Picture Update

Outside the law school at night

High up in the foothills surrounding Tucson

Cacti, Cacti, everywhere

A good shot of Wildcat Stadium

My workspace

Those rainy days in... Tucson?

Here is a look at the Tucson sky at about 4:30 this afternoon.  It rained on me for most of the day.  This was nothing like the intense monsoon of two weeks ago; it was just ordinary, Portland-esque rain.  As a matter of fact, I would bet that it has rained much more here in Tucson, since I've been here, than it has in Portland.  Of course, this is the "rainy season"and in November when it is raining every day up in the Willamette Valley, it will be a balmy 75 degrees here with clear blue skies.  

I had my first day of classes today.  I love my professors.  My Con Law prof, Glennon, is a brilliant lecturer and funny as hell.  My contracts prof, Washburn, is a bit of a nerd, but also funny and a really nice guy.  I like the work in the library to prepare for classes, though you should ask me if I still feel that way come November.  The workload itself is definitely heavier than it was for undergraduate but I don't think it will be unmanageable.

The Way Back Machine

As I type, there is a furious freshman block party going on outside of my building.  I live in La Aldea, the graduate student dormitories,  part of a quad with three undergraduate dorms.  

It has all the ingredients of a good party, minus the libations.  There is even a DJ, bumping some admittedly dated tracks from the likes of Sean Paul and Shakira.  I took a break from the U.S. Constitution to join a couple of beach volleyball games with my roommates.  There are a hundred or more eighteen and nineteen year olds down there, eating Panda Express and drinking lemonade, playing volleyball, or simply chatting on the grass.

The freshman have been slowly but surely filling up the surrounding dorms as the week has progressed.  It is interesting to watch and talk with them, flush with freedom, trying to find their place in a whole new world.  It makes me think back to my first days as an undergraduate, uncertain and trying much too hard to be the epitome of a COLLEGE GUY.  I invite you to think back to your first days as an undergraduate and to contemplate how far you have come since then.

Cheers,

Andy

P.S.  This picture is for you, Analicia.

Picture update

desert beauty

Looking down the main drag on campus

A wildcat family

How incredibly beautiful is the place where I go to school?

Developing Relationships

This was going to be a picture update but this was the only pic I could get to load today before the Blogger picture uploader broke.  There will be pics in the near future, and I got some amazing shots.  I understand why so many people retire here.  I am not sure that it quite matches up to Portland, but living in Tucson is good for the soul.

I have been developing some great friendships with some amazing people here.  I am sure that some of these relationships will last the rest of my life.  The BRIDGE program gave me a built in group of people that I identified with; these people are in the same place for the same reason that I am.  It is easy to strike up conversations and make connections.  It is important that we are all law students; human beings want to be around people that are like them.  We want to be around people in which we see a little bit of ourselves.  I know what you're thinking...Did Andy just say that all people are narcissists?  Of course that is not what I am saying.  I think it is more that we want to be around people that we understand.  Naturally we gravitate toward people who share the same characteristics as we do because we can understand them more easily.  We don't like to be confused. 

 The great thing (and the intense, crazy thing) about law school is that everyone here IS so alike.  Sure, we all have different interests, different hometowns, and different favorite ice cream flavors.  We are, however, all BIG Type-A personalities thrust into a small space, working toward the same goals, with an element of competition thrown in as a spice.  Naturally, this leads to some entertaining fireworks displays and little battles are sometimes fought between people who have a lot more in common than they like to admit.  At the same time, intense, long-lasting friendships are formed between people who have similar goals and ambitions.  The loves established here are so deep, and the rivalries are so fierce, because we all understand each other well, and this understanding magnifies and deepens relationships.

Okay, that's it!  Before I go though, I want to give a big birthday shout out to my mom (August 15), Kaleena (August 16), and Stephanie (August 17)!

*Author's note:  All of my theories on relationships (much like Freud's) are untestable hypotheses and may not hold up under any kind of scrutiny.

A benefit of writing

I had my first day of the BRIDGE orientation program today.  They had a mock class about a hypothetical "first case in the world."  During the lecture, the professor digressed and spent a little time talking about the importance of writing skills to the lawyer's profession.  He said, "We think fast and we talk fast.  Writing deepens thought by forcing us to slow down."  Something to think about.  Maybe writing isn't just a rote regurgitation of the things going on in our heads.  Maybe it can help us expand our ability to express ourselves and even our knowledge of ourselves.

Also, my good friend Analicia just started a blog.  You can check it out by clicking on the link to the left.

Talk to you soon.

Update and photos for family and friends

closet shot

The bathroom sink

I think I got the extra-tall shower

Towels!

Making do with what I have.  I present to you... my nightstand!

The bed.  Now with sheets!

My view

Bookshelf and workstation

Second closet shot.  It's bigger than it looks

A desert garden

More desert greenery

The science and engineering library

Wildcat Stadium off in the distance

A very pink private school across from the campus

The main library

First things first, I want to shout out to all my wonderful family and friends back in Oregon; I miss you already!  That being said, I like Tucson very much.

The last 36 hours have been hectic.  My parents brought me to the airport on Saturday morning and after eating breakfast at the Rose City Grill, they said goodbye to me.  My last few days in Oregon were good ones.  I spent a lot of time with the people I love.  

The flight to Tucson only took about four hours.  My layover in Phoenix was short, and on the connecting flight I got to talk golf with an electrician from Vancouver, B.C.  Upon my arrival, I had to do the normal move-in stuff and then I just wanted to nap on my bare mattress.  Two suitcases really can't hold very much and my room looked pretty sparse once I got everything unloaded.  I had no sheets and no pillows.  After dozing off for a few minutes, I got to meet my two roommates.  One, Lance, is 22-year old Chinese man who has only been stateside for two weeks.  His English is mediocre but he seems nice (And yes, Dad, he actually did cook me dinner last night.  Authentic Chinese food.  Not a deep friend egg roll in sight).  The other, Ben, is... well, he didn't stay very long and he spent the night at a hotel with his parents but... the best way I can describe him is to imagine the nerdiest looking guy you can think of and then take just a shade off of that only because he wasn't wearing a pocket protector.  

After meeting these guys, I took a tour of the campus and took some pictures.  I love the U of A campus.  The architecture is a little like OSU except everything is on a grand scale.  It is HUGE.  After my impromptu campus tour, I had dinner with Lance and then went out for drinks with a  2L who I spent some time with when I took my campus tour last March.  She is a unique and multi-layered woman, and I had a blast with her.  We started talking to three locals while at the bar (a really cool spot) and I got to learn a little about Tucson while talking with them about Portland beers.  

Today, I took the shuttle over to Target and bought some things for the apartment.  I took some pics of my slightly less sad-looking room.  That's it so far.  Today I have to read over a case and go check out some bicycles at the shop down the road. 

Cheers,

Andy

Last day in Oregon

What a great last day in Oregon!  I woke up and ate at my favorite Corvallis breakfast place with one of my best friends, and got to take one last road trip in my car.  A first year associate at a Portland law firm bought me lunch and I got to pick his brain about law school.  I met another one of my best friends at Cruiser's for a burger and a ginormous chocolate ice cream cone.  She got me a birthday present and we bonded telling stories about our parents.  Then I came home and packed before YET ANOTHER best friend of mine came by to exchange birthday gifts (his b-day was July 23).  We watched Dr. Horrible and he confessed that he bought a PS3 (kind of an inside thing).  Then I dropped in on two of the coolest old people at my parent's condominium complex for some cocktails and conversation.  I sat out under the beautiful Portland sky, in sixty-five degree weather, drinking premium vodka on the rocks with lime, and trading stories with people 50 years my senior.  It was awesome.  I couldn't be happier right now.  Good night and good luck.

Stay tuned for updates from Tucson!

Cheers,

Andy

Old Flames and Joss Whedon

Yesterday, I went shopping in Woodburn with an ex-girlfriend of mine.  We had a bad break-up and I hadn't seen her in nearly four years.  She looked great and it was good to see that she is doing well but the experience was an awkward one.  We didn't have much in common when we dated and we have even less now.  The conversation was strained and forced.  She DID help me pick out some cool new threads for my ever-growing Tucson wardrobe.

Also, if you haven't already, you owe it to yourself to check out Joss Whedon's Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog starring Neil Patrick Harris and Nathan Fillion.

Goodbyes

I dropped in on my Grandpa Bob and Grandma Janet today for lunch.  After washing down my tuna melt and watermelon with a Rolling Rock, I had to leave for a 2:30 tee time with Cmos.  I hugged them both.  My grandfather is a backslapper when he hugs.  Then I said my goodbyes.  I won't be seeing either of them again until I come back for Christmas, and there was this awkward moment where we didn't really know what to say.  It's hard to tell someone that I love and usually get to see every few weeks, "goodbye" for a significant amount of time.  Finally my grandfather, almost crying, broke through the silence with a, "see you around, dude."  I said, "see you around," got in my car, and left.

I have had this experience with a lot of my friends lately.  There is a moment upon parting where each of us realizes that we won't be seeing each other again soon and then comes the awkward silence followed by some variation of "see you around," "good luck in Arizona," or "Let's do something over winter break..."

Lovin' summer

A friend of mine called me today and reminded me how long it has been since I have written a blog post.  I like blogging.  It is therapeutic.  I want to get back into the habit of doing it.  Today, I will write briefly about how grateful I am for all that I have.  I have wonderful family and friends, am young and healthy, and am about to embark on an incredible adventure (law school/the rest of my life).  I am about as happy as I think it is possible to be.   Reading Howard Zinn's The People's History of the United States: 1492-Present has helped me realize just how lucky I am.  It's a great read.  Both worldview-shattering and depressing.  

Well, i am going to turn in.  I promise to write again soon.