One Loan Down... A Few to Go...

Today I paid off my very first law school loan! Exciting day indeed!!! I have been putting half of my pay check towards paying down my loan with an exorbitant interest rate (11.25%) and today I paid it off completely!!!

I am now moving on to paying off my loan with a pretty high interest rate (9.75%)... But it feels great to have the first loan off the books! The loan I paid off was only for $2,000 but it is a exciting achievement none the less... The one I am working on now is a little more money ($12,000)... So when I pay it off, I am going to have a party!!! (Though that will not be until after I graduate from law school.)

The Big 2-4

Yesterday I turned twenty-four years old. I took a break from studying for finals and went to Yia Yia Mary's with 30 or so of my closest friends. :) It was great fun! After dinner we went back to Mel's apt and had cupcakes and brownies (thanks Mel and Laura for baking). I was very thankful to be surrounded by my friends and I could not have had a better birthday!

Link to Album from my party... Enjoy!

Alright, time for me to get back to studying...

Ready, Set, Go!

The finals crunch is starting early this semester for me. For two main reasons... 1) I have three finals in three days... This is unheard of in law school. 2) I want to get my GPA up a little. (God willing.)

So I am starting the study regimen a few weeks early this year... Which means less social interaction (makes me very sad) and less blog interaction (makes my mom very sad). So for my 2-5 loyal readers... I will be less verbal until May 12th. (Excluding the big or funny stuff.)

My final schedule:
Monday, May 7th, 2pm-5pm - Oil and Gas
Tuesday, May 8th, 2pm-5pm - First Amendment
Wednesday, May 9th, 2pm-5pm- Secured Financing
Saturday, May 12th, 9am- 12pm- Evidence
Saturday, May 12th, 12:01pm- Celebrate!

Amazing Day

So today is truly a wonderful day for two reasons. 1) It is Melissa Wallace's Birthday. A reason to celebrate in and of itself. She is a amazing woman of God and a true friend and so the day that is in celebration of her birth would have to be a wonderful day. 2) But today I have another reason to celebrate... My blog is named firm feet... this is meant to eventually be a pun because I will be a lawyer and will be working at a law firm... However, since I have yet to work, the pun is not yet realized... But, today I can proudly say that this summer, my punny blog title will be functional because I GOT A JOB AT A FIRM!!! This summer I will be working for an Estate Planning Lawyer in Houston for both halves of the summer. Since I am interested in Estate Planning when I graduate, I could not be more excited!

God is so good!!! I have been praying for quite a while for fruit and for encouragement about law school (many of you have joined me in this prayer and I thank you). He blessed me abundantly with both today!!! It is going to be a part time job, so I am still looking for another part time job, but God has been so faithful and I am so excited!

Wicked!

I just got home from Wicked and it lived up to my expectations. Now, this is quite a compliment since I was expecting to be blown away. My love of Wicked began over a year ago when I purchased the soundtrack and proceeded to memorize most of the songs. I have been waiting to experience Wicked in all its glory ever sense, but I had yet to see the wonder that is Oz... until tonight. :) I was mesmerized and excited for the whole three hours. I give it two thumbs up. Go see it!!!

Driver License Picture...

I finally got my new driver license and the picture is surprisingly good... Except for the fact that I wore a blue shirt when the picture was taken... And not just any blue shirt. I managed to find a shirt that was almost the exact color of the BLUE backdrop that the DMV uses... Opps. So while it is a very good picture and I am ecstatic... I kinda resemble a floating head... Oh well...

A very social weekend

This weekend my friend Emily came in town to visit. It was great to see her and catch up a little. I had warned her that my schedule was full for this weekend but I think that might have been a bit of an understatement. Thanks for being willing to go with me to a million places Em. You are the best. :)

I started my weekend off by picking Em up at the airport. Her flight was 2 and a half hours delayed... Coming from DALLAS. And the skies were clear... I don't even know how that is possible but that is beside the point. Our first stop of the weekend was the Museum of Fine Arts where we viewed the MET exhibit. I highly recommend it if anyone likes French paintings from the 1800's to the 1920's. Afterwards we went to my very first Astro's game EVER. It was a good game and the Stro's beat the Kansas City Royals 4-2. The seats were REALLY GOOD and we didn't have to pay for the tickets!!! I was so excited!



On Saturday morning we went to the Woodlands and saw my cousin. Jessica is so much bigger (as I mentioned last week) and getting so cute I can hardly stand it. After lunch with the family, Emily and I returned to Houston and went to Tim and Casey's birthday party. Happy 25th! We then grabbed dinner on the way to Catha's party. Catha is leaving full time ministry at First and was having a send off party. It was very fun and I know Catha felt loved (which was the point:). The party had a marble slab ice cream bar... very yummy. :)

Then today I took Em to the airport after church and lunch. I proceeded to Liz and Branden's engagement party. Congrats again guys, I am very happy for you. And now I am home resting... I didn't realize it at the time, but this weekend made me tired! :) I wouldn't have changed any of it though! :)

You never know what you can find on YouTube...

So this is from 2006 and I don't know why it is just now coming to my attention but I thought I would share the wealth!!! It is a hot dog eating contetst promo from Grace Bible Chruch in College Station and I hope you enjoy. If you know Ben Cooper or Stan Matthew you should find it hysterical... If not you might get a laugh anyway. :)

Hot Dog Eating 2006

It's a boy!

I found out yesterday that my cousin is having a boy!!! Praise the Lord!!! They would have been extremely excited no matter what, but both Jacki and John were hoping for a boy. I am so stinking excited for them. Baby Finnegan #2 (no name yet) is due on August 3rd and I can't wait.

In other baby news, Jacki sent out an update today and attached some pictures of Jessica. I barely recognize her!!! I have not seen her in a month and she is SO MUCH BIGGER. I was already planning on going to the Woodlands next weekend but seeing how much she has changed has confirmed my decision. It is amazing how much happens in a month when you are 10 months old! I am attaching the pictures that Jacki sent me so you can see how BIG and ADORABLE Jessica is!

Anonymous Law Firm

One of my friends sent me this link today and I thought it was hysterical in a "could be sad but true" sort of way. If you get a chance look at some of the attorney bio's. They are very amusing:
Anonymous Law Firm, LLP

These 2 are my favorite of the 5 or so I had time to read:
Elliot Elderberg (Senior Counsel)
Notable Experience
Mr. Elderberg, Senior Counsel in the Los Angeles office, joined the firm in 1906. His practice focuses mainly on the journey from the elevators to his office in the morning, and then back again in the afternoon. Mr. Elderberg is chairman emeritus of the Pullman Palace Car Company, and one of President Hayes' appointees to the office of economic affairs.
Hobbies/Interests
Breathing.
Family
Wife, Ann. Five children, thirteen grandchildren, thirty-six great-grandchildren, seventy-four great-great-grandchildren. Over fourteen hundred grand-nieces and nephews.
Best Experience at the Firm
"The firm's been very good to me. I thought that once we were out from the under the rule of King George, it would all be downhill, but it's been a terrific surprise."
Worst Experience at the Firm
"Definitely the bratwurst. What? That's not what you meant? What? Talk louder."
Advice to Law Students
"Keep your quills sharpened and your wigs clean. It's important to make a good first impression."

Steven J. Axelrod (Associate)
Notable Experience
Mr. Axelrod served as articles editor for the Columbia Journal on Law and Sports, and finished third in his section's moot court competition his 1L year. He spent his 1L summer volunteering as part of the legal team for New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's Commission To Build New Sports Arenas. Since coming to the Firm, he has spent most of his time doing document review.
Hobbies/Interests
Checking www.i-am-bored.com every ten minutes for new links.
Best Experience at the Firm
"Great seats at Dodgers games. I got to go once, when I was a summer associate. I was supposed to go again, a few months ago, but a client emergency came up. Well, it wasn't an emergency, but they told us it was. And so I couldn't go. It was a good game. The firm's seats are great."
Worst Experience at the Firm
"Sometimes it gets a little frustrating to spend all weekend reading through stacks of documents. But you turn on the MLB.com TV feed of the Dodgers game and you can almost imagine you're in the firm's seats instead of at your desk, cheering for Jeff Kent to hit a home run instead of looking for an e-mail written by the CFO of some stupid company about the money he's embezzling from the firm."
Advice to Law Students
"Definitely go somewhere cool after the Bar Exam, because once you start your job at the Firm, you won't have any time to take any trips, not even little ones, like to the bathroom, except with permission, and they don't always give you permission."