National Adoption Day

Today is National Adoption Day, and Baylor Law School is hosting an event which involves many small, adorable children wandering our halls. I'm not 100% sure what they're doing with the kids, but I know that Room 127 has a sign which reads "National Adoption Day Courtroom" on its door, which leads me to believe that they're finalizing adoptions right here at the lawschool. The idea that new families are being created directly below me right now makes my heart smile ... a lot.

Keep it Classy, Waco

Driving to school today, I was behind a truck with a sticker on its rear window which read "I like lipstick on my dipstick". Luckily for me, I like the taste of my own vomit in my mouth.

Sometimes the Blessings Just Smack You in the Face

I was sitting in our student lounge today waiting to meet with a classmate when a young lady I had never met before approached me and introduced herself. She said her name was Nikki and she is a 5Q (roughly a second year student, for those not at Baylor). She asked me if I was "married to that guy", and assuming she meant Cody, I said no but that we are working on it. She told me that she's been married for a long time (she didn't look old enough for this to be true, but I'll take her at her word) and she's been noticing us around campus. She said we make a great couple, because every time Cody looks at me, she can tell how much he loves me. She also said I was very blessed. I was so touched by the whole thing, all I could do was sit there and smile.

The truth is, I know I am blessed. I just didn't realize that other people see me that way. Nikki, I don't know if you're reading this, but if you are, thank you for what you said today. It opened eyes that I thought were already seeing. Bless you -- you made my day, in every sense of the word.

Not Sure Whether to File This One Under "Regrets"

I have an interview today with the Texas Legislative Council. I would love this job. I would have also loved the job at HUD, or the job at EIOR that I was recently turned down for. At this point, I join most of my classmates in the chorus of "I would love any job".

Last winter, I interviewed for maybe 10 jobs through OCI (On Campus Interviewing). I was accepted for one, which believe it or not, was still one up on many of my classmates. Unfortunately, I received my acceptance letter a week too late, on the first friday of Practice Court.

The job was a summer position with the Attorney General's office, working in the child support division. I wanted the job, not only because it paid decently, but because it was something I thought I could do and be good at, and something that would have given me some level of satisfaction. The people I interviewed with told me they would get back to me sometime in December, so when I didn't hear by mid January, I registered for PC. In early February, I received my letter, and I was presented with a choice: drop out of PC and immediately register for a new courseload (friday being the last day of add/drop), or continue on in PC and turn the job down.

I went to talk to Professor Wren about it during our lunch break. He was extremely supportive. He explained that, for reasons still unclear to me, I couldn't half the PC program--I couldn't take PC I and II in the spring, and then wait until Winter to take PC III. It was an all or nothing deal. I asked what would happen to my PC partner were I to drop, and Prof. Wren told me that he would have to go it alone. I had a few hours to think it over.

That afternoon in ethics, we talked about the Golden Rule. I tried to imagine what it would be like to do every PC exercise without a partner-- the extra preparation, the nervousness, the huge load of discovery. I couldn't do that to my partner. I called the AG's office and turned the job down. I know that, morally, I did the right thing--I "did unto others." On the other hand, Cody has already been turned down by one of the two firms he interned with this summer, and my interview today is my first in months. We graduate in February. I'm getting nervous.

I'm still not sure if my partner realized the sacrifice I made that first friday of PC. We never really talked about it. Above all else, it makes me wonder: what sacrifices have been made for me, without my knowledge or consent? And where the heck am I going at this point?

UPDATE: After interviewing with TLC this afternoon, I can easily say that would be an amazing job for me. Maybe there is a mehtod behind this madness. We'll see...



My partner and I on the last day of Practice Court

Where is the Chapstick?

No seriously, where is the freakin' Chapstick?

I've watched this about 10 times in the past week, and I don't plan on stopping.

Something to Believe In

I referenced them last time, so here they are: the 5 things I truly believe.

1) Gay people should have the legal right to marry and adopt children.

2) No pregnant woman should be placed in a position where abortion seems like her best or only option.

3) If you're a pet owner, and you care anything about animals at all, you should spay or neuter your pet(s).

4) As long as you're healthy and your religion allows it, there is no good reason not to donate your organs.

5) Recycling: it's the least you can do.

Baby Wait

I got to babysit for my six-month-old buddy Colin for a couple of hours today. I love spending time with kids; besides having a 7-year-old brother, as well as several nieces and nephews, at various times in my life I have worked or volunteered at an afterschool program, a hospital NICU, a haunted house, a daycare, as a Sunday School teacher, at a daycamp, and at Vacation Bible School. As I've grown older, I've begun to realize the idea of the biological clock is no myth. At the same time, however, I've started to think more and more about adoption as a serious option. I'm staunchly pro-life (it's one of 5 things I truly believe in) and I understand that there aren't enough homes out there for children without families, particularly older and/or special needs kids. On the other hand, I feel like I'd be better suited to adopt a child with some parenting experience under my belt--plus, my body is pretty much screaming at me to procreate. No answer yet--just one more thing to think about as law school ends, and I approach my wedding (and my life).