Two days off work...

We had a rather impressive snowstorm here yesterday (about 18 inches at my house), and because the traffic is known to get gnarly going to Denver, Rex and I decided not to go to work. Good call, because we heard it took some people 4 hours to make the commute, instead of 30 minutes. We got today off, too, because the House was in adjournment (I can only guess it's due to the snow).

Here's what I did instead of work:

• Work. At least it felt like it. I've been applying to any job I might actually want. Several a day, which doesn't sound like much until you've done a USAJobs.gov application. They take FOREVER. (NB: I did not use the KSA service I told you about). Cross your fingers for me, and do let me know if you hear of any good enviro jobs in the Denver/Boulder area.
• Walk to the grocery store. Our little cars would have none of the snowy, slushy, icy roads. So we walked, trudging through 18 inches of fluff. We got home soaking wet, feeling like kids. And it was good exercise!
• Shovel snow. Lots of snow. With a garden shovel, since we only have one snow shovel.
• Clean my kitchen. I am a winner. (Ok, it was filthy and long overdue).
• Cook dinner. Again, I am a winner. This was the second night in a row!
• Nap for three hours. I love napping, and this was most excellent.
• Sulk about the job market.
• Enter the Denver Post Sweepstakes. Five times. If the economy is going to suck, I have to be creative. I intend to make a living with pennies-at-a-time services that pay me to look at ads, entering sweepstakes, and the lotto. Again, you should probably wish me luck.

St. Patrick's Day

In addition to stuff, I also like St. Patrick's Day. I'm a big fan of wearing green and drinking Guinness. I did both, plus I had a Smithick's and some extra special fun. But that part's a secret, and there were only two witnesses. Officially, anyway. *wink, wink*

The Impending Bar Exam

The goddamned bar exam is the only thing I can think about, so it's the perennial subject of this blog and everything else out of my mouth/mind, and will be until it's over.
The thing is the DAY AFTER TOMORROW, and the panic abated for the last week or so, but really? This is terrifying. Because if I don't pass, I have to wait another 6 months and pay another $600, and in the meantime I won't get licensed and it will be even harder to find work. Which, as it turns out, isn't exactly the easiest thing in the world right now as it is. Can you read the edge in my voice? Because it's there, with a little shakiness. And still, I'm too burned out to study any more. Which only freaks me out more. It's a vicious cycle, I tell you.
I am, however, looking forward to staying at the Hotel Teatro during the exam. And eating at alto the night between exam days. I've never been to either of the places before, but they look amazing on the websites, and are really close to the Convention Center where the bar exam is to be held. I figured I could pamper myself (and Rex), given that this is probably the most stressful thing I'll ever do. At least until I have (if I have) kids.
I'm off to see if I can't force a few more minutes of mnemonic device learning into my head. PATERNITY, KIDBARF, CAMPingMAP, ALIE, SID to the REC, HEDDEC, HOACS, RVCABLEFAILS, this sucks ass. And I only know what a few of those even stand for.

Sharing Time

Rex Invictus. He made it up, not me. Creativity in lieu of bar exam studying = good stuff.

Why he's my favorite

Rex just sent me this message:
Люблю тебя всем сердцем, всей душою
It means "I love you with all my heart, with all my soul" in Russian (is that correct, miss grace?). You see, everyone thinks he's Russian, even though he's really from Texas. So it's cute. At least, I think so.

25 Things, because everyone is doing it.

1. I finally live in a grown-up house. I still rent, but it's a house, with a dishwasher.
2. I am getting married in September. I'm very excited.
3. My little sister is my BEST friend in the whole world. And she turns 21 next week.
4. My college roommate/best friend in college didn't speak to me for about 2 years. I still had dreams about her every few nights. We're speaking again, which makes me happy.
5. I really really don't like bananas. Or anything that smells like them. Yuck.
6. I used to have a gremlin in my tummy. It's back, because of the bar exam.
7. I knit, and crochet. Occasionally.
8. My sister was 2 and a half months premature. She weighed less than two pounds, and almost didn't survive. You'd never know it today (Are all of these supposed to be about me?)
9. I prefer my water "con gas," with bubbles.
10. I tap dance. I've been doing it since I was four, and have performed with my mom and my sister.
11. I had laser eye surgery at the end of 2007. I was almost legally blind at that point. Now I see 20/20.
12. I'm a little OCD. For the first two years of law school, I could use ONLY pink highlighters. Otherwise I kind of freaked.
13. Sleeping is my favorite thing to do. I love naps.
14. I'm taking the Colorado bar exam in just over two weeks. My hands shake whenever I think about how soon that is.
15. I have a law degree, and make $10/hour. I thought I'd make more at this point.
16. My parents are still married. Happily.
17. My favorite color is green. My eyes are green.
18. I really like to stay in hotels, even cheap motels. As long as they aren't too too seedy.
19. I drink champagne regularly. It's not reserved for special occasions in my world.
20. I'm left handed.
21. I hated cats until the day I got one. I'm not sure how I bridged that gap, but now I have two and they are my family.
22. My car is named Harvey. He is 13, but you'd never know it. Except that I just told you, so now you know.
23. I used to freak out about getting older (which included a tantrum on every birthday). That stopped ever since I met Rex. Now I'm comfortable with getting older (old!).
24. We had a dog named Babs when I was younger. She was a really mellow Golden Retriever. I still miss her.
25. I consider myself to be a very fortunate, lucky person. I have a good life, and try to remember that every day.

Under the Dome

So I've been hard at work for a few days now, really about a week. Having to get up at 6:30 to go to work really sucks, but my job as a legislative aide is interesting.

Except on Monday. The 40 minute commute took nearly three hours because of an unexpected storm, a commute in which I had to stand up on the bus on my sprained ankle (and yes, it's STILL screwed up). We finally got off the bus at an early stop to walk the rest of the way because of the horrid slowness of the traffic. Then Starbucks got my drink SO WRONG (I ordered a cappuccino, it's not rocket science) and I was so cranky that I threw it on the ground because I didn't realize it was wrong until we were away from the store. Rex was kind enough to buy me a new one at the next Starbucks, but then when I got to work the phone rang immediately and I was stuck talking to crazy constituents for the next two hours. One lady took up a whole hour on her own. The rest of the day was good, including the commute home, until we were in the parking lot at the bus station and I slipped on black ice and landed right on my ass. Which was also not so bad until Rex slipped right after me and his leg went right into my back. I burst into tears for a minute, then we were laughing, and then we had wine. Lots and lots of wine, for purposes of curing the Monday-from-hell-ness.

Yesterday and today have been much better.

Limping to Austin

I shall be ringing in the new year in Austin, with my future in-laws. Which, in my case, is a good thing. On my one day in Boulder between Crested Butte and TX, I tried to be a good girl, and I went to Jazzercise. That turned out to be a terrible pre-travel idea, as I twisted the hell out of my ankle halfway through class. Twisted it, as in it was 90 degrees in the wrong direction: the sole of my left foot was looking (rather shocked-like) at the ankle of my right. Luckily Jazzercise is full of moms, so I was taken care of in style. I managed to drive home, where I got to lay up whilst Rex ran all of my necessary pre-travel errands. And then, I got to travel with a cane. As it turns out, traveling with a cane is brilliant, because you get to go in the special no-line security line with the pilots and such, and you get to "courtesy pre-board." That means we were the first people on the plane! My little ankle was swollen to the size of a tennis ball yesterday (or perhaps it was a novel way of smuggling a small bomb? Kidding), but today she's looking much better. And I've dispensed with the cane, which truth be told made me feel a little conspicuous.

Legislative Aide-ing

Rex and I both finally have jobs. We are going to be legislative aides! We'll only make $10/hour, and work just 20 hours/week, but things were looking so grim I'm willing to regress to a high schooler's paycheck. We're hoping to make enough connections and such so that we can get real jobs when we pass the bar. If we pass the bar. Yay for us and our new jobs!

In response

Rex's response to my tweet:
Pirates don't get bored. They're pirates.

Is that true? Because maybe I want to be a pirate. I hear they're still pretty plentiful off the coast of Somalia.

The date.

I'm getting married. On 12 September, 2009. Hurrah!

If you have any skills that might be wedding-planning related, you could volunteer your help and I could promise something like a first born child? Or something? We're on a tight budget, so it's gonna be sort of a low-key DIY affair, but with at least most of the regular trimmings.

Aura Migraines

Doesn't this sound fun:

"It is usually a visual symptom, such as an arc of sparkling (scintillating) zig-zag lines or a blotting out of vision or both. But any other brain-related symptom may occur, such as numbness of one side of the face and hand, weakness, unsteadiness, or altered consciousness." (from here)

I get all of these symptoms, severely, when I have an aura migraine. I had my second one yesterday, and while I was experiencing "blotting out of vision" I was at the EPA office in downtown Denver. Nausea and "weakness, unsteadiness, [and] altered consciousness" set in as I was waiting for the bus back to Boulder, and then I had to take another bus home. I saw a friend, and when she asked how I was, my reply was: "good, well, actually I'm hallucinating. But I'm fine, I just feel like I'm on drugs. How are you?" I think I freaked her out.

The first time I had an aura migraine, Rex thought I was having a stroke. So he took me to the emergency room, where I lost some speech functionality, and over and over "thank you" came out as "yank you," no matter how hard I tried to say "t." I kind of hoped I'd never have another one, but now I'm having what I like to call the aura hangover, which is like a mild aura migraine for days (or weeks) after the original. Doctors have never heard of this phenomenon, but in the interest of not being a medical mystery and not being able to afford more doctors, I've decided that it's nothing to worry about. In the meantime, cheers to a few days of "altered consciousness!"

By the by, most information and doctors indicate that aura precedes a migraine. For me, the aura is mostly all I get. There's some headache, but it's simultaneous, the aura lasts hours (rather than the usual 1/2 hour-hour), and there's no real migraine afterwards. Does anyone know more about this type of aura phenomenon? I don't really like disabling visual and tactile hallucinations that render me unable to work.

A weekend of NOT being in Boulder

Rex and I are going on vacation. Given our extremely limited budget, we are only going about 50 miles away. BUT, we get to stay in a hotel. Which is INCREDIBLY exciting. We get to stay in this little charmer of a room--with an in-room jacuzzi! Thank goodness for a few days off to do absolutely whatever I want, which will probably include mostly nothing plus a little time in the jacuzzi. And eating.

Wouldn't you like to be me?

Another update on what I'm doing right now. You voyeur. I'm sitting at school (not in the library, that closes at 10), with my sunglasses on because my eyes hurt from the florescent lights and staring at my computer, drinking vodka and 7Up out of my coffee cup. I have been at school for 11 1/2 hours, and was here for 12 hours yesterday. This is what it's like to be in law school, I tell you. I don't even know what "outside" looks like anymore. I don't even leave to eat--Rex goes out for food and brings it back to me, and he feeds the cat, and does all those things I would do if I wasn't a law student. Or at least, if I wasn't a total nutjob.

My blog is boring?

Well, I suppose it doesn't matter if my blog is boring because it is my own, unadvertised, personal ranting space. So, I can put whatever I want on it. If you think it is boring or that it sucks, you probably should spend your time reading one of the tens of millions or billions of websites that exist merely for your pleasure. For those of you who have continued reading, I support Hillary, like extremely few television shows (watch most I like on DVD), have a fabulous kitty, am loved by a fabulous boy, enjoy [often unsuccessful] gardening, and drink too much. Like right now. This post has no content whatsoever.

Editor's note: I say that my blog is boring of my own volition, not because someone accused me of it! But feel free to accuse away, I'll just defend that it's MINE. Classic good sharing language. Most of this makes no sense. Again, my prerogative.

Lunch with the ducks

Well, that irritating girl (see below) may have almost ruined my morning, but Rex just said that we can have lunch by the pond and feed pizza crust to the ducks and/or geese. Now it's a GREAT day! I just have to wait until lunch time...
Here's a picture Rex made in anticipation of this terrific event:
It makes me smile so big my cheeks hurt. See, we're sharing pizza with the duck, and holding hands. Yay.

Brew at the Zoo (and wine too!)

Rex and I went to Brew at the Zoo last night, which is an all-you-can-drink beer festival, with lots of food, at the Denver Zoo. It's one of the most awesome events ever. You pay $50 ($40 if you're a zoo member like myself), and drink and eat all that you want. Interesting to note, however, that every single time I got in line for the first hour and a half of the event, someone cut in front of me. Every time. I felt like I had a note plastered to my forehead that said, "no, I'm not actually in line, I'm just standing here with this empty glass for no reason." The people watching was also pretty spectacular, and the dessert table never had a line the whole night. The mini-cheesecakes and hot apple pie were AMAZING. I now have two temporary tattoos and about 10 new favorite beers. I'll be going to Brew at the Zoo every year from now on.

I talk to myself

Even when I am alone, I talk to myself. And not just any talk, this is utter nonsense (gibberish). I just discovered this yesterday when Rex heard me in the other room and came in to ask, "what?" I then realized that, yes, I was talking, but no, I wasn't saying words. Just some roaring/mewing noise. You learn something new every day.

I miss

the greatest man in the whole world. Texas is too damn far away, and I'm lonesome.

The Zoo, Part I

I love the zoo. I pretty much think it's the greatest place ever. Granted, I'd rather not have all those furry and feathered friends locked up, but for what it is, it's awesome. So, for my birthday, my boyfriend bought me a membership for a whole year! I can go to the zoo whenever I want, for free. Plus, I get discounts on crappy zoo stuff. I also get invited to special members-only zoo events. I now go to the zoo about once every two weeks. I am in love with a baby gorilla. And I am a philanthropist (all zoo membership fees are tax-deductible donations to benefit the little guys).