Shrimp = Death

Alright, so most of you know I am allergic to shrimp. And when people I ask, I normally say I am "deathly allergic"... I tend to be dramatic and such... Well Friday I had an allergy appointment to figure out how allergic I really am and it turns out I probably am "deathly allergic."

I went to an allergy doctor for the first time and told her my symptoms when I am near shrimp and she freaked out on me. She spent 10 minutes telling me how I can never eat shrimp or "I will surely die." She prescribed me 2 epi-pens and told me to keep them with me at all times!!! I also have to keep benadryl with me continually. (All of this is before she has the results of my actual allergy test.)

Then, she sent me to this clinic where they drew 6 viles of blood from my arm to do the actual allergy testing! It didn't feel good. But in a month I will have my allergy results and I will be able to tell you if my Dr. was being over dramatic or if I will "surely die" if I ever eat shrimp. Fun Stuff...

Happy Birthday Mom

Well, today is my mother's birthday and I wanted to take a few minutes to tell her that I love her... So if you are not my mother, you can skip this post, but you are more than welcome to read why I love my mom. :)

Top 5 (So as not to take all day... :) )
5. She is not pushy and lets me make my own decisions/mistakes... but she is there to pick up the pieces if it is needed. :)
4. She is a good friend. To me and to others...
3. She is a great hostess. She makes everyone feel welcomed and loved in our home. She also makes wonderful food all the time for anyone who enters our house... So come over anytime and get some good food!
2. She gave birth to me... without her, I would not be here. So thanks for that.
1. She is my definition of selfless love and I hope to love as sacrificially as she does. My brother and I are extremely blessed. :)

Happy Birthday Mom!

Procrastination...

It is such a beautiful day today and I am in a wonderful mood! God is good, life is good, and I don't want to study! :)

I am sitting in the library trying hard to read for Business Organizations and I just can't seem to be productive. I keep getting distracted. Maybe it is because I have been reading since 10:30 (with a few strategic breaks to eat lunch, and talk on google chat) or maybe it is because all I ever do is read, but right now I just don't have it in me...

So what better way to occupy my time when I don't want to read than to update you! :) As far as this summer goes, I am in the middle of the interviewing process and have no idea where I will be this summer. Your continued prayer would be much appreciated. :)

School is going well. I am getting caught up in everything. I have a big deadline for my journal next Tuesday, so there is no rest for the weary, but I am managing and I am not stressed. Praise God. :)

I went to the A&M Game last weekend with Chris and Lindsay and had a wonderful time! It was so great to see them both and it had been to long. They have the most adorable black lab puppy that I got to play with. Unfortunately we did not win the game, much to my brother and cousin's delight. Tech is the one game I want to take every year, since 1/2 of my family went there... Alas, my bother and cousin will be gloating this Thanksgiving. Maybe we can next! (Always the optimist.)

I also got to hang out with Tess and Laura. Laura has a sweet job at David Gardner and was blinged out when I met her for lunch. :) I think I would really enjoy getting to go to work every morning and putting on expensive jewelry that I don't have to pay for! Everything in there was so shiny... I was in awe... :)

Going back to College Station is always a weird feeling for me. I feel to old to be there, and like I should still be there at the same time... One of the joys of getting older, I guess. Though I have to admit it gets less weird every time I go.

On Sunday, I got to go to the Woodlands and see Jacki, John and Jessica. I should have taken a picture of Jessica for you. She is getting so big! She got her first pair of blue jeans on Friday and she was wearing them on Sunday. She looked so cute!!! I got to play with her for a while and catch up with Jacki and John. :)

It is nice to have time one the weekends not to study. I like putting life in perspective and remembering that law school is not everything and it is certainly not eternal. Because I seriously could study all day every day and there would still be more I could be doing. It is all about finding the balance. ;) Sometimes I do well, and sometimes I don't. :)

So mom, when you read that I took a study break to write this, just remember law school is not everything. :)

Decisions, Decisions...

Well, ladies and gentlemen, it is about that time again. I thought I was making this big life changing decision when I decided to come to law school. I knew what I wanted to do with my life.... I wanted to be a LAWYER. Yea. I am done... Or so I thought (quite blissfully, I might add) for a year.

Now, however, I have to decide what type of lawyer I want to be. Now? In the very beginning of my second year? But why, you may ask... after all I do have two years of school left... And I have only begun to take specialized classes. I can't be expected to know what I want to do already?!?! Right...

Wrong. I am in the process of interviewing for jobs for next summer. Which means I need to have an idea of what type of firm I want to work. So, unfortunately I have to begin to specialize now. No pressure....

I am praying that the interviewing process will give me more insight into what type of law I would be good at and enjoy. I have two interviews this week and one next week and who knows after that. Please pray for the Lords will! That is what I want above all... But if you want to pray for more, :) pray that I would have discernment in what I should specialize in. I have so many options, which is a huge blessing, but can also be daunting at the same time...

On Campus Interview Firms give offers by December and if I get any offers I could know where I am going to be this summer by Christmas. Otherwise I will start applying with other firms in January. Hopefully I know something by December though, that would be one less thing to worry about in the Spring! :) I will keep you posted.

Yoga

In an attempt to reduce some of my stress, I have recently taken up yoga. I have found that it is a better form of exercise than I thought it would be. All you do is stretch and hold your body in certain positions and yet I leave drenched and tired. It is actually a great workout. So it is official, I am jumping on the yoga bandwagon. :)

I am really looking forward to improving my technique. The teacher of my class is good... but I don't really know what I am doing and I am sure I am doing half of it wrong. Monday was my second class and I realized most of the stuff I was doing the first week could have been done better. So I guess in a few weeks I may actually be doing some of it right. :) We will see... :)

I also went running the other day with Daniel and actually managed to escape without an asthma attack! Shocking, I know... I still DON'T LIKE running and have not managed to go by myself, but you never know... I may become a running yoga fool one of these days. :)

I need all the stress relief I can get. It is funny, I think I am doing alright... Not stressed out and functioning well... I think I am giving my stress to God and not trying to do this thing on my own... Then something that normally wouldn't upset me really upsets me and I realize how crazy stressed I actually am. Surrendering to the Lord is truly a daily process and sometimes it is not easy. :) I guess it is a good thing that we get to take it day by day. :) But praise the Lord that I am trying yoga and running because I need an outlet for sure!

Year 2 = Stress

So... I have decided that the second year of law school is not harder than the first, in fact, truth be told... classes are actually more manageable. I am taking classes I chose instead of them being forced upon me and I generally enjoy all of them. I also have been through a year of this so I know what to expect. But, despite classes being relatively easier, the second year remains harder than the first.

In my second year I am on a journal, I am the VP of a club, and I am doing OCI (On Campus Interviewing... for jobs for next summer). All of which take TIME. The second year is stressful because you are pulled 10 different ways in any given day. There are so many things competing for precious little time. I have been freaking out for the past three weeks because I am behind in everything and whats worse is I keep getting more behind. I am starting to get it all under control, but it is insane!

I spend about 10 hours a week working on stuff for my journal (Houston Business and Tax Law Journal), about 10 hours trying to get stuff done for OCI (researching firms, in a few weeks interviews, etc...) and about 3-4 hours doing CLS stuff (Christian Legal Society... the organization I am the VP of). All of which are obligations I didn't have last year. So it is making time management more of a issue than I had thought it would be. I then study for my classes about the same amount as I did last year, but that leaves little to no time for anything else. But I want to do other things, so studying has been taking a back seat... which gets me more behind... which gets me more stressed. It is quite a vicious cycle indeed!

But long story short, I have to get on the ball or I am going to crash and burn. I have to spend a few weeks really concentrating on school and getting caught up, or I am going to be so far behind that I won't be able to catch up even if I try... So if you want to say a prayer for me this week or next, pray I would be diligent to do my work and that I would have time to get it all done. :)

You can also pray for OCI. I have a few interviews throughout September in which I hope to gain employment for this summer. It is stressful and I don't have any idea who I want to work for or what I want to do with my degree, so pray for clarity in this whole process. :)

Anyway, year 2 is crazier than 1, but at least I am 1/3 of the way done! I know I will get everything done this year, it is just going to take a little determination and a lot of time. :) Oh the joys of law school. Aren't you glad you aren't in it! :)

I just wanted to provide you all with a quick update and let you know if you haven't heard from me recently and don't hear for me for a few weeks, please don't be upset... I am trying to be productive! I will return to normal eventually... It may be May of 2008, but it will happen.

I am adding a picture of my CUTE baby 2nd cousin. She is 4 months old and getting so big!!! She always calms me down and if my rant about the stress got you anxious, I hope this helps to calm you down too! Enjoy! :)

Barnes and Nobles Stalker?!?!

So, the weirdest thing happened this weekend. My friends and I were harassed at a Barnes and Nobles in San Antonio:

A man walked up to Erin (my best friend from Dallas) and I and proceeded to aggressively ask if he was "one of the most attractive men in the store," which, I have to say he was not (He was about 5'10, maybe 40 years old and average looking with dark hair and a three day old five o'clock shadow).

We didn't know what to do, so we just looked at each other shocked. My boyfriend Daniel was standing within earshot and walked up to see what was going on. The man proceeded to ask if he was more attractive than Daniel (no way!!!) to which my mouth dropped. He was being extremely aggressive at this point so Daniel told him he was more attractive to try to control the guy and see what he was so upset about.

The man said he wanted to hear from the girls and looked at Erin and I who were still in shock... To which Erin replied "More attractive than him?!?! No..." He asked why and Erin said "lets just leave it at no..." He walked off agitated and then re-approached us a few minutes later saying "if he shaved and put on a suit (Daniel was dressed up because we were going to a wedding) then he would be more attractive than Daniel, right?!?!?" We told him to "Have a nice day" and he walked away... But it was all quite insane.

I have to admit I was a little scared by the whole thing. Not that I honestly thought he was going to hurt me, nor could he have if he wanted to... Since Daniel was there... But he seemed so distraught. Like he had gone his whole life thinking he was the most attractive man in the world and someone had recently told him he wasn't and it was causing a midlife crisis. It was insane...

I didn't respond to him at any point partly out of shock and horror and partly because I was not sure what to say. In that situation do you appease a man that is clearly mentally ill or do you tell the truth??? My boyfriend is quite a bit more attractive than this guy and would not have had his feelings hurt had I chosen to lie to this man to get him the heck away from us and to make him feel better. But I couldn't do it. I could not bring myself on any level to tell this man that he was attractive. I certainly could not bring myself to tell him he was more attractive than my (quite attractive) boyfriend. (I am glad Erin answered for us and I didn't have to respond.)

But it was quite an interesting situation and I am still trying to process why I couldn't appease him. I could have told him what he wanted to hear and done so without hurting my boyfriend and hopefully gotten him out of there quickly and yet I could not bring myself to do so... I wonder why? What instinctively kept me from lying to this guy out of self preservation? I keep trying to figure it out and I got nothing...

All I know is beware of Barnes and Nobles in San Antonio... You may meet a crazy man looking for affirmation and be put to the same test I was...

Week 2

So... after three semesters of law school and a brief stint with summer school, I have decided that week two is by far the hardest week of classes for me. Don't get me wrong, studying for a final that is my only grade and that is 4 hours of constant writing is harder than anything, but week 2 is the hardest week of actual classes.

I think this is because week 1 is the last week that I have what I like to call "freedom." I don't study nearly as much in week 1 as I should... Because ultimately I know that I am gearing up for a full semester of reading and I just don't want to do it yet... So week 2 is when I functionally get into the swing of things and I read the full amount I am supposed to... Which is hard enough in itself, but then I also have to play catch up because I didn't read at all in week 1. Again, because I try to hold on to my "freedom" from reading for to long... Oh well, maybe next semester I will try to start reading in week one! :)

So, I am half way through my "hard" week and I should be able to catch up on all my reading by Labor day. So YEA for being on track for the semester. :) WooHoo!

My classes seem much better this semester. All except tax that is. It is hard and boring so far... But the rest are quite interesting and I think I am going to like them all. The old adage for law school is "the first year they teach you, the second year they work you, and the third year they bore you." I am fairly certain that is going to be correct, and I am OH SO looking forward to next year!

This year with my classes, being an officer in Christian Legal Society and being on the Houston Business and Tax Law Journal, I am putting in a lot more hours of extracurriculars than I thought I would. It is manageable, but I think I will find this year harder time wise because I am doing so much more than I was last year. So, if you want to say a quick prayer for Jen... you can pray I would figure out time management! That is one of my goals (pretty much always) but every year I see more and more reason to excel at the skill.

Back to life, back to reality

Well, I am finally back to Houston and back to law school. It is good to be home and back in the "swing of things" but law school is still hard. I didn't have to read as much this summer and I began to believe law school was less time consuming than it really is... Sad day. So I am readjusting to reading for 5 or 6 hours a day. I might add I am not adjusting to well, I have not read for some of my classes... so this weekend I get to play catch up. :)

I think I am really going to like my classes this semester! I am excited. I am taking Tax Law (which is in fact as boring as it sounds), Business Organization (My teacher looks like Danny Tanner and is SO FUNNY.. I think it is going to be my favorite class), Marital Property Rights (my teacher flies through the material, but actually points out the significant parts), and Intellectual Property Survey (It may be my easiest class, but it is kinda boring...). It is a manageable load and I have Fridays off! WHOOP!!! I am excited.

This means I will be able to make more trips home or to say College Station this year than I did last. :) Which is really great!!! Current Aggies, let me know if you ever have any tickets to the games, I would love to come to a few!!! I have missed my Aggie Football. It is just not the same from my living room couch.

I have been so crazy busy since I have been back. Yesterday I finally finished unpacking my boxes and my room is beginning to look like normal again, but I have been back for a few weeks and I am just now starting to get everything situated again!

I am sorry for those of you that have been wondering where I have been lately. I think I should be back to emailing/updating my blog with regularity now. So have no fear, Jen is here... Hehe... (Yes, I am a nerd!)

I am feeling much better in general than I did most of the summer. It is nice to be back in America. I really did love my experience, but I missed you all so much. It is nice to see all of your smiling faces again, and for those of you I haven't seen, it will be nice to see your face... eventually...

I'm Home

Hello All,
I am officially back in America and it feels great. I drove my car today for the first time in over a month! I was so excited. I almost forgot how to use the clutch! Haha. It is nice to be independent again and be able to go where I want to when I want to. Though I had the same freedom in Oxford, there I had to go on foot, now I have MY CAR. :)

I got back yesterday at 2:50pm and went straight to dinner with my parents at Taco Bueno. I missed Mexican food so much! I am going to eat it again tonight for dinner. It is funny how much I missed a type of food.... But you don't realize how much you like it until it is gone! Hopefully in the next week or two I will calm down about Mexican, but until then Tex-Mex it is! :)

It was so great to see my parents at the airport yesterday. I felt a huge weight lift from my back as I exited the gate. I realized I was really homesick but I didn't realize just how much I was ready to be back. I learned so much from my time in Oxford and the Lord was so faithful to show me how to cling only to Him, but MAN did I miss my friends. Being in Oxford was fun, but I have never felt so alone before. It is weird to go to a foreign country alone. I met some interesting people and all, but I could not shake my feeling of loneliness during my whole trip. I didn't like it. I felt like myself, but not at the same time. I wasn't depressed, I was just lonely all the time.

I decided I don't like being outside of the body. I think that God blesses us with fellowship for a reason and I don't like having no support system where I live. I did not meet a single Christian during my entire trip. Not one. Which was odd, because when my friend Mel came to Oxford for a week she met several (from Houston I might add) on the street. I don't know if I specifically didn't meet any because the Lord was teaching me something, but I didn't meet another believer. I think this made my homesickness harder. But I learned that at the end of the day, we need to depend solely on the Lord and not on other believers. (This is a lesson I have learned several times, but God always seems to teach me again in new ways.) I place my faith in the Lord alone, yes, but on a daily basis I have so much support that spurs me on to the goal. In Oxford that was not the case, and the Lord had to sustain me Himself. It was a wonderful time, but as a person who LOVES fellowship, it was quite hard for me.

So, being back in Texas and surrounded by my support, my prayer is that I would continue to apply what the Lord taught me during my solitude. I pray that my fellowship with Him would not be diminished by my fellowship with the body of Christ. :) And I pray that I would not take my wonderful friendships for granted!!!

I really did have an amazing summer and I am so thankful for my time in Oxford. But it is good to be home! I can't wait to see everyone!