Long Overdue

Wow, I knew I hadn't posted in a long time, I didn't realize it had been almost 4 months! I'm not even sure what to talk about since it's been so long. I guess the easiest way to go about this is to just hit the highlights.

Teeth
This is probably the biggest thing that's going on in my life right now. I didn't think law school was stressing me out that much, but I was oh so wrong. I have had quite an adventure these past few months with my teeth. Since January I have had 3 crowns and 2 root canals, managing to use up all of my dental insurance for the whole calendar year! Apparently I clench my teeth at night so tight that I crack my teeth. My dentist has never seen anything like it and said he wouldn't believe it was possible unless he had seen me do it.

Right now I think I'm almost all the way better, but I am going to give the dentist a call fairly soon for two last teeth that are giving me some trouble. I'm not too concerned about the one on the left side, I think that can be fixed with a crown, but I am concerned about the one on the right. It's a tooth that has had a root canal already and the fact that it still hurts means that the crack might have gone all the way to the root of the tooth and they would have to pull the tooth and give me an implant. That is definitely not something I want.

Unfortunately because of all the work on my teeth I have missed quite a few of my classes, but fortunately I didn't miss more than my allotted amount of misses so I won't have a grade deduction. I have been on pain killers for a while, and am finally back to a functioning state. I have a new bite guard that I wear at night that goes on a few of my front teeth and keeps my back teeth completely apart like some other bite guards. It's not terribly comfortable, but if it will keep me from cracking more teeth I'm all for it.

Caruther's Fellow
I got selected to be a Caruther's Fellow for next year. They're pretty much TA's for the writing class that 1Ls are required to take. I get two credit hours for it and I just help 1Ls write papers and do some stuff at orientation I think. It's a fairly big deal, but to be honest I'm not really sure what all it entails.

End of the Semester
Tomorrow I have my last two classes as a first year law student! I can't believe it's gone by so fast. I'm not officially a 2L until I pass all my finals, but I'll be done with all my 1L classes tomorrow!

Classes Next Year
I signed up for classes for next year and I'm kind of excited about a few of them. I have NO classes on Friday which is super exciting. Here's my class list, the ones with a * next to them are ones that are required to graduate

Constitutional Law*
Wills, Trusts, and Estates*
Caruther's Fellow
Basic Skills in Trial Advocacy
Environmental Law
Human Subject Research

I'm excited about Basic and Human Subject Research, and I don't know how I feel about the others. My Con law class is really small, which is really odd because there are only 3 professors that teach that class and all the 2Ls are required to take it. I know I signed up for the most difficult professor, but I did that for a few reasons. 1, I've heard that even though he's difficult he really knows his stuff and you will actually learn a lot of the material; 2, he doesn't have a class on Friday or a paper; and 3, even though he is the hardest professor, almost everyone else that is high ranking in the class signed up for the other professors so I'm more likely to do well in this class because there's less competition.

Exercising
I've started exercising a lot recently and I really like it. I feel SO much better and I've lost 9 lbs since Easter. The thing I'm most excited about is the color run. I was telling Bekah that if I were ever to do a 5K it would be the color run, and a few days later I got an email saying the color run was coming to Birmingham. So I'm training to run a 5K and it is TOUGH! I had been doing "couch to 5K" on the elliptical and thought I was in good shape until I started doing C25K on the trail. I thought I was going to die! Running is so much more intense than the elliptical!

But I'm really enjoying exercising and actually dislike days when I don't exercise. I NEVER thought I would be that kind of person!

Kiyoshi
Kiyoshi is doing pretty well. We're still waiting to hear back from UAB about med school. He just got a job at Starbucks and seems to like it well enough- even though he doesn't like coffee. He likes all of his co-workers and likes that he is good at his job, but he's definitely ready for something more intellectually challenging and in a field he's actually interested in. His Aunt Debbie died last Monday after a difficult struggle and her memorial service was yesterday. It was a really nice memorial, and I think everyone has come to terms with Debbie's passing now.

Whenever Kiyoshi isn't working and I don't have to study we've started either taking Lulu on a walk on the trail I run on or going to the Botanical Gardens and walking around. The gardens is probably our favorite place in Birmingham, and it's wonderful to be able to spend time with each other outside in nature just talking and not worrying about anything else. He's such a great guy- I'm really lucky to have him.

Work
I start my job at Stockham, Carroll, and Smith on May 21. I don't know what I'm going to be doing, but as long as it's a break from classes I am happy to do it! I also got my job at Highlands back, so I'm singing in the choir there again and that's a nice little buffer in my bank account.

I hope everyone is doing well, and I love you all!