Officially a 3L!

Wowzers - it's over and I'm a 3L now! I'm back at the grad school for Winter/Spring quarters, so I won't be back at law school until next Fall, 2010. Seems weird even just writing that. I'm thrilled. And relieved. And tired. So tired.

What'd I do today? De-iced my freezer (old-school, kind. Took forever, awfully annoying). Cleaned my apartment. Packed my bag for home. Printed out exam, handed it in. Bought used books at the bookstore for next semester. Bought books off half.com and amazon for next semester. Target stop for some essentials, like hand lotion so my dry hands don't fall off. Some quick stops looking for my new quest -- used cross country skis! Didn't find any but that's fine. Ate lunch, got some coffee and outlined my presentation. Then, wow, long 3 1/2 hrs of my/peer presentations. Finally got celebratory sushi dinner with hot saki and mochi for dessert. Yum!

Just can't believe it's over.

Yay!

Just finished an exam - 1 paper left!!

Happy Human Rights Day. :)

Oh, shush

All these East Coasters have gchat messages about how it feels like winter there. I checked the weather in JP, Cape Cod, NY, Philly, Indiana (honorary east-coaster!) and it is nothing to talk about! You want winter? Try this on for size:

It hasn't gotten warmer than the single digits for about 4 days. It hasn't gotten up to freezing point for at least a week. Snow every day for the past week. There's ice inside my windows and my loofah froze after my shower. I went outside last night (to take out the trash) and truly felt what 0 degrees is like. Hurts your throat on the first breath in. Your boogers freeze instantly. It was -6 (actual temperature) when I left the house this morning, and that was even with the sun out today. It's now warmed up to 5 degrees.

It's supposed to be 30s this weekend. 30s!? That's practically bikinis in Wash Park weather!

No soy yo

Thus far exams have been (characteristically) beyond miserable. Just, wow. The general feeling I have these days is the exact reason why people decide NOT to go to law school. Anxiety. Dread. Stress. Pressure. I want to go to sleep to avoid it all, but I can't fall asleep when I finally let myself crawl into bed. My mind is racing. I have nightmares where I take exams and re-live my misery. I want to sleep late, but morning is my precious time to be alert and focused.

It doesn't help that the past few days have been full of snow and highs of about 10 degrees. Supposedly, we're getting 8 more inches tonight and lows of -4. That's crazy. That's 2 pairs of pants, 3 shirts and 2 jackets cold.

Nothing about school makes me feel like I'm doing the right thing by being here. Denver doesn't feel right. Hard to exercise outside (First snow was the first week of October. And, as you know, I hate the treadmill). Hard to meet people. Hard to use public transit/bike/walk. Hard to find diversity. Hard to meet friends who don't have husband-boyfriend-fiance obligations.

Hard to see myself here beyond the next year and a half.

Hard to see myself here for the next year and a half.

Hard to see myself.

No soy yo.

What's on my iPod?

What's on my iPod? a.k.a. What is keeping me sane?

Thanks to Pandora, I actually hear new music. Music is critical at finals time because I don't want people talking to me. Freaks me out. I seriously unplug from listening to Pandora on my computer and plug right into my iPod. Hats help to give the "Don't talk to me" signal, too.

Anyway, I've downloaded new tunes off iTunes (paid for!) to keep me going strong through finals. Some are hip-hop, pop-y. Some of them are this cool Flamenco-fusion music. Others are just the oldies-but-goodies. Check them out:

Chambao, Ahi' esta's tu'

Gipsy Kings, Okay, I can't pick one song. I bought this entire album. It is just so good! It's described as "Spanish flamenco and Romani rhapsody meet salsa funk."

Ojo de Brujo, Todo Tiende

Jarabe de Palo, Escriban Ma's Canciones
(Gets really good and salsa-esque around 4 minutes)

Jason DeRu:lo, Whatcha Say

(And, of course, the original that Whatcha Say mixes...)
Imogen Heap, Hide and Seek

Reflekt, Need to Feel Loved

DJ Tiesto with Taxi Girl, High Glow
I can't seem to find this on iTunes. It's so good, though!

Update

One test down. Doesn't feel good, but I have to move on to the next. There's nothing I can do about it now, anyway.

Walked home after. It's 14.8 degrees outside and slight flurries. I actually was warm because I walked fast and wore this:

tights
alpaca socks
jeans
tee shirt
sweater
fleece coat
fat puff coat (down)
waterproof tall boots
gloves
hat

I listened to my favorite radio show, The World, which is on at 4 p.m. ET, 2 p.m. MT (so I never get to listen to it normally). And, it only takes 10 minutes more to walk from school (55 min total) than it does to take the bus from school (45 min total).

On to the next final...

Freaking out

Ah! Finals start tomorrow and then it's a sprint to the finish. The more I study, the worse I feel! I just realize more and more how much I don't know. :/

Not to mention: today was 23 degrees midday, it snow last night. Tonight is a low of 1 degree. Tomorrow is a high of 16, plus snow during the day. I swear, the weather always tries to sabotage my exams. It just adds a layer of stress and wasted time (bus to school because roads too icy/snowy) when I need it least.

I hate the pressure, anxiety, high-stakes, unknown abyss that is law school finals.


Freaking. Out.