WOW!

I haven't posted at all this month and I feel terrible about it.  I'll write a longer post this weekend to fill in the details of all the exciting things happening.  I was in Chicago from 11/9-11/13.  It was a short visit but well worth the hassle and cost of traveling there.  On Wednesday Katie, Mom, and I went to the Ritz Carlton for high tea.  It was such a special treat.  It is an event I will never forget.  It was such a treat to spend time with my mom and sister and have tea, champagne, and special finger foods.

Thursday I was sworn in to the Illinois bar.  I received my license and certificate.  Thursday evening the whole group (Katie, John, Tim, Mom, Dad, Me, & Libbe) went to a tapas bar.  It was great fun! Tapas are meant to be shared, so we just kept ordering different tapas and passed them around and shared.  I tried escargot for the first time.  This place also had great sangria!

Friday Tim and I hosted our pretend Thanksgiving.  More stories to come.  We also celebrated my 25th birthday at the same time.

On Saturday Tim proposed and I said yes.  We are FINALLY engaged after 5 years! I was very surprised.  More details to follow.

I hope each of you has a wonderful Thanksgiving spent with family or friends, yummy food, and a thankful heart.

Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year; to the honest man it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow.  ~Edward Sandford Martin

Brrrrrrr

I think Fall is officially over in Alaska.  The weather here is so different than in the Midwest and New England. The decline in temperatures has been very steady since I arrived.  There are no warm or cold fronts.  The weather in Ohio and Vermont can be very erratic with big temperature swings.  Not so here.

The highs are in the 40s with the lows dipping down into the 20s! There hasn't been any snow yet, and I'm fine with that.  I do enjoy snow, but I HATE driving in the snow and digging my car out of the snow.  Luckily I do not live too far from work (only about a 3 minute drive).  All the leaves are off the trees and the mountain ranges are covered in snow.  I was driving home from the gym this morning and gasped because the mountains were so beautiful.  I wish I could have taken a picture to post on here, but alas I was driving.

The darkness has also set in.  When I leave for work in the morning at 7:50 it is dark.  The sun does not rise until about 8:30.  The sun sets at about 6:30.  It has been very difficult for me to wake up in the mornings on time because it is so dark.  My brain is programmed to only wake up when it is light out.

With fall over I reflected on everything I did this fall.  I'm happy about how active I've been and really taking advantage of my short time here.  This fall I...
1. Attended many work pot-lucks
2. Went bear viewing
3. Halibut fishing in the ocean
4. Hiking
5. Joined a gym and tried my first yoga, spinning, and circuit training classes
6. Saw lots of moose
7. Saw several herds of caribou
8. Saw lots of bald eagles
9. Finally finished a book I started last year (The Happiness Project)
10. Had campfires and made s'mores on the beach

This is the end of my 11th week here.  I haven't seen my family in 11 weeks, and Tim in 13 weeks.  I'm happy here, but I am starting to really miss their hugs! Never underestimate the power of a hug.  Oh, and I'm really missing our family game nights.  Wow... the laughter that comes from the room when we are playing games.  Our recent favorites are Bananagrams and The Game of Things.  I don't want to get preachy or get on my soap box, but this week maybe go out of your way to let your family and loved ones know how much they mean to you.  

The happiest moments of my life have been the few which I have passed at home in the bosom of my family.  ~Thomas Jefferson

Inspiration

What is your latest inspiration? Who do you find inspiring?

My family has been my latest inspiration.  They have motivated me to join a gym and start working out.  My amazing sister first inspired me to get moving when she was training for the Pelotonia bike ride.  Pelotonia is a bike ride to raise money for cancer research.  She was part of her work team. I think she rode over 43 miles in her race and raise over $2,000.  All the riders from her company raised over $2 million dollars!!! This was in August and I was so sad to miss it.

Next, my mom joined a spinning class at our local community center.  I've heard that spinning is difficult and a high intensity work-out so I was very impressed that she signed up for such an intense class.  She seems to really enjoy it and get a lot out of it.

Finally, for the past couple of months Tim (my bf) has been training for his first marathon.  He was so dedicated to his training schedule and getting every run in over the past couple of months.  He successfully finished the Bank of America Chicago Marathon earlier this month under his goal time of 3:55.  I was also sad to miss this momentous occasion, but I know he is addicted to running and there will be other marathons.

So I finally got my but off the couch and joined a gym earlier this month.  The facilities are sufficient, nothing great though.  But my favorite part of the gym is all of the classes that are offered.  So far I have gone to yoga, spinning, and pilates.  Spinning is so much fun.  I give my mom credit for doing spinning because it is so challenging and face paced! It is a very good work-out though.  We like to talk about our classes now and compare them.

I have never done yoga before so I was a bit hesitant to try the classes.  I am not that flexible, but I do have good balance.  I find yoga to be more exercise than I thought.  Yoga uses your body's weight to build muscle.  There are many positions that you have to support your own weight.  I think my posture has also improved since I started yoga.  I went to my first pilates class this past week.  Pilates focuses on the upper body, core, and leg exercises.  I thought the core exercises were particularly difficult.

This week I think I'm going to try circuit training class for something new.  I want the classes to remain fun and exciting, so I like to switch up my schedule.  I have been going to 5 classes a week so it keeps me busy after work.

My goal is to run a half marathon at Disney World next fall so I thought I'd get a head start and get in shape now.  And with all of these people in my life being active and achieving their fitness goals, I thought I'd join the band wagon!

"Do we not all agree to call rapid thought and noble impulse by the name of inspiration?" George Eliot



Yep, this is me after only 3 weeks of classes! (ha, yea right) 

Alaska Day

Today I have off work because it is Alaska Day! It is very random having a Tuesday off from work, but it is a state government holiday.  In honor of Alaska Day I thought I would share some facts about the state of Alaska with you.  Oh, by the way, Alaska Day is a holiday that celebrates the formal transfer of Alaska from Russia to the United States.

Factoids about Alaska: 

State Nickname: The Last Frontier 

State Motto: North to the Future 

State Flower: Forget-me-not 

State Tree: Sitka spruce 

State Fish: King salmon 

The highest peak in North America is located in Alaska, Mt. McKinley.

Only 700,000 people live in Alaska 

Alaska is the largest state in the United States, it is 2.5 times bigger than Texas. 

Alaska was purchased from Russia for 2 cents per acre in 1867 

"To the lover of wilderness, Alaska is one of the greatest countries in the world." John Muir 

Wedding Bells

No I'm not engaged.  But... I have been appointed a marriage commissioner for the State of Alaska.  As part of my job duties I get to marry people!  Yesterday was my first wedding.  The court only schedules weddings on Thursdays or Fridays.  The other two law clerks and I rotate the wedding duty.  I was supposed to have my first wedding weeks ago, but the couple got cold feet and never came.

I have the couple recite the usual vows (to have and to hold blah blah blah).  The first wedding was very sweet and the couple seemed in love.  They were both tearing up so I talked slowly to prolong the ceremony to allow them time to savor the moment.  The wedding I performed today was the complete opposite.  The couple was laughing the entire time and taking the ceremony very lightly.

My favorite part is saying "By the power vested in me by the State of Alaska I now pronounce you husband and wife.  You may kiss your bride."  I just love weddings and it gave me chills performing my first wedding yesterday.  I didn't even know this was one of my job duties, but was pleasantly surprised when I found out.

It is nice to see happy couples at the courthouse.  Usually I deal with divorces and custody issues.  They are so heartbreaking.  I really hope that over the course of the next year I don't see these names come across my desk for a divorce.

"A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person." Mignon McLaughlin

The Results

Well the wait is over.  I found out early this morning (central time) that I passed the Illinois bar exam.  Phew! I was unsure when the results would be posted.  I knew that they could be posted as early as October 1, but as late as October 15.  I thought I would just check to see if they were posted at 12:01 am central time.  They were not.  There was no announcement on the Illinois Bar Admission web page.  About 15 minutes later I check again while I was on the phone with Tim (my boyfriend of 5 years).  I gasped in nervous anticipation.  I felt sick.  He asked what was wrong, and I quickly replied nothing because I was terrified of finding out the results.  I did not want him to know they were posted.  He of course knew right away what I was gasping about.

I told him to check for me, and then call me back.  I did not want to hear his reaction.  This way if I failed, it would give him a moment to think about how to break it to me and what to say.  This is the way I checked some of my law school grades also.  I use Tim as my filter.  I just get so nervous!

We hung up and I waited for him to call me back.  He didn't call me for a few minutes and I started panicking thinking that I had failed and he was trying to think of the right way to break it to me.  I called him and asked what he was doing. Neither one of us could find my results on my user page.  Illinois had jumped the gun with its announcement that all results had been released and posted.  I checked obsessively for the next hour.  I then decided to give it a rest, take some sleeping pills, and go to bed.  Before going to sleep, I checked one more time.  I had a message! I called Tim back and told him I was too afraid to check.  He checked for me and blurted out that I had passed and read me the letter.  I did not believe him at first, but it is true!

It seems a little anti-climatic.  I am not really a shouter or screamer.  Very rarely do I yell about anything. I did not scream in excitement.  I did not jump up and down.  Perhaps I was subdued by the sleeping pills already. But I did shed a few tears of relief and happiness.  It has been a long road.  I first started applying to take the LSAT (law school admission test) in 2007.  Four years later I am finally a licensed attorney.

The swearing-in ceremony is on November 10 in Chicago.  I think it will finally hit me that I passed at this time.  My parents and sister are coming and Tim will be there.  I am more excited about that than passing! We will all celebrate together, I cannot wait!

I know many of you prayed for me and thought about me the week of my exam and I appreciate it!


"The leading rule for the lawyer, as for the man of every other calling, is diligence. Leave nothing for to-morrow which can be done to-day."
Abraham Lincoln

Anticipation

I am anxiously waiting on my bar results.  I took the July 2011 Illinois bar exam in Chicago over a two day period.  The exam consisted of 9 essays, a longer writing project (called the multistate performance test), and 200 multiple choice questions.  I think there were 18 different ares of law we were responsible for and could be tested on. In other jurisdictions the test is 2 1/2 days (like Ohio) or even 3 days (Alaska). 

I lived in Chicago all summer and study there with a commercial bar prep class.  Taking the bar is bad enough on its own, but I also had food poisoning during the exam.  Tim and I went out to dinner on Saturday to get me out of the house and away from my desk.  We went to our favorite burger place, which is clean and very nice.  It is not a greasy spoon or anywhere I had reservations about eating there. I had my usual, a turkey burger.  Fast forward 12 hours...and I have food poisoning.  I had chills, a fever, aches, and errr, some other stomach problems.  A week later I saw on the news there was a salmonella outbreak in ground turkey! 

The food poisoning lasted from Sunday-Friday.  Tim thought it was nerves, but I knew otherwise.  I could not keep any food down.  Even Gatorade upset my stomach.  The exam was on Tuesday and Wednesday of that week.  I did not eat anything for breakfast or during the lunch breaks.  The first day I drank Gatorade which was a mistake.  But I survived.  I was happy just to make it through the test.  

The weeks leading up to the test I was more nervous than the actual days.  There was no time for nerves or self doubt.  I was so mad that I had food poisoning on top of taking the bar, but I guess it just makes for a better story and kept my life interesting.  

The other two law clerks here that I work with found out their bar results.  They both passed! One took the Montana bar and the other took the Oregon bar.  The Illinois Board of Bar Examiners will release the results between October 1- October 15.  

If I did not pass (I don't like the word failed, if you try it is not considered failing to me) I know that the world will keep on turning and the sun will come up the next day.  There are worse things in life than having to take a test over again.  I'd also be in pretty good company of successful attorneys who did not pass on their first attempt.  John F. Kennedy Jr., Richard Daley, and Hillary Clinton all failed the bar exam the first time.  

I decided  to end each post with a quote that I find inspiring, funny, or applicable.  Hopefully you will as well.  

"Do not fear mistakes. You will know failure. Continue to reach out." Benjamin Franklin 

Autumn in Alaska

Fall is upon us here in Alaska.  The leaves are yellow and orange and the fireweed has turned red.  Before moving here I had never seen fireweed, but it is a beautiful wildflower or weed that blooms in August with bright flowers and then in the fall the leaves turn red.  From what I've heard, fireweed is common out West.

I miss Vermont a lot right now.  There is no where as beautiful as Vermont during the fall.  The colors are like an explosion.  The air is as crisp and wonderful as a bite out of a juicy apple and the afternoon sun is still warm and bright.  I experienced three Vermont falls, so I'm going through withdraw! I can't wait to go back.  As a student I don't think I did a very good job of enjoying my surroundings as much as I should have.  That is one reason I'm trying to experience Alaska as much as possible while I'm here.

I was fortunate enough to see some caribou today and a moose.  The caribou are not shy or aggressive.  They kept to themselves and pretty much ignored me.  I was able to get pretty close and take some good pictures.  The moose on the other hand quickly darted away.  It was a young moose.  I've yet to see a bull moose.  It is moose hunting season and I was told all the bull moose have gone up into the mountains to hide??

I've been looking for mums and pumpkins, but I haven't found any yet.  And there is no apple cider either! Outrageous!  

Enjoy some pictures I took today of fall in Alaska and the caribou.

Bears

Changes

I will confess I've been horrible at updating my "blog"(if I can even call it that yet!).  Since my last blog post lots of things have happened.  I've settled into my apartment.  This has taken some time and adjustment.  It wasn't exactly homey.  I am renting it fully furnished so I didn't have to buy furniture for one year and then sell it on Craigslist when I move again next year.  I knew the girl who lived here before me, she graduated a year before me at Vermont Law School.  That made me feel better to know she lived here.  But I was surprised when I got to the apartment after my long flight.  After I got the keys to my apartment from the landlord, I quickly went to Wal-Mart in my rental car and bought a memory foam topper for the mattres and a thick mattress cover.  I didn't sleep at all that first night because the mattress was like sleeping in the Grand Canyon.  There was no support at all.  I'm happy to report that I've since bought my own bed and I'm waiting on it to be delievered.  I bought it from the Sears store here, but it is arriving by barge from Seattle! Life is just different up here.  

My landlord has also upgraded my shower and couch since I've moved in.  A furniture store was going out of business, so she bought a brand new matching red couch and love seat.  My bathroom has also been fixed-up.  After a month, the place is finally starting to feel like mine.  I'm slowly decorating and adding my own touches.  

I started my new job since my last post too.  I love my job.  It is so exciting that I'm finally getting paid to do things I learned in law school!  Everyone I work with is wonderful and have been great at teaching me the ropes.  I really only had one day of training.  The outgoing law clerk was there for one day, then I took over the next day.  It was daunting at first, but after a month I'm feeling comfortable and confident.  

There are six judges here, and two other law clerks.  The other law clerks and I have quickly bonded.  One law clerk is from Cincinnati.  It is a small world.  The other law clerk is from Vermont Law School, so I knew here before we moved here.  Speaking of Ohio, I met a relative here to one of my closest friends back in Dayton, Ohio.  We were talking about Ohio and she told me the names of her relatives who live there.  It just so happens that I knew her family in Ohio, and my friend's sister is married to her uncle! Crazy! 

I have also been on some fun adventures in my month here.  The first was a fishing trip to Homer over Labor Day weekend.  The other law clerks and I went out on a charter halibut fishing trip.  It was a 1/2 day trip.  I caught a total of four fish, three halibut and one shark.  It was rainy and cold out, we were about two miles out in the ocean.  But once I had a fish on, the adreline kicked in and it was so much fun! I kept two of the halibut (daily limit) and had them fileted and vacum sealed.  I now have 16 pounds of halibut in my freezer.  I have never cooked seafood in my life, so I need to learn.  

The judge I am working for also invited the law clerks to go bear viewing with him.  It was one of the most exciting things I have ever done.  We observed seven bears in their natural habitat feeding on salmon at the Russian River.  I was very nervous and scared, but once I saw the first bear I knew they were not interested in the humans at all.  The bears were walking down the river playing and feeding on the salmon.  The salmon run is almost over and the fish are slow and easy to catch.  There were fisherman in the river with their backs toward the bears.  The bears could have easily charged, but they didn't.  Perhaps it was a false sense of security, but I was not as scared as I thought I would be.  We did encounter a sow and cubs which can quickly turn into a dangerous situation.  We backed off and waited for the bears to clear the area.  

I have also seen caribou, moose, and bald eagles.  The nature and wildlife is beautiful and very refreshing! 

Although I was extremely overwhelmed and exhausted when I got here, I've settled into my job and apartment and am enjoying my time here.  I know I made the right decision to accept the job and move here. I am going to try and post some pictures.  And I promise to start blogging on a regular basis! 

The Beginning

What better way to start a story than at the beginning? Last September and October I started applying for jobs in Alaska.  As we all know, the legal job market is not what it used to be.  Recent graduates are having to "think outside box" and search for new and different job opportunities.  The days of high paying law firm jobs that were almost guaranteed to graduates with a high gpa and connections at law firms are over.  

I was open to moving anywhere fun and adventurous for my job.  My boyfriend, Tim, lives in Chicago.  I applied for jobs in Chicago, but there are six law schools in the city of Chicago.  That is a lot of competition.  Long story short, I got a one-year clerkship in Alaska working with a judge.  I interned with a judge in Columbus, Ohio my first summer of law school.  I loved it and knew that I would enjoy my clerkship in Alaska.  

I accepted the job in December.  I had never been to Alaska, so I knew I was in for an adventure.  This seems to be a character trait of mine.  In 2008 I also sent in my seat deposit to Vermont Law School without visiting the school or Vermont first.  I ended up loving Vermont and the tiny town the school was in.  I would not change that decision for anything.  

Fast forwarded several months to May 2011.  I graduated from law school and moved to Chicago the next day.  I spent the summer studying for the bar in Chicago with Tim.  It was not a fun summer.  I spent hours studying in a city that has so much to offer.  But I did manage to take some breaks and spend time with friends and Tim.  I took the bar the last Tuesday and Wednesday of July and spent a few relaxing days in Chicago afterwards.  Before I left for Alaska I spent about two weeks in Ohio with my family.  

I left for Alaska on August 13.  My flight schedule was as follows: Dayton to Chicago, Chicago to Seattle, Seattle to Anchorage, Anchorage to Kenai.  This was one of the longest days of my life.  I have been to Europe several times and the flights never really bothered me.  However flying to Alaska involved several lay overs.  That was the most annoying part.  More to come...