Happy Halloween!!!
ARGGHHHHH! I be a pirate today, matey! So, batten down the hatches, filch some grog and prepare to set sail!

Ahoy! Thar be me and me son preparing to loot the kitchen while the wee one and me mate are sleepin'!

Have a Happy Halloween, maties!

Career Quiz

A quick and fun career quiz can be found at:
http://www.princetonreview.com/cte/quiz/career_quiz_results.asp

My results:

Blue Interests
People with blue Interests like job responsibilities and occupations that involve creative, humanistic, thoughtful, and quiet types of activities. Blue Interests include abstracting, theorizing, designing, writing, reflecting, and originating, which often lead to work in editing, teaching, composing, inventing, mediating, clergy, and writing.

Green Styles
People with green styles perform their job responsibilities in a manner that is outgoing. They prefer to work where things get done with minimal analysis and where persuasion is well received by others. People with green styles tend to be spontaneous, talkative, personal, enthusiastic, convincing, risk-taking, and competitive, and usually thrive in a team-oriented, adventurous, informal, innovative, big picture-oriented, varied environment. You will want to choose a work environment or career path in which your style is welcomed and produces results.

I see how a law career could fit with these things: writing, abstracting, editing, MEDIATING. Well, good. Glad my tuition isn't going to waste!

OK, so it's been 21 days since I last posted. I suck. So sue me.
(law humor)

This past weekend I was a student invitee/participant at the Oregon State Bar Family Law Conference. Great chance to observe "real, live lawyers" in a relaxed atmosphere and "schmooze" to my heart's content, as one of my sponsors so aptly put it. Ah, the art of schmoozery - not really my thing - but I'm getting decent at it. After a while, it is a bit draining though. This conference was at the beautiful Salishan Resort on the Oregon coast, and for me, it was a wonderful blend of hearing about practical applications of the law, networking, doing homework, and relaxing. It was only the second time I've been away from my family at night, and the 6th and 7th nights ever away from my partner at night. Judging from my welcome home hugs, the baby girl and wife missed me a lot and my son was happy I was away so I could bring him presents upon my return. (In reality, he probably missed me the most. As my wife has observed frequently, he and I are two peas in a pod, and have a soul-connection so strong people would think I was the birth mom. See - makes no difference.) The puppets purchased at the resort were big hits, but so were the hotel-provided pens, note pads, jar of jam, soap, lotion, paper coasters, and post-cards. Heck - my son even liked the paper gift bag with handles that he's not let out of his sight since I arrived home approximately 48 hours ago. We all survived the separation, and though I love traveling and would do it more often if I could, I suspect it will be quite some time before my wife wishes to brave it alone again, especially since baby girl has not been sleeping well for.....well.....her whole life.

I now have to say I've done my extracurricular "stuff" for the semester, and I must get serious about the school work. (Oh, did I fail to mention that my new mentor asked me last week to do some last-minute legal research for her? Yup. When I read her email request I said out loud, "Cr*p, I just don't have the time." What I typed into my reply email was, "Sure, I can spare a few hours..." It was fun, and she seemed impressed. Nice to do some real, non-academic legal work to feel like the pieces of the puzzle are coming together.) I need to write my A-paper (big paper of law school), I need to get on top of my barely-started outlines, I need to listen to 2-3 missed lectures, I need to do a few CALI lessons on Property since we've stopped using the English language and I've gotten confused. Fee tail? Contingent remainder? Vested remainder? Possbility of a reverter?

I should have just gone into acting.

Tagged!
I was tagged last week by my lovely wife and even though I should be reading ahead in Property (not because I am overly ambitious, but because I have two weekends that I will be out of town this month), I thought I'd take a moment to respond.

The challenge was to name 5 weird things about you or your pet. I'm not going to tag anyone else, because I mostly read law student blogs, and I just don't have the heart to lead them into temptation. (Oh, yes, I do, but not today!)

1) I have a wishbone-shaped scar on the inside of my left hand. (It's always with me for good luck!)

2) I like to lay in bed with one arm raised up in the air. It causes an odd sensation. (I don't do this a lot.)

3) I really like whole cranberry sauce in my chili. (Family thing)

4) Sometimes I prefer M&M's over really good dark chocolate. (Though not frequently. Yes, the M&M's darks are good, but not quite "real" M&M's.)

5) I don't mind getting wet in the rain, and sometimes do it on purpose with my kids, as long as I get to go inside my house afterwards to dry off and get dry clothes. (Not so much fun right before class with the air conditioning blowing on you even though it's only 65 degrees in the room.)

There! I did it! Should anyone want to feel tagged and use this on their own blog, consider yourself tagged!