A Week of Firsts

Last week was a week of firsts for me. So I thought I'd share them with you. It was the first time that I went to California. (I'd been to LAX before, but that doesn't count). I went to the Bay Area for an interview (I didn't get the job). I drove around the sunny streets and stopped at Stanford. Trying to see how those Ivy Leaguers live. Apparently they bike. Man! I hate bicyclists on campus... (Somewhere in the archives is the story of when I got run over by a bicyclist). I never would have made it at Stanford. But I did like that their library had bean bag chairs in it.

Also, this trip was the first time I rented a car. It's kind of an ordeal. But driving around in that little Kia Rio was kind of nice. I didn't have to find a taxi or tip any body for doing their job. It probably was more expensive, but it was worth the freedom... And don't worry, the firm paid for it. :)

This was also the first time in my life where I drove through the drive through. Yep. 24 years old, drivers license for 8 years, and I had never been the one driving through the drive through before. Someone else was always driving. That tells you how much I eat fast food. And guess what... I threw half of it away because it was so gross to me. I just don't like fast food, but when you're starving in a foreign place, you just have to do what you have to do... So thanks Mom, for not feeding us fast food growing up so that I can have "good" eating habits today. (Don't ask me how many times I've eaten pop tarts for dinner though!)

And lastly, I finally understand the love affair with a warm cuddly blanket. This week, I bought an electric blanket. Mostly because I am absolutely freezing in my room because the heat is not normal and only heats up like 2 rooms in the apartment, and unfortunately mine is not the lucky one. Can I just tell you how much I love it? I doubt it, but I never want to get out of my bed again because I am in love with my electric blanket. :)

Bite the Bullet

Sometimes, you just have to buckle down and do what you have to do. I have to write a 30 page paper this semester and I have laudable goals - like write one page a day. However, I find many things that are much more interesting than writing a 30 page paper. However, I've found that when I just sit down and do it, I can write it. It's not impossible. It's not that daunting. Sometimes, you just have to do it. So that is my new mentality. A new philosophy on productivity.

In other news, I'm going to the bay area on Monday for interviews with a firm there. I'm really excited about it, and am hoping to get this job. So on Monday, if you have a minute, please keep your fingers crossed for me. I'd appreciate it.

And just to have some photos: here is the Law School Halloween party. A group of my friends decided to be part of Ms. Pac-Man. (the whole group is not pictured here but we had Ms. Pac-Man, ghosts, fruit and then the dots) I was supposed to be an orange, but 1. I'm not too artistically talented, and 2. Wal-Mart didn't have orange poster board. So I ended up being a lime. Yes, a lime. Other costumes here are characters from Mario, Ted from Bill & Ted's excellent adventure, and one of the TNMT.

Whoa!

So I made it through about 10 interviews. Thus far, I haven't heard anything back indicating yes or no. Most firms said they would get back to me after Labor Day. I'm really hoping for good news. I think my best interview was with a firm in Phoenix. But I'm just keeping an open mind. (um, I don't know if I can physically live in Phoenix... there is a reason Vernors is popular in Florida and not Phoenix).

My new Bishop is a Harvard Law grad and worked for BigLaw (Kirkland and Ellis) in DC and LA. So who knows if he can help me out, give me a letter of recommendation, etc. He basically said, in a normal economy, you'd be good to go, but in this economy, it's a little tougher. I'm working on optimism. I hope that if I bang on enough doors (figuratively speaking by sending emails), I'll eventually find a place to work, where I'd like to work. I've been focusing a bit on Chicago. In the past couple of days I've sent my resume to7ish law firms in Chicago. I have about 8 more on the list. So that's what I'm tackling right now.

In other news, my dating life has been pretty interesting as of late. Not exactly how I'd like it to go, but I am dating, so that's something I suppose.

The End of Summer

My life has been quite a whirlwind lately. I flew to New York City for interviews with law firms for a couple of days (I didn't get the jobs...) Then I went home to Michigan to celebrate my Grandmother's 90th Birthday and to see my family. While I was in Michigan, I went camping with my Mom on Silver Lake. It was B-E-A-U-tiful. Now, I'm back in Provo, gearing up for my 2L year...

Sunset over Lake Michigan

Little Sable Point

Taking in the hugeness that is NYC

This can be considered my "artsy" photo. This thing totally freaked me out, so I had to take a picture of it. (please ignore that logic) Brooklyn is in the background.

Me in front of the Brooklyn Bridge

Now, my life is somewhat depressing. I am on Law Review... which is really prestigious and pretty much a requirement to get a big law firm job, especially in NYC. Well, it started yesterday, and as one of my classmates said: "I just paid $35 to torture myself." We had 2 days of training which was a bit long for my liking, but all is well that ends.

Tomorrow, it is 1L orientation, and I'm a peer mentor. I'm pretty excited about it. It's a lot more fun to be the big kid on the block than to be the newbie. I am definitely feeling that confidence right now.

I'm in the interview process. Many people ask me about why I'm interviewing now, since I still have 2 years of Law School left. Well, Law School is pretty funky (in many respects) and the fall of your second year (lovingly referred to as "2L"), you interview for jobs for your 2L summer. And basically, the firm you work for your 2L summer will make you an "offer" to work there once you graduate and pass the bar exam. So right now, I'm pretty much interviewing for my 1st job out of law school. Thus far I've had about 3-4 interviews. Next week I have 4 On-Campus-Interviews (lovingly referred to as "OCI's") so far... I'm hoping to get a few more in the next few days. I also have a few phone interviews in the works. I am in the thick of it all, but I really need to do more leg work if I want to end up in a firm in DC, NY, Chicago, or anywhere outside of the Rocky Mountain/Western US region.

In a not so nutshell, that's my life right now.

I just might make it after all.

Law school is a time for new experiences (learning how to best procrastinate being something I've now mastered). I was pretty annoyed last week when I got a call, you know, the one with the suspicious charges on your credit card. Only, it's not your credit card, it's your debit card, so the charges are actually paid for and you have to do the run around dance to get your money back.

For example, call the bank, get the paper work (faxing is stupid, everything should be an email attachment). Then go to the police station and file a police report. Spend 15 minutes filling out endless forms. Wait 15 minutes to see a "detective." A 300 lb man asks you to tell him what happened. You say, somebody charged my card in Florida. "Have you been in Florida this past week?" Then you say, "I'm in law school, I don't have time to pick my nose let alone go to Florida!" Then he says, "here's the case # have a nice day." What? Just a case #?! I need a police report so the bank can re-input the money. "Oh, for that you have to talk with records." Another form and an encouraging, well, in at least 10 days we can maybe have a police report... depending on the investigation. Thanks. I wish I had my audio equipment from Kelly's Audio right now to blast "Had a bad day."

But this is all about the silver lining. I will eventually get reimbursed. The good news is that I might actually be able to get a job, like a real one! We had "mock" interviews. The first one did not go well. (I talk too fast... you've just got to keep up grandpa!) The next one went well. The guy said that I was the most personable and interesting person he'd seen. The 3rd one went fantastic. He said out of all the people he'd seen (I was probably like 9th) he would hire me because I was quote: "the funnest." He gave me his card and said, if I can't find something else, give him a call, and he'd get me a job for the summer. SAWEET. The only drawback... it's in Utah... But I did learn the keys to interviewing success: Don't ask any questions about the job, just talk about Michigan Football. (It worked for me).

He told me I have to pass 3 tests:
1. Smart test - will he have to redo everything I do? (He said I obviously pass that test)
2. Airport test - could he last an 8 hour delay in an airport with me (girls who like football apparently pass this test)
3. Stay test - will I stay so he can make a return on his investment - I said I probably fail that test because I have nothing in Utah. He said, I just got done talking about Michigan, so why would I want to leave there. I came up with a good answer about living in Michigan my whole life and wanting a change and that the economy sucks (in nicer words). He then said, excellent answer.

So I've learned the key to success. Not talking about the job you're interviewing for, Michigan football, and being funny. ...If only I knew what the job was actually about...