Friday Dog Blogging: I'm Bored With My Bone Edition

Why I Have Yet to Leave the Law School E-Mail Group.

E-Mail I just received from the Law School E-Mail Group:

Sorry- I think this goes out to everyone in the Law School, but I didn't know any other way to reach students in my class/section.

Hi!
My name is [Redacted], and I am a first year student at [school] seeking a study group. I am in Section [x]. I live in downtown [city], but I can drive to meet a group. If you already have a group, and are looking for more folks, great. Or, you can join my one-man army. Just shoot me an email!

Thanks!
[Redacted]

I checked the academic calendar, they are 2 days into the semester.

So True.

This might be the greatest and most informative website ever made.

Friday [Dog] Blogging: Introductory Edition

E. Mc Pan says I can blog about whatever kind of animal I choose to on Fridays. Therefore, I choose the Tedosaurus-Rex.

No, I did not properly make my bed today mother.

Exciting News

Dear Ms. [Woods]:

The State Bar Character & Fitness Committee has recommended the approval of your character and fitness to the State Board of Law Examiners.

Sincerely,
Character and Fitness Department

I Need to be Able to Afford an Apartment.

When did the Swiffer become a substitute for a sponge and a little elbow grease?

It seriously drives me insane when I ask for something to clean up a spill with and someone either directs me to or brings me a swiffer. They are clumsy and move in jerky patterns across any sort of tile (which correct me if I'm wrong, but that is the surface they were designed to be used on).

Yes, I do technically have "better" things to do than blog about cleaning products on Friday night. But I chose to stay home with the baby, which resulted in him finding an old bag of onions (do not even ask), which led to the floor needing to be cleaned, which led to me asking for something "to scrub the floor with", which led to my Mother bringing me a swiffer to use in an foot wide area under a stand in the kitchen, which led to me bitching about how there was NO possible way to even manipulate the swiffer within the space and how crappy swiffers are in general, which led to a pissed off post after 9 p.m. on a Friday rampant with run on sentences about cleaning products. This all also led to a fight with my father about me leaving a sponge out (when he wouldn't so much as get off his ass and get me paper towel so I could dry the area I scrubbed on my hands and knees)-which I could not get up to get since I was attempting to keep the baby away from the bleachy floor.

Also, why was I told that I didn't need to cook dinner tonight since "they were", yet we have yet to eat and dinner is just now going into the oven. So at best we they will eat at 10:00 p.m. and I will go hungry since I cannot eat this late at night.

You Expect Me to Title Posts Before 8 a.m.?

Things smoothed out with the asshole trainer. Basically I realized he is a idiot who needed to be shown who the "Alpha Dog" is. So when he called Teddie "She" again I just gave him a look, he quickly corrected himself. When he called me "Sweetie" I snapped back "Actually, it's Doctor¹." Then when all the other (idiot) dogs were unable to demonstrate stay, down, and wait all of a sudden Teddie was his favorite dog to work with. Which was still moderately annoying to me since he tried every.other.dog. first, but whatever.

My brother leaves today to drive across the country. You'd think he'd have hung out with me once since the bar, but no. Plus now we are in this HUGE fight since I told his friend about how he and his other friend were pissing in Gatorade bottles when they would party here (since they didn't want to wake up the house flushing the toilet) and then label it"PISS" and put them in the refrigerator-only to be found by me at a later date. Do not even ask why they didn't just piss in the yard, piss off the deck, piss into the woods, piss in the street, piss into a toilet and not flush. I do not know the answer despite many questions being asked. Then he got Teddie "into a condition where he ate more dog food at 11 pm" last night, which was the last straw for me and I flipped out on him about how inconsiderate and irresponsible he is and how I couldn't wait until he had kids since I was going to buy them as many substances as they wanted to indulge in.

¹Juris Doctor, does that count?

Parenthood

Elle Woods: I finally understand why the next-door neighbor has so many Popsicles on hand at all times.
Mom: Why?
Elle Woods: Well, you know how her kids are so unruly and wound up all the time?
Mom: Yeah.
Elle Woods: And you know how she usually just gives them a Popsicle or something?
Mom: Yeah.
Elle Woods: Well, I just gave Teddie a Greenie since he was being such a hyper little spaz, and look at him now.
[Mom looks at the Puppy sitting calmly chewing looking like he might take a nap at any minute-which he later did].
Mom: I think you'll make a fine parent.

Recent Reader E-Mail:

I just found your blog...and it is making me think about the nagging feeling I have had in my gut for the past year. I am about to start my 2L year - and I hate law school and I am not excited about being an attorney. I worry that these years thinking all I wanted was to go to law school and be a lawyer were wrong and have only conspired to make me feel like I can't back out. Besides, I have all my 1L debt, a bunch of private school undergrad debt, and NO IDEA what I would do if I didn't do these next two years and finish what I started.

Do you really feel like law school has been the biggest mistake? If so, why? If you were about to be a 2L and only 1/3 of the way through would you still keep going? What kind of a job to do you think you will end up with - and more importantly, was it what you wanted in the first place?

Sorry for all the questions...I am just having angst while I get my OCI shit together for the fall and think about the fact that I just have a gut feeling this is wrong. Any advice, etc would be most appreciated.

My Response:

Honestly, I don't think it was the biggest mistake of my life, I know it was. Unless you are in the top 10% of your class what you do not realize is that you will most likely end up taking a job for around 50K a year. I could have probably found something out of college for 40-45K and I wouldn't have almost $1000 a month student loan payments.

I have no idea what type of job I will find and I honestly am concerned that my car will be repossessed before November when I have any chance of finding a job, according to my career services office, since nobody is going to hire me before I get my bar results (and even then only if they are positive).

If I had to to do over again, I would have dropped out of school after 1L. I actually didn't want to go to law school and went through a big depression before I started since deep down I knew it was wrong for me, but I felt pressured by family (and I had thought it was what I wanted to do since high school so it was hard to let it go).

I convinced a friend of mine to drop out after first semester 1L who was similar to us in that she always thought she wanted to go but when she did, she hated it (and while she is a very smart girl she did terribly). She dropped out, found a job, and is extremely happy, and every time I talk to her she is reassured in her decision. Similarly, I had a friend at my school who was MISERABLE, hated every minute of school and finally after 2L (when he was only a 1.5L due to dropping so many classes or getting kicked out for non-attendance) he dropped out. He is now working as a mortgage banker, making 70K a year and loving his life. There is life after law school, it's just a matter of figuring it out.

I know the feeling of being scared to drop out since you already have so much debt that you don't know how you would pay it. Trust me, all that will happen is that it will triple, you will still be making about the same amount, and you will be working insane hours and hating what you do.

I am certainly only one person, but if I had to do over, there is no doubt in my mind I'd have dropped out.

Anyone else have anything to contribute? Anyone else still reading?

Another Puppy Post...

Since I have nothing better to write about. Our first obedience class was yesterday. Teddie did marvelously. Me, not so much. They say it's about training the human more than about training the dog, which given that I managed to piss off the trainer within the first 10 minutes and was extremely annoyed 1/2 way through with his approach to small dogs, made me extremely "hesitant" to listen.

• First he kept calling Teddie "she", which I corrected and he got all pissy about.
  
• Then he would ask for someone to volunteer their dog to demonstrate, and when I did (and nobody else did) he would literally take one of the big dog owner's leashes from their hand and use a big dog and look at me and say "I like to use big dogs for these."
• Next he yelled at me for "bending down" to give my dog treats, yet I wasn't bending. I was dipping at the knees just far enough to reach him, almost into a "Bunny Dip." When I questioned how I was supposed to give a dog that is 10'' at the shoulder treats without bending and without him jumping up without dipping he ignored me.
• Last I was scolded for letting my dog sleep with me since it will communicate he is the "Alpha Dog"-if you saw his behavior it would be clear this is not the case.

In other news I am exhausted from the early morning potty walks, work, afternoon walks playing, cooking dinner, playing, and then finally putting the baby to bed.

First Outfit.

One more since it's so cute and he was so good about letting me dress him up.

"Somebody Has a Case of the Mondays."

Teddie has been meeting all sorts of new friends. Friday we went to the dog park and I was bossing around all the other dogs (2 Great Danes, a Boxer, a few Labs, a Collie, an Australian Shepherd, and a Whippet) making them chase after him. There is something a bit terrifying when your 8.5 lb dog is using himself as bait for various dogs who weigh over 100 lbs.

He also recently met my gay next-door neighbors 4 lb Maltese whose name is Snowball, who is a bit of an aggressive sniffer. After over a minute of Snowball sniffing Teddie the following conversation ensued:

John: Snowball! I do not know why you are so interested, he has the same thing you have!
Elle: Umm, You of all people should know that doesn't mean he is not interested.
John: [Turns bright red and starts dying laughing].

Obedience classes start Wednesday. I have to take some sort of soft treat. The catch is he has to be able to eat it for an hour straight and not get sick. They also want it to be "smelly", I am thinking I will boil chicken with garlic, but I am not sure if Dogs can eat garlic.

Just for fun, here is a picture of him looking at me like I'm a bad mother for not paying attention to him while I blog.

Wedding Questions...

How long do you have to have been dating someone before it becomes fair-game to ask them to attend a wedding with you? I have a few weddings this fall and at least one of them I'm sure I'll get an "and guest" for. These are the first of my friends to get married so I'm rather new to all this.

Also, is it worse to be the "single girl" or to go with someone who doesn't know anyone else there? I suppose that question depends on the person and how clingy they will be.

Tired.

Time my Brother got home last night: 11:50 p.m.
Number of friends he brought with him: 4
Number of those friends who had dreadlocks: 1
Number of glasses of wine I had with them on the deck before Teddie and I went to bed: 2
Time I was woken up by them still partying: 4:20