November Update

I have just four days of classes left in my first term of law school!  We are off this week for Thanksgiving, then we come back to school for our last week.  After that, I just have to study for my finals, which the powers that be unfortunately decided to prolong this year.   The last day of classes is Dec. 4 but my last final isn't until Dec. 22.  Talk about pain!  Not to mention a short winter break.  

A short winter break means a short time to visit home.  Tucson really isn't a bad place to live.  It was 81 degrees today.  You can't beat that with a stick.  But this place has nothing on Oregon.  I think I have always known that I want to grow old in Oregon but these last few weeks have really confirmed it.  I am especially drunk on the Portland kool-aid.  There are terrific bars, clubs, and shows in Portland.  The city itself is beautiful and its politics are progressive.  The people are really cool and I miss my family and friends.  And, God help me, I like Oregon weather!  I enjoy seeing the seasons change and the leaves fall.  I'm stoked to get home and catch some Blazers games with Dane and Carly, play some poker with Big Papa Joe Knight, take a trip down to Corvallis and throw back some tequila shots at Sancho's with Craig and Ralph, spend Christmas with my family, and, of course, pass a day or three at Powell's City of Books.

I am going to need the rest.  I will try my best not to turn into a twitchy, caffeine-addled mess but I know the next month here is going to be intense.  As I try to put together my outlines and prepare for finals, the workload is amping up.  Without being overly dramatic, our grades are based entirely on final exams.  While I am not nervous or anxious about the exams (yet anyway), I do understand the importance of doing well on them.  They represent the culmination of four months worth of effort.