Graduation Week

Graduation week! Barbri has already begun. My summer is over.

That might seem a bit melodramatic but it's at least partially true. I have a lot of fun things scheduled for the next week. SBA planned a great commencement week:

Monday - scavenger hunt

Tuesday - BBQ on campus

Wednesday - boat cruise

Thursday - wine and cheese event

Friday - graduation!

I had my first Barbri class today and I have both good and bad feelings. The lecturer had a tons of energy and was even better than I expected, based on good lectures for civ pro and the MPRE. We covered a ton of info in four hours, which is where my concerns come in. It was FOUR HOURS of lecture. And I've got class five, sometimes six times a week, for two months.

I do have a few fun things to look forward to:

3 bachelorette parties, 2 weekend-long and 2 on the beach

3 weddings

Sprint triathlon with BrandonB

Vacation to Seattle in August after the bar

No rugby scheduled yet as the wedding things are most of my weekends, but after jumping back into reffing the last few weeks I hope I can stick with it in the fall.

My family lands at Logan any minute, so the next post will be about fun touristy stuff.

DONE!

One in-class exam, one take-home, and one final paper.

After finishing, I sat in the park across the street with my friend and we just left our dogs run for an hour or two. My neighbor just finished 2L, and I am done. It's still sinking in.

The hardest part is not knowing where I'll go next. I'm in a weird place - done law school, but still two months of bar studying. Excited to be done, but worried about getting a job. Tired of our apt in a noisy, smoky, college-student filled building, but sad to leave the park and worried about moving on September 1.

And, I'm not /quite/ done. My criminal advocacy clinic is set to go to trial on Tuesday. I had the option to hand the case over, but I am excited to stick with it and potentially argue a motion to dismiss, motion in limine, or even go to trial.

Surviving the April showers

This last month sucked.

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• Terroristically: As everyone with a tv set knows, two men set off bombs at the Boston Marathon finish line on April 15, and they were killed/apprehended by police by April 18/19. The city was on edge for a week, and the Marathon will probably never be the same. I was cheering at mile 19.7 with Girls on the Run Boston in neon pink shirts, and everyone I know is fine.

• Academically: I'm really disappointed in one of my courses and I feel like the instructor doesn't care. In the previous 2.5 years, I've only had one disappointing class, and I'd hate to finish on a low note. Also, my clinic experience is not going the way I had hoped (that's about all I can say, sorry to be vague)

• Professionally: I'm still unemployed. A few acquaintances got jobs in the last few weeks and I guess I'm happy for them, but that doesn't stop my stomach from doing stress jumping-jacks. (Yes, I would be over the moon if my friends got jobs).

• Socially: I've had a tough adjustment coming back from 3 months in India. I kept in touch with a few people, but I just feel lost, which is exasperated by the quarter system.

• Fitness: I've been working really hard at the gym and eating better, but I haven't lost weight or seen a difference in how my clothes fit. Meanwhile Justin lost 20 pounds!

But then I take the time to slow down a little and remember all the good things that have happened. Maybe life isn't best measured in bullet points, like a resume. Despite my begrudging attempts to avoid celebrating my 28th birthday (Ahhhhh the horrors!), Justin got a few people together and we had a good time cheering on the Bruins and Celtics. A few days later, I went to my first Bruins game!

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I've gotten back into reffing rugby, center reffing a women's match and a high school boys', plus assistant refereeing (sideline) for two men's D1 playoff matches. All my time in spinning class the last two months has paid off, and I'm in decent shape. Justin got me a super-fancy Vitamix blender for my birthday and I'm drinking green smoothies every other day and feeling good.

I'm feeling connected back at NUSL and am catching up with friends, even though we're about to go our separate ways in a few weeks. I've attended a number of great events this month: PHRGE panels, a Holocaust Memorial Ceremony, ADR info panel, QC discussion on DOMA, two networking events at Suffolk Law, I hosted a potluck for Queer Caucus, and more.

In the next three months I'm looking forward to graduation, moving to a new apartment, bachelorette parties for my sister and two good friends, three weddings, and lots of studying for the bar exam July 31 and August 1.

In the meantime I'll have some less-serious posts on Europe, hotels, and shoes :)