He demonstrated the GEOS software that he'd installed that put a Macintosh-style GUI on the Commodore. I mentioned that I had a TI-99/4A and we went on for awhile about the TI's superior graphics and sound, the Commodore's greater popularity, and the deficiencies of the two (TI's curious implementation of BASIC and convoluted code interpretation, Commodore's crippled serial bus that made access to disk data slow). All we lacked was the tape on our glasses, the goose-honking laughter, and our tri-Lam sweatshirts! We visited for a long time and ended up going for dinner immediately after leaving Andy and Megan's house. I was able to talk Chris into going to one of my favorite restaurants, Sweet Tomatoes, whose nearest location is in Raleigh. Yum!

The weekend gave way to a short work-week, since Tuesday was my last day at work before beginning law school next week. I tied up some loose ends and snuck out, wanting to avoid any long goodbyes. My law school text books have begun arriving and information about orientation has been arriving steadily. I have recently learned that I must wear a suit for my first two days! I might as well get used to it, since gone are the days of wearing camp shirts, cargo shorts, and hiking sandals to work. Silk ties, starched shirts, and wool suits will soon replace them. I might just have to rebel a bit and wear seersucker or olive drab and, to be sure, my faithful bow-ties shall make frequent appearances! Feh. Trust me to rebel by being über-traditional! :J

It hasn't yet registered, though I have.

I received in the mail last week my class schedule for my first semester of law school and it looks crazy! It includes six classes that represent fairly standard 1L fare: Civil Procedure, Contracts, Property, Torts, Legal Writing and Research, and Issues in Lawyering and Leadership. This adds up to 15 credit hours, quite a heavy load for graduate-level work! (Fifteen hours was my normal load in undergrad and most graduate students would tell you that 9 hours is normal and 12 hours is pushing it.) On the bright side, only four of my classes have final exams and they're spread out over a two-week period. The craziest thing about the schedule is how the classes are "arranged". Some meet on Tuesday and Thursday; one meets Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday; one meets only on Monday; one meets on Wednesday and Friday; another meets at different times on Wednesday and Friday. This bit of paper will be well-worn by the time I get the hang of that schedule.

With my list of courses in hand, I went shopping for books today, comparing prices and trying to balance cost with the condition of used textbooks. I ended up buying from amazon.com and independent sellers on half.com and amazon.com and spent a total of $479, including shipping. I fell confident that I saved a bit over buying used texts from the campus shop and probably would've spent about $1,000 had I purchased all new texts.

Along with my class schedule came other information explaining that our first couple of days would be half-days filled with normal registration and orientation activities: ID cards, parking registration, gym passes, locker assignments, laptop computer wireless configuration, etc. Notably, I'll have to wear a suit on my first day for my a portrait that will appear in a jobs placement booklet. The following full days will include more orientation, a skills and personality assessment (DISC profile, Myers-Briggs inventory), a tour of the main campus, a reception a the University President's house, a service project, and three days of "boot camp" meant to "introduce students to the rigors of law school and the differences between legal education and undergraduate learning."

An interesting side-note to the above mention of personality assessments is that I took the Myers-Briggs inventory in undergrad and turned out as ENFP; when I took it a few years later, I turned out ISTJ. Upon reading the linked descriptions of these personality types, I see little relevant to my own personality in the ENFP type, but the ISTJ type reads like the report of a private investigator that has followed me for the past ten years!

Besides preparations for a new beginning in school, I'm also winding things down at work by finishing projects, documenting my procedures, answering colleagues' questions, and exchanging goodbyes with co-workers that I've know as long as 18 years! I've also had more than one party thrown in my honor, which featured amazing food (sushi, hummus, shrimp, scallops, smoked salmon, salsa, bean dip, brownies, cookies -- all of my favorites!), good drink (Yuengling), and brief speakers. My colleagues in ERIT chipped-in and gave me an iPod as a going-away gift, which was a wonderful surprise!

One of my colleagues asked me what I'd miss most about working in the Libraries and in ERIT. I glibly gave a few obvious answers: the free health insurance, the regular hours, seeing the same folks every day. Honestly, though, I don't know that I'm able to say what I'll miss. Having been where I am for so long and having work become such a part of me and me of it, I don't know that I can distinguish enough between the people, places, and activities of work and those of other parts of my life to think about missing them. It's as if someone were to ask you what you'd miss about breathing air or living with gravity. I'm going into something so different and exciting that I imagine that my new environment and experiences will handily fill many of the voids left behind my current routines. :J

Renaissance Man

Though it came and went with little aplomb and no confetti, ticker-tape, or even a cake was involved, Monday, 2 July 2007 was one of the most significant days of my life. In about five minutes' time, I printed a letter that I'd previously composed, signed it, and handed it to my department manager. In this unceremonious way, I quit my job.

This is a big deal for anyone and I know of few people who would expect any sort of flourish of chads to accompany it (with the possible exception of Rip Taylor), but it was a huge deal for me. Where I currently work is the ONLY place that I have held a full-time job and I have been here full-time for fourteen years. In State Employee years, that's nearly half-way to retirement. Add to it the four years that I spent in this same building as a part-time student employee and the sum is half of my lifetime!

My colleague, Franklin, who is a year older than me, who began working full-time in the Library at the same age as I, and with whom I have worked in the same department for the past ten years, told me that it would feel strange for him to come to work without me there. I jokingly asked him what he'd do and suggested that he join me in my renaissance by going to medical school; he confessed that he had, indeed, briefly entertained such notions. (Maybe when everyone in his family who's currently in school finishes.)

Franklin might not know how he will feel to come to work and find my chair empty, but with what I look forward to, I imagine that it will feel wonderful! :J

A Sunday in Ordinary Time

I went to church today for the first time in several weeks, to Congregational UCC in Greensboro. Chris suggested visiting this church a couple of weeks ago and I've wanted to visit a UCC for quite a while, so we finally got our act together and went. The denomination's motto is "God is still speaking," with emphasis on the comma at the end of the phrase, ostensibly meaning that God's message is alive, dynamic, and relevant to our contemporary lives. UCC ran a series of television adverts a few years ago that stirred up a bit of controversy. One depicted various folks who didn't fit in (a punk-rocker youth, an African-American family, an immigrant man, a gay couple, a single mother, etc) being ejected from their seats in one church. Another portrayed bouncers denying entry to an exclusive night club to a similar crew of folks, while allowing in a stereotypical, white, affluent, family with opposite-gender parents. The climax of the commercials was the diverse bunch later being welcomed at a UCC.

I know several people that attend this church, as it's quite near my old neighborhood in Greensboro, but I didn't see many people that I knew well. I nevertheless felt very welcomed by the pastor's remarks and by the many friendly congregants that greeted me, though no one was pushy about getting me to wear a visitor's pin or to fill out a visitor's card. (I hate that.) Besides the friendliness of the congregation, two things stood out to me about this morning's service.

First, I noticed as we approached the church that a car was parked in the driveway just a few feet from the front door. There were hoses lying on the ground all around the car and people were buzzing about it like a pit crew. As we walked in the door, an usher handed us a bulletin and explained that this was their tire inflation clinic, one of their ministries as a "green" church.

The second thing that stood out was that, in the absence of the regular choir and music director, local celebrity musician Martha Bassett had come to do all of the music for the service. It turns out that Martha used to lead the children's choir at the church.

Not only was there a guest musician, but a guest speaker for the sermon, as well. Though the pastor, Reverend Julie Peeples was present, she yielded the pulpit to Tim Nonn, an activist and fellow minister who is on a 40-day train trip across the United States to raise awareness about the genocidal crisis in Darfur. The theme of his sermon was hope and how we could help to give some glimmer of hope to the many in Darfur that have been rendered hopeless.

Following church, Chris and I did a bit of shopping to further feather his new nest and had lunch at Wholly Guacamole. I returned home to tend to an auction that ended today and Chris came over for dinner later. Now, I'm off to bed and am looking forward to a new project and a short week at work! :J

Add to my resume? Under what heading?

I feel especially accomplished today, but it's not because I revamped my investment plan or washed all of the laundry and dishes. It's because, after several years of intermittently playing Minesweeper, I finally won at the advanced level! Woo-hoo! The feat only took me 45 minutes and 23 seconds. I only wished that I had achieved this months ago so that I could've made mention of it on my law school applications. :J

All the Ron

I received a note from my friend, Ron, in Nashville announcing that he'll be DJing tomorrow (Sat, 9 Jun) night at the Swan Ball, a big funds-raiser for Cheekwood Botanical Garden and a huge event on Nashville's social calendar. Ron is very excited about this, with just cause. Not only is he bringing dance music to one of the hoitiest of Nashville's hoity-toity events, he's also going to be experimenting with his new VJ set-up, which includes some experimental equipment that will let him more easily beat-mix videos in the way that DJs mix songs. (Not just DJing -- VJing!) It should be quite fab. Did I mention that Jay Leno and Earth, Wind, and Fire will be appearing at the Ball, too?

Check out Ron's, Cheekwood's, and Swan Ball's Web sites, linked above, and read the story about Ron in All the Rage, the weekly happenings rag published by The Tennessean (their equivalent of Winston-Salem's Relish).

So, Ron, will I soon have to adjust my bookmarks to point to vjron.com instead of djron.com? :J

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Update: Since the 2007 Swan Ball has come and gone, Ron has posted some photos of the VJ booth at the event. Enjoy!