It's Official

That's it. I'm DONE with my law school applications. Each and every one is signed, sealed with a kiss, and delivered. There's nothing more I can do except wait. Ten schools in the states of Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, and Maine (just to mix it up). I'm experiencing conflicting emotions. I'm relieved to finally have the whole thing out of my hands, but now the apprehensive waiting game starts. Realistically, I finished the apps for the schools I really want to go to months ago, but since then I've been applying to the obligatory "backup schools." Moving to another state to attend law school isn't really a feasible option for me at the present time, considering my mortgage on a beautiful Seattle condo that I live in with my even more beautiful long-term boyfriend. BUT, I think getting accepted to some of these so-called backup schools might take the sting out of the fairly likely rejection I will receive from my native state schools.

Point being: I am officially done with the applications and now I begin the waiting game. Please, send good karma out into the admissions universe for me! I'll be sure to update you as the results come in.

This is Sarah, your hopeful pre-law applicant, class of 2013, signing off.

Legally Done

“I’m a Paralegal,” I said smugly to my boyfriend last night.

“No you’re not babe,” he replied. “You’re just qualified to be a Paralegal. But congratulations!”

Well, fine. Way to call me out.

But I am officially finished with the University of Washington Paralegal Program! I feel amazingly accomplished. Let me tell you, working full time and attending night school for nine months was BRUTAL. But I absolutely loved the program and put more effort into it than I put into 95% of my undergraduate work.

Now for the next step. Normally, it’s expected that graduates of the program will begin applying for jobs in the legal field. However, I absolutely love my job. So the prospect of leaving it in a recessed economy to become a “new hire / low man on the totem pole / next prospective layoff” doesn’t sound super appealing.

But after being immersed in law classes for so long, I’ve become completely obsessed. So since I am not going to pursue employment opportunities, I decided to sign up for an LSAT prep course. I figure why not. I take the test and score well; I apply to law school. I take the test and fail; I don’t.

So that’s my plan for the immediate future. Whatcha think?

Looking Forward…

I can’t believe it – I am actually done with my midterm exams! Since the flu knocked me out of commission for more than a week, I was moderately concerned about how I was going to perform, but now that I’m done I think I actually did pretty well! Phew! What a sense of relief! And now the countdown begins… only four more weeks until I am officially done with my program and I will be a certified paralegal! Where I go from there, only time will tell…

To celebrate being done with midterms, I have a super fun weekend planned! Friday night I am meeting up with a bunch of old college friends for dinner before heading to Hop Scotch, a spring beer and scotch festival in Fremont. Then, tomorrow morning, Stew and I are headed out early to catch the ferry to Port Townsend for a Mother’s Day weekend with my family. Port Townsend is an adorable little historical town on the Olympia Peninsula, and the weather forecast looks great so far so I’m really excited for a nice outdoorsy weekend in the sunshine.

I’ll be sure to post pictures next week! What does everyone else have planned for the weekend?

The Home Stretch

I just started my final quarter of the Paralegal Certification Program at the UW, and I finally feel like there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Last quarter I lived and breathed Litigation, but this quarter I get to enjoy a plethora of classes/topics, including: Complex Litigation, Criminal Law, Family Law and Business Law. I’m super excited!

I feel like this is really going to help give me a taste of what law school might be like, and help me decide whether or not to apply. So far, I’m pretty certain that’s the route I want to take. Not only am I a nerd who loves school, but I am fascinated by the legal system and how it affects society. (Don’t worry, I won’t write my entire entrance essay here.)

I also went to a seminar this week for what is supposedly the “best” LSAT prep course in Seattle, and I was pretty impressed by what they offer. I’m tentatively planning on beginning that course in July so I can take the LSAT in September. We’ll see how it goes!

Supposedly, this quarter is supposed to be much less time consuming than the last, so I’m hoping I might only have to spend one day per weekend on schoolwork, instead of both. This way I can spend some more time with all my wonderful peeps!

Call me. *wink*

Star Student

Antsy to find out how I performed on the final exam for my litigation class, I emailed my instructor to pacify myself. Even though I figured I did pretty well on the test, I was still moderately shocked by his response:

"Not only did you pass, you got the highest grade in the class on the final... 98. Congrats! That is very, VERY impressive work!! A pleasure having you, and I'm looking forward to next semester! Keep it up!!"

WOW. I was ridiculously excited to get such positive feedback. I worked really, really hard to prepare for that exam, and even though the program is designed for "working professionals," many of the people I am competing with don't have jobs. So it felt amazing to have all of my hard work pay off. And now I can't wait to get the test back next week with my instructor's silly "Star Student" stamp on it. I am such a nerd.

I Heart Brunch

When you’re no longer able to attend happy hour because your evenings are consumed by school, you have to accept alternate social opportunities. For me, this means brunch.

Lately, brunch has become the one time each week where I can finally take a break from homework/studying and catch up with friends. Every Sunday for the past month I’ve gotten to sit down and enjoy yummy food, a Bloody Mary, and gossip with some of my best girls.

This past weekend, I had brunch with Sheena, one of my old college roommates. I had heard a rave review about Volterra the night before, and even though Sheena had a bad dinner experience there, we decided to try it out. After all, Rachael Ray featured it on her show and called it one of her favorite restaurants in the world, so how could we go wrong?

The restaurant itself is super cute, and we sat in a booth in back where it was easy to chat. Although I’ve heard great things about their Bellisimo Bloody Mary, I wasn’t feeling up to my usual vodka fix that morning, but instead had coffee and decided to order the provolone, avocado, and green onion scramble served with hash browns and toast.
It was… okay. Nothing to write home about in my opinion, but moderately satisfying. The toast was a little weird (full of poppy seeds and other unidentifiable grains) but super yummy after I smothered it with strawberry freezer jam. The scramble was pretty average.

However, the atmosphere was great and they didn’t kick us out before we were done with our coffee because they had people waiting, like what happened to me a couple weekends ago at The Dish. Overall, I think I’d give Volterra a B minus.

Oh Happy Day…

Whew! I made it through the toughest quarter in my program. I took my litigation final exam last night and I actually think I did really well on it. I only had trouble with one question, and I mean, who really knows the time limit for filing a judgment non obstante veredicto anyway? I spent the last 20 minutes of the three hour exam trying to find the answer. It is NOT in the Washington State Rules of Civil Procedure, I can tell you that much. I think it was a trick question.

So anyway, SPRING BREAK BABY! I’m not headed to Lake Havasu or anything, but I am looking forward to a blissfully stress-free three weeks of relaxing and catching up with friends. Happy hour, anyone?

So, I have a question…

Why, why, why do half of the people in my class raise their hand and then, when called on, start out by saying, “Um... so... I have a question…” and then pause and stare blankly at the instructor like they need him to say, “And what is your question?” before being allowed to continue?

No sh*t you have a question!! JUST.ASK.IT. I thought the general idea that in a class, when you raise your hand, it’s pretty much a given that you have a question. Or maybe a comment. But is prefacing it with “I have a question” really necessary?!?

I did the math and figure I pay roughly $50 bucks a night to take this class, and I really don’t appreciate how much of my time is being wasted by people explaining that they have a question before even asking it.

Funny how things have changed from when I was an undergrad, and any excuse to waste time in class was welcomed. I’m old.

L is for Litigation

I took my Litigation midterm tonight and let me just say, it was HARD. Courts, jurisdiction, venue, investigation, statutes, rules, witnesses, damages, defenses, objections, evidence, pleadings, motions, due process… who even knows about this stuff?!? Oh that’s right, I’m supposed to.

But in all seriousness, I’ve been busting my butt studying for this test for a week straight, so if I don’t end up with a decent score I think I should probably consider it a sign that I’m in the wrong program.

In any case, now that the test is finally over with I feel like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders, and I can actually take some time off from studying and enjoy the weekend!

Bus Sick

I’ve always been able to read while in transit. Cars, busses, airplanes – nothing phases me. However, lately I seem to have developed an annoying problem: I’ve developed an extreme case of bus sickness.

This has been a major impact on my life, considering the fact that I spend three trips, for a combined total of more than two hours, on the bus each day:

#1: Ballard to Downtown - 30 minutes
#2: Downtown to U District - 45 minutes
#3: U District to Ballard - 45 minutes

It’s quite the commute. Normally, I occupy myself with reading or studying, which makes the tedious rides a little more bearable. But lately things have changed. I get on the bus, settle in with my textbook, and begin to read. A few stops later, queasy and light headed, I slowly shut it. Then, I spend the rest of the bus ride trying not to vomit all over the person in front of me. I alternate between closing my eyes and looking straight forward, breathing deeply and chanting, “Don’t puke, don’t puke, don’t puke…” in my head.

No, I’m not knocked up.

But the whole situation is quite annoying. When you spend as much time on the bus as me, it’s absolutely imperative that I can use the ride to my full advantage. I can’t waste two hours every day sitting and staring straight ahead like an idiot. Even listening to my iPod is a waste of time… I have so much studying to do!!

I’m hitting up the drug store ASAP to see if I can buy some anti-nausea tablets or something.

Blech.

WWU Football Gets the Boot

I received an email this afternoon containing the announcement that WWU is ending its football program. I was shocked and slightly saddened by the news. Even though I only attended a handful of games during my four year stint, a major university without a football team just doesn’t seem right. Times are really getting tough, I guess.

It’s too bad that my alma mater has had to resort to such drastic measures. College life just won’t be the same for those who come after me. Tailgating and face painting, jumping up and down screaming in the freezing cold rain – these are supposed to be some of the best times of our young lives. Even if you don’t like football, the energy on campus and the after-game parties are fantastic.

I think supporting a football team really contributes to the university experience. Western's team has been around since 1907 and I’m sad to see it go. Farewell, Vikings!

Nerd Alert

Although I’ve done a fair amount of complaining since starting my Paralegal classes at the UW, I am really loving being in school again. I hate spending extra hours on the bus every day and I hate getting home late almost every weeknight, but for those nine hours a week that I’m in class, I’m really enjoying myself!

The only problem is that I’m supposed to be spending three hours outside of class for every hour that I spend in class, and let’s be honest… I just haven’t done that so far. So when I turned in my first assignment on Tuesday night I wasn’t feeling overly confident about it. It could have been right on, or alternately, completely off-base.

Last night, the assignment was returned to me. COVERED with red ink. My stomach dropped for a second before I looked closer and realized… I had received a perfect score! Apparently my instructor just loves to give feedback, whether it be negative or positive. Phew! I can’t tell you the sense of relief I felt as I read the “Impressive work – Nice job!” at the bottom of the paper. And to top everything off, there was a red “STAR STUDENT” stamp on top of the paper. How elementary school, but it still put a silly smile on my face. What a nerd.

Now I just have to keep it up until June…

Relaxing weekend ahead?

If only this weekend included just ONE more day… My list of scheduled activities is already ridiculously long:

• Little Brother’s rugby game
• Homework - reading
• Pick up new furniture
• Homework – case brief
• Kelly & Amy’s birthday party
• Shannon’s birthday party
• Homework - reading
• SATC style brunch and pedicures with Sister and Cousin
• Homework – library research
• Watch Seahawk’s game
• Homework – project 1
• Lily’s birthday party
• Homework – Westlaw training
• Unpacking and organizing

How I will get everything done, I have no idea. But I’m glad I have quite a few fun things to take care of… in between a crazy amount of homework! Yeesh.

Goodbye Queen Anne, Hello Ballard!

That’s right, you heard it here first… Stewart and I are moving in together! Considering the fact that neither one of us has ever lived with a boyfriend or girlfriend before, we figured, “What the hell?” and chose to take a serious plunge… we bought a condo!!

And after four amazing years, I am finally going to be leaving the mother ship of Queen Anne and moving to… Ballard! Yep that’s right. We bought a beautiful condo at a building called the Metropole, just off Ballard Avenue and Market Street. A perfect location, if my limited knowledge of Ballard counts for anything.

The building is less than two years old and our unit has barely been lived in, so to us it feels brand new. It’s a large home with hardwood floors, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, our own private patio along with a rooftop deck, and a gas fireplace that goes through the wall from our living room into our bedroom. And my favorite feature? That’s right, I will finally have a washer and dryer in my own home!

Such big changes going on in our lives! Let me take a moment to try and recap everything…

• Stewart was finally hired as a firefighter! He will be working for Valley Regional Fire Authority in Auburn, and we are both thrilled that all his hard work finally paid off. He began Fire Academy this month. Unfortunately, just a couple weeks into the Academy Stewart injured his knee, badly. It will require surgery and this means he is out of the Academy for now, and unable to return until January when (we hope) he will be fully recovered. So poor Stew will have to spend some time on the couch followed by light duty at the fire station until January.


• My new job as an Executive Assistant to the Senior Vice President for a downtown Seattle residential real estate development company (wow, there’s a mouthful) is going really great! I’ve been here for a little more than two months now and finally feel like I am getting the hang of things. I love my team and my boss and changing jobs has drastically improved my quality of life. Quitting my previous job was one of the best decisions I have ever made, as far as my mental health is concerned.


• I’m finally going back to school! Tonight will be my first class at the University of Washington, in the Paralegal Certificate Program. I am taking two classes this quarter: Fundamentals of Legal Practice and Legal Research and Writing. If all goes as planned, I should be a Certified Paralegal by this spring! However, I will have class from 6pm to 9pm on Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday for the next nine months or so, and a huge amount of homework and reading, so if you don’t see me out and about don’t be surprised. I’ll see you all next summer!


• Stewart and I are moving in together! Did I already mention that? I’m just so excited I can barely stand it. Considering we have basically been living together for the past six months in his tiny studio apartment, our new 725 square foot condo seems like a dream come true! We move in on October 4th.

So in summary, lots of changes going on in our lives right now. I am super sad about leaving Queen Anne, and not living with Jeanna anymore, but I suppose change is good, especially when it consists of a major financial investment!

We’d love to have all of you over once we’re settled!