Monkeys and Salmon, OH BOY.

A post about my trip to California to come, but first, this, which happened the night before we left for our trip:

and a little preview of what its like to go on a trip with Mr. A (taken at the Monterey Bay Aquarium):

Bon Voyage.

So, tomorrow, Mr. A and I are off to a wedding of a co-worker and friend in San Jose California.  I'll be spending Thursday afternoon shopping and dining with Regan at Santana Row (EEK.  WALLET ALERT!) (Also H&M!).  And tomorrow evening, I'll be visiting the bride while she gets her henna done prior to the wedding.  There is even an offer on the table for me to get some henna.  We'll see.....

It seems that San Jose/Monterey is THE place for me to go to ethnic weddings.  I'm really excited for an Indian wedding!  Last time we were in the area, it was for Mr. A's friend and the wedding was Jewish/Chinese and we got to see all manner of exciting traditions.

This afternoon, I texted the bride to ask about her plans for tomorrow.  She explained what was going on and told me the dress code was "Indian casual."  When I inquired about what that meant, she responded:

"Indian casual:  60% fewer sequins than regular Indian formal wear!"

This is why I love her.  

Fortunately, my dress for the wedding is be-sequined!  See ya next week!

Er, Change of Pace.

First- thank you all for your kind words and comments and Twitter replies about yesterday's post.  It's really nothing terrible, but its a pattern of bad behavior I need to stop and move on from.  But thanks.  Honestly.

Second, and I never do things like this, but:

DID YOU WATCH.

REAL HOUSEWIVES

OF NEW YORK

LAST NIGHT?

Feel free to discuss.

Starting points:

Al Sharpton

Gummi Bears

Vampires

Nightmares About Murder

And I thought I had problems.....

The Little Things.

It's the tummy ache you ignore for months without going to the doctor.  Which causes you to eventually be on a three year quest to figure out what's wrong with you.

It's the occasionally painful tooth that you ignore for six years.  Which causes you to need two root canals and a dental implant when you finally can't take the tooth pain any longer.

It's the fact that you spent $50 too much one month, and then $200 the next.  And then suddenly you spent way too much and now you've got a credit card balance.

It's the question you were to embarrassed to admit you didn't know the answer to at work.  That ends up blowing up in front of your (and your supervisors) face during an important trial.

It's the friend you forgot to call one week and then the next.  Until you kind of feel weird calling them and even though nothing bad ever happened, suddenly you aren't so close.  

It's the talk you forgot to have, the thank you you forgot to deliver, the plans you forgot to make.

It's also as simple as the pile of laundry you've been ignoring, or the drycleaning you didn't take, or the pile of crap you've let pile up in your trunk, or the piece of paperwork you forgot to mail, the RSVP you forgot to send.

If you've gotten the impression from my site that I have a pretty charmed existence, you'd be right.  I have a great job, a great hardworking husband who does things like bring me random flowers or call me pretending to be a teddy bear and who supports me in just about everything I want to do.  I get to go on great vacations with that husband, enjoy yummy dinners with him.  I have a great group of friends who keep me entertained all day with funny emails, who have Champagne with me on Thursdays, who share a hotel room with me BlogHer.  I have a great life.

And yet.

Stress.  Little things.  Little things I let build up until they are not so little things and then they are catastrophes that are embarrassing or painful, and make me feel like I'm not the best (lawyer, friend, wife) I could be.  And its so stupid.  So pointless.

And yes, one of these "little things" kind of blew up in my face today and hurt someone I care about, and caused me stress in the middle of an already stressful morning which turned into a stressful afternoon.

It's time to put a stop to it.  To change.  To stop letting little things go and take the good stuff with them.  

Its time to stop buying more than I need, exercising and organizing less than I should, and start working for things I want in my future and not just for what I need to get done today.  Its so time.

Gluten Free Goodness

When I first learned that I would have to dine gluten free, I tried A LOT of bread.  A LOT.  It was all horrible and gross.  Some time last year, someone told me to try Udi's Bread.  I promptly bought a loaf, and then left it in my freezer, figuring it would be another disappointment.  For some unknown reason, I was prompted to try it again, and well WHAT THE HELL TOOK ME SO LONG.

I have gluteny nibbles from time to time, so I certainly remember what real bread is supposed to taste like.  And this?  Tastes like real bread!  I've been a sandwich making machine since I rediscovered this product two weeks ago:

I've tried both the white and whole wheat varieties and both were excellent.  I picked up some bagels yesterday at Whole Foods, and I cannot wait to make myself a pizza bagel.  A PIZZA BAGEL, oh how I've missed thee!

Anyway, every night I've made a roasted turkey and hummus sandwich, which I've grilled in a pan with buttered bread.  BEST THING EVER.  The pieces are very small (why is GF bread so miniature), so my sandwiches have been triple decker.  YUM.

With my sandwiches, I've been enjoying Pop Chips, my favorite being the Salt and Pepper Variety. 

Tonight I made some brownies that were the best gluten free brownies I've ever had.  I regularly make the Betty Crocker gluten free variety, which I do really love.  But even through I love them, I acknowledge that they are not the same thing as regular brownies.  The texture is different, they're flat.  The taste is delicious, but they leave something to be desired.  Not so with 123 Gluten Free brand brownies:

These have the same super fluffy texture of the real deal, and a rich chocolately taste.  They even come with a bag of chocolate chunks to mix in.  They are absolutely delicious.  I purchased these at Whole Foods as well, but I see on Amazon that there is an entire line of 123 Gluten Free products.   BUY BUY BUY!

On the DO NOT BUY list?  These soups:

From Kettle Cuisine.  Flavorless, lumpy, bad texture, and not enough to make a meal.  Do not waste your money!

Discovered any GF goodies yourself?

Law Q&A: Results Not Typical Ed., Part Three of a Few.

Note:  Mr. A is dispensing advice in the comments of the previous entry.

On the Golden Hadcuffs.

So, the Golden Handcuffs.  This is probably a concept you are already aware of, but the basic idea is money- you get paid a lot, you get used to it, you won't leave a job you don't love because you are too addicted to the money.

The Golden Handcuffs be real yo, and unfortunately for him in this relationship, Mr. A is the one wearing them.  But I get to enjoy the fruits of his labor. (more on the complexities of that later)  A lot of times when talking about law school, you hear about people saying "Oh, I'll work at a big firm for a few years and quit once I pay off my law school loans and get a rewarding job!"

HA.

HAHAHAHAHA.

This is such bullshit, for a variety of reasons.  First and foremost, you will probably not pay off your loans in 4 or 5 years for a couple of reasons.  For one thing, you will be working a lot of hours.  And with that responsibility comes the desire to reward oneself with nice things- fancy meals, a new car, a new tv.  You will feel that you've earned these things (and Mr. A really hasn't fallen victim to this, but many others do, Mr. A SO SHUT UP).  It's not an unreasonable feeling.  During Mr. A's first year, he spent a lot of time doing shitty diligence work, feeling generally nervous and overwhelmed, and tired.  So when the weekend comes, you want to have a nice meal out.  And you certainly don't want to live in a shithole like you did in law school, and your new place needs furniture and leasing that BMW isn't really all that unreasonable, only a few hundred more per month and you're making $160,000 a year.  And then you buy an engagement ring and you plan your wedding and you take a reward vacation.  And then you have a baby.  And WHAM!  You are spending what you earn.  It's way easier than you ever thought it could be.  

Oh, and you're making the minimum law school payments!  Congrats- with the money you saved on that, you bought yourself a pair of golden handcuffs!

For Mr. A, its more a matter of well, honestly, being married to me.  I like nice things, I have introduced him to nice things, and well, fuck.  I'm expensive.  But more importantly, Mr. A is a very reasonable person.  And a person who likes a sense of financial security, a sense that comes right along with the big law salary.  Even with our lifestyle, which is very nice, we still manage to put away a decent amount of money in savings every year and go on at least one vacation, and usually a trip associated with a wedding, and my trip to BlogHer and also for example Mr. A spent the weekend in Key West on a trip with his brother.  You get really used to the idea that if something comes up that you really really want to do, you can do it.  We don't buy everything we want, but we have the means to have a decent selection of the things we like.  And that's a luxury that would be difficult to give up.  

And then there's the other matter of how long it really takes to pay off your loans.  Let's say you have $100,000 of loans, which is hardly uncommon.   It will take a lot of willpower and personal sacrifice to pay them off in say, 5 years.  So if you don't manage that, and you need more like 10, which is pretty reasonable.  Guess what!  At 10 years, you're probably a partner, or well on your way to making partner.  And ya know, $250,000 + per year and really effing good job security?  HARD TO TURN DOWN.  You've earned it, haven't you?

Being a Big Law Spouse

I know there are some people reading who are married to a student, or a big law lawyer, or a soon to be big law lawyer.  Get ready for some super fun honesty!

Okay, me.  I'm a lucky bitch.  I didn't do so hot at law school.  Nothing embarrassing, but I think its pretty clear big law was not an option for me post school.  A brief career history- I had a post school job offer in Austin that I could not take because I was engaged to Mr. A, who had the much higher paying job in Dallas.  My job was also in a market that would be very hard for Mr. A to get a job with a comparable salary.  So I moved to Dallas after the bar, unemployed and unlicensed.  In most states, the bar results aren't ready for about 4 months.  Four months during which its very hard to land a job because you cannot practice.  Other than in big firm recruiting, hardly anyone will hire an unlicensed attorney, save for a few random government agencies.  And those government jobs- NOT A BACKUP PLAN.  Those jobs are super competitive because they are ideal in hours, benefits, and job security.  I got a job about a month after I was licensed.  Those months were absolutely miserable for me.  I was working as a temp, mooching off of Ole Waxy and generally feeling down about myself.  My first job was for a public company, and was not very lawyerly.  It was not the road to advancing my legal career and I was unhappy for other reasons which I will not go into. I quit my job two weeks before my wedding, with nothing lined up.  I was very freaking lucky and got a job the day after I got back from my honeymoon.  I was working at a small firm, which a lot of people seem to think is ideal.  Well, my hours requirements were not any better (2000), which is 40 hours a week.  You have to work at least 50 hours a week to bill 40.  That job was in litigation, and its even harder to bill 40 hours in other practice areas, like corporate law which Mr. A practices.  I was working from 8-7 generally.  I did not like that job very much, and because of something I cannot go into, I really really needed to leave that job.  Like a situation which even risk averse Mr. A agreed I had to get out of. 

Lucky me, I managed to find another job about 8 months later. That job was ideal for a lot of reasons, including that it provided me with the experience I needed to land my current awesome job.  That job did not, however, pay well.  I was very lucky that I was able to take it because Mr. A's salary more than made up for what I did not make.  Most people are not that fortunate.  I worked there for 2 years before I was offered my current job, at which I plan on staying for a long time.  I am now making a not-embarrassing salary, even though it is not the road to riches.  

Anyway, I'm very fortunate that Mr. A's career has allowed me to both pursue my job dreams AND enjoy the benefits of his hard work in the form of financial security and lifestyle.  I try not to spend an abundant amount of time feeling guilty about this, but uh, I do.  It's currently 9 pm as I write this.  My husband is still at work.  I have never had to work until 9 pm.  If Mr. A were to walk in the door right now, that would be about the earliest I've seen him in weeks.  This is not uncommon.  There are times during the year that he comes home, sleeps for an hour and goes back to work.  For weeks at a time.  He doesn't ever go an entire weekend without working.  When we are away, he is checking his Blackberry.  Every vacation we've ever taken was almost ruined by something coming up at work.  I won't try to speak for Mr. A, but I know he feels a lot of pressure to keep his job and keep making good money.  Not just from me, but from himself.  

And even though I so appreciate what he does for US, there are times when I'm resentful.  Angry that he's in a bad mood about work, angry that he can't forget about things for the weekend, angry that I never eat dinner with my husband.  But these things aren't his fault.  So then I feel guilty about feeling any bitterness towards him.  And I cannot even imagine what this would be like if/when we have children.  And I'm sure on his part there's resentment that I get a much easier lot in this whole journey.  And this cycle isn't going to end any time soon.

Which isn't to say our marriage is awful.  On the contrary, I am a good influence on Mr. A to relax from time to time, and I try to do my part to make up for what I don't have to do at work  by taking care of other things that need to be done for our lives.  And I drag him kicking and screaming on fancy vacations that do a lot for his sanity.  We are generally very happy, but this is what you are signing up for when you marry a highfalutin attorney.

Landing the Job

A question from Charlotte:  How important is what you do with your summers, both in undergrad for the purposes of admissions and during law school itself when it comes to employment?  You've touched on the latter helping with interviews, but do you reckon that prospective employers care more about what you did, how well you did it or how you have used whatever you've learned?

I don't know how important what you do during your summers as a college student really matters.  Bottom line is still that GPA/LSAT are the BIG determining factors regarding admissions.  During the summer after my sophomore year of college, I interned at the District Attorney's Office. I doubt that had ANYTHING to do with my getting into my first choice school.  

Now law school is a little more tricky.  Even though I didn't do a big firm clerkship, my general understanding from Mr. A and my friends was this- litigation people typically clerk in litigation because people who want to do litigation tend to know that quickly.  The other practice areas?  Kind of a crap shoot.  When it comes offer time, firms try to accommodate your wishes as to what practice area you want to be in, but I remember when Mr. A started the two practice areas that were talked about with him were real estate and corporate.  Luckily, he ended up in corporate.  I say luckily, because its lay off city in real estate right now.  If you didn't clerk in corporate, but that's the job you want, if there's availability, the firm will put you there.  If there is only people needed in say, employment law, its pretty much like "Hey!  You are going to the employment section!  Hope that suits you!  It doesn't?  How does $160,000 sound?  Welcome to employment law!"   

It's very different if you want to work for say, the government or a small firm.  They want a demonstrated interest in the practice area, or at least prefer it and it would give you an advantage.  Some practice areas just don't offer a lot of summer job opportunities and a lot of small firms don't have summer clerks.  Try to find a way to show an interest in that area and it will serve you well.  Government employers want a demonstrated willingness to make not very much money.  THIS IS ABSOLUTELY THE TRUTH.  I was asked several times during government interviews "Are you willing to live on the salary we can offer?"  "Will you be able to pay your student loans with our salary?"  "Are you willing to commit yourself to the limitations of government work?"  Luckily, a lot of government agencies offer unpaid internships during the summer!  Regardless, you have got to get some kind of work experience during the summers if you want to be a candidate.  If not big firm, then something in the area you want to land a job in, or for the type of employer you want to work for even if its not the right practice area.

During my summers, I worked for a large government agency and a small firm.  I also worked for a solo practitioner during my third year. 

 

Law Q&A: Part Two of a Few.

I have a low undergrad GPA – sub 3.0, but I’ve done well in grad school (getting an MPA) and I think I can do really well on the LSAT – I have no desire to go to a third or fourth tier school (Especially St. Mary’s) and spend more than 100k and then not be able to land a job.  Do you think I have any chance of getting into somewhere decent?

Does anyone have any input on this?  Its not really something that I personally am familiar with.  I would imagine that a few solid years of work performance, combined with an improved graduate school GPA and high LSAT score would do a lot to counteract a poor undergraduate GPA.  I would imagine it will also depend partially on where your undergraduate degree is from, if you had an easy-peasy major, and the quality of your graduate degree school and program.  

And here's where I get controversial.  Personally, if I were going to law school right now, I would not go unless I could get into a top tier, preferably top 25 school.  The legal job landscape is really changing these days.  When I was in law school, it was not uncommon for top students at much lower ranked schools (St. Mary's, Texas Tech in my region for example) to get offers for summer clerkships from large national and regional firms.  I would be absolutely shocked to find out that this was still the case.  If you are an average student at these schools, get ready for a long wait for a low paying job.  When I left my previous job last year, at which I made less than a teacher, I was able to peruse the resumes of applicants.  There were 200 applicants for my job, which was posted for 7 daysa.  They ranged from recently unemployed experienced attorneys to new graduates, and  there was also a very large group of attorneys who had graduated from mediocre schools years prior who had been working at Target since graduation.  In years, they had not found legal employment.  Years.  

For my region, schools like Baylor and SMU are a little different.  Back when I was in school, as an SMU or Baylor student, you had nearly as good of a chance of landing a big law clerkship as a Texas student.  I am not sure if this is still true.  But my logic is this:  The really highly ranked students at all of these schools (Baylor, SMU and UT) will have a pretty darn good chance at snatching up the high paying post law school jobs, with maybe maybe a possible edge to the UT grad in that circumstance (although, it is arguable that that is not true at all, given the population of SMU and Baylor grads in the DFW area).  Everyone else is just an average, or below average, student.  In those circumstances GPA and employment and clinical experience being equal, the edge will probably go to the higher ranked school graduate.  I personally was once offered a job by someone who said he would never hire anyone but a UT graduate.  There are probably plenty of Baylor and SMU graduate employers that say the same thing about their school.  Aside from those situations, I still think the edge will go to the graduate of the better school.  Feel free to disagree with me, but that would be my guess.  I would imagine these circumstances play out with different schools and different firms all over the United States.  The bottom line is that only a select few get to be in the top of their class, no matter where they go to school, and the opportunities, probably rightfully so, go to them.

Anyway, this really does not help much in answering your question, other than I agree with you that spending $100k to go to a fourth tier school is a not the best investment.  But if you are dead set on being a lawyer and that is the only school you can get it to, its up to you to do what you can to make it happen while you are a student.  Prepare yourself for an uphill battle.

When institutions say they are looking for diverse candidates, doe being a woman count towards diversity?  Even if you are super white?

Probably not.  I think law school students are pretty much 50/50, male/female.  I don't know how much "secret" affirmative action is really going on, but I'm guessing whatever AA is going on is directed at race.  My school, which prides itself on diversity, was still pretty damn white.  I really think you should play up the diversity of not your race or gender, but your work experience and graduate degree.  I wrote my personal statement on my name, which is very unique, and the challenges presented by having a unique name (they are surprisingly abundant).  It was a work I was pretty proud of, and it was praised in more than one acceptance letter (no kidding!  I was shocked).  You can be "diverse-ish" and still be really effing white.

Do you think 30 is too late in life to go to law school?  Would it be challenging to start a family (ie get married, but not necessarily have kids yet) during law school or in the first few years of your legal career?

I don't think 30 is too late to go to law school.  In the grand scheme of things, 30 is pretty damn young.  I started law school weeks after turning 22, and I was a BABY.  Most of my friends were 27+, which means they were graduating at age 30.  If being a lawyer is something you really want to do, 30 is hardly too old to pursue your dreams.

But uh, yeah, I would not want to be in a serious relationship during the first year of law school.  Law students are pretty unbearable during the first year, which does blow, and no one in their right mind would want to seriously date one.  I met Mr. A during my second year of law school, we started dating in September of 2003.  We got engaged in July of 2005, after my graduation and one year into his career.  During the first year of our relationship, everything was pretty grand because it was basically like dating in college.  I was a shitty second year student (though ironically the year I studied the least was also the year I got like a 3.4 GPA, which was my highest GPA during school), and he was a third year with a big firm offer who did not give a shit.  Life was pretty grand.

HOWEVER.  Mr. A and I were dating long distance during my third year and his first year working at a firm.  Things were pretty rough, and we nearly broke up a couple times and had many dramatic phone calls and a 4 am relationship saving drive from Dallas to Austin.  My third year wasn't a walk in the park either- I was working 20 hours a week, in school full time, and trying to maintain a relationship with someone I didn't see often.  AND my friends were all studying abroad.  It was difficult, but obviously we made it work.  I think it would be hard to be in a relationship with a non-law student because your lives are so different and your schedules are so incongruent.  Most people I knew in law school who were in relationships were dating, and eventually married, other law students.  

I would NOT want to get married during that time.  I knew several marriages that ended during law school (cheating was commonplace).  The whole idea of getting married, no matter how in love you are, is kind of a big deal, and not a big deal I'd want to be dealing with while in school.  Which isn't to say its impossible, but that it will be very hard.  And for the love, DO NOT HAVE ANY KIDS DURING SCHOOL!

Do you recommend taking an LSAT prep course like Kaplan or Princeton Review? 

I took Princeton Review, and my score went up like 10 points to the 93% or something percentile.  I'm sure you could do just as much effective studying on your own, but for me personally, I'm not a motivated studier.  I needed that class to force me to do practice problems and tests.  I would not have done it otherwise.  

A lot of people try to warn me off of law school because it’s “so hard”.  These are usually people who went straight through from undergrad and had never held a full time job.  I’m sure it totally is hard, believe me I’m not trying to downplay law school.  But do you think that someone who had 6 years experience in the corporate world and managed to work full time while getting a masters would find it less hard?  I’m hoping this is the case.

Law school is NOT THAT HARD OMG STOP YOUR WHINING.  Look.  I was a shitty student.  I spent most of my class time on AIM or shopping online, and I pretty much never studied.  No, for real.  I didn't study. I  ended up smack dab in the middle of my class, and I'm hardly a certified genius.  On the one hand, I kick myself for not trying.  On the other, eh, my life turned out pretty damn okay anyway.  I didn't want the kind of job that required top grades and I'm very happy with the job I have today.

It drives me nuts to see people gripe about how hard the classes are and the reading and the papers. WAH WAH  It's not that bad.  If you can read, have decent comprehension skills and are really able to focus, you will do fine.  

Also, some people just are really good at law school.  Mr. A is not really any smarter than I am, generally speaking, and he KICKED MY ASS in school.  He has a really good study ethic, is a really good test taker, and was willing to put the time in for Law Review and outlining, and he just fucking got it.  It was all pretty intuitive to him.  And some people, even smart people, just suck at law school.  I had a few friends who failed the bar who are no dumber than I, and its just because they are poor test takers.  Always keep in mind, you have to take the ultimate shitty test when you are done with all the law school ones.  The Bar really is that bad. 

If you worked full time while getting a masters, which sounds like a bitch, you can probably focus yourself enough to do well in law school.  I knew several people who had left jobs who treated law school like a 9-6 job.  Go to class in the morning, read in the afternoons, and then really focus during finals and you will be just fine.  The hardest part is making yourself do it.  No bosses, no supervisors, its just you. 

 

Law Q&A: Part One. Of a Few.

The first round of questions comes from the Tutugirl, whom I know personally is a student at a top law school.

Should I be worried about potential employers finding me if I'm already anonymous? 

I'll go ahead and assume the Tutugirl here is talking about blogging and Twitter.  My answer to this is YES.

You know that whole dance like no one is watching saying?

Yeah, eff that.  Blog like your future employer is watching.  Because they might be.  No matter how anonymous you might think you are, trust me, you aren't.  If you are putting up a picture of yourself, or giving out any kind of identifiying features like schools you've attended, classes you've taken, places you've been, you've just given someone enough information to find out who you are.  I know several people who have figured out who many an "anonymous" blogger was (were?) with very little identifying information.  It's not that hard.  I blog pseduoanonymously, i.e. I use photos, other various identifying information, primarily because I don't want this site to be the number one search when you google my name.  But it would not take a rocket scientist to figure out who I am.  I'd just prefer it not be blasted all over the place.

Would I prefer that no one I work with ever find this site?  For the most part, yes.  But that is not reality.  It is entirely possible that my entire workplace reads this site and no one has told me.  I don't worry about that terribly much because I have several rules for Things About Which I Do Not Blog:

1.  Co-workers.  I've probably mentioned co-workers a grand total of 5 times ever on this site.  And if I ever do, it is most certainly in a flattering light or to tell a funny story that in no way relates to my employment.

2.  My Work.  I never never never ever talk about my work.  I am lucky enough to have what I consider to be the most incredible job a lawyer could have, and I do not ever want to jeopardize it by writing about it here.  I also deal with very sensitive and personal situations at my job and I would be violating all manner of trust and rules of ethics to ever tell stories about my work.

3.  Drinking or Partying.  I never ever blog about my social life in that regard.  I may occasionally make mention of a night out with friends, or that I enjoy a cocktail from time to time, but I never talk about getting drunk or doing anything that I would not want my employer to know I've done.  

4.  Complaining About School/Work Situations.  Hate law school?  You are in good company, but other than bland generalized complaints, i.e. "so sick of studying!" "I hate torts!" I would not blog in detail about my distaste for law school if I were still a student.  Now that I'm employed, I feel like I have a little more leeway to gripe about the trials and travails of law school.  But if I were still in school?  I'd shy away from that subject.  In this uber-competitive market, if an employer were to find your blog and all you talked about was how much you hated school, that does not leave a good impression.  I know that there is an entire crop of new blogs complaining about being unemployed after law school.  Dude, I feel your pain, but I think that is pretty risky to do so long as you are still pursuing a career in law.  

That being said, I will gripe about the dress code.  Because I HATE HOSE THAT MUCH.

(I love you job, never leave me.)

5.  Blogging at Work.  I don't do a lot of tweeting at work.  Maybe once or twice a day, but most days during the regular working day, not at all.  I also NEVER look at my site at work, work on my site at work, or log in to Blogger on my work computer.

Anyway, all this to say- think twice before you post.  While I wouldn't just tell everyone at work what I write about here, or that I write this site at all (mocking blogging and Twitter is a big hobby of my work friends), I would not be concerned that what I write here would change their opinion of me.  This is the same way I approach blogging about my family- I don't.  

Oh, and you think your law school friends will keep your anonymous blog private?  DING DONG HELLO, you are WRONG.   Those law students that do meet that super douchey stereotyped you've heard?  Are WAY WORSE THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE.  Also, your blog could get picked up by Above the Law.  Which, NOT GOOD.  Also, everyone reads Above the Law.  INCLUDING EMPLOYERS. 

Any specific advice you have for the bidding process? 
 

Oh gosh, this is SO LONG ago.  And the bidding process at my school (University of Texas) changed between my 2L and 3L year.  When I was a rising 2L, you could pretty much bid on about as many law firms as you wanted as I recall.  I'm not sure how it works these days, but my one piece of advice is this- do not overestimate yourself.  Not in the top 25% of your class?  Your bid is probably wasted on Skadden Arps.  I'm not saying aim low, but be honest with yourself and don't aim too high.  And well, aim low on a few places.  You applied to safety schools didn't you?  Bid on a few "safety" jobs.  Safety in quotes because uh, I'm guessing there aren't many of those around these days.  My friend Kate also told me the story recently of a friend of hers who made amazing grades, but wanted to work at a small boutique firm.  Those firms assumed they were his safety firm and did not extend him interviews.  Something to keep in mind as you go through the process.  That was uh, NOT MY PROBLEM.

What's your best piece of advice for interviews? 
 

Oh crap, I was not a very good interviewer.  I think I've improved my capabilities since law school, as I have managed to successfully land 4 jobs in the 5 years since, with a few other offers in between.  I do not plan on changing jobs any time soon, thank goodness, so hopefully I won't be interviewing again for a long ass time.  Its pretty Captain Obvious to say, but the reason I got better at interviews was because I actually had experience to build upon when answering questions once I started working.  So try and get something like that in your life when you are preparing for OCI.  If you are 1L this summer without a paying job, do something unpaid if you can afford it so that you will have real experience to draw from when interviewing.  

I sucked it up at all firm interviews I had because I really didn't have any clue what I was talking about, and I didn't have the grades to make up for it.  I did much better on the interviews I had for government opportunities because during my 1L summer, I worked for a large government agency.  

One of my closest law school friends had a really interesting background and did a lot of really cool things during the years between college and starting law school.  Even though we had similar GPAs, he kicked my ass at the interviewing process.  If you have those kinds of things in your background that make you unique, even if they aren't job related, try to play those up if you can.  It also helps to be good looking (Hi Joseph!).  I went straight through from undergrad, which I think puts you at a BIG disadvantage during the interview process, with the exception being if you are at a super top notch school or have amazing grades (like Ole Waxy with his above 4.0 first year GPA).  

The truth of the matter is grades your first year mean everything.  Law school will tell you that over and over again.  THEY ARE NOT KIDDING. 

What do you wish you'd done differently? (besides go to law school) 
 

This is going to sound major hokey pants, but I really wish I had appreciated the opportunity I had during law school and made so much more of it.  Despite whatever the T14 trolls might think, going to a really good law school like the one ranked 15th in the nation is kind of a big deal and a privilege and I wish I had done a lot more with it.  I had a LOT of fun during those three years, but I certainly could have spent more time making use of the educational opportunities I was given.  I wish I had taken more advantage of the clinical opportunities as well.  While UT does NOT do a good job of playing up clinics, I can't blame them for my lack of participation.  I wish I had understood the process so much more before I went, and really understood what I was getting myself into.  I wish I had made more of an opportunity to get to know my professors.  I wish I had been more involved.

I do not regret spending as much time with my friends as I did- I spent way too much time napping that prevented me from doing the stuff I should have done.  It wasn't a result of me partying too much or whatever.  There are plenty of douchey people in law school to bitch about, but such is life.  I had a really fabulous group of friends at UT, and I met my husband there too.  The people are so not all bad.

I wish I had done the Study in London program. I wish I had taken out those loans, because when you have the balance I do, what's another $15K?

And so concludes Part One.  Back tomorrow with more!

Advice Post: The Practice of Law and Law School.

I get a decent amount of emails and messages with questions about law school/being a lawyer.  So I want to write an advice post on the process and the career.  This kind of thing has been done a million times, but every day someone else becomes interested in the whole process.  So ask away.  But don't ask what my job is, because I'm not telling!

Be it about law firms, government employment, law school OCI, the admissions process, are people in law school really that douchey, dress codes, what to wear to interviews and beyond.  I've had a million jobs (no really, 4 in 5 years) and a million interviews, and million tests I didn't study for.  Let me have it!

The Home Decor Quest CONTINUES!

So this weekend while Mr. A is traipsing around the Florida Keys in his newly acquired Patagonia shirt (people, he is so proud of it!), I plan on making some solo trips to scope out some of the furniture we hadn't already checked out last weekend.  While perusing our floorplan, I noticed a new opportunity to make a purchase!  There is a small area off to the side of the dining area that would be perfect for some fabulous bar furniture!   Not like a bar set per se, as there is a bar on the kitchen island, but maybe one of those totally awesome bar cabinet dealies!

Bar Cabinets from Crate and Barrel and Allbarstools.com

Do any of you have a piece like this?  Do you find it useful?  Thoughts?  They were all the rage a few years ago when we were registering for our wedding.

I totally have this vision of the bar cabinet sitting in the corner with some lovely plates from Anthropologie hanging on the wall:

Is this a crazy vision?

First World Problems Defined.

Things spotted while furniture shopping this weekend:

Naked Candles

A Giant Decorative Ceramic Viagra 

(Not the Do Not Handle Sign.  Guess Who's Husband Handled?)

The World's Ugliest Shoes

A SHRUNKEN MR. A!

Things I saw I actually want to buy:

Axis Sectional from Crate and Barrel

We are planning on renting for another year or two, and then moving into a house that hopefully has a bigger living room.  If we buy a sectional now, we can add pieces on to suit the larger room. 

That's the one thing set in stone.  But beds, beds are a whole 'nother issue.  I want an upholstered bed.  Mr. A doesn't, but ya know, I'm the woman and all.  So, I win.  And in fairness, I have been living with his furniture choices for five years.  YOU HAD YOUR TIME, WAXY!  And as I have said before, if he loses a home decor battle, he's mad for 10 minutes.  I'm mad for years.  So really, me winning is what's best for everyone (HI WAXY!  LOVE YOU!)  (ALSO, LIFE = SITCOM.  WELCOME TO MARRIAGE!)

Anyway, there are a few contenders in the beds category:

The Tattersall, from C&B

The American Artisan from Ethan Allen (Yes, Ethan Allen, who knew?)

The Latham by Restoration Hardware

The Atwood by Restoration Hardware

The Jameson from Pottery Barn

and well, hell, there's a few contenders from West Elm too.  Eff.

So I don't know how I'm ever going to decide, and I'd like to decide soon, so I can have these things delivered on our move in date.  I personally am kind of digging the idea of no footboard, but Mr. A likes them, so I'm attempting to actually take into account his feelings here.  Thoughts on that issue?  Thoughts on these beds?  Which is your fave?  Any opinions on the brand?  

I'm trying not to make price a major deciding factor because this is THE furniture.  We are going to have this shit for a LONG TIME.  But at the same time, I find some of the Restoration Hardware beds to be pretty effing pricey.  And we haven't even started on the dresser situation yet!

The other present conundrum is the matter of a dining room table.  Originally, I wanted to purchase a table with a leaf so that it could transition into a formal dining room in our house.  But to get what I want, it'll be a pretty penny.  A penny we are willing to spend, but its going to be a LOT at once with all this other furniture, so I'm contemplating cheaping out on that now with a nice Ikea table.  But then that's just money down the drain isn't it?  If that table doesn't end up working in a new house?  I don't know!

I know I'm supposed to get all excited about these purchases, but I'm kind of not.  I would much rather be spending this money on our five year anniversary vacation, which is 17 months away, and for which I might have to sell some slightly used furniture to go on.  Not that I'm counting or anything.

OH THE GLORIOUS BEACH!  Ole Waxy is going to the Florida Keys this weekend, sans me.  Maybe I'll buy myself some phallic candles to get over my jealousy.