Still Alive

Nicole went ahead and told me the other day very bluntly that now that I am done studying for the bar, it's time to update my blog because she is sick of it being the same thing. So I'm babysitting for my brother Andre tonight and the kiddos are asleep, so why not now?

I thought about adding some new pictures to the blog the other day, but Blair had a great snow caving trip a couple weekends ago that somehow resulted in our camera getting broken. So we don't have any great pictures from the past week or so, but I'll definitely have to post some good pics of his snow caving adventure sometime soon. I have to say, though, just hearing about it made me feel pretty claustrophobic--kind of like the dreams I have where I am in a house and I have to go into a room where the ceiling is only 4 feet high and I have to crawl through the door to get there. What can I say, I have some issues with small spaces, maybe having something to do with the hayhuts of my younger years. I never understood why the entrance had to be so small... Anyway, Blair's story about the snow caving is pretty good, even if (or maybe because) he didn't love it very much. If you haven't heard it, you should definitely request it the next time you see him because I don't think that it would do it justice to have him put it on here. He's just pretty great at telling stories in person, so if you have a minute for a good story, ask him about it the next time you see him.

The most exciting news in my life at this point is that I am done with the bar!! It was 13 hours of pure mental exertion and less-than-perfect recall, but I am hoping that all of my studying and praying paid off so that I passed and will never have to repeat the experience again--unless we move to another state, of course. The best part was that I was able to stay with my wonderful friends Liz & Clarissa Kanell, who not only put me up for the 2 nights, but were also good enough to help me review on Tuesday night by going over mnemonics with me even though they are both super busy. Love them! You just really can't do without good friends and family. So the Kanell girls were definitely the bright spot of the bar experience for me.

The other news is that I still have a job offer as long as I can pass a polygraph test. I should probably explain my job a little since there have only been vague references to it up to this point. I have a job offer for a combination job that is part bailiff and part law clerk. As it turns out, the bailiff part of it requires me to attend 6 weeks of the police academy, which entails being sprayed in the face with pepper spray, getting some upper body strength to do 15 real push-ups, and having an instructor model take-down methods on me (and other participants), among other things. Yes folks, this is why I went to law school, so that I could experience the bliss of a facial application of pepper spray and pay that is subpar. And to even get to the police academy, I have to go through 2 pretty intense background checks, which is where the polygraph test comes in. It is supposedly 3-4 hours long, so I'm really looking forward to that experience. Really, though, the actual legal aspect of it will be a great learning experience because I'll be in court all day every day watching the good and the bad and discussing things with the judge. So if I can just make it through the training and learn how to do push-ups.