Exhaustion

For some reason, I have a horrible time sleeping the night before an exam. I did EVERYTHING right yesterday. I got up early instead of sleeping in. I refused to drink anything caffeinated all day. I made sure to eat a couple hours before going to bed. I stopped studying an hour before bedtime (2am) and took a long semi-hot shower. (The shower was supposed to be really hot, but my water heater disagreed. It wasn't cold, it just wasn't hot. I should have turned up the temp before finals. Someone remind me of this next semester).

Anyway, totally exhausted, I crawl in bed feeling confident that I have left myself enough time to finish studying for my exam and still get a good night sleep.

Foiled by insomnia. 3 hours later, I decide to just get up and study some more. Needless to say, I don't think I was on top of my exam game. Also, I apologize if this post is completely incoherent. I will try to at least spell check, but I make no guarantees. On the plus side, I suspect nearly everyone will get a B+ on that last exam. Sometimes, the forced curve is a good thing, especially when the professor doesn't want to grade a lot of exams! (Yes, everyone in the school blows of professional responsibility. The material doesn't really matter until you hit the MPRE anyway. Meaning, I'll be relearning all that info next semester. Yay)

So, here I sit, totally exhausted, listening to the chatter of panicked 1Ls (who have 1 exam left), and I have come to the realization that I AM 1/2 WAY DONE WITH LAW SCHOOL.

It's a revelation that's both thrilling and terrifying. The truth is I love law school. I love the people, I love the classes, and I really love the free swag ("free" meaning $60k in loans/year for a couple of wine and cheese receptions, a few lunches, lots of candy, and some merchandise from bar review courses/westlaw/lexis). Heck, I don't even mind exams all that much. I mean, I could live without them, but given the choice between law school with exams and no law school, law school with exams wins by a long shot. I can't believe that it's going to end so soon!

Here's hoping the next 3 semesters are as awesome as the last!

Chocolate cake in a mug...must be finals

Some people drink coffee. I don't consume enough caffeine to handle such things. For instance, because I got up early and I'm really tired, I just drank half a can of Dr. Pepper. I can feel my heart racing from all the sugar and caffeine, and with me, it can't be the sugar...

Anyway, I found this awesome recipe for 5 minute chocolate cake. It was decent. Not the best I've had, but certainly the best I've made in under 5 minutes in my microwave.

Here are the instructions.

Finals

Why can't I take 4 different versions of the legislation final rather than taking my other finals? Just took a practice test and it was FUN! Love this class.

Redneck Shopping Olympics

Every year I do Thanksgiving with my old neighbors from WV. Since the dad, Mr. Bill*, is the only person who appreciates the magic of Black Friday as much as I do, we go out as a team every year. We get up at the crack of dawn. Get dressed. I'm wearing my usual jean skirt, boots (flats for the Walmart run; the heels come out later when I hit the malls with my 6 foot tall friend), and a sweater. Mr. Bill, a rather beefy 50 year old with a round, cheerful face, is wearing saggy jeans, a t-shirt with holes, and a wind breaker from the 1980s. After a breakfast of day-old doughnuts, we head out. We climb into his green truck, circa 1970, and bounce up and down the back country roads blasting Loretta Lynn, Johnny Cash, and other old-time country legends.

As always, the Walmart parking lot is packed. People have been camped out all night to get the greatest Black Friday deals. We join the line, our hearts beating rapidly. Mr. Bill is anxious to get his hands on the 32in LCD HD flatscreen for a mere $250, but we're pretty far back, so he's twisting his advertisement, mentally preparing himself for the dangers ahead. Tickets are passed out to those in the front of the line. The campers get to go in first. We wait. I sharpen my elbows. As the doors open for the rest of us, we rush inside. Mr. Bill tries to use his size to his advantage, pushing his way through the crowd like an ogre, intent on the electronics department. I also use my size, slipping under elbows and dodging carts, racing to get Mr. Bill's TV. I beat him to the pile.

Shoppers with carts are already milling around, yelling at each other and grabbing for TVs. I dive into the pile amid the screaming, shoving rednecks. A cart slams into my side. I ignore the pain and kick out, sending the cart slamming back into my greedy attacker. Knowing that I'm too weak to lift a box and carry it through the mob, I pull one out of the pile and sit on it, yelling for Mr. Bill. He pushes his way through, grabs the TV and muscles it out of reach of the bitter crowd. Once safely in the check out line, we high-five and slap each other on the back.

We emerge from the store victorious, both having gotten that for which we came: a cheap TV for my host and, for myself, the entertainment that comes with what I have dubbed the Redneck Shopping Olympics. We return to the house to celebrate our success. I wake my friend Anne*, change into my heels, and drag her out to Target, where the relatively sane people shop and I feel less dirty spending my money.

The Walmart experience, however, is incomparable. I go not for the deals but as a test of my athleticism, ingenuity, and West Virginian roots. I imagine it is somewhat comparable to the Running of the Bulls. Are we crazy to risk being trampled for so slight a prize as a low-end television? Perhaps, but it is the thrill of danger that is the battle's true reward.

Happy Thanksgiving y'all.

*Names have been changed

Agggh

Head

Meet Wall

Pound Pound Pound

Better?

Not yet. Going for ice-cream.