Until the other side

So this just might be my last post until after finals. Things are getting really busy and the panic is starting to set in. All of my peers are starting to stress out, some are even burning out, and I am trying my best not to buy into that. The last thing I need is to let the mounting stress and anxiety of everyone else pull me down so I'm crazy and ineffective for finals. I'd rather they get each other stressed out, and then I use their broken bodies to climb my way to the top of my class rankings! Just kidding. No but seriously...

I'm excited to come to Utah and do some snowboarding and then head to Colorado for Christmas. Hopefully I'll get to see most of you while I'm traveling around. The break will be nice and I'm hoping I don't have to do, see, hear, or think about anything law related.

Just to finish out, I was sad to hear about Steve and Cathryn Roundy. This is a huge tragedy, but I'm glad they were able to find their bodies so their families can have closure. I'm also glad that Mike and Kimball are ok. Anytime something tragic like this happens I think about how easily things can go wrong in the outdoors. It doesn't take much for nature to catch us off-guard and steal away the last few moments of our lives.

I appreciate everyone's comments and like to hear from everyone. Keep them coming! I hope to post again, but the days fly by, and it might be in person the next time you hear from me!

Keeping On...

The last two weeks have been hell, but I think I'm getting better prepared for finals. I have had my last mid-term, I'm taking my first graded test tomorrow, and I had a writing assignment I had to do on top of all the normal reading and class preparation. It's rough. But that's what this game is all about. Surviving, and doing it better than everyone else. I think that's why lawyers get a bad rap. It's because we're programmed in school to not think about just doing well, but doing well compared to everyone else. It's very kill or be killed. And I don't like being killed. That leaves me only one option. I knew that my ambition, perfectionism, and penchant for Social Darwinism would pay off one day. Giddyup!

I'm taking the weekend off though, because our friend Brittney is coming to visit and we're going to hit Disneyland. I'll try and take some pictures to post. It'll be a nice break and fun to have a friend here to visit. I guess everyone else is too good to come visit Malibu where the beach is only up the road, the temperature is about 75-80 degrees, there are beautiful girls in bikinis, Brittney Spears and Mel Gibson live up the road, and it never snows. I guess that sort of thing isn't for everyone. Too bad. For those who aren't into that sort of thing I hear Lehi, Utah is nice.

Where'd it go?

I have been in CA for over two months now and law school is going well. I've gotten a few mid-terms back and have been at the top of curve for all of them. The downside is that they don't count for anything but helping me judge how I'm doing. So I guess I'm doing ok, I just need to maintain. The time I spend doing school stuff is starting to pay off I guess.

Besides that, though, I got nothing. I seem to have lost my mojo. I thought this would be the promised land and that I would be able to find some balance with my law life. That is proving to be more difficult than anticipated. Where did it go? What happened to it? Is it all used up? Help me friends, and tell me where I've gone wrong. How can I get my mojo back? Is this just part of the normal process of becoming a professional?

The View

So this is the view that I see for most of the day. That's right, while I read and study this is all I see. So that means I spend most of my day looking at this little area. While I'm in class what I see isn't much better than this because I'm still sitting behind my laptop. Just thought those of you who read this might be curious to know how I spend my day.

I have to make an effort to go read on the beach once a week so I don't get so pale and pasty that when I go to the mall or store the Star Wars kids start to think I want to hang out. I mean, I've actually gone out with girls before. And what little status I have I need to maintain.

There are few of you out there who realize how glamorous the law life is. For those of who don't, too bad. Look at the luxurious living area I have and the engaging way I spend my time. You're missing out. I did go to a J. Reuben Clark Society (read Mormon Law Club) dinner at the Sheraton in LA on Saturday. The food was good, the presentation was boring, but the opportunity to meet some successful lawyers and make some connections was a good experience. After all, when all this is over I'm going to need a job so I can pay all my loans off.

The Bu

So I live in Malibu. It's pretty nice most of the time. While most of my friends right now are enjoying snow, rain, and colder temps I am sitting outside writing this entry in the southern California sun in view of the ocean with my back to the Santa Monica Mountains. I know. It's pretty sweet. There is the downside that I am in the middle of nowhere and Britney Spears only lives a mile or so up the road. But I will let that slide for convenience of shool and the golden moments of gentle ocean breezes and sunshine.


My brother and his lovely wife came to visit me last week and we hung out for a while. Enjoy this picture of them. We walked along the Promenade in Santa Monica and had dinner, and then enjoyed some Curb Your Enthusiasm. Larry David is hilarious. Anyone who is planning on going to law school should talk to me before doing so. If I could do it over again I would do things differently. I would still go, but I would do it differently. This is a calling, not a profession. It changes your whole life. Keep reading the blog, and keep living your lives because I don't have one!

All Work and No Play...

That's right. Make me a dull boy. That's why the beach calls to me. It calls me to my doom. Maybe. I need the balance (and the sun) so the girls will talk to me. My life is already so consumed my law school that I don't have anything to talk about. I am officially a bore.

I hope that with time this will get better and that I will be able to find success in both school and life. Right now it's pretty hard to do both. Pray there is some understanding to be had for me. That success in one thing doesn't come at the cost of everything else.

It has been sometime since I have blogged and there is probably no one left who reads my blog. I'm glad that Travis stopped by and left some comments (you're a good man). Law school is brutal, taxing, isolating, and sometimes demoralizing. But on the upside I live in Malibu and LA is my oyster. So put that in your pipe and smoke it law school! You can't keep me down! Here are some pics for those who may, but probably don't, stop by. I will endeavor to post more regularly about what is going on in my life (besides school).

Here is a picture of sunset over part of Pepperdine's campus. The Santa Monica mountains are beautiful and the ocean view here is even better. I am going body boarding tomorrow so I will take some pictures to post.

This is a picture of the flag at Heroes Garden, a 9/11 memorial we have on campus. You can see the ocean in the background. It's a pretty peaceful spot to go look out over campus and the ocean and recharge the batteries.

LA is starting to grow on me. Before moving here LA was not my favorite place and I came here only because it was what I was supposed to do, but I am starting to appreciate it more and really like some things about living here (minus the aspiring entertainers, deviant behavior, and insane amount of homeless people). I'm too busy with school to get out that much anyway so it doesn't really matter.

I believe it was Thomas Paine who said, "What we obtain too cheap we esteem too little; it is dearness only that gives everything its value." This must be true for any thing that brings trial and progression. This is my mantra for school.