I'm taking a study break from conlaw and property so I decided to fill out a survey I found on my friend Kristen's blog. Tomorrow is the last day of school..my 1L year has almost come to an end. Now on to FINALS! They start next Monday and as you can see, I'm finding other, less-productive, things to do with my time.

A. AGE: 23

B. BED SIZE: queen
C. CHORE YOU HATE: cleaning my bathroom
D. DOG'S NAME: Cathy, Mikey, and Andy!
E. ESSENTIAL "START THE DAY!" ITEM: REDBULL!
F. FAVORITE COLOR: pink
G. GOLD OR SILVER: gold
H. HEIGHT: 4'11 3/4"
I. INSTRUMENTS YOU PLAY: none
J. JOB: full time student, full time procrastinator
K. KIDS: I sometimes think that my nieces (Ashley and Caleigh) and my nephew (Sean) are like my kids! I love them so much!
L. LIVING ARRANGEMENTS: living with my Dad and missing the apartment at The Village w/ Liz
M. MOM'S NAME: Elizabeth
N. NICKNAME: JackAttack or Jax or Jack...depending on who you ask
O. OVERNIGHT HOSPITAL STAY: in high school from food poisoning after I ate bad oysters
P. PET PEEVE: when people drive in my blind spots!!!
Q. QUOTE: "Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm" - Ralph Waldo Emerson
R. RIGHTY OR LEFTY?: righty
S. SIBLINGS: one brother, one sister
T. TIME YOU WAKE UP: 5:30 a.m.
U. UNDERWEAR: granny panties
V. VEGGIE YOU DISLIKE: artichoke hearts
W. WAYS/REASONS YOU ARE LATE: I'm usually never late but sometimes straightening my hair takes a bit longer than expected.
X. XRAYS YOU'VE HAD: teeth at the dentist, and a few body ones in high school
Y. YUMMY FOOD YOU MAKE: SANTE FE CHICKEN - the only thing I know how to make!
Z. ZOO ANIMALS YOU LIKE: lions, tigers, and bears...oh my!

"I" IS FOR IMPROV!

On Saturday, after a day in the library studying my life away, Jesse and I had dinner at Cabo's and decided there to go see Robert Schimmel at the Improv. Jesse really likes him and I had no idea who he was. I must say, that he wasn't as funny as Jesse made him out to be. The opening acts were much funnier than he was. The first guy won "Funniest Guy in Houston" and is now competing to be the "Funniest Comic in Texas". The second opening act was HILARIOUS! He was probably one of the funniest guys I have EVER heard. I don't remember his name but I think he's a regular at the Improv because he opened for Damon Wayans (who was there a few days ago). I am going to buy tickets for Jamie Kennedy for Jesse's graduation...I'm sure he won't be disappointing! The reason why the Schimmel guy wasn't funny was because (1) he was on vicodin (2) all of his jokes were depressing because he and his wife are filing for divorce and his daughters sleep around and do drugs...that's all he talked about. It was really disturbing and many people left during the show. Way to bring the crowd down, Schimmel!

Being Catholic

(That will be me Friday with Bishop Fiorenza)

As many of you may already know, I am getting Confirmed this Friday. I have been going to Confirmation classes once a week since September. After school, I sit in rush hour traffic on my drive to St. Justin Martyr, the church Jesse has gone to all his life. After my parent's divorce, I didn't have a church to call my own. I would go to my dad's church (St. Anne's) on the weekends I was with him and loved it there so much. When I graduated from Baylor and moved back to Houston, I knew that one of the first steps I would have to take as an adult was to find a church to call my own. Jesse and I went to St. Anne's and it didn't feel right. Even though it's the place I've dreamt about getting married in since I was 4, it wasn't the place I could grow spiritually as an adult. We started going to Jesse's church and it couldn't be more perfect. It's in the middle of Alief, so it's very diverse. There are about 2,500 families registered there and the majority are Vietnamese or of African descent. Everyone is so warm and nurturing there, I knew that that is where I wanted to fulfill my last sacrament -Confirmation - as soon as I met Father Paul. (Well, my last sacrament before I get married..someday...)

Here's a short run down about Sacraments for those of you who are not Catholic and find it weird that we have to do so many things at different points in our lives to prove our faith:

1. Baptism: For Catholics, the Sacrament of Baptism is the first step in a lifelong journey of commitment and discipleship. Whether we are baptized as infants or adults, Baptism is the Church's way of celebrating and enacting the embrace of God.
2. First Communion: Catholics believe the Eucharist, or Communion, is both a sacrifice and a meal. We believe in the real presence of Jesus, who died for our sins. As we receive Christ's Body and Blood, we also are nourished spiritually and brought closer to God.
3. Reconciliation/Confession: The Catholic Sacrament of Reconciliation (also known as the Sacrament of Penance, or Penance and Reconciliation) has three elements: conversion, confession and celebration. In it we find God's unconditional forgiveness, and as a result we are called to forgive others.
4. Confirmation: Confirmation is a Catholic sacrament of mature Christian commitment and a deepening of baptismal gifts. Like Baptism and Eucharist, it is a Sacrament of Initiation for Catholics and a Sacrament of faith in God's fidelity to us.
5. Marriage: For Catholics, the Sacrament of Marriage, or Holy Matrimony, is a public sign that one gives oneself totally to this other person. It is also a public statement about God: the loving union of husband and wife speaks of family values and also God's values.
6. Holy Orders: In the Sacrament of Holy Orders, or Ordination, the priest being ordained vows to lead other Catholics by bringing them the sacraments (especially the Eucharist), by proclaiming the Gospel, and by providing other means to holiness.
7. Anointing of the Sick: The Catholic sacrament of Anointing of the Sick, formerly known as Last Rites or Extreme Unction, is a ritual of healing appropriate not only for physical but also for mental and spiritual sickness.

(taken from AmericanCatholic.org)

For Confirmation, I had to choose a sponsor and my patron saint to be named after. I chose my Godmother from Baptism (Bertha) to be my sponsor and to be named after St. Thomas More who is the patron saint for law and government. Maybe he'll help me with finals!

People usually get Confirmed in the Catholic Church when they are in high school. It is a sacrament where a young adult gets to proclaim themselves that they believe in Christ and will follow the teachings of the Church. I was very busy in high school, and so were parents, so my confirmation was not of utmost priority. The minute I moved back to Houston I started thinking morbid, yet eye opening thoughts like: if I were to die this very minute, I would not be able to have a Catholic ceremony because I was never fully initiated in the Church. At that point, I realized I wanted to learn about my faith and become closer to God. I prayed and prayed between June and September, trying to make sure that this is what I wanted to do. Getting initiated in to anything is a big deal, and forming a covenant with God is a HUGE DEAL, and I wanted to make sure I knew what I was getting in to. No backsies with J. Christ. Many people rush to fulfill their sacraments because they want to have a full mass at their wedding, but I did it because I was scared to not be buried as a Catholic if I died. Morbid, I tell ya. And that's where my spiritual journey with Christ and the 15 faithful in my adult confirmation class began last September. I have grown to love and respect the other adults getting confirmed with me and am looking forward to Friday when I am fully initiated into the Catholic Church and can proclaim my love for Christ in this very special way!

A Cautionary Tale

DISCLAIMER: THE FOLLOWING EVENTS MAY OR MAY NOT BE TRUE. WELL, THE MAJORITY OF THEM ARE. NAMES MAY HAVE BEEN CHANGED. AS WELL AS ODORS. AND THE DAY THE EVENTS OCCURRED. BUT REALLY, THIS REALLLLLY HAPPENED.

Once upon a time there was a sweet Asian girl named Ann. Law student by day, ninja by night. Because she had vowed at the tender age of 4 to use her ninja skills only after sunset on Friday night until sunset Saturday night (when crime is at its highest), she was not able to use her skills to fend off library bums this past Sunday (that's right, on the holiest of days). By library bum, I'm talking about a real life bum who invades libraries, not myself. I know I can be easily confused for a bum during the school week, except for Wednesday's because no one should ever look bad on hump day.

Back to Ann, the law school ninja. Sunday. Lunch break. 15 minutes. She's gone from her tiny study room for 15 minutes. The study rooms are the size of a half bathroom, but can fit two people. They are dimly lit and have small florescent lights above the desks to light our many possessions, such as Property by Dukenminier and our coveted Puppy Helmet Outlines. Who is Puppy Helmet anyway? Ninja Ann approaches her study room, well rested from her lunch break and only half full like the Japanese recommend for dietary purposes. However, Ann is Vietnamese. She turns the door handle slightly and notices someone covering the small window on the door. "WTH", she thinks, "Must be Preston." She SLAMS the door open and out pops a LARGE HOMELESS OGRE reading books upside down and speaking gibberish. Will likes to refer to him as Homeless Pete. Homeless Pete is angered that she would barge in his literary hour. She explains to him that she was there first, a rule we all learned in kindergarten. A ninja never forgets such lessons. He proceeds to GET KRUNK on her and argues that there are TWO chairs in there and he has the right to take the 2nd chair. He failed to realize that no one, and I mean no one, messes with Ninja Ann 1L.

Ann grabs her stuff and runs down the hall to Kristin's room. She drops off her stuff there and frantically recants her story about the library bum. Kristin said that she had seen him the whole week on that very floor. She said she could smell him anywhere...he has a distinct smell, like bleach and urine. Ninja Ann BACK FLIPS (like Kim Possible) to the front lobby where a member of our police force stands guard at all hours. Guess he wasn't paying much attention if he let that shifty Homeless Pete in all week long.

Ninja Ann told her story to officials and found out his name. As resourceful as she has proven to be, she runs a background check to find that HE HAS A HISTORY OF DRUG MANUFACTURING AND DELIVERY. HE WENT TO JAIL FOR 4 YEARS FOR MANUFACTURING, POSSESSION, AND DISTRIBUTION OF ILLEGAL NARCOTICS. That explains the bleach smell. The urine is just him being Homeless Pete. While he was being escorted out, his only possessions fall out of his pockets - comb, toothbrush, and toothpaste, and a recorder.

Now Ninja Ann travels the world telling her story to all that will hear her tale of Homeless Pete.

Beware, if this happened to Ninja Ann IL, it can happen to you too. Actually, it WILL happen to you. Tomorrow.

Law School = Addictions.

I heard from a classmate that many law students leave in 3 years with a J.D. and an addiction of sorts. I think she said something about 2/3's and that alcohol was the most common addiction. I stumbled upon a group on Facebook after I Googled "Law School Addictions" with hopes to find truth in this addiction hearsay and, instead, I found a group called "Addictions I picked up in law school to help me cope" with this posted:

"My small section hit the bars after our first exam was done. One of my friends (who I hope doesn't mind my telling this story, if he's reading this) came along and he wasn't drinking. Can't, because of all the meds he's on to counteract the pummeling law school is giving his brain and body. The rest of us were merrily boozing it up. I told my friend that his meds are a coping mechanism-precedent, while booze, for the rest of us, is a coping mechanism-subsequent. Yes, we'd just finished our contracts exam."

1. I just said hearsay outside of legal writing. The appellate brief really got to me.
2. Yes, law students do speak like the quote above. It may sound snooty to you, but it's actually really funny in our world. Everything we learn (after we actually learn it and it makes sense) in ingrained in us to the point that we start using legal terms in normal conversations and think that they're actually funny. For example, me using hearsay and saying something like "I need to 1406 this place, there's too much Ed Hardy going on in here and it's making me feel uncomfortable." 28 USC 1406 governs when a party can change the venue (aka the court) when it is an improper venue and allows you to transfer to a proper venue or file a motion to dismiss. Notice that to a lay person it may not seem funny, but if I busted that out at Pub Fiction around my law school friends, not only would they be impressed that I remember something from Civil Procedure but they will also think that I'm very clever and witty. 1404 is also a transfer of venue but when a venue is PROPER...but let's face it, when is a bar that attracts guidos ever proper? So next time you're at a lame party, just say you have to 1406 it.
   

Back to addictions. I started thinking, am I addicted to anything?! I don't go out, so it can't be booze. I gave up chocolate for lent and haven't really eaten chocolate since lent has been over. Narcotics are out of the question and I haven't touched my bottle of NoDoze since last semester...so what can I be? I look up and it's staring me in the face. REDBULL. I drink AT LEAST two of these bad boys a day. When I first started drinking them I would buy the sugar-free kind in the small bottle; because let's face it, a girl's gotta keep her figure! But now, I DON'T CARE! I NEED TO STAY AWAKE. I NEED TO OUTLINE. I NEED TO BE ALERT AND PAY ATTENTION TO HOW MANY SPACES COME AFTER MY PERIOD AND BEFORE AND AFTER MY "Id."'s! And let's not leave out my frequent buyer card at Luby's - after 8 cups of coffee you get your 9th one free. Let's just say that I've been through my fair share of free coffees, I feel bad asking for another.

In conclusion, my name is Jackie and I am a caffeine addict.

Here's a laundry list of random things I have become addicted to that you might want to do yourself if you're bored. Actually, they're just things I do everyday when I don't want to study or am "taking a break".

1. Stumble.com - A random websites generator. Once, I found one about how to be a samurai warrior!
2. Gilt and Rue La La - nothing beats online shopping for designer items at discount pricing!
3. LOLcats - YES, THAT'S RIGHT. I have 3 dogs but LOVE LOVE crazy cat pictures with ebonic subtitles. I can haz a break frum da bookz plz?
   
4. Sexypeople-blog.com and awkwardfamilyphotos.com. Nothing is more uplifting than laughing at the expense of others awkward pictures from the late 80s early 90s.
5. Finding indie bands by searching my favorite indie bands on cdnow.com and going through the "more like this band" listings. MY CURRENT FAVORITE: THE DIRTY PROJECTORS. LOVE IT. NOW.
6. Planning my wedding and reading wedding blogs. Reminder: I'm not even engaged.
7. Planning a spring break that is never going to happen because we have to study during spring break.
   
8. Looking at bags I can't afford and searching for them on ebay with Kaytlyn.
9. Youtube.
   

Stress

I remember studying for accounting in undergrad and thinking that that was the hardest thing I ever had to do. Then the LSAT - gosh, was that difficult. Last semester, I felt that the entire month leading up to finals was the hardest I had ever worked in my life. (All to make mediocre grades, btw). And today I turned in what might be the most important paper of my life. I had classes as a political science member who were graded solely on a midterm and a essay. The essays weren't that bad and I was usually able to b/s my way through them. I just finished the mother of all essays...mostly because an appellate brief isn't an essay, it's a legal document. I started researching for it the day after we got the assignment; so like a month ago. I have been writing relentlessly and thinking about different angles and arguments to win my case everyday for the past month. Yes, turning it in to day takes a giant weight of my shoulders because now I can focus on outlining and studying for finals. But, having the appellate brief out of my life doesn't make my life honky dory. I still think that it is the biggest piece of crap I have ever written in my life and am dreading the day I get it back. On top of that, I'm getting sick again. I was deathly ill from February 22nd - mid-march with an upper resp infection, bronchitis, and a tummy virus. I woke up Saturday morning with a sore throat and it has no escalated to a itchy throat, earache, and a stuffy nose. I swear, if I get sick to the degree I was not too long ago, someone will get hurt. There's no way I can study for finals if I feel like death.

Anyway, enough with ranting. I just subscribed to a website that will send me a daily piece of LOVE. Now, I get a daily devotional in my inbox every morning and Jesus' love is enough to get me through the day but this site sends you all kinds of quotes. Here's their site's description from their home page:

"The Daily Love is a free daily e-multivitamin for your soul! We read and search for the best morsels of inspiration through all the greatest literature ever written; from ancient texts to modern day gurus we bring you well rounded wisdom from all walks of life! The Daily Love has changed so many peoples lives, sign up today to begin your journey one dose at a time!"

The Daily Love aims to make you happy and the best part about being happy is sharing that happiness with others. If you have any friends that you think should get The Daily Love, please feel free to forward this email to them or sign them up at www.TheDailyLove.com

I haven't gotten my first e-mail yet but I will be sure to let y'all know if it's good. Oh and about the diamond earring conundrum from the last post - I found them! =)