I Almost Died Today

In Financial Institutions Law. No, seriously. I always thought that class would be the death of me, but I never envisioned that the killer would take the form of airborne candy.

Today was the last day of my law school classes (for this semester anyway- one to go- woohoo!). For the last day my Financial Institutions professor brought in some cake and candy. He spent the first five minutes of class, meticulously cutting the cake and displaying it neatly on baking trays which he passed around the class. Then he grabbed a handful of candy and chucked it into his student audience. A hard, foil wrapped piece of Almond Roca wizzed by the side of my face with the velocity of an underwater torpedo. WHY didn't my professor become a major league pitcher? I consider myself lucky to be alive.

Now that classes are done I have my sights set on three in-class exams and two 12 page final papers. The next two weeks will be so hellish, I already want to curl into a ball and pull out my hair. Then I'm focusing on May 16th. Last week I decided to walk with my class even though I don't graduate until December. It was last minute but I know I made the right choice. Although walking in the graduation ceremony won't mean as much knowing I have a full semester ahead of me, it will be nice to walk with the people I entered lawschool with. I will say goodbye to all my old friends from Section A. I will watch them all earn their degrees. I remember when we all just started lawschool. Three years seemed like forever. We never thought we would really graduate, we weren't even sure if we would surivive one year. But we looked forward to that day the way a child dreams of Christmas.

I swear I have mentally "walked" in my graduation ceremony a hundred times over the past three years. It better live up to all my own hype.

So that's it for now. Somehow I managed to survive an entire semester as a new mom. Changing diapers at 6am before leaving the house for class after only 4 hours of sleep, studying with Jacob playing at my feet, coming to class exhausted smelling like baby spit up, this is the stuff heroes are made of. So I wanna know, where's my badge? I don't get some kind of purple heart? Not even flair?

My Baby Is Awesome

Jacob went to the doctor on Friday to have his cough checked out. I gave him a plastic fish toy to hold while the doctor was checking her chart. He launched the toy across the room and hit the doc in the chest. She laughed, handed Jacob his fish and continued to check her charts. She didn't get very far when Jacob launched the fish at her again, this time going right for the jugular.

I had to stifle my smirk and my urge to give Jacob a high five. I don't like doctors that much either.

Yesterday Jacob officially began a rough version of crawling. He inefficiently pulls himself forward while kicking off the ground with his feet. It is so cute! But it totally makes me think of how a merman might try to get around on land- flopping about while pulling forward with his hands. Too funny. Poor guy, he'll get it soon enough.

Oh and one last baby development. Jacob can scream. And he likes to scream. For no good reason. I guess it's just another form of communication. He will look at me, smile, then let out the most ear piercing screech. We discovered that if we impersonate him, he will respond accordingly. We have had a number of socially unacceptable screaming fits at our house lately.

Here he is all dressed up in a cute outfit his aunt bought him. I fished this out from the back of my closet and was sad to discover that it already is getting snug around the belly. Oh well. Cuteness!

Passing With Reservation

My UCC Sales professor allows each person two passes throughout the semester. The rule is that you have to submit a written note at the beginning of class indicating that you are "passing" for the day. For the entire class period that day, the professor is not supposed to call on you.

Except he is old. And he forgets who passes each day. And, therefore, he often calls on you anyway. This is why I never bother too pass. I'll be embarassed either way.

But one of our classmates got smart. He decided to make his "pass" note memorable. This way it would stand out and the professor would remember not to call on him. This classmate told me that he put a ridiculous excuses on his last pass. He wrote, "I pass today because I was too disheartened by the results of American Idol to concentrate properly." The student said the professor laughed when he read it and never called on him.

Thursday, this student raised his hand during class. The professor looked at him curiously over the top of his glasses and then smiled. "Are you sure you want to answer? Should I consider this voluntary?" the Professor asked.

The rest of the class must have looked confused because the professor explained, "I want to make sure I am calling on you in accordance with your note which says, 'I pass today but I reserve the right to volunteer information as the occassion arises'." We all busted out laughing. Oh I love my fellow law students.

Husband, Texas, and Floss

My husband was out of town this whole week at a conference associated with his new job. Yes, we are VERY lucky. My husband not only got a new job in this terrible economy, but he got a better paying job! To top it off, the company approached HIM with the opportunity. We are so fortunate, it is amazing!

We've been used to supporting our little family off my husband's meager, under appreciating government job. For the work and responsibility, he was definately underpaid. In three years he hadn't been given his yearly employee review or any kind of raise. He even supervised an employee that made 10K more than he did. Ridiculous!

The pay at my husband's new job is about 8K more a year. This is like manna from heaven. We are beside ourselves. We feel like we are rolling in the dough- even though by objective standards his salary is quite far from special. It's amazing to think that when I graduate and (hopefully) get a job, our income will more than double. If we are this stoked about an extra 8K (before taxes, of course), in six months we will be roasting marshmallows over a pit of burning dollar bills!

My husband gets back from his new job conference tomorrow. I'm hoping he picked me up some amazing souvenier from Dallas, Texas-- while it is still part of the country and he doesn't have to report through customs. I'm excited to see him for obvious reasons but I am especially excited to finally figure out the meaning of his last email to me.

"Cee, please pick me up at the airport at 4:30pm tomorrow. So excited to see you. Please bring floss."

Photo Caption Challenge!

Taking a break from procrastinating (wait a second.... is this a break from procrastinating or another form of procrastinating?) to bring you the two best pictures EVA.

"I Love You" by Jacob:

Finally, can you caption this photo? Comment with your best caption!

Eat That Law Snob.

After I wrote my last post I got a second wind of motivation. I think I realized that if I had to give up so much Jacob in studying for finals, I was at least going to make it worth it. I sat down and plowed through a quarter of one of my text books. And I went to bed feeling much better.

At the start of my 9am UCC Sales class, I felt pretty confident. I had reviewed the problems during my ferry ride. I even hoped the professor would call on me- yeah, THAT'S confidence right? By the end of class, I was trying to hold back tears. I was hopelessly lost in the material. I just sat there, staring at my computer with my head in my hands. I think it's time to learn Secured Transactions from my trusty friend, Gilbert.

I think the material is understandable. It's just that our professor doesn't explain it to us. This is the downfall of the Socratic Method. The professor spends all class questioning and interrogating us. Each time we think we have it right, he asks us a new question that totally contradicts everything we just "learned" and took notes on. At the end of class, no one knows what the conclusion was.

Then there is the guy who sits in the middle row. He smiles smugly while the rest of us look confused. He has his nose so high in the air, you would think he was trying to signal a sattelite through his nose. He wears stupid preppy plaid shorts or a full on suit and tie. I seriously go home hoping a bird craps on his head everyday. Anyway, today the professor called on him. After he answered in his nasally arrogant voice, the professor said, "Nope. WRONG."

That seriously made my day. I'm still indulging in the sweetness of his defeat.

Being Kicked. Then Kicking Myself

So, I'm absolutely terrified about my four credit UCC Sales class. I think our final is going to be comparable to a mini apocalypse, confined to the four corners of our designated classroom, of course, but not lacking in fiery meteors and acid death rain falling from the sky.

I think in the end, I will see the wrinkly face of my wisened professor, eyes maniacally twinkling as he suffocates me with his evil stare. Then I will lose all hope, scribble "You have won" on my bluebook and fade away into a painful darkness.

Remember how hard 1L Contracts was (even though it was my favorite 1L class)? Well my UCC Sales class is ten times worse. This class includes your typical contract enemies such as battle of the forms, contract formation, consideration and remedies. And on top of that this class also includes: risk of loss, documents of title, shipping v. destination contracts, bills of lading, express/implied warranties, disclaimer of warranties, AND limitation of damages. Oh wait, how did I forget secured transactions, priority of interest, secured leases, and priority of interests in bankruptcy. Seriously. HELL.

Reality hit me today when I realized that my final is in two weeks!!! So, sadly, I dropped Jacob off with my mom and headed to the park to study. This was my first mistake. I was sitting there on a picnic table trying to study while every mom and her child in a 30 mile radius played near me. I started to feel jealous, first of all, because all these moms were enjoying the day with their babies- chasing them aroung the grass and pushing them in the swings. It made me really want to be with my own baby. Then I started to feel guilty. Jacob has never been in a baby swing. Jacob has never felt the grass. When was the last time I took Jacob on an adventure?

Tonight is even harder. My mom is watching Jacob overnight while I whine about how much I miss him work on my outline. I've been away from him overnight before, but just not while I was at home. From my spot on the couch, his motionless toys, the unworn pjs that I set out for him to wear tonight, and the quiet throughout the house is tormenting me. I keep walking by his pictures on the walls and the fridge.

Days like today I wonder if I am making a mistake. Will I look back ten years from now and realized that I missed out on so much of his baby-hood? Will I regret going to school while Jacob is an infant. Will I kick myself from being away from him so much? Probably. But I think I would also regret putting law school off for a couple years (or indefinately). I feel like I really just can't win.