Just wanted to send a quick hello from across the pond! I'm currently in England, staying with family friends. They live about an hour outside of London -- really in the English countryside. It's been nice so far. Tomorrow I'll go into London and hang out.
Hope everyone is doing well! Hopefully next time I'll have done more interesting things and have more to post!

OVER and OUT

Bar exam is OVER!! (OK, it was over yesterday but I didn't have the energy to post an update yesterday and I've been super busy today). Hoping I never have to do that again...

Tomorrow (Friday) , I am OUT of here! Heading to Europe for 4 weeks!! WOW! It hasn't really seemed like it was going to happen until right now. Haven't packed yet... should probably work on that.

Anyway, I'll try to update my blog occasionally while I'm there and let everyone know what I've been up to, etc.

Later!

panic time

And the bar exam is in two days. As in the day after tomorrow. As in I should probably be studying instead of typing this but honestly I need a few minutes of a break. I think that it's probably good that I'm feeling a little panicky. I know that I can do this and that chances are pretty good that I'll pass and that I've worked really hard, but I would hate to become complacent about it and fall into a false sense of security. The panic keeps me from doing that. The good news is that it will be all over Weds night!

In other VERY EXCITING IMPORTANT news -- I signed a lease! I have somewhere to move to come September and will not have to spend the month living at my parents' house while looking for somewhere to move to October 1! Anyway, I'll be living in the Gold Coast and, while it's not the exact area I thought I'd wind up in, I'm VERY VERY excited! It's a one bedroom apartment on the 12th floor of an 18 floor building and the apartment itself is 2 stories. The kitchen/living room area are on the lower floor and the bedroom and office are loft-style on the second floor (the bathroom is also upstairs). Pretty awesome actually.

And break time is over. Time to get back to work...

hot hot hot!

There is nothing about the past 3 days that exists separately from this heat! Everything I could possibly have to say relates back in some way. It has been in the mid-90s each day, even by the lake! I wish I could say that I've stayed inside in the air conditioning for the whole time but, well, I haven't.

Saturday morning I went for a long run. I had decided a week or so ago that I was going to try to meet my goal run of 6 miles on Saturday and I didn't want the heat to get in the way of my plans. Well, that was stupid. While I did meet my goal and run 6 miles (just a little over an hour, and yes, I carried water), I completely overexerted myself and was fairly useless for the rest of the day. I didn't get enough studying done (only about 4 hours) and went to bed sometime between 8:30 and 9.

Sunday morning I was a little smarter. Dad and I went for a bike ride and we only did about 20 miles instead of our usual 35. Even so, Sunday was hotter than Saturday. Then, as I was being quite productive and studying in the morning, our power went off! Not that I even noticed for quite some time (I was in a room that's very well lit by the sun and easily the coldest room in the house), but it did get warm. Luckily the power came back on in the afternoon.

And today, well, I went for another run this morning. Only 3 miles (partly because of the heat and partly because I had already done 45 minutes of lifting and was already tired). In any event, it was warm enough to keep me inside for the bulk of the rest of the day and so I spent all day (8 hours) studying. My head is now going to explode. Hopefully it will rain tonight and cool everything down!

Going to see another apartment tomorrow. Crossing the fingers! I would REALLY like somewhere to move into on September 1...

indigo girls

So after a long day of studying (and cooking), I went to see a WONDERFUL concert this evening. The Indigo Girls performed at Ravinia Festival, and I had Pavillion tickets and it was amazing. It was so much fun to go to the concert with Tyler and Lisa. We had a picnic beforehand (which I cooked for) and then had great seats for the show. Easily the best seats I've ever had at Ravinia. Anyway, if you couldn't tell, I had a great time and it was a great show. They played a lot of old favorites as well as a few songs off of their upcoming album (due out in September). All in all, the perfect summer evening :)

13 days

The bar is in less than 2 weeks. holy shit. So much studying (read: memorizing) to do... Not certain that my brain has this much capacity. So just to warn anyone who may come into contact with me in the next 13 days: I have NO patience and am sort of freaking out. I don't mean to be a bitch but, well, if I am, sorry.

More studying tonight. Tomorrow is the last day of class, then I'm on my own until the bar... yikes!

Happy Fourth of July!

I love the Fourth of July. I think that it's because it's such a *pure* holiday. No gifts, no hallmark moments, just good, old-fashioned fun. Like the silly little parade in Glencoe that my mom and I go to every year, and the hokey red white and blue decorations and, of course, the fireworks.
Unfortunately, I haven't gotten to enjoy most of the long weekend as I've enjoyed today. I had planned on doing things -- on going to see Sister Hazel play a show in Naperville, on going out to Chicago's "independence eve" celebration. But unfortunately, I realized that at this stage in the game, I just can't go out for a whole day. I can't even go out for a whole night. I need to be studying. And studying is what I did all weekend -- 6-8 hours a day. It sucks, a lot, but if I do it right this time, I won't ever have to study for the bar again. And I've still gotten to have a little fun -- including 2 long bike rides, a run in the rain, and a nice little diversionary excursion to the Chicago Botanic Gardens with my mom.
I'm sorry to people I may have flaked out on and I'm sorry if I flake again in the coming weeks. I promise I'll be better after the bar (well, after Europe, since I'm leaving right after the bar) but I can make no promises for the next 3 weeks...
Anyway, off to help make dinner, then fireworks tonight :)