Mackenzie's Weblog

Price Check

Regular readers already know I shave my cats every year as summer begins.  They don't particularly like the process, but they're much happier when all their fur is gone.

I must not be the only one.  I called to get an approximate price on having a professional do it this year, and the person on the phone didn't even blink.  In fact, I started out with, "My cats get really hot in the summer, so I . . . ," and she jumped in with, "So you just want 'em shaved?  That's anywhere from $20-$35."

Incidentally, that's a very reasonable price considering all the trouble it is to do it myself.

Banned Books

I am currently listening to an interview on Fresh Air that Terry Gross conducted with Kurt Vonnegut some time ago.  Something comes to mind.

I hope that someday I write something that gets banned.  I'd be proud to be on any list with Vonnegut, Alice Walker, Mark Twain, Aldous Huxley, Toni Morrison, and Margaret Atwood.

I do have a plan for a book, but it will have to wait until after the bar.  And I'm not entirely sure it'll ever be banned.  I'll have to work harder.

Another "Last"

No catblogging today.  Also, no book.  I don't get to read until finals are done, I've decided.

I've been having some "lasts" for a few days now.  I had my first last class on Wednesday.

Now, I'm done with last classes, and that's because I had my last last class this afternoon.

I remember my first class of law school.  It was Torts at 8:00 a.m. on Monday.  I remember the exact date because it was just one day after my birthday.  I believe I even got called on in that class.  Or maybe my mind is just filling in the blanks.  Anyone in the know can feel free to correct me in the comments.

A lot has happened in the last three years.  There have been some good things and some bad things.  Some things I regret, but not much.  For example, there are still a few classes I would like to take.  For the most part, though, I've really made the most of my experience here.  The friends I've made will stay with me for my life, hopefully, and I've really tried (and with some success, I think) to get the most out of what the school could offer.  I've focused a great deal on school, and I think it has paid off.  I've also grown and matured as a person, I think.  I hope that will continue.

So now I'm done reading for class.  I still have a few finals and some clinic work to do, but the first stage of finishing up is done.

Done.

Good School

I was actually going to write this last night, but I was way too wiped from "grading" student briefs.  (Actually, I just provide feedback--I don't really assign the grade.)

Monday evening we had the last round of our appellate moot court competition.  I didn't compete because 3Ls aren't allowed --  the winner has to go to regionals early next year.  It was still reasonably interesting to observe, though.

For the last two years, the last round has been judged by our state supreme court.  After hearing the case, the judges give comments and feedback and take questions from the audience.  It's a great learning experience for everyone involved, whether a participant or audience member.

And it just reinforces to me how much I like my school.  Not too many law schools would have actual judges on that level for the competition.  But our state is different: it's small enough that we can really get that personal touch, and the court is very supportive.  The school has given me an awful lot of opportunity, and I'm glad I chose to stay here.

Bingo, Honey.

Man, what a great time I had last weekend, just the thing to offset my crazy-busy schedule.

I've previously mentioned my fondness for Drag Queen Bingo.  Well, it was that time of year again.  The Aids Walk was in the afternoon last Saturday, then I went with a bunch of other people to Bingo.  Aside from meeting some really cool new people, Bingo was a really fun time.  This was the first year with our home-grown Queens (Yep, we're an agricultural community here in Laramie), and they did an amazing job.  It was obvious they had worked terribly hard.

After Bingo, the crowd I was with hung out (and probably annoyed a few patrons, but oh well) at a local chain, open-all-night diner.  It's been a long time since I laughed as much as I did that night.

It was a really nice break, considering all the work I have to get done in the next 2.5 or so weeks before graduation.

Here's how much fun we had: you're talkin' to the hand!

Friday Catblogging!

Man, am I slammed.  Must finish reading for class then get to work.  Today, some classic older photographs.

Jupiter, of course.

And again.

What I'm Reading:

American Legal Thought from Premodernism to Postmodernism: An Intellectual Voyage by Stephen M. Feldman

Have a Great Weekend!

More Work!

I did nearly all my work this weekend, but one of my professors changed an assignment yesterday.  That means I have more to do.

Bummer.

This in a week in which I'm listening to the first-year oral arguments for their appellate advocacy class.  And I'm trying to collect clinic hours.  I'm slammed!

Friday Catblogging

More NOLA Photos!

It's been an interesting week.  The students in the class for which I'm a TA had their big assignment due Tuesday.  The prior week, I spent most of my free time meeting with them individually and helping as best I could.  It's time consuming, but I think I did some good, so it ends up being very rewarding.

Yesterday, I went with a bunch of other students and spoke to a couple classes at the local high school about law school.  My pearl of wisdom: Lawyers are professional writers.  Period.  I don't care what kind of practice, there are always motions, memoranda, briefs (trial and appellate), and even contracts to write.

Finally, I had an old friend stop in town for a couple days and crash on my couch.  It was really fun--we hadn't seen each other since last summer, and even then, it was only a few hours while I was in the great Pacific Northwest trying to land a job.  (She was in France during my October trip.)

Anyway, to the photos.  This are the remaining selected photos from MackenzieMom's stash, including the oppossum.

What I'm Reading:

Mr. Sammler's Planet (Penguin Classics) by Saul Bellow

Have a great weekend!

Sad to be Leaving

I graduate in one month, so I've been thinking a lot about leaving school.  I'm sure this won't be the only post on the subject.

Unlike many others, I really enjoy law school.  I love learning all the new material, the variety, and the ability to just think about many different things.  It's not true for everyone, but law school was a great fit for me.

It makes leaving bittersweet.  On one hand, I'm looking forward to getting started on my career.  And I'm looking forward to getting a regular paycheck and paying down my school debts.  On the other hand, I'm going to miss having a guided tour through various areas of the law.  I got so much out of those classes (even though they were all basically introductions to the topics) that it's hard to think about having to learn about everything on my own from now on.

But there's no way to stop the process, so off I go.

A Kind of Mourning

I've been irritated at USAToday's email bulletins lately.  Out of the last half-dozen or so, at least four have been about Anna Nicole Smith.  Frankly, I don't care about burials and paternity tests.

Tonight, I got a different kind of bulletin I'd rather not see: Kurt Vonnegut's death.

I'm glad he lived a long time, but I'm still saddened by his passing.  He was an amazing author, and I deeply admire his work.

There's nothing more to say.

Friday Catblogging!

Even though this weekend was fairly whirlwind, I expected it to be more whirlwind.  I had some projects that I was expecting to come in earlier in the week, but they were delayed, so I spent most of my time either reading (catching up on a few magazines, not so much on the book I'm working on) or helping students on their briefs in my TA capacity.

I did, though, get some work back from a professor who was very complementary, so that feels really good when one has only three weeks of classes, two weeks of finals, and will then be released on the world.  It feels especially good when, as in this case, the professor is someone I very much like and respect.

Anyway, I still have lots of photos of MackenzieMom's various cats.  Here we go:

And, for a bit of variety, an opossum that was discovered scrabbling around the cat-proof fence:

What I'm (still) Reading:

Mr Sammler's planet by Saul Bellow

Have a great weekend!

The Bar--Not the Fun Kind

Today I send my Wyoming Bar application to the Wyoming Supreme Court.  Along with the packet I fondly refer to as "my memoir," I had to include my life savings and blood, bone marrow, and DNA samples.  Unfortunately, my life savings is very negative, so I had to make it more negative.

It's a little unnerving to consider that I'm nearly to the last stretch of my law school experience.  I and my class now have slightly less than four weeks of classes, then two weeks of finals.  The finals are easier if the student took the Law of Underwater Basketweaving (as I should have done).  Still, I only have three classes and don't expect my exams to be too taxing.  If nothing else, they're the last ones.  Except for the Big One.

I suppose it's time to start looking around for a place to live.  Ideally, I'd love to move either during finals time or in the two weeks after graduation but before I begin work.  I suspect that won't be possible, but I'll manage.

Four weeks!  It's a bit unnerving.

Science Consumption

I had been a Discover magazine subscriber for some time--until recently.  Over time, I gradually became disillusioned with the publication.  Unfortunately, it just seemed so speculative as to be pretty worthless.  But when it had an article about something I knew a bit about--psychology topics, for example--it was just too basic.  Overall, it just wasn't satisfying.

Recently, I dropped my Discover subscription and picked up Scientific American.  It's by far the better publication.  The topics are interesting and cutting edge, but they are definitely solid science.  I like that the major articles are written by the actual scientists, and they are obviously writing to a science-savvy crowd.  I actually feel like the material challenges me, and in a good way.  It's nice to read science material that is general while at the same time requires me sometimes to really think about what I'm reading to understand it.  I feel like my mind is getting a nice workout when I read it--not something I got with Discover.

The fact SA is a good magazine isn't news, but I just wanted to put in my little plug for switching.

Nice Weekend

I actually had a fairly relaxed weekend.  It was quite a shock.

My brief had been turned in for revision, and I had a lull in law review work, so I could actually settle down and not do any real work on Saturday (aside from a bit of TA stuff).  So I shelled peanuts while reading law review articles for fun--I know, that's just how I roll.

Then, I made peanut butter from the peanuts.  They weren't freshly roasted, but the end product was still really good.  I've been eating peanut butter and honey sandwiches.  They're delicious.

Anyway, Saturday evening, we had the "Law Ball" at our local school.  This is an annual ritual that seems to have moved from precisely what it sounds like (i.e., a formal event with dinner and dancing) to being precisely what it sounds like with a lot of alcohol mixed in.  The effect is interesting.  I'm not saying who, but there was some table dancing goin' on toward the end of the night.

Anyway, I drove for a group and had an excellent time, and--unlike, I would guess, some of my fellow students--I was able to get up at 7 am to get some work done.  Work that included getting my reading done for the week.  For the record, the last two years I was definitely not able to get up at this time the next day.

Anyway, I like weeks that begin with all my reading done.  Now I get a chance to focus on the other work that I expect to start piling on tomorrow.