Friday, November 28, 2008

A Co-Worker Is Acting Wierd

What do you do when a co-worker is acting wierd? And I don't mean just any co-worker, but the one you are planning to take over a business with. I ask her if everything is OK, and she says yes. I ask her if I have annoyed her in some way, and she says no. But she still does not say anything to me, and she acts as if she is trying to avoid me. Just plain wierd. Granted, she is sort of like this with everyone, but it seems more pointed with me. I just don't think this is good business. You should be polite and friendly with your co-workers, even if something is bothering you. It makes me wonder about the future, and how well she would work out in the long run if this is her MO. More about this another time.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Sleep, Beautiful Sleep

I keep wondering why I am sleeping so much, and then I realize I am only sleeping about 8 hours a night. Which is not too much, but just the right amount. It just feels like too much, because for 4 years of law school, I existed on half that amount each night. I am getting more sleep, but I wonder about the quality of it. I try to stay up and study on the sofa, and then just like that! I am out like a light. And then I wake up and move into my bed. I love my bed. I inherited it from a beloved family member. It has one of those traditional bed frames and an extraordinarily comfortable mattress. I could sleep in there all night! I just need to start doing that.

Starbucks Encounter Results In Some Valuable Bar Exam Outlines

One thing I have noticed is that when you carry the telltale signs of a bar exam hopeful--the Barbri books or other study aids--you get noticed. Those who know you are doing something important but have no idea what will ask you what you are studying for. Those who have taken the bar review courses before will commiserate or share their war stories. Some will even offer to share their materials.

That happened to me--I was studying at Starbucks, when a man sitting next to me kept glancing at my book. Finally he asked me if I was studying for the bar. I said yes. We talked a while and he told me he had taken it the year before. He had made up outlines for every section of the Tennessee essay book. Did I want them, he asked. Yes, I said with utter amazement at this stranger's kindness. He emailed me a bunch of outlines later that day. Turns out that last summer I didn't have time to read them. When you are inundated with material and on deadline, you have to make fast cuts at what to tackle. Those outlines did not make the cut. They should have, as that is the part of the exam I screwed up. Well, they made the cut this time. I am reading the first outline today. And many thanks to that stranger in Starbucks.

Monday, November 24, 2008

I Want To Do The Ipod Shuffle

I want to do the ipod shuffle. I really do. Sounds like fun. The only problem is, I don't have an ipod yet. I do have an MP3 player, and I have not even taken it out of the package yet. I have taken my DVD player out of the package but not hooked it up. Know what that is called? Law school behinditis. Yes, law school behinditis. It means that you spend so much time studying for law school, and now the bar, that you are behind in everything else. Really truly. But I know that if I would just look at some ipods and then buy one, my world would open up. I love music so much, an ipod would only brighten my life. When I can get a life, that is, lol.

Telling My Teachers I Didn't Pass The Bar Exam

Telling my law school teachers that I didn't pass the bar is almost as hard as finding out myself. I ran into one of my teachers at the mall the other night. I said hi as we passed and kept walking. A few steps later, I decided I should just go back and tell him that I didn't pass the bar. I really didn't think it would be any big deal, but when I caught up with him and told him, it was as if I had stabbed him in the heart. He really took it to heart and said he was shocked--that I was a good student. That made me feel both good and bad. Good that he thought I should have passed it, but bad that maybe I had let him down. I told him I was sure that I would pass the next time. And I better.

Friday, November 21, 2008

We Seriously Need More Good Nurses

A friend I used to work with left journalism a number of years back and went to nursing school. What a great plan, I thought. We had often commiserated about about the lack of really good journalism jobs in town (We had great jobs--but what would we do if something happened to our jobs? It might be hard to find another good one.)

She got another BS degree in nursing, and I went on to law school. I went back to school later than her, so she has been a nurse for a while, and I just graduated law school last spring! But it is funny how we both moved on, even though we both loved our journalism careers.

Nursing would be a great career because there is high demand and you would always be able to find a job. And demand for nurses is only going to increase. A lot of nurses call their own shots and get to work very flexible schedules. Can't beat that!

With everyone so busy these days, a lot of people are opting for online degree programs. One of those programs is offered by St. Xavier's in Chicago--MS nursing degree Their online courses are combined with a weekend of applied campus experience.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Back On My Horse And Studying For The Bar Exam---Again

OK, it is almost 3 months until the next bar exam, and I have already gotten in gear to study--well mostly. My feelings about not passing in July are wierd. I am embarrassed and mad at myself. But I am not really depressed or humiliated, the way I think some people are. I think it stems from the fact that I knew I was not well prepared for the exam, not that I can't do it.

And why was I not well prepared? That is a question I have asked myself and my dean asked me. When I talked with the dean, she made me feel both better and worse. She said she expected me to pass (thank you!). And that makes me feel better. But inherent in that statement is the feeling I got fro her that I let her down. And that makes me feel worse.

So what am I doing this time? I have already started reading the Barbri Mini Conviser. (My dean couldn't believe I didn't even read that before the July bar. I was stuck in online Barbri question hell, I told her. BTW, the online questions are fun and informative, but once you start them, it is hard for some reason to switch to something else. I guess it is that instant gratification thing.) I am determined to read all of the outline books I did not read before. I have also been doing some questions. OK, I am doing some again online, but I am also going to do them in the books this time. The good thing about the Barbri question books is that they are portable. More later.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Liquid Fat Burner

I think I am slowly losing weight. I can't really tell because I don't have scales. Mine broke a long time ago, and if I had had one during the last couple of years in school, I would have been too scared to get on them. With eating junk food and no exercise and all. But now that I am out of school, I have cut down on the junk food, although not entirely. But even cutting down a little has made a difference. My clothes fit a little better, and I look better in the mirror. Make no mistake: I have a long way to go yet. I looked on the web for a liquid fat burner and discovered an item called Lipovox. Not only is it a fat burner, but it is recommended by Dr. Perricone, who has a wonderful reputation. The product is also used by actresses to get perfect skin. What a great product, me thinks!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Children of God--I Was Flirty-Fished!

If news of the 30th anniversary of Jonestown on TV wasn't enough to get me down, the same night I saw a show on Family International, which used to be the Children of God. I almost missed hearing the words Children of God--I was studying and only had one ear on the TV. But then I heard the words Children of God and became riveted to the set.

What caught my attention was the description of the cult's recruiting tactic that they called Flirty Fishing. They would have attractive young people go out and basically lure others to the cult. Usually they were women, but sometimes they were men.

I couldn't believe it. I had been flirty fished in college. Not just once but multiple times.

My freshmen year, these people would be scattered around. They seemed to be everywhere that I was. I would pass them, take the literature they handed me, and dump it in the first trashcan I came to.

One time however, a particularly attractive young man called out to me on the sidewalk. He was cute. And boy did he flirt. Like the others that had previously approached me, he was trying to tantalize me by inviting me to a party that night. This particular time is lodged in my mind, because the guy was definitely my type. Except that my type is not a member of a cult. He was cute and I made goo-goo eyes back at him. He kept telling me about the party. I kept wanting to ask him why I would go to a party where I didn't know anyone, when I had plenty of fun hanging out with the people I did know? But I didn't ask. This time I took the literature and didn't throw it away. When I got back to my dorm room, my roommate was sleeping, so I quietly laid down on my bed and beginning reading the pamphlet, only to discover it was some kind of very soft porn. Very interesting, I thought. It didn't scare me. I just thought it was wierd. Of course there were a lot of wierd religious groups floating around at that time, and I just thought this was one more.

I would continue running into them from time to time after that. The strange thing is, I have never heard anyone else at school the same I was talk about having had encounters with them. But I am sure I couldn't have been the only one. But it has never come up in any conversation with anyone.

My next big encounter with the Children of God came during my Christmas vacation that year. I had come home for break and one night was out Christmas shopping at a big mall. This young man about my age hanging out in the parking lot zoomed right over to me. I wasn't scared like I might be if someone did that to me today. He didn't look scary--he just looked like a normal college kid.

Turns out he was from the Children of God, and you guessed right--he invited me to a party that night! How about that! I wasn't surprised a bit--I was so used to their spiel. The evil in me couldn't help say to him, well maybe I can come. But I have to shop first. The poor guy followed me all around the mall while I picked out a few things. I made him think he might have a live one--devious me. I paid for my items and looked at him and said bye bye. And walked to my car. And that was that.

I basically forgot about the Children of God until I saw a news report some years ago, and then this show on msnbc the other night. Wow--what a nightmare. They call themselves Christians, but they were basically a sex cult. I guess that is why they had these attractive people out to lure others into the group. The group would basically turn women they fished into escorts or prostitutes. All in the name of religion. How wierd is that? There were orgies, but none of the people interviewed acted like it was anything fun, like people might make it out to be. And once you were in, I think you were sunk. Then those people would have children, who would grow up very screwed up. The TV show said the leader David Berg encouraged not only incest but pedophilia. I think they somewhat cleaned up their act after a while, but jeez.

I just thought they were some harmless nuts. I guess I was lucky in that I didn't get reeled in.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Revisitng Jonestown

It is the 30th anniversary since the tragedy at Jonestown, and I have watched the specials on both CNN and MSNBC. Jonestown occurred when I was a young person, and of course I knew what it was and that it was horrible. But being young, I guess I didn't think too much about it except that I was shocked that people would kill themselves under Jim Jones direction. Seeing the programs, it made clear that not everybody drank the koolaid voluntarily. There were a lot of people who got the poison injected, indicating that they did not drink the koolaid and were forced to die. The footage of the dead bodies is terrible. One newsman said that Jonestown was the worst tragedy he ever covered. I still have trouble understanding why people would so willingly follow Jones to Guyana (or even in the U.S.) but once they were in Guyana, they really had no way to leave. What a nightmare.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Holding It Close To Your Vest

Once on a semi-date, the guy I was sitting next to said I should not reveal so much stuff about myself. Not sure what he meant, but he was giving me good advice. Maybe he was trying to tell me to be more mysterious? I think he was telling me not to play my hand so easily. Don't give away info about myself so quickly. Like, what happens in vegas stays in vegas kind of thing. That's probably good advice. When I think about it, I either tell people too much or too little about myself. It is always interesting to see who thinks what. Some people think they don't know me well when I think they should. Oh well....

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

No News Of Alicia Parlette

A few years back when I thought I might be sick, I did some research on the web and found Alicia Parlette's story. (Luckily, I found out soon after that I was not sick.) I immediately was taken by the 23-year old journalist in San Francisco who was writing a series for her paper about her cancer (sarcoma). Her writing was beautiful and compelling. It pulled you in and made you feel as if you were walking that walk with her--going to her doctor appointments and waiting to hear about the progression of her disease, and experiencing her ups and downs with her boyfriend and the solidness of her family relationships and friendships. She talked about her other travails such as having lost her mother a few years earlier. It was almost like reality TV, except without the TV and much better.

I would forget to read her updates regularly, but then all of a sudden I would remember and search for the latest submissions on the web. I would catch up and be happy that she seemed to still be doing well. A particularly long gap in my reading occurred, and then one day I checked on the web and found out that she had quit the newspaper and the column, but was continuing her updates through a blog at the paper. Again, I logged on and read some more of her stunning writing. About a year ago, she quit writing in any medium. I checked online today, and there are a number of posts inquiring as to where and how she is. There is no answer, except that her former newspaper has made a statement that she wants her privacy. This does not sound good, as maybe she is sicker. It has raised all kinds of questions about how much does a writer owe her readers when she invites them into her life? I guess we all would like to hear how she is doing, but she controls her privacy, as it should be.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Vanderbilt University: Burning Calories Is Funny Business

Reading msnbc.com today, I found an interesting tidbit put out by my alma mater, Vanderbilt University. No matter what activity you are doing, you can burn 20 percent more calories by laughing while you are doing it. More laughter please! Losing weight is going to become funny business.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Career Night At My Sorority House

I participated in career night at my sorority last night. I talked about the media to a handful of girls who came to my table one by one. I was very impressed. They all have solid experience already. Two were interested in magazines and one in newspapers. I was thrilled they were interested in the media. They asked me good questions and I was able to give them good advice. I made sure they knew that you don't get rich in journalism (They knew that already) but that the rewards more than make up for that. It was good talking about my career. I miss journalism.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Obama--Yes We Can!

And we did! Last night's election was superb. Better than could be imagined. We won!

And both Obama's and McCain's speeches were wonderful. I actually had tears in my eyes when Obama spoke. And McCain was very generous and humble in his remarks. Here is an article from Slate that talks about where McCain went wrong. It is very interesting. The Repubs really need to get their act together.

http://www.slate.com/id/2203763/?GT1=38001

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Economist Magazine Endorses Obama

I was pleased today when I picked up my copy of the Economist and saw on its cover a beautiful photo of Obama by himself with the words "It's Time." Inside, the magazine explained that while his resume may be thin, that he has shown his abilities as a leader. The mag said that when he started out he had no money and few supporters, yet he was able to outthink, out organize and outfight the two mightiest political machines in the country: the Clintons and the conservative right. Touche.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Obamacons, We Are Counting On You!

I heard a great term the other day--Obamacons, i.e, conservatives for Obama. I had not heard that term before, and I think it is a beautiful term. It stands for conservatives who cannot tolerate the Republican party anymore, and they are turning to Obama in the election. We welcome you Obamacons. Help us make this country a better one.