April Came Early This Year

In law school I used to joke that the only time it is really challenging is in November and April (the month before exams) and the rest of the time was just one big party.  I may have exaggerated a little, but for the most part it is the truth.  Well, I didn't put in enough effort in January and February and my classes are extra challenging this semester, so my April began last weekend. 

During my exam cram sessions, I actually live a rather healthy lifestyle.  You will not find a dirty apartment or takeout boxes everywhere at my place during this time.  I actually cook healthy meals, workout once or twice a day and clean the apartment religiously.  If you haven't figured it out, I am a huge procrastinator while I am cramming.  I am not a marathon studyer.  I can sit down and work for 20 or 30 minutes and then I need a break.  Fortunately, I don't let these breaks consist of tv or nap time, so they only thing else to do is clean, workout, cook, or read.  I surprisingly can finish a lot of books during exam time.  I always take 10-15 minute (sometimes longer if I am working out) break and then get right back to the books.

As you know from the last post, I am starting to get really frustrated and down on myself about being unemployed, so focusing all of my time on studying right now is definitely helping keep my mind off of my job status.  Unfortunately, it also means that I have become really lame and missing out on fun weekend activities.  Last weekend I missed out on St. Augustine, and then this weekend I will probably missing out on some florida baseball tailgating, so come summer and the end of exams, I am going to be ready to cut loose and make up for some missed time. 

What a Let Down

Last week, I interviewed for a job in Greenville.  Only three people interviewed for the position, and I thought that my interview went well, so I liked my chances.  I mistakenly got my hopes up and started picturing myself spending a long time with that firm.  Well unfortunately, I got a phone call from one of my classmates that he had gotten and accepted the job.  I was crushed and felt defeated. 

At first I was just really sad.  Then I lost my appetite and threw my dinner I had prepared in the trash.  I thought nothing good will come out of this day so I decided to go ahead and go to sleep early.  Well that was a mistake thinking I could sleep.  I just kept thinking about what I could have done wrong, what else could I do, why am I not getting a job, and where am I going to go next.

I can't help but think that my gender stereotype has something to do with it.  It is not just that I am a female, but that I am a young female with long blond hair who cares about her appearance.  Last night I was so close to taking the scissors to my hair and then tomorrow buy hair dye to turn me mousy brown.  At my age and in the profession I am seeking, it is as if you have to choose.  Do I want a good job and look that part (i.e. gender neutral) or do I want to attract the opposite sex and hopefully find someone to spend my life with?

So after I had my legally blonde moment, I started to feel cheated.  I was always under the impression that if you worked hard and make good grades, you will be rewarded.  Well I seemed to have missed that reward.  I graduated at the top of my high school class.  I graduated with honors from college with a bachelors in Finance and minor in Accounting.  I graduated in the top 20% of my law school class, and I currently hold a 3.5 in my master tax program.  And yet, I can't get a job!  What else am I supposed to do.  I am so tempted to just give up, move back home, work retail or bartend, barely live pay check to pay check and hopefully find some guy that might be willing to take care of me for a little while.

Yes, I am throwing myself a pity party on this post, but I needed to vent because I am feeling pretty lost these days.  Thanks for listening.

To Go or Not To Go?

I was invited to go to St. Augustine's this weekend.  I haven't been to this place since I was in 5th grade, and I am pretty sure I would have a completely different experience this time around.  We would get there friday night and probably go out pretty hard.  Saturday would potentially be a beach day, and then Sunday we would spend all day at some thing called Reggae Sunday.  Sounds fun right?  But I am hesitating going.

Reasons why I am hesitating: I am broke.  I am worried about how I am going to pay tuition this summer, and then if I don't end up getting a job, how I am going to pay to live/impending student loans.  Undoubtedly, I will probably be spending a lot of money this weekend.  Speaking of spending money, I would have to board Tillie all weekend.  Because we will be getting back late Sunday night, I would have to board her for 3 nights.  Plus, I would miss her and I hate being away from her.  This is a superficial reason, but I don't exactly have my body bikini ready just quite yet, and while I don't mind lying on a beach chair in a bikini, frollicing around on a beach is a completely different thing.  Things tend to jiggle on the beach.  Another superficial reason is that the guy that invited me likes me, and I like him as a friend, but I don't think there is anything else there.  Currently, there are 3 guys and 3 girls on the trip.  I don't want him to get the wrong idea that this is a couple trip.  It may be best not to put myself in that situation.  But...most importantly, I am waaayyyy behind in school this semester.  I had planned on getting it together this week, but it is Wednesday and I have still not done any school work to make up this week. 

However, there is the you are only young once, must take advantage of chances to do something fun argument.  But is this arguement enough to weigh against all the others? 

Adding Hours to my Day

I had a job interview last week.  I really liked the firm and the job and crossing my fingers that I get good news in the next two weeks.  However, I will likely be having to work 60-70 hours a weeks, which will be a big difference from me attending class 11 hours a week.  I am so nervous I am going to get a lawyer(pudgy) body and a flat butt.  So I know I will be too tired to work after work and can't guarantee what time I will be getting home from work, so I need to set a morning workout routine.  The best way to set a routine apparently is to do it over and over again until it is something that you do automatically.  So I am trying to start my routine in March, which gives me 4-5 months to get ready for a potential work schedule. 

I tried to start this morning.  I attempted to go to bed around 9:30 last night. Tillie was not ready to go to bed yet and wanted to play instead.  I think I finally dozed off around 10:15, but of course she woke me up at least once during the middle of night.  It was our first night back in the apartment and she never sleeps well in her first night in new place.  I set the alarm for 5 am.  In my mind I knew that I really didn't have to get out of bed until 5:30, so when the alarm went off, I already had the snooze button on my brain.  Unfortunately, I snoozed until 6:15.

I planned to give myself the 6 o'clock hour for workouts.  However, instead of working out when I got out of bed, I ate breakfast, drank coffee, surfed the internet, watched Full House on tv, and started blogging.  Basically, I was doing anything other than popping in my P90x dvd to power up my arms.  I even declared it a two cups of coffee day rather than my usual one cup. 

So what do I do?  Should I look at it as a good start that I got out of bed at 6 instead of 7:30?  Should I deactivate my snooze function?  How do I just get out of bed and immediately start working out and ignore my email that has come between the hours of 10 pm and 6 am (the daily online shopping emails from gap, jcrew, banana, etc.)?

Cable Free

I have decided that once I get back from my spring break that I am going to cancel my cable.  One of my biggest hobbies has been watching tv.  I follow a ton of tv shows, and if I miss one live, I make sure to catch up via the internet.  I have found that I have the ability to spend an entire day watching one show after the other.  Well, I have decided enough is enough.  I need to cut this nasty habit of mine.  Now don't get me wrong, I will still follow all of my tv shows, but all of  the tv shows can be seen on my laptop.  I can't wait to save those 65 dollars a month.  Plus, I will never have to watch another rerun again and I can watch all of my shows when I am available. Fortunately, my apartment complex comes with free basic cable such as nbc, abc, cbs, fox, cw etc. so I will still be able to watch the today show in the morning.

Happy Birthday to my Best Friend

A year ago yesterday, my best friend was born.  I didn't actually meet her until 7 weeks later, but I loved her since the moment she was born.  My best friend is my puppy Tillie.  She has saved me in more ways than one.  Before her, I was pretty cold, loved being alone, and spent a lot of time being sad.  But for the past year, she has warmed my heart and helped me to become open and eager to enjoy the company of others. 

Miss Tillie has the best personality.  She is very sassy and not afraid to tell you exactly what she wants.  She is a little boy crazy and loves her treats.  She is also very protective of me.  She lets me know when someone may be getting too close to our apartment, and she is willing to take on small dogs, big dogs, and even cows in order to protect me from harm.  She loves to nap, and while I normally make it a rule never to be the back spoon, she is just so good at being the front the spoon. 

While Tillie is very needy and ended up being close to the equivalent of taking care of a baby, her companionship has been invaluable.  I am so grateful that I get to associate the holiday of love with my loving puppy's birthday.

Wiiiiii!

So I made an impulse buy last week.  I purchased my first ever gaming console.  Yes, we did own the first nintendo when I was little, but that was my brother's and I got limited use, so it doesn't count.  I got the urge after I spend evening at a friend's house play Just Dance 2.  For those of you that know me, you know how much I like to booty shake, so I had a blast!  Not to mention, I definitely broke a sweat and burned some calories.  So I decided it was time to take the plunge and give in to the gaming world. 

I purchased my Wii and then immediately purchased the Just Dance 2 game.  Unfortunately, they were purchases from Amazon so I had to wait a week to get them, but they finally arrived yesterday.  I have already mastered the choreography to 6 of the dances.  I can't wait to bring my new moves to the dance floor this weekend.  Well I don't know if XS is quite ready for the dances, but I will try to blend my old moves with my new moves. 

The Wii also came with Wii sports and Wii sports resort.  There are a ton of games on here that I can't wait to try.  The only one I have done so far is sword fighting, which is a great way to get out a little aggression.  Highly recommended.  The only problem is I live alone.  So playing by myself doesn't help me bring out my competitive side.  I wish I could teach my westie how to play. 

The Wii also came with Netflix access.  But I have cheap internet which is not compatible, but as soon as I move up and out of Gainesville, my return on the Wii investment will be much greater. 

I have decided to limit myself with the amount of gaming I do each day, even if it is a good workout.  I don't want to be one of those "video game people".  But for giggles you can think of me dancing and sword fighting alone in my apartment for around 45 minutes each day.

Loving the Public Library

When I was little, my mom and I would spend hours each week picking out dozens of children's books each week.  In Elementary school, I was a top accelerated reader and always got my free pizza at Book It.  I used to volunteer in my school library and when go through the stacks of novels and make a long list of books I wanted to discover and read.  However, when I went to middle school, because I was reading so much earlier, I couldn't keep up with my accelerated reading goals and started to get punished for not getting enough points.  Needless to say, once your punishment is to read more, you stop seeing it as something you really want to do everyday.  I started back reading a little bit over the summers in college, but once law school started, the casebooks took the place of those novels and pleasure reading. 

Well I have rediscovered my love of reading.  I guess it started when I was told that on my long 6 hour drives back and forth between SC and FL that audiobooks make the time go faster.  Well after listening to these wonderful stories in my car, I realized that I could be reading outside of my car as well.  I went downtown to go get my library card.  There were soooo many books there, and I had forgotten how overwhelming it would be.  So I just went to a standby authors name and got two books from her.  However, the internet has made things much easier since the last time I was a public library customer.  Not only can I search for good books on the catalog and find out whether they are available, I can renew books I have out, I can place books on hold and let them email me when they are available, and I can also download audiobooks to my ipod for my car trips.  It is so great to finish a book and then get an email saying that your next book is ready to be picked up.  I didn't even have to go searching in the stacks for it.  They had it ready for me at checkout.  Also, thanks to the good reads website, I can get book ideas from my friends based on their recommendations of the books that they have read.

I have just started Phillipa Gregory's queen books, and I think I am going to go read a chapter before I go to class, and maybe another chapter while I wait at the bus stop.

A New Book Obsession

I have never perused the self help aisle of a bookstore, but recently I made an exception.  I purchased Bethenny Frankel's book Naturally Thin.  Let me just say that I have really liked this book.  It is not a diet book, but a way to put yourself into a new mindset.  It is supposed to be a mindset of how naturally thin people think when it comes to food.  Basically saying, naturally thin people don't really think all that much about what food they can have or can't have.  If you binge for a day, don't beat yourself up about it and stop eating healthy because you are ruined.  Just be better the next day.  Don't not eat foods that you really want to eat because you think you are not supposed to have them, just eat them, taste them and then you are satisfied.  And...don't worry, you will always have a chance to eat fries so don't think you need to eat every last one. 

So I took my new knowledge out to a restaurant for the first time.  I did my best to follow her naturally thin rules.  The restaurant was a brewery where they brew 8 different kinds of beers.  There were four that I wanted to taste, so instead of ordering four pints, I opted for ordering 4 oz of each kind.  Also, I really wanted the calamari appetizer.  So I ordered it, had two or three pieces and then passed the rest around the table.  The menu was large so there were many options for my entree.  There were sandwiches, salads, pasta dishes, and what they are famous for which is their pizzas.  I could have gone the diet route and ordered a salad, but salads are not always that healthy, and it really wasn't what I wanted to eat.  So I weighed my options and I was down to a grilled chicken sandwich, shrimp tacos, and pizza.  The sandwich and tacos came with fries, and I honestly didn't really want fries, but if they were there I was sure that I would eat them anyway.  Also I think the pizza would taste much better than the other two options, so I went with the pizza.  I got the mini mediterranean that was loaded with good vegetables.  Because of the beer and the calamari, I got full really quickly.  So rather than stuffing my face with the mini pizza (which did happen to be mini), I ate until I was full.  I canceled my membership in the clean plate club, and didn't feel bad about not getting a box to take it home.  Prior to this book, I would have taken it home because I knew I was going out and would want late night food.  Instead, I offered it to a friend.  It didn't go to waste and more importantly it didn't go on my waistline. 

So even though I ate pizza and beer and calamari at a restaurant, I didn't feel bad about it.  I really like this new way of thinking.  I can eat whatever I want and that is kind of liberating.   I will admit that over exams and the holidays I did a lot of excessive eating, but since I have been back to Gainesville, I have gotten down to a comfortable weight and well on my way to getting back to where I was last summer.

Resolutions By the Way Side

I say by the way side because I feel like that is a saying, but if it is not, my bad.  I simply mean that I have discarded mine.  It is 16 days into the new year and my resolution is gone already.  Good or bad?  My resolution was to make better use of my time.  As you have read before, I don't have a lot of obligations on my time these days.  I attend class only 11 hours out of the week.  I don't have a job or kids to take care of (other than my oh so needy Westie), so it seems like I should be taking advantage of all this time and do amazing things.  Well to implement this resolution, I decided that I was going to stop taking naps, read my book alot more, exercise at least once everyday, and only watch two hours of television everyday. 

Well I changed my mind.  I don't know if it was because I wasn't following my resolution very well, or to the fact that maybe I have been thinking about this extra time all wrong.  Rather than forcing myself to do things that other people think I should be doing, I think maybe I should take advantage of this time to be able to do things that I actually want to do.  If I am tired, I have the ability to go lay on my bad and take a wonderful long nap (assuming Tillie is willing to let me do so).  If there is a good movie on the tv in the afternoon, I should be able to watch it.  If I don't feel like exercising everyday, I shouldn't have to.  Now don't get me wrong.  I don't actually plan on spending everyday napping and watching tv, but on certain days, maybe that is all I want to do.  And, after this first week back at school, I have already started to plan a few new experiences for myself.  I have signed up for a ballroom dancing class.  Ten of us from my program will be learning to waltz, fox trot, cha cha, rumba, tango, and swing dance.  I am super excited about this because I am head over heels obsessed with dancing with the stars and am still trying to come up with a way I can be famous so that I can be on that show.  I also have decided to join the coed softball team with the stipulation that my team members are not allowed to yell at me.  I played softball in the summers on the law firm leagues, but our team was pitching to us, and honestly, they were more about socializing than actually playing the game.  But, my pink glove and I will be out on the field giving it our best effort. 

So I guess, if I am going to say that I have a resolution, I plan to do what I want to do while I still can.

Where Do I Go From Here?

So I know I said I wasn't going to focus on my career anymore...but this is all very new and scary for me.  The area of law that I had planned to specialize in since undergrad, and most of my legal career has been devoted to is slowly becoming obsolete.  I am currently spending another $30,000 to kick up my specialization in this area to the next level.  So...with my savings currently dwindling faster and faster and no hope for a job in this specialization anytime in the near future or even in the next 3 years, what should my next step be?

I mean I guess it would be silly to stop working towards my degree.  Maybe things will change in the practice area.  Maybe Congress will figure out that at some point they are going to have to raise revenue to reduce the deficit.  I have already spent $15,000 dollars on the first semester.  I have signed a year lease in Gainesville.  I could really use that student loan money.  Also, I have already told EVERYBODY that I am getting a masters in tax law, so if I stop there will be the whispers about me being a quitter. 

But since I have NO money except for borrowed funds to pay rent, gas and groceries, I have to figure out at some point how I am going to get a paycheck eventually.  So if I continue my job search, what kind of job should I be searching for?  Should I keep lying to myself that I am going to be a tax lawyer?  Should I try to get a different law job and fake being good at litigation?  Should I plan on starting my own law practice to further myself in debt and starve for the next 5 years living with my parents?  Should I go back to my undergraduate degree and become a banker or do something in Finance?  Or should I just be an aerobics instructor?

I don't know what to do.  I know I am not supposed to be focusing on this, but I feel irresponsible for not having some sort of plan of what I am going to do with my life.  HELP!?!?

Lists of Good Intentions

"What are your hobbies?" has always been an awkward question for me.  I don't really having any fun ones like sailing, horseback riding, etc. or even pathetic ones like knitting or scrapbooking.  I end up responding with reading and working out...but what I really want to say is that I watch a lot of TV, eat too much, and drink with my friends.  However, I think I may have figured out what my hobbies are.  I love planning and making lists.  I have excel spreadsheets that plan my life out in 30 minute intervals and goals for myself for months and years in advance.  I also enjoy reading magazines and internet articles about health, exercise, and nutrition.  I love knowing of ways that I can make myself better, live longer, and overall feel healthier. 

However, I don't actually act on either of these hobbies.  I may do the first couple of things on my lists, but I get distracted on the other ones and do something else.  Then I get distracted making a modified list.  If you looked at my excel spreadsheet for exam studying, you would think there is no way that she doesn't ace these exams because she has thoroughly studied every little bit of material that was covered in the class.  However, instead of sticking to my list, I end up watching tv, eat too much, and drink with friends. 

Also, if I told people that my hobby was nutrition and fitness, they would take one look at me and figure I am lying.  I don't exactly have the body of someone who treats her body like a temple and I am not one that really lives an active healthly lifestyle.  I read these articles and take mental notes of things that I should be doing to be healthier.  Also, I don't mind telling other people of ways to be healthier, but instead of acting on them, I end up watching tv, eat too much, and drink with friends. 

So last night...what did I do?  Well I didn't go out drinking with friends because it is almost time for my last exam.  But...I did stray from my exam study schedule excel spreadsheet, and I sat down and read about 6 or 7 Shape and Self magazines.  They were chocked full of workout routines, healthy recipes, and general ways to live a better life.  So what did I do next?  I sat down and started making lists of ways I can be healthier next semester.  I planned a gym/P90x schedule.  I fit in time each day to take my dog on a 30 minute walk.  I planned how much tv time I am going to allow myself each night(because people who watch more than 3 hours of tv a day have much higher % chance of dying of heart related problems).  I planned when I will do my ab workouts(I will get that six pack that those girls have in the magazines).  I made a list of healthy breakfast and lunch ideas that I should be eating during the week.  I even planned when I will be drinking my 8 glasses of water a day (Jennifer Aniston drinks 100oz of water a day).  So, if I finally stick to my lists and schedules, I am going to be a bad ass healthy woman...lets just hope I don't instead watch tv, eat too much, and drink with my friends (well maybe not drink too much with my friends).

Tara

So one of my all time favorite movies is Gone With The Wind.  Three hours of being on an emotional roller coaster while watching the strongest female lead character I have ever watched.  Lara Croft has nothing on Scarlett O'Hara.  Anyway, in the movie Scarlett is said to get her strength from her home of Tara.  That is exactly the way I now feel about South Carolina.

I have had a rough week this week filled with regrets of my decision to be in Gainesville.  I have been reevaluating whether this year in Florida is actually worth putting my life on hiatus a little bit.  Especially now that I have changed my perspective on things and my career aspirations are not as important to me anymore.  So in the spirit of Thanksgiving, what I am thankful for is getting the opportunity to leave for South Carolina today to see all of my friends and family.

I love South Carolina.  It has all the people that are close to me in it.  I feel safe there and know that I can do great things there and people want me to do great things there.  I know my hometown is Florence, but it doesn't matter whether I am in Florence, Columbia, Charleston, or Clemson because I feel like I have family in all of those places. 

So I am super excited today to make my way back home to get some strength before I come back to Florida to tackle these exams despite all my feelings of regret.

I've Let Myself Go

My freshman year in college I lost 10 pounds.  I broke the freshman 15 stereotype.  Mainly because I wanted to have breast reduction surgery and my mother told me I had to lose weight before I could go through with it.  Well...do not worry because I made up for it my sophomore year by gaining back those 10 pounds plus packing on 5+ more.  My debutante portrait from August and my pictures from the actual ball in December are completely different.  The ones in December looks as if I ate my former self in August.  Well anyway, I am back to my sophomore in college weight.

There is no excuse for my plumpness.  I am 25 years old, and I have a high metabolism and gravity on my side.  Also, I have nothing but time these days.  Not to mention free access to two really nice university fitness cetners, a small gym in my apartment complex, and every fitness dvd known to man in my living room.  Yet I spent my weekend consuming an entire pizza plus breadsticks.  Granted the pizza did last from Friday to Sunday, but still I had no help in eating the entire thing. 

I am so mad at myself that I am letting myself get fat again.  I have very few youthful days left, and I should be making the most of them.  I should be eating healthier and working out more and really taking care of my body.  I also feel really guilty when I know that my dad woke up at 5 am to run 5 miles and my mother hit the gym at 6:30 to lift weights and run on the treadmill.  But I still don't have the motivation to get my act in shape.  I am constantly saying to myself why start now...exams are starting, its the holidays, I am busy on the weekends so I just end up ruining it.  I am full of excuses of why I have started treating my body better.  Any ideas on how I can get my act together?

Putting It Out There

Ok Wow!  I have not posted in an extremely long time.   I knew once I told people that I had started a blog I would immediately stop posting.  The thing is, I started this blog because I didn't have much of a life in Gainesville and I thought it would be a good way to connect with the outside world.  Well that has changed.  I have a ton of friends here and have been able to fill my calander with many activities.  Since I left you, I have managed to put a little drama in my life.  I have made a few mistakes and lapses in judgment, but I do not care to bore you with those.  But I have also thrown parties, attended sporting events, visited great friends and had great friends visit.

Now things have calmed down a bit.  Exams start in three weeks and I am officially in catch up super study mode.  But during one of my procrastinating breaks, I figured I would jot a few things down.  Unfortunately, I have made one of the biggest mistakes you can make during exam time.  I have started watching a TV show.  You would think that I would learn my lesson since the Lost distraction of 08 when my gpa dropped from a 3.8 to a 3.4 after one semester.  But no...I have started watching the teen drama One Tree Hill.  Why One Tree Hill you may ask ... well, i am a little obsessed with Soapnet and they have old reruns of teen soaps such as 90210, the OC, gilmore girls, and One Tree Hill.  Well I am obsessed with the first three (my season 10 dvds of 90210 came in last week) so I thought I should at least watch the one tree hill episodes.  Well disaster becasue there are 8 seasons and 22 episodes in each season.  What an oxymoron to study the tax code while you are watching teenagers go through their drama. 

Warning...I am about to get a little deep on you.  So during all of these episodes the characters are constantly talking about love and relationships.  Over and over they keep saying that nothing else matters but the search for love or the search for that one person you can completely immerse yourself in.  Well this has never been my mentality, hence my extreme committment issues.  But I can't help but think that my jaded mentality about love comes about because I have for at least the last 8 years (probably more) been so focused about what my next move in my quest for the perfect career is going to be.  In high school, I had to get into the perfect college and pick the perfect major for a resume/application for law school.  Then go to the perfect law school to help me to create connections in a state where I want to practice.  Then go to the perfect tax school so that I can beef up my resume to help me land the perfect job.  Well news flash to me, but the last 8 years or so have left me with nothing but unemployment and 90,000 dollars worth of debt.  So maybe I was focusing on the wrong thing.  I have so many friends that weren't so one minded these past 8 years.  These friends have found their great love and have started families and have managed to find a job that they love.  For those of my friends that haven't found their great love, they have at least put their name in the hat and have grown to be greater people and are one step closer to finding that someone. 

So... now that One Tree Hill has helped me come to the realization that the path that I was heading was not working out for me so much, I want to put my name in the hat.  I have a friend that has a blog in which she talks about being off the market and in the moment for a year, well I have been off the market for my whole life, and I am ready to put my heart out there.  I think I am ready to search for that one great love.  Now don't get me wrong, I am still going to finish tax school and attempt to find a job that I love, but my career is going to stop being the driving force in all of the decisions that I make for my life. 

Now that I have gotten deep enough for one day, I am going to go back to studying the tax code while watching some more episodes of One Tree Hill.

Just Another Football Saturday

This past week has been pretty eventful.  Sunday through Tuesday, I finished the first two season of Dexter.  This is a pretty decent show.  Obviously I enjoyed it by watching 24 hour long episodes in 72 hours.  It is about a guy that is a serial killer by night but then leads a normal life as a forensics person and brother and boyfriend to a woman with two little kids.  Even though Dexter is a serial killer, you still love him because he is only killing bad guys. 

On Wednesday, Tillie and I went with Charlee, Todd, Eric, and Berkeley (Charlee's dog) to Charlee's farm in Micanopy about 20 minutes away.  The house is on a lake so I was a little nervous about Tillie and the alligators, but she survived.  We got there and picked up some really good BBQ.  Of course it is nothing compared to the BBQ that I am used to from the Pee Dee, but this was good in its own little way.  We got to the house, stuffed our faces and then went outside to let the dogs run around.  Tillie had so much fun running in the open fields with Berkeley.  She loves doing figure eights around people.  We then went exploring around the house and found an old house that reminds me of mine at home before we renovated it.  Todd and Tillie went inside the house to look around but I was scared a cool breeze would come through and knock the house down.  After exploring we all sat on the porch drinking beers in rocking chairs and looking at the sun set over the lake.  It was very relaxing and peaceful and I did not want to come back to Gainesville and worry about the Internal Revenue Code.  We did hurry back before 9 so we could watch the season premiere of Modern Family, which I must say I was a little disappointed by.  They might have the second season slump this year. 

On Thursday, Charlee and I went to be team mom's for the guys intramural flag football game.  We brought orange slices, capri suns, and a little summer beer cocktail.  They lost the game, but it was still fun to watch.  Afterwards, we all met at this sports bar to watch the Thursday night game.  We all got pitchers of beer and just discussed what had been going on throughout the week.  The guys started having a dirty joke off, which I thoroughly enjoyed.  Our waitress was a little crazy.  She looked as if she was 19 at the most.  One of the guys with us started flirting with her and she started asking these questions that were a little insane...the first and second being, "Would you choke me" and "Can I stick my finger in your butt" and the correct answers were both "if you want me to."  She then discussed her affair with a professor and how she got kicked out of her sorority for sleeping with other people's boyfriends.  She was interesting.  We had one guy with us that gets shot happy.  We ended up taking at least 4 lemon drop shots.  After the shots, the rest of the night gets a little hazy.  Needless to say, I didn't feel so hot yesterday morning.

So yesterday, once I finally recovered from the Thursday night festivities, I get my camo on for the Car Warz demolition derby at the Ocala Speedway.  We pull up at the speedway in the four runner with California plates and tailgate for awhile drinking Miller Hi Life.  In line on the way in, we meet a couple that is friends with one of the drivers named scooter (so we found out who we were going to cheer for).  We get our seats in the bleachers and get ready for the first event.  It was a station wagon that flew off a ramp at 45 mph into a van that was seated on its bumper.  The wagon T-boned the van in the windshield crushing the both down to the ground.  The next event was a 50 lap race with 20 cars and no caution flags.  It was very exciting because all of the cars kept spinning out and running into each other.  However, during the last ten laps of the race it started raining pretty hard.  The put the show on standby to try to wait out the rain, so we are all in the stands getting drenched, drinking beer, and trying to stay warm.  An hour goes by, and they finally call the night.  On our way out to get our rain vouchers for the next show, the vendors are handing us free hot dogs and hamburgers.  Despite all the rain, it was a fun night and a great adventure.

So today, I will be attending my first Florida football game.  Florida is playing Kentucky at 7.  However, I will begin my tailgating at 10.  A friend that went to Kentucky is having us over to his place for Pancakes and Booze to watch game day.  We will then watch the noon games and grill some meat.  We will watch the first half of the 3:30 games and then finally head our way out to some of the tailgates around the stadium.  Apparently, tailgating isn't as good at Florida as it is at Clemson, but really not alot of schools can compete with Clemson tailgating.  Fortunately, Clemson is not playing this week, so I am not one big ball of nerves today.  However, USC is playing Auburn who beat us in overtime last weekend, so I am really hoping Auburn will play a good game this weekend.  The Kentucky friend got us tickets to the game.  We are in the Kentucky section, so I will be working on my Cats cheers today.  I guess I am still not ready to actually pull for Florida yet.  Anyway, it should be another fun Saturday.

Missed a Few Days

I don't live an exciting life right now.  I go to class in the morning.  I come home, Tillie rings the bells, we go outside, I watch soapnet, take a nap, read a book, Tillie rings the bells, I attempt to do homework, Tillie rings the bells, and before I know it is bed time.  Yet with all the excitement in this day, I can't seem to bring myself to post on this blog.  Of course I do feel the pressure to write some poignant witty post, but then I have to remember that I am not a newspaper columnist.  I am merely a lawyer, and a tax lawyer at that so I shouldn't expect myself to write articles that would appear in the New Yorker.  But anyway, I guess I will catch you up to speed. 

On Monday, thankfully I had a long day because I was so excited about the season premiere of Gossip Girl, that if I wasn't busy, the hours would have crept by slowly until 9:00.  GG did not disappoint.  I was very skeptical about this show at first.  I boycotted it, as I did with the whole blog thing.  For some reason, I try to fight the fact that I am actually very girly.  But when a group of girls were getting together every monday night for wine and GG, I had the FOMS (Fear Of Missing Something).  I started at season 1 and watched every episode and became hooked.  Blair is my favorite character.  She gets things done and she is pretty bitchy which I love. 

I can't even remember what I did Tuesday, but I am sure it consisted of Tillie ringing the bells constantly, checking facebook, napping, and lying to myself about doing my homework. 

However, on Wednesday, a friend and I decide we wanted to mix our lives up a little bit and have a fun happy hour.  There is a place downtown that serves grey goose martinis for $5 for happy hour.  We went to the farmer's market before hand.  I got some sweet potatos, tomatos, basil, and some type of citrus juice.  We then make our way to the bar.  However, it is 4:30 and the bar doesn't open until 5.  So we go to another place where happy hour starts at 4:00.  We have on drink there and then make our way to the martini place.  1 turns into 2 which turns into 4 maybe 5 martinis.  The calamari did not do its job by soaking up any of the extreme amount of alcohol in me.  Since we both realize we have been overserved, we decide it is a good idea to get something to eat before I go home.  So we stop in at a sushi place.  We continue to order beers and each order a roll.  I try one bite of the roll, go into the bathroom (the roll didn't stay in my system very long) proclaim that I did not like the food here, and leave.  I get home.  Take Tillie out and then at around 9:00 I find myself passed out in the bed in my clothes.  I woke up at 2 am wide awake.  I get some advil and go back to sleep.  The next time I wake up  when my alarm goes off at 6 am and realize that my hangover has kicked in and I will not be able to see people until later that afternoon. 

So yesterday, not able to make out of bed until 1 pm, I go get my zaxbys and get ready for my group meeting at 2:30. (My car didn't smell all that great because I left my produce and juice in the car last night).  Anyway, Zaxbys is a cure all.  Well first I attempted Chickfila, but the line for the drive thru was wrapped around the building twice.  Waiting in a line that long would not help the situation.  The Spicy Chicken would have to wait for another day.  I did not go out last night, and felt much better in class this morning.  Hopefully I can remember that I am old and my body does not like me to drink that much alcohol when we all go out to dinner tonight. 

Just One of the Guys

I experienced my first weekend out in Gainesville this weekend...

Friday night we started the evening at BallyHoo's for a friend's birthday.  This is the place that has a statute of Tim Tebow made out of a tree that has coined the name "Tim Treebow."  I of course took my picture with Tim Treebow.  There were a big group of the tax nerds at this dinner.  About 30 of us.  After much debate, we finally figured out where our next move would be.  We decided to go to some restaurant/bar called the top.  We lost about half the group once we made this move.  I lost the one girl friend that I have made so far because she had to go home to go to bed.  Not because she is boring, which is the first thing that I would think, but because she had to wake up to go pick up her ex-boyfriend in Orlando at 3am.  So it was me, a couple of really drunk girls, some of the international girls, and a whole bunch of guys.  We hung out outside at The Top and it was extremely hot.  Any make up that I had on previously had completely melted off.  We get a little bored with The Top and we took one car load to a crazy undergrad party at Cantina.  There was a long line to get in, so the one girl that was still with me went home because she was way to wasted to be in this situation.  So it dwindled down to me and three guys.  Of course the guys have to go to the bathroom all at the same time.  One of the guys ended up coming back to where I was standing (not one of the ones that I came with or was planning to hitch a ride home with) and the other two were no where to be found.  I was a little upset and I thought they had left me.  So the other guy when he was ready to leave helped me get a cab and make my way home.  Turns out the other two guys were there and met up with a bunch of people we were with earlier and shut the bar down.  Tons of miscommunication there. 

Saturday was all about football.  I rode with a group of people (three guys and two girls that might potentially be new friends) to a guy in our program's house to watch football and grill out.  This guy is my age, married, and has a three bedroom party house equipped with a tennis court and a pool.  He is renting this for 1200 a month.  I am a little jealous.  We spend the day watching Florida play terribly, Georgia playing terribly, all ACC teams playing terribly, and USC playing well.  This was not a good day for football.  We leave the house and I get dropped off to go let Tillie out and then they pick me back up and we walk to a place called Gator's Dockside which is a Wild Wings type sports bar.  There was a wait for tables, so we split up our party.  I was placed at the table with 4 guys and a married couple.  As we are watching the first quarter of the Bama game, the wife part of the married couple leaves because she doesn't like football.  The other group leaves because they didn't get a table in time.  So I am left watching the Bama game with 5 guys.  I love being around guys don't get me wrong, but this was a little overwhelming.  There was a lot of detailed football talk that was way over my head.  Luckily I have a brother and have constantly had guy friends so I was able to hold my own a little bit.

So today... I am going to church with two of the guys.  I guess all of my new friends won't be coming over to drink martinis and watch Gossip Girl with me tomorrow night.  They will be too busy watching Monday Night Football.

Sick as a Dog

Wednesday night we went out for a friend's birthday that included tequila shots and kareoke, which can be a very dangerous combination.  Luckily the bar wasn't too crowded so not too many people had to hear my rendition of Wilson Phillips' Hold On.  Needless to say, I wasn't my usual chipper self yesterday morning.  I woke up and attempted to run through the assigned problems before I went to class.  I came home from class and Tillie just kept whining at me.  I took her outside, but she would rather have stayed inside.  I go in my room about to lay down for my after school nap.  Something wakes me up, so I go into the den and I see that Tillie has thrown up all over the floor and in her crate.  I finally get done cleaning that up, and then she starts again.  I spent the entire day cleaning up regurgitated pieces of a busybone.  Sorry, this is starting to sound a little gross.  Anyway, the point of this post is that I was the one who I thought was going to be sick the entire day, but motherhood called.  I had no time to think about or take care of my own discomfort, but had to make sure my little puppy was going to be okay.  I think I am becoming a responsible self less mother.  I woke up this morning and decided that if she was still sick, I was going to skip class and stay at home to be with her.  So far so good, so I did my homework this morning just in case. 

Skinny Fat

After stuffing my face all weekend at my Aunt's house right outside of Palm Beach, my midsection is poking itself back into my thoughts.  When I first moved to Gainesville, not sure if it was the sadness, or the fact that I had know one to eat or drink with me, but I lost 5 pounds the first 2 weeks that I was here.  I was close to the weight that is listed on my drivers license so I was pretty proud of myself.  However, I have started drinking again, eating out with friends, and just not hitting the gym nor the yoga mat like I should be doing.  Plus, I get out of school early everyday which leaves an afternoon full of snacking.  However, I may have found a solution to keep me from snacking.  I was putting on my gym clothes just to take that first step that maybe i will cut on the p90x dvd.  My phone rang before I was able to put on a shirt so I just have on my shorts and sports bra.  I realized that if I just walk around the house in just my sports bra I am going to have the constant reminder that a) I need to be working out instead of watching tv and b) that after looking at my fat belly, I do not need to eat everything in my pantry.  Thank goodness I have blinds so no one else has to see me just in my sports bra.

I have a belly.  I always have.  A person in law school told me about the term skinny fat.  This is where you do indeed carry a lot of fat, but you have the ability to hide it and from far away or in certain outfits you look skinny.  That is me.  I have skinny arms and legs, but a big ole belly.  So when I am not wearing a bathing suit or something completely skin tight I look skinny.  Which is good, because I am very rarely in a bathing suit or something skin tight.  But unfortunately, I still have to look at my big ole belly everyday, so for now I will still be continuing my constant struggle with my arch enemy...my midsection.