Woohooo!!!

Took my last final this afternoon!! Criminal Adjudication. The professor wrote it, intending we'd take it in about three hours, but he allotted us four just so we'd have plenty of time. I know so little about criminal adjudication that I took the full four hours, right up until the last second. Hahaha

But now I'm done!!! The semester is over, which means three down, three to go. As my parents told me tonight: I'm "half a lawyer."

The other reason I'm cheering today is because I advanced to the second round of our intramural moot court competition! Yeehaw! There were over 150 entrants in this first round; I survived with a combined brief and oral argument score high enough to make it into the magic 64. I did this round on my own, but all future rounds will be with a partner. I'm thrilled to be working in the next round with my buddy Jeff Miller. The guy's phenomenal. Mark my words: we're taking this thing all the way! The second round begins at the beginning of next semester (end of January).

Now Rosie and I just gotta clean up this place, pack, and hit the road!

Yay! Just one left!

Finished my Copyright final this afternoon. After my first two finals this semester, I felt mostly numb - not sure if I had done well or not. But after today's exam, I actually felt really good. There always could be something you didn't see, or forgot to include, but on this exam, I felt like I really touched all the bases. Woohoo!

Now I just have to wait 'til February to find out how I did...

Last final tomorrow: Criminal Adjudication.

Gordon on Exams, Part 4 of 4

The exam questions are usually absolutely hilarious fact situations that just slay students and send them into paroxysms of helpless laughter. Law professors learn how to write these witty exams at a seminar for new professors, "How to Make Up for Your Humorless Teaching Style on the Final Exam." Try not to let the laughing get out of hand.

If your professor has stressed theory all semester and has insisted that there are no legal rules and that only an idiot would believe that there are rules, her exam will test you on the rules and the rules alone. These rules are printed in heavy black typeface in the commercial outlines, and are therefore called "black letter law." Do not confuse them with black letter theory, which will do you no good whatsoever on the exam.

You should use the "IRAC" method on the exam. "IRAC" stands for Issue, Rule, Application, and Conclusion. Be sure to discuss each part of the formula, except that you can skip the Conclusion, because it doesn't matter which way you come out. Also, there is no time to do the Application, because the exam is so chockful of issues that you barely have time to list them and try to state some semblance of a rule using only key words. It shouldn't really be called the "IRAC" method, but "IR" looks kind of stupid and makes it sound like law school exams test only memorization skills. Which, of course, is what they do.

Be sure to confront any ambiguities in the exam. They probably wound up in there accidentally, but the professor will never admit this and will insist that they were deliberately placed there for pedagogical purposes (a phrase you will hear a lot). For example, suppose Don throws acid at Pat. (Notice that "Don" begins with a "D," as does the word "Defendant," and that "Pat" begins with "P," as does the word "Plaintiff." These professors are geniuses.) The exam doesn't tell you whether the acid made contact--i.e., a harmful or offensive "touching" (what a moronic word)--with Pat. You should confront this ambiguity and write the following:
The facts don't say whether the acid touched Pat. If it did not, it was an assault. If it did, it was a battery. Of course, it was clearly a battery if it was--battery acid!!!
Professors just love humorous asides like this, and will probably give you several points of extra credit.

After the exam, do not review--or "post-mortem"--the exam with other students. This is very depressing--especially if you can't even agree whether it was a torts exam or a contracts exam. On the other hand, if some persistent bozo absolutely insists on reviewing the exam with you, be sure to point out several issues that were not on the exam. This will cost him several days' sleep and, probably, thirty pounds.

Gordon on Exams, Part 3 of 4

[Editor's note: Although this section is somewhat outdated as far as technology, the anxiety described is unfortunately spot on.]

Then the two-week exam period begins in earnest, and the typical student begins to feel like a nine-lived cat run over by an eighteen-wheeler. To take their minds off the crush of exams, students engage in a variety of activities, such as:
Trying to concentrate while panicking.
Having anxiety attacks while panicking.
Having diarrhea while panicking.
Panicking while panicking.

I strongly recommend that you type your exams instead of writing them. There are several advantages to typing. For instance, you can bring a "memory *1694 typewriter," and when the exam begins you can push a button and your typewriter will reproduce your entire outline. This is very handy.

You might find it a little difficult to concentrate in the typing room, because all those typewriters pounding together sound like a herd of elephants doing an impersonation of Gregory Hines. If somebody starts typing before you have even finished reading the first paragraph, don't get upset. It probably means nothing, except that someone is a genius and how are you supposed to compete with a genius and what are you doing in law school anyway!!! Take a deep breath. Take several deep breaths. Now you are hyperventilating and are going to pass out. Cease breathing.

The sound of the typewriters is not the only reason you're having trouble concentrating. You have not slept or eaten for two days. Also, you have not changed your clothes or bathed for a week, and things are beginning to get a little bit itchy. You are wearing a hat to hide the fact that your hair looks like the La Brea tar pits.

Try to hum a tune (to yourself, so that the person next to you doesn't bash you on the head with his typewriter) to help yourself relax. Suddenly--and you have never noticed this before--you realize that "La Bamba" has exactly the same chord progression as "You've Lost That Loving Feeling" and "Twist and Shout." This will probably be hard to do, but let it go for now. You can think about it later--like during your next exam. Twist a little closer to your typewriter, and try to write something quasi-intelligent. Do not shout.If there is a power failure or your typewriter breaks, don't panic. Calmly remove the paper from the typewriter, gently pick up a pen, and scrawl across the page in ink mixed with blood: "TYPEWRITER BROKE!!!! I WRITE NOW!!!!"

Then pass out. To avoid power and equipment failures, you might want to bring in a wheeled cart with about seventeen extra typewriters and a twelve-volt car battery. Better yet, drive a pickup truck full of typewriters into the exam room and open the hood for access to the battery. It would be thoughtful to place a drip pan under the transmission. Also, be sure that the carriage on your typewriter is working, so that you don't end up typing 2,000 letters in one very black spot. This can make your answer hard to read.

Gordon on Exams, Part 2 of 4

Since professors won't tell you how to do well on your exams, I will. Because you cover so much material, you need to make an outline for each class. You can do this alone, assuming you have about an extra thousand years to kill. An easier way is for your study group to divide up the classes, with each person outlining one class. This differs from the prior approach in that it is humanly possible. You are likely, however, to open up your study group's contracts outline the night before the exam and find a sentence like this: "An offer is the manifestation of gooberness to enter into a something or other (I didn't catch what the professor said here) so made as to justify another person in understanding that [illegible] is invited and will gyre and gimble in the wabe. Or something like that." You then realize that the classmate who wrote this dropped out six weeks ago and is inaccessible by telephone, and you run around the room screaming like the lunatic that you are. So it's really better just to buy the commercial outline and forget it.

Then, memorize the outline. As you pour it in the top of your head, most of it will run out your ears. Keep scooping up the stuff that runs out your ears and pour it back into the top of your head. Eventually, a little of it will begin to stick. You should also use acronyms, or "pneumatic devices," to help you memorize. For example, the prima facie case of a tort action for negligence has several elements: an Act or omission, a Duty, a Breach, Actual cause, Proximate cause, and Damages. The first letters of these elements are A, D, B, A, P, and D. Now, think of a sentence using words beginning with those letters. For example, Ann Drop-kicked Bunnies And Pretty Duckies. See? You will never forget the elements of negligence again. You can use this technique to remember everything you learn in law school. Using this method, one student was able to reduce his entire civil procedure outline to one word, and finally, to one letter. Then he forgot the letter.

Next, get some of the professor's old exams from the library and try to answer them. As you read them, note that you don't have the foggiest idea what they are asking. You can't even tell what the subject matter of the class was. Put the exams away. This year's test will probably be easier.

Gordon on Exams, Part 1 of 4

Exams can be really stressful. Every second you spend away from your studying, you feel like someone else is getting ahead of you. But 18 hours/day can be draining, so you really do need a break. Hence when I recently got my hands on a hilarious article by Professor James D. Gordon, of BYU law school, it provided some much needed comic relief. This article was amusingly published in the prestigious Yale Law Journal back in 1991. The theme of the piece is the silliness of law school; Gordon pokes fun at nearly every aspect of law school life. Though his style can occasionally be a bit over-the-top for my comedic taste, I have to admit I roared as I read through his section on exams. Maybe it just hit a little close to home this week.

In an effort to lighten the mood for all my classmates who read this blog (and hopefully for you others as well), I'm going to post the exam part of the article here in installments over the next couple of days. And since I'm studying for my copyright exam right now, let me make the disclaimer that I'm posting these sections on this blog for fair use purposes; I invite any comments on Professor Gordon's remarks. This is totally academic, not infringement.

Without further ado, I bring you installment #1:

Studies have shown that the best way to learn is to have frequent exams on small amounts of material and to receive lots of feedback from the teacher. Consequently, law school does none of this. Anyone can learn under ideal conditions; law school is supposed to be an intellectual challenge. Therefore, law professors give only one exam, the FINAL EXAM OF THE LIVING DEAD, and they give absolutely no feedback before then. Actually, they give no feedback after then, either, because they don't return the exams to the students. A few students go and look at their exams after they are graded, but this is a complete waste of time, unless they just want to see again what they wrote and have a combat veteran-type flashback of the whole horrific nightmare. The professors never write any comments on the exams. That might permit you to do better next time, which would upset the class ranking.

Another reason that law professors give only one exam is that, basically, they are lazier than three-toed sloths. They teach half as many hours as other professors, are paid twice as much, and get promoted three times as fast. Then, they whine like three-year-olds because they have to grade one exam per class. I mean, this is every single semester, year in and year out. The constant grind is enough to kill a person, I tell you.

Halfway home

Took my second final today. It was a nice short 2-hr exam for my seminar class, "Jury Trials in America: Understanding and Practicing Before a Pure Form of Democracy." Yeah, the title takes longer to write than the final.

No, but seriously, it wasn't too bad. Since we've already had lots of readings, discussions, practice sessions, and papers, the exam was just more of the same. And it was only worth 60% of my grade. That may sound like a lot to my undergraduate readers, but remember that normally in law school, the semester grade is calculated thus:

000% Reading
000% Attendance
100% Final Exam
100% TOTAL

So as you can see, finals are a big deal. So this one was refreshing in some sense. Now I've got two down and two to go. Up next: Copyright.

One final down!

I took my evidence final today. Four hours of hearsay exceptions, character witnesses, expert testimony, conditional relevance, and more! Yikes! Before you ask, I have no idea how I did. In fact, my grade reflects not so much how I did, but how everyone else did. Yay for grading curves!

One down, three to go! Up next: Jury Trials in America.

Holiday Jazz

There's a lot of great internet radio stations out there. I just found a new one that has a bunch of great holiday music, including a really hip Holiday Jazz station. Check it out.

Vocal Point on YouTube

This is a clip of 2005-06 Vocal Point rehearsing for a back-to-school performance early this fall. The song, "He is Born," was written by one of Vocal Point's alumni, Aaron Edson, and honors the birth of Jesus Christ. The group performed this song in their championship-winning ICCA set. I love these guys.

December = Decisions

December 1 is a huge day for second-year law students all around the country. According to National Association for Law Placement standards and official timeline, all offers made by law firms must be accepted or rejected as of December 1. So the 98% of us who are pursuing work in the private sector, mostly at big firms, are now all locked in. We've signed our lives away. All decisions are now made, so we can now ask each other where we're going.

So where am I going?

Weil, Gotshal & Manges [while, gott-shull, and man-jz] is a New York -based law firm with over 1,100 attorneys across the US, Europe, and Asia. I've received and accepted an offer at their New York office for an internship next summer. The internship will last approximately 12 weeks, and will ideally end in a permanent offer of employment for the following fall (post-graduation). Find out more about Weil on the firm's website.

So Rosie and I are headed to Manhattan next summer! Crazy, huh?!

Getting Gigs

After a brief dry spell, I've managed to squeeze out another article on the CASA website about directing groups. Check it out.

Noteworthy on YouTube

The great all-female a cappella sensation has a big concert this coming Saturday night, including the release of their hott debut album, On The Horizon. In honor of Noteworthy, here is an awkward video of them performing at BYU's annual celebration, Friday Night Live. You can hear their greatness through the mismatched video and sound. Check it out:

Thanksgiving in the CLE

Rosa and I had a lovely Thanksgiving holiday with the Parma family in Cleveland. We drove up last Wednesday, eight hours of perfectly uneventful driving. Last year, it was a near blizzard in Cleveland on Thanksgiving. This year, it was near 70 degrees!! And there's still a few orange leaves clinging onto those last few branches. Gotta love the midwest.

We had the actual Thanksgiving meal at Monica's house. They deep fried the turkey! It was my first deep-fried turkey experience, and let me tell you that it's SO GOOOD! It looks exactly like you'd think it would - a turkey sitting in a big vat of very hot oil. It's just like dropping fries into oil at McDonalds. As soon as the turkey hits the oil, it immediately seals off the outside, so all the juices stay in the bird. Soooo delicious. And Rosa made her hit rolls (Mom's recipe). Delicious appetizers, yummy mashed potatoes and gravy, veggies, the works! We had a great time visiting with the family.

We got lots of family time in, fun and games, a double-date with Rosie's brother and his wife, and even some candy-making. The biggest hit of the weekend, though, was the newest addition to the Parma clan: Bria.


I've chronicled a bit about her before on the site, but let me just say that she is adorable. Six weeks old, and about as cute as they get. She's got many of her mom's features, but she's got her dad's tan skin tone and thick dark hair. Beautiful.

We woke up early Sunday, and drove back, covering the 8 hour drive in about 9 or 10 hours, thanks to the lovely ridiculous holiday traffic, and several episodes of rubbernecking. But we got back in time for Rosa to play piano during Relief Society and have me teach the Elders Quorum lesson at church. Phwew! We're exhausted, but overall, a fabulous weekend!

And now back to studying...

Watch me morph into Joe Montana

See me morph into Joe Montana

Create your own Celebrity Morph™ on MyHeritage.com

Happy Engage-i-versary!

Rosa and I were engaged two years ago today! It was November 20, 2004, right before the Vocal Point concert. Smartest thing I ever did.

SoJam 2006

Rosa and I spent the weekend at the newest, hottest event for singers. It's called SoJam. Now in its fourth year, SoJam brings together tons of a cappella groups from all over the south. There's a collegiate competition on Friday night. Then Saturday, there's workshops by the pros on everything from marketing to vocal percussion to comedy on stage to recording tips to master classes to you-name-it. The whole weekend culminates in a big pro concert. This year's show featured the Duke Pitchforks (winners of the collegiate competition), moosebutter (hilarious), Boston-based Firedrill!, and SF Bay Area-based Hookslide. My guts hurt from laughter after seeing moosebutter - they're always awesome. And nothing against Hookslide, but Firedrill! brought down the house. UNBELIEVABLE. Every once in a while, after listening to so much crappy a cappella, you hear and see something that reminds you why you fell in love with it in the first place. Incredibly talented singers, and nothing else. So perfect!

Bill Hare, a cappella studio engineer extraordinaire, was on hand with his ever-ready camera, and zapped some good photos of the whole weekend. Check 'em out:

Bill's photos of SoJam

Hear ye, Hear ye

K, so backtrack a few days. Just before Halloween, our neighbors and best buds Greg & Michelle Olson hosted a Murder Mystery party, in honor of the coming hallow's eve. The theme was ancient rome. I was a Roman senator, and Rosa was Cleopatra. My costume was pretty much just a sheet wrapped around me, along with some greenery in my (unfortunately too short) hair. My hair was so short that we couldn't bobby pin it in; eyelash glue didn't work, and neither did our craft wire. So on the fourth and last attempt, we just used packing tape. And it stayed all night! Rosa's costume was almost entirely borrowed from generous Michelle, and I think it very much Cleopatra-ed her up. We all had a GREAT time, and it turned out Michelle did it. Jerk.

Here's a picture of all of us smiling, proving we had a good time:

Brianne and Derek Casper, Michelle and Greg Olson, Stephanie and James Forbes, me and Rosie

Podcast update

Joey and I finished another episode of our "A Cappella Originals Podcast." It's episode 4, baby. If you've got iTunes, just search for "a cappella" and you'll find it. If you're scared of iTunes, you can find it in AAC or mp3 format here.

I thought I was unique

According to this site, there are 22,065 people in the United States with my same first and last name. Try out your name...

Distorted Beauty

This video was extremely eye-opening for me. Click on it.

NYC: Project Runway

Before leaving the city, we couldn't miss the chance to check out the Macy's display, which showcased all the outfits from Rosa's favorite show: Project Runway. For those of you who have seen this show, you understand what a big deal this is. For those of you who aren't into the show, these pictures will be totally meaningless to you. Enjoy.

(This was the week before the finale, when Uli's dress was on display.)

NYC: Ground Zero

We took some time to visit Ground Zero, where they have a beautiful tribute set up, with a timeline of the events of September 11, 2001, along with some breathtaking photos of that day.


Remember that these photos aren't staged. This isn't a movie. It's terribly real.


"One room available for a displaced person."


This one brought us to tears. "O positive."

NYC: Wicked

Finally, here are the promised photos from our trip to New York a week and a half ago. We had a great time.

One of those awkward self-taken photos of us in the audience of the hit broadway show Wicked. The show was stunning.



The set was beautiful, absolutely incredible. This is the map of Oz.


Our crooked picture taken during the show. Just so you can get a glimpse of how beautiful the lighting, costumes, and everything was.


My beautiful wife and regular me after the show in the theater.



The night before we saw the show, Ana Gasteyer from Saturday Night Live took over the starring role. She was hilarious!

More Jetsetting

A couple weekends ago, I stole away to Cincinnati for the weekend. I like that phrase, "stole away." I had so much fun visiting my sister's family! My nephew Kirk is Mr. Runningback extraordinaire (and I think a developing tenor), and I was able to see a couple of his games. Jake and Dani are adorable, and all three of them are such strong kids. J&B are such good parents.

Heck, all my siblings are good parents. I'm nervous to have kids, just because of the high bar they've set! I guess they got it from my parents.

Then Rosa and I spent 6 days in New York City. Unbelievable! Pictures to follow...

Oh, and I've always liked the word "jetsetting."

More on Bria

Check out photos of new baby Bria on Dave & Emily's blog.

Bria Parma

was born just a few hours ago! The Parmas have their first grandbaby!!!

Bria Parma
born Oct 4
10:57 am
7lb 9 oz

Mom and baby are doing fine. More to follow...

Cleveland Rocks

Okay, it's about time that I mention my fabulous trip to Cleveland last weekend. It was just wonderful.

Last Thursday, I was fortunate enough to be invited to a lunch with the first General Counsel of eBay, and really enjoyed hearing his stories and advice. But unfortunately, I subsequently arrived a little late to the Charlottesville airport. And apparently, if you try to check in less than 30 minutes before your plane's departure time, you are locked out of the system, and totally unable to check any baggage. And since I had three bags in my hand, the man behind the counter began looking for other flights for me. No way! I said, "I've got a dinner planned tonight- I've gotta be on this plane." I understand why they have the 30 minute rule; TSA is unable to perform proper security measures on bags in less time than that. What's weird is that it's Charlottesville. There are like seven people in the entire building. I felt like saying, "The plane is right there - can't you just walk it over there?" Instead, I just took everything in my hanging bag and shoved it in my rolling bag and said, "There - I've now got two bags." So he checked me in, and I headed for security.

I was detained at security because I was now trying to carry several deadly weapons on board: toothpaste, shaving gel, aftershave, and heaven forbid shoe polish. In an effort to keep me from destroying the plane, they kindly removed these items from my dangerous clutches and threw them in the garbage. After a second and third screening of my questionable bag, they let me have it back, right before the gate door closed on my plane. I made it! No sweat - I bought some more toothpaste and shaving foam once I arrived at the Cleveland airport.

I checked in to a hotel downtown, went out for a lovely meal, and then went back to the hotel to wait for my Rosa to show up. It had been nearly six weeks since we had seen each other. I decided to kill time by ironing my clothes which were a bit wrinkled after their crammed journey in my roller bag. Somewhere in the middle of ironing a sleeve, I got a call from Rosa, who was just arriving downstairs. We finally saw each other! She came tumbling through the front door of the hotel with three packed bags (most of her earthly possessions). She was more beautiful than I had ever seen her. We both just kind of looked at each other for a minute; it felt like one of those moments in the movies. After a longer hug than ever, I helped her bring her bags upstairs. It was nice to finally see her again.

Friday I had an enjoyable series of interviews while Rosa slept in and went to lunch with her Dad. When I was finished, Rosie and I drove in to Westlake, where we spent a few minutes with her mom and sister. We did a little shopping and enjoyed some Panera with Rosa's mom. After that, we headed over to Westlake High School and arrived right at halftime. I forgot how fun high school football games can be. They are fun, especially in the midwest! The Westlake High halftime show is impressively professional. The band is one of the top ranking bands in the country, and the flag girls and cheer girls are incredibly coordinated. The only thing missing was fireworks. It was exciting not only to watch Rosa's sister Julie bang on her drums, but it was neat to picture Rosa in the band and in charge of the flag girls. It was one of those rare moments where you get to go back in time and see your spouse before you met. So cool.

Saturday brought a beeeaautiful long sleep-in. We woke up somewhere between 11 and 12. It was blissful. It's one of the first times in a while I woke up feeling like I was done sleeping - it's been a while since that's happened. After some hanging out and a bit more shopping, we headed to dinner back near Cleveland in Brooklyn. The family went out to dinner in honor of Rosa's sister's birthday. It was so good to see everyone together!

The next day brought more plane probs. Our plane into Atlanta was delayed, and I missed my flight to Charlottesville by about 40 seconds! Luckily, the Olsons came to my rescue and picked me up in Richmond when I took a substitute flight. When I made it back to Charlottesville, I hopped in the car and drove to Baltimore to pick up Rosa, who had been waiting there for several hours. I can't tell you how good it felt to arrive back in Charlottesville that night. Finally! Rosa and Dave in Charlottesville. Yay!

I'm glad Rosa and I were both able to be in Cleveland for the weekend. I owe lots of thanks to those that hosted me, and Rosa's family, and of course the Olsons for coming through in the clutch. Life is finally back to normal. *sigh*

SNN

Drew Snyder of the Snyder News Network just released a review of UVA Law blogs. Here is what he has to say about me:

"Not to be confused with the former New York Giants quarterback of the same name, Brown describes himself as a Mormon, peer advisor, and the host and producer of a podcast on a cappella music. He keeps his frequent but short, a nice combination. He seems like a pleasant guy."

Gee thanks, Drew!

Noteworthy in the news

Noteworthy appeared in another Daily Universe article last week. Way to go, ladies.

I [heart] NY

GREAT trip to New York.

I got up at 5:30am on Friday, and headed to the Charlottesville airport. After a quick dry airport bagel and some tart Dole OJ (no spinach in any of these!), I hopped on a 30-person propeller plane, headed for LaGuardia, departing at 7am. Even though it wasn't even time for breakfast, LaGuardia was already delayed (surprised?). Luckily, we only had to circle around for about 10-15 minutes before we were able to land. I later found out that by the end of the day, with LaGuardia's normal delays, plus the huge rainstorm, flights were backed up over 3 hours!

I got in to my hotel very early, before it was even check-out time, so someone was still in my room. Considering I had come in jeans and a ballcap, and I hadn't shaved, and my interview was at 2:30pm, it was time to start worrying. The lady at the counter said she'd put a rush on the room, and she expected it would be ready somewhere between noon and 1pm. Trying to put my self-inflicted delay out of my mind, I decided to take a walk around midtown. I had fun walking around Broadway and half of midtown Manhattan. What a fun place! I'd been to NY before, but never with enough time to just walk around. I stopped at a hopping breakfast place, filled with locals - always a good sign. One of the greatest bagels I've ever eaten! I love NY bagels! Worked on my moot court reading, took some notes, skimmed through the NY Post on the table, and enjoyed being indoors while it was raining outside.

I made my way back to the hotel, where I attempted to dry off again, taking advantage of the free wireless internet in the hotel lobby. I caught up on some emails, checked in with my lovely wife, and felt proud of myself for working on schoolwork while I was on a trip (never happens). After trying to ignore the ticking of the clock, I decided to go grab some lunch.

Luckily, by now it had stopped raining - for the moment. I walked past several franchises whose names I knew, but thought it would be better to find the local greasy spoon where all the locals go. I was walking aimlessley, watching the people on the street, enjoying the fact that every four conversations I overheard was in a language I didn't even recognize. I suddenly found myself behind a group of gruff men, all with thick accents in loud voices, wide collars and dark suits, hair in desperate need of a barber. They all walked into the same place - a loud place with a thousand people bees buzzing around in their lunch hive. This place literally served everything - burgers, fries, Chinese, sushi, steak, Turkish food, cold cuts, hot sandwiches, nuts, gummi bears, beer, soda, you name it. I settled on a slice of New York pizza. Chicken. Buffalo chicken pizza, incredible sauce, crispy crust - oh my goodness! If Rosa had been there to enjoy it with me, it would've been heaven.

Back to the hotel - room was ready! Yess!! Ironed my clothes, showered, shaved, and reviewed my pre-interview paperwork. I walked the 2 blocks over to the firm's office. Wonderful interview! I wasn't sure what to expect, but I found a nice collection of people who seem to be genuinely friendly, and seem to honestly enjoy their work. Great time.

After that ended, I had my mind set on either heading to Central Park, or catching a Broadway show, or taking the subway down to Ground Zero, or something really tourist-y. Unfortunately, the rain was coming down like I've never seen. Pouring! (in Spanish, by the way, they don't say raining "like cats and dogs," but rather raining "like swords and needles.") I decided to just chill in my hotel room. I ordered some delicious room service, and enjoyed a lovely New York hotel room that someone else was paying for. Fantastic.

The rain did end up stopping, though too late to really do anything. I threw my shoes back on, and just went for a walk around midtown again. So awesome. I made my way down to Times Square, grabbed some hot chocolate from Starbucks, and bought one of those who-knows-what-meat-this-is in a pita quick bites from a cart on the side of the street. Somewhere in the middle of thing, I wondered who I would sue if I got food poisoning. Luckily, it was only a passing concern, and didn't... come back up. So to speak. A great night, fell asleep early, in my manhattan paradise.

The next morning, I was up at 5:30am again. Made it to LaGuardia in plenty of time to find out that my flight had been canceled! They found me a seat on a plane to Charlotte, NC. In Charlotte, my flight to Charlottesville got delayed. Then it got delayed again. Ten minutes before take-off, they announced we'd be going out of a different gate in a different area of the airport. Yikes! We all made it, and I made it back to Charlottesville safe and sound.

A wonderful weekend in New York, drinking in Manhattan, listening to foreign accents and foreign languages, hanging out in a schwanky New York hotel room, enjoying visits with some great attorneys, ideal bagels, killer pizza, room service, lamb? in a pita, crazy taxicab drivers... it was just ideal.

The only thing that would have made it better would be if I could have shared it with Rosa. It occurred to me that if we live there, our apartment would be about the size of that hotel room. Hahahaha! Crazy place to live, but it's possible...

I'm so proud of you. Now take a hit.

"Police: Son's Reward for Doing Homework was Smoking Pot. "

Unbelievable, yet it's true.

Starbucks sued for recalling coupons

“Lawyer whose Starbuck's email coupon was not honored decides not to do anything.

Just kidding.

This is America... he is suing for $144 million."

9-11

Nine Eleven. Happy Anniversary. I can't believe it's been five years already.

Vocal Point 2006-07!!!

Vocal Point has chosen a new lineup for 2006-07:

JJ Haines
Ben Henry
Ryan Innes
Jeremiah Jackson
Micah Lorenc
Buck Mangum
Brad McOmber
Michael Sackett
Chase Weed

James Stevens returns as director.

The three members returning from last year, JJ, Ryan, and Buck, are motivated, incredible singers. Jeremiah and Chase have both been in the group in the past, and will contribute greatly to the sound and the vision. I can induce that the four new members are incredible from two pieces of data: 1) I know Michael Sackett is the bomb, and 2) they had a lot of people audition, so the four they chose must be of the highest quality.

I'm psyched. I'm officially going on record as saying that these 9 are going to have an incredible year. Booyah.

Read the official announcement on the Vocal Point website.

LABOR day

Labor day was instituted in the United States in 1887 by Grover Cleveland Ohio as a reaction to various labor movements of the time. It was something that was already happening in other countries (that's what May Day is all about, by the way), and our country followed suit. As is typical of America, we chose not to celebrate it on May 1, like everyone else, but chose our own random day. I guess it's like the standard vs. metric thing. We'll do it our way. Anyway, the purpose of labor day is to not work.

BUT. Some people work on labor day. As just one example, we at UVA Law have classes today. No one's sure why, but it probably has something to do with the total number of Monday classes in a semester. If you shave one off, even for a national holiday instituted to give people a day off, it has to be made up somewhere. Heaven forbid we should just cut that one day from the semester. We wouldn't be getting our money's worth. A friend of mine recently did the calculations and figured out that each student at Virginia Law is paying approximately $70 per class on average. Seventy bones. That averages to like a dollar a minute. That's the same price of a mid-level recording studio. I could've been recording music for three years instead of going to school. And when I finished the three years of recording, at least I'd have several albums to show for it. What do I have now? A boatload of debt. Although at least I have much greater earning potential. The one way we get back at these professors for keeping us in on labor day, and for making us pay a dollar a minute, is by going out into the world and earning way more per hour than they do. Mwuahahahaha.

Don't let me lead you astray - although our ultra dedicated faculty here at the law school are working hard on labor day, there are some who aren't. Like those who run the university's data systems. It's not like it's important or anything. Even though we have classes today, no one can add or drop any of them since LawReg is down. YET AGAIN! This thing is always down. It's the law school's biggest joke (besides the new "let's not focus so much on drinking" philosophy). Here's the email we got from them today:

The University is closed today for Labor Day. Unfortunately, the data import from the University's system crashed and we are unable to contact anyone. Consequently, we are re-booting LawReg as it was at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. As a result, LawReg will not open until 10:30 a.m. today, Monday, September 4th. Any changes to courses that were scheduled to appear this morning will not appear until Tuesday morning at 10 a.m.

Hilarious. The university has the day off, but not the dumb law students. They want their $70 worth. And when the university's registration system fails, at the key time known as the beginning of the semester, "we are unable to contact anyone." I realize they're on vacation, but is there NO ONE who can help us? What if the school were burning down? We called 9-1-1, but we no one is answering. It's labor day. Heaven help us.

I'm going to go dance around a may pole and celebrate.

another Seussical review

This is a review of the TThS cast (not Rosa's), but it still raves about the show in general:

http://www.clippertoday.com/link.asp?smenu=74&sdetail=16663

Great interview quotes

Interview week was stressful indeed, but there are always a few bright moments that deserved to be shared. The Virginia Law Weekly collects the best quotes and publishes them all here.

Seussical in Deseret News

Read the brief article here.

Back to School

That phrase used to be more exciting than it is now. It used to elicit feelings of anticipation - a new year, a new teacher, new backpack, new tennis shoes,... I don't have a new backpack, but I do have a trendy new Ogio shoulder bag, courtesy of Manning Curtis, which holds my computer and makes me look stylish at the same time. I don't have new tennis shoes, but I definitely have a brand new beautiful suit, along with tailored shirts, new ties, new belt, new dress shoes, and even some new socks, all of which definitely helped in my TWENTY ONE interviews over the past five weekdays. Yowza! I interviewed with eighteen firms (a handful had me interview separately for separate offices). I didn't think it would be that taxing - I enjoy talking to people and asking questions - but it really was draining, especially yesterday, when I had seven interviews in one day. I guess it's a good problem to have. Everyone keeps asking how things went, and the answer immediately is "great, I think" - I won't find out how things really went until I hear back from each firm, at which point I'll know if they're passing on me, or if I have a "callback." If I get called back, the firm will fly me out to their office for an even more grueling set of interviews with various associates and partners there in the office. At least I get to fly around a bit - hopefully. So far I've gotten three callbacks - which is at least enough to know I'm not a nincompoop. All three great firms - so that's exciting.

Anyway, back to Criminal Adjudication reading. I almost forgot - going back to school actually entails learning!

My Bird Girl

Rosa made her Utah musical theatre debut this past Friday night as "Bird Girl #2" in an adorable trio of singers in Rodgers Memorial Theatre's Seussical: The Musical. The silly, family-friendly song-and-dance show revolving around the storyline from Horton Hears a Who opened Friday night to a sold-out crowd, and was extremely well received. In fact, the entire 3-week run of the show has nearly sold out, and there's already talk about extending the run. I'm so proud of you, Rosie!

Just to embarass her, here's her picture for the entire world to enjoy:

She's so very... yellow. No seriously, though, isn't she adorable?

I made it!

Last night, my 32-hour drive from Salt Lake ended - and fortunately, at the time, I was in my car, parking right out front of my Charlottesville apartment. The last day of driving was definitely the worst, and felt the longest. I just wanted to be done with it. On the bright side, I was very fortunate to be traveling in such comfort in perfect safety. And I even got to stop and see Julie's family along the way.

Today's my nephew's birthday - he's five! Sometimes I feel sad that we're all so far away from each other. But at least we have airplanes and cars so we can visit each other.

This morning, I've joined in helping a couple friends move in. I'm still going through my own boxes, buying books, picking up groceries, cleaning the car, and trudging my way through all these errands that gotta get done.

Back to work!

Article about auditions

Check out my latest article here.

Landed in lovely Loveland

SUNDAY
Drove from Centerville, UT to Ogallala, NE

MONDAY
Drove from Ogallala, NE to Moline, IL

TUESDAY
Drove from Moline, IL to Loveland, OH

My sister Julie and her family live here in Loveland in their beautiful new home. Custom, gorgeous, everything you could want in a house. Julie says they'll stay here until she can't walk up the stairs any more.

I was pleasantly greeted, given a tour of the home, and shown my lovely guest quarters. It's fun to see the nearby basement area where Julie will soon be teaching early morning Seminary! We went out to dinner a local cafe place, and then picked up the kids from mutual activities. When we got home, we watched Saints and Soldiers, which I hadn't seen before. Rockin' flick.

Time to go to bed, even though it "feels" like it's not as late to me. I'm still on Utah time. Off to bed anyway...

Goodbye, Summer

Today is my last day at work. It has really been a wonderful summer. All the attorneys and staff members at Manning Curtis Bradshaw & Bednar have treated me very well. Although we've had fun firm activities and lots of nice free lunches, what's meant the most to me is that I've gotten to really work. Within the first few minutes after I arrived my first day, I was already digging in to a case. I've had lots of opportunities to contribute substantively to a whole host of cases in a variety of areas of the law. Much of my work has been flipped around and given straight to the client, which I take as a compliment. I've done work for all sorts of clients - everyone from a friend of an associate to some very sophisticated blue-chip clients. I did work in a dozen areas of the law, sat in on a motion hearing (which we won!), and even drafted a motion that was filed in court (which I hope we win!). It's really been an incredible experience.

This week, the firm's managing partner and recruiting coordinator took me out to lunch. They asked me for some feedback about the firm and the firm's summer program. I had mostly glowing things to say, but gave a couple constructive criticisms, which they were delighted to hear. After that, they gave me some feedback on my performance, which was more kind than it probably should have been, and then they made me an offer to return to the firm! It was really exciting - getting an offer is about the best way to finish your summer at a law firm. After making the offer for me to return next summer, the firm said they'd understand if I went elsewhere next year, just to expose myself to more areas of the law, or to other types of firms. There's no telling where Rosa and I will be next summer or what type of firm we'll be at. But regardless, it's nice to know that Manning Curtis will give me a nice recommendation, and that I'm hopefully always welcome back here.

Sweet.

Four-for-one

K, so I don't write very often. To make up for it, I'm writing four posts in one:

1) Interview requests are now being processed, but I already found out that I won four lottery interviews. That means I bid enough points to get those interviews automatically, regardless of whether the employer wants me or not. Hey, I've got at least four!

2) First round of class selection ended today. I've got three great classes for first semester, and two great classes for spring. There's another couple rounds of class selection left, but I'm very happy with the ones I've got so far. Rock on.

3) I've got a monthly column now on the CASA website. If you care about how to plan a summer tour, read my first article.

4) I've been selected to co-host and produce a podcast of all original a cappella music. It's more fun than I even expected! If you're interested, or even just want to mock my radio voice, give it a listen (I'm on episode 2).

Cream of the crop

The law review has just announced its membership decisions. Congratulations to Rich G, Jason S, Ryan F, Jason A, and a batch of other smart folks.

Cool

The UT-based International Children's Choir has been selected to represent the United States in the World Choir Games, an olympic-like tournament for choirs. This year's Games will be held Xiamen, China. Because they've been asked to sing music that represents the religion of their area, they will be performing a few LDS hymns: "The Spirit of God," "Let Zion in Her Beauty Rise," and "A Child's Prayer." The last one will be sung in various languages. For more info on the story, check here.

ID4

GREAT weekend. Nice to have time off work, spend time with family, catch up on some things... On the 4th, we went to Kaysville in the morning to see my nephew Josh in the parade. Half of the parade was normal and nice, and the other half was a huge water fight. Which I wasn't looking forward to at first, but by the time that part of the parade came, it was really hot, and really nice to get doused by the hoses. And watching 8,000 children go nuts is pretty fun. That night we went back up to Kaysville for a fun BBQ with family, then over to the park to watch some of the best fireworks I've seen in years. What a great holiday!

ghmmmmm

Grades are up. Yeah, hopefully I can *write* on to law review...

Disassociate

This is a pretty funny site. I don't have similar feelings about where I work, but still it's funny.

Chuggin' along...

Internship is going well. Employment defense, personal injury, corporate, you name it. I'm learning a TON and really enjoying myself.

That is all.

My first day!

I had a spectacular day at work today. My first day at my first legal job! I was greeted kindly at the door, directed to my own office, introduced to everyone, and given my first assignment. I spent the day researching. It sounds boring, but it was really fun - I got so into it, I didn't realize it was 2:00pm already, when they took me out to lunch. The people were all really nice to me, and it seriously rocked. I'm sure there will be some tougher, less exciting days ahead, but at least today was great!

In other news, I'm official: check me out in the middle of this page.

welcome to utah

Rosie and I made it to UT on Wednesday afternoon. It was a long trip, but we broke it up with some really fun (though short) visits with family. We're just about unpacked.

Saw DaVinci Code last night. It was well done, but not as good as the book. The movie felt a little rushed. If you hadn't read the book, the movie might be a bit hard to understand. But I still liked it.

Start work this Monday.

Woohooo!

Ding! I'm done!

When I walked out of my last final today, I actually felt giddy. It sounds silly, but I had a smile on my face, and I didn't even mean to. And everyone around me did too. It was such a relief! It's cool that summer's here, and it's job time, and all that good stuff, but just having the pressure of finals off your back really puts you in a good mood. No more studying, no more grade curves, no more heavy books, no more cramming 'til 4am... at least for a few months.

Rosa and I leave tomorrow. Goodbye, amigos! Goodbye, Charlottesville! See you soon...

3/4

Took Corporate Finance today, felt good about it. I'm not sure how much I'll ever need to use corporate finance and accounting, but at least now I finally understand my dad's and my brother's jokes. Those guys are pretty funny.

bōrd

Board. I received a nice phone call today from Deke Sharon, founder and current president of the Contemporary Acappella Society (CASA). They took a vote today, and unanimously voted me in as a member of the society's Board of Directors. This means that in addition to my current duties as a head of one of their programs, I'll also participate in their monthly board meetings online, and their annual board retreat in the SF Bay Area. Sweet.

Bored. I'm studying bond valuation right now. Exciting.

Board. Since it's a lovely, sunny day in Charlottesville, I put on some old shorts, and it turns out they have a hint of sunblock smell on them. I keep getting a whiff every few minutes, and it reminds me of my family's annual summer vacations to the beach at Pajaro Dunes in Monterey Bay. Mmmm.

¡Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

First of all, happy five of may.

Second, congratulations to the Ormsbys for the birth of a reportedly beautiful, healthy baby boy. Tyler Jeffrey Ormsby was born yesterday. Even though he was a few days early, he came in at a hearty 8 lbs 10 oz and just over 21 inches long. Big boy for a little mommy. I hear both are doing well. Congrats to them! And good luck to Matt, who still has two finals left! As I write this, he's sitting in the hospital reading his Criminal Adjudication textbook.

While we're on the subject of babies, Aubrey Anna Scott is growing well and is as beautiful as ever. For like a zillion pictures of her, visit this blog.

Lastly, congratulations to me for being halfway done with finals. I knocked out Constitutional Law on Wednesday and Mass Torts today. Now I'm studying corporate finance, and feeling pretty good about choosing law school over MBA school. :-)

One short week from now, we'll be leaving Charlottesville. I can't believe it! I'm gonna miss my friends here and our funny little apartment. But I'm looking forward to a fun summer with a great firm and cool roommates.

Okay, back to net present value calculations...

my favorite poem

roses are red,
violets are blue,
some poems rhyme,
but this one doesn't.

Vocal Point crowned World Champs!

After three wins of the ICCA West Region, Vocal Point finally got to go to New York, and they won!!!!! Way to go, boys!

What a trip! Rosa and I got to spend the weekend in New York, eating at some spectacular restaurants, watching the International Championship of High School A Cappella finals, visiting the Empire State Building, walking through Central Park, doing some classic NY shopping, seeing some of the big name law NY firms, and watching Vocal Point win the international title! Their set was fantastic; they were totally on. They even won the award for Most Outstanding Choreography. Words can't describe with a thrilling climax it was to see my boys in blue shirts and ties up on that stage accepting that 1st Place award. The two rows of alumni, friends, and family went nuts when they announced their win. When they were asked to sing an encore, they sang the hymn "It is Well." Perfect!

The after party at T.G.I. Friday's was a blast, and I got to sing with my boys again! So fun!

Done with classes!

My 1L year is not yet finished, but with the close of my property book, my last class has ended. No more classes! Now I hit the rough road of finals, which is about two weeks in length, but feels like it's miles long. Constitutional Law, Mass Torts, Corporate Finance, and Property... wish me luck!

Happy First Anniversary!

To celebrate our first trip around the sun, Rosie and I went out last night for a nice Italian dinner and some killer gelato. She can't get enough of either of those (she's half-Italian, after all).



Then we headed out to the lovely Virginia countryside to a little bed and breakfast called South River Country Inn. The place is adorable, and everything was ready for us when we arrived - the flowers I had requested, along with a welcoming note from the owners, Judy and Cliff.






Morning brought us an amazing country view and Judy's famous breakfast, including homemade sausage! This is the kind of place you could sit out on the porch all day and drink lemonade. It was a lovely little excursion. We got back to Charlottesville in time to put the beef stroganoff in the slow cooker (Rosa's half-Hungarian, after all), for a great ending to a lovely weekend.


I think Rosa put it best when she said, "It's been a year and we're still Daryl."

Happy anniversary, Rosie!

Happy Easter!

The Easter Bunny came! He brought us Easter baskets with lots of yummy candy and even a couple toys. Greg & Michelle hid our baskets somewhere in our house, and we hid their baskets; luckily, we each found our own. After a delicious brunch with all our neighbors, we had a couple of egg hunts and a nice messy egg toss. Rosa and I sang in Church, as did my little choir. A fantastic Easter all around!

I'm too young to dye

We got together with Greg and Michelle this morning for some egg-cellent fun. Our fingers are still multi-colored.

Behold our creations!

Good day

Friday was nice to me.

I was selected to be a Peer Advisor next year, which means I'll be one of a few upperclassmen assigned to work with a group of 30 or so incoming students. There were a lot more applicants than usual this year, so it's quite an honor. I'll be back in the fall for new student orientation, and I'll help those new 1Ls get adjusted to life at UVA law. I'm looking forward to it!

We had a fun group of friends over for an evening of making sundaes (mmmmmm) and watching Brian Regan. What could be better?

special ed

Today I was selected to be the Special Projects Editor for my journal! It's quite an honor b/c I am now part of the managerial board, which is rare for a first-year law student. Although my duties will be various, the main thing I'm in charge of is organizing a large-scale symposium sponsored by our journal and the law school this coming spring. So I have to begin organizing soon, choosing a theme, creating a timeline, etc. Should be a good amount of work, but lots of fun!

joke of the day

brought to you by my lovely mother-in-law Rena Parma:

What do you call a fish with no eyes? A fsh.

123456

Tomorrow, two minutes and three seconds after 1:00, the time and date will be

01:02:03 04/05/06.

That won't ever happen again in our lifetime.

No foolin'

I wrote a "student spotlight" piece that came out in this month's Student Laywer magazine, published by the American Bar Association. Fun to get something in the mail every month, and suddenly my name is under one of the articles. The online version is here.

I made it onto a journal!

Monday, I was invited to join the editorial board of the law school's newest journal, the Virginia Law & Business Review. I was also invited to join the older Journal of Law & Politics, but I turned it down today and officially accepted the invitation to join the business journal for a few reasons:

• substantive law of the journal
• more chances for managerial positions
• potential work on an upcoming symposium
• great staff, superb authors

So the Law & Business Review has me hooked for next year! Wish me luck!

happy birthday to me

I'm 25. Overnight, I just became more responsible. I can finally rent a car, and my insurance goes down! Wahoo!

I had a fabulous day. Not only did my friends and sweet family call me and share their love for me, but my lovely wife decorated our apartment, made me an incredible dinner, and planned several fun games. A perfect birthday! Thanks everyone!

Vocal Point wins Semi-finals!!!

Last night, Vocal Point competed against seven other excellent ensembles in the Western Semi-finals of the International Championship of Collegiate Acappella, and they won! This confirms their repeated claim of being "one of the top six a cappella groups in the nation," and means they get to compete in the international finals April 29 in New York City!!! Congratulations, boys!

I love to see the temple

For the first time in a while, Rosa and I were both free during the same 8-hour period, so we decided to take advantage of that rarity and make a trip to visit the temple today. It was as gorgeous as I remembered, inside and out. Plus, we were fortunate enough to go with Greg and Michelle. It was fun to share the trip with them, including a nice dinner afterward. Talk about a great double date!

Fabulous day.

CD Review on CASA

http://www.casa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=425&Itemid=119

Spring Break!

A fabulous week in Utah. And a full one:

--after an all-nighter, finishing my Journal Tryout, a quick shower and packing
--whisking away to BWI airport
--hugging Mom and Dad
--staying in the Pajaro room
--remembering what it's like to have real TV
--visiting Noteworthy - always delicious
--hearing Catherine sing some of her new songs - unbelievable
--visiting Vocal Point - they're better than ever
--doing taxes with Dad
--meals at all our favorite places
--a nice visit to the law firm where I'll be working this summer
--helping Mark hang a mural in Josh's room
--seeing our close friends be sealed together in the Salt Lake temple
--meeting and eating with our friends' families
--a roller-coaster flight home
--a 3+ hour drive from Baltimore to Charlottesville - in bed at 4am

Whew!

On wealth

"President Spencer W. Kimball once spoke of a man who prided himself on his vast acreage and remarkable holdings—groves and vineyards, herds and fields, ponds and homes and possessions of every kind. He prided himself on these, but to the end of his life was unwilling to tithe on them or even acknowledge that they were gifts from God. President Kimball then spoke at the man's funeral, noting that this land baron was laid to rest in an oblong piece of soil measuring "the length of a tall man, the width of a heavy one." In answer to the age-old question, "How much did he leave?" be reassured the answer will always be, "All of it." So we would do well to lay up treasures in heaven, where not taxes but doctrines give meaning to words like estate, inheritance, testament, and will."

--Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Oct. 2001

Quote of the Day

From my two-year-old niece Sarah:
"My birthday is coming up soon, and I'm very proud of myself."

VP in Deseret News

"Vocal Point Rides Wave of Success"
by Carma Wadley

It's hot — and they're cool!

That might explain why Vocal Point is so successful. Its genre, a cappella music, is one of the most popular on the local music scene. And for 15 years, Vocal Point has been one of the best at it, now ranking as the most-requested... Read more

Big Weekend in NYC

I spent the weekend in New York, participating in the Lefkowitz Trademark Moot Court Competition. My team took 2nd place in the Eastern Region, and took home the award for "Best Oral Advocacy."

The competition took place in the New York Supreme Court, in the Soho district near Chinatown. Great location! I ate killer chicken parmigian in Little Italy and bought a fake Rolex. We stayed at a nice hotel, and the school paid for most of the trip. I had a blast. Lovely weekend.

On time

"The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time."
--Bertrand Russell

great weekend

I spent all day Friday and Saturday in Washington, D.C. at the J. Reuben Clark Society Lawyers Conference and LDS Law Student Conference. It was a beautiful, uplifting weekend full of insights, panels, speeches, networking, and good food.

Notable was the opening address by Elder Cree-L Kofford, emeritus member of the Seventy. He spoke about following the Spirit in connection with the legal practice. The thing I took away from it was this: Don't think you're smarter than your non-member counterparts. You're not. And you don't work harder than they do. So if they work 7 days/week and 16 hours/day, how can we ever compete? "Not only can you compete, you can excel!" That was very encouraging. If you keep your covenants, and follow the Spirit, you will be blessed. That's reassuring, when I'm competing with so many around me who have more free time than me, no family, no church obligations, etc. Nice.

The whole conference was great: corporate law panel, public policy panel, General Counsel of the Church, General Counsel of Tyco, BYU law professor, Catholic priest - Georgetown professor, Richard Bushman on "Joseph Smith and the Law,"... Fantastic.

The most enriching portion of the weekend was the final address, which was given by Judge Thomas Griffith, of the DC Circuit Court of Appeals. He spoke on "Practicing your Religion in Your Practice." Utterly thrilling.

Once my amigos and I made it back to Charlottesville, Rosa and I went out to the Barrister's Ball (law school prom). It was very reminiscent of high school dances, with the exception that I went with my beautiful wife! Yay!

All in all, I had an unbelievable weekend.

Musical Weekend

So, first of all, I got a CD review published on CASA.org this weekend. Check it out here: CD Review: Voices Only 2005.

Also, I was asked to judge an ICCA divisional this weekend. As it approached, I was getting excited and nervous, but little did I know what awaited me. On Friday morning, the Executive Director of the ICCA called me and told me that the show's producer was extremely ill and would be unable to come to the event. She then asked me to produce and judge the event! Yikes!

So I did. After some extensive, frantic planning on Friday, I headed out on Saturday afternoon. I drove two hours down to Williamsburg through a nasty rainstorm. Luckily, when I got there, I found a nice venue, a host group that was extremely prepared, and five well-rehearsed groups that all showed up on time. It was a miracle. The judges came, the sound and lighting worked, the tickets sold, the volunteers were friendly to the crowds... it was great! The hardest part of the night was judging the actual show. All five groups were well rehearsed, and it was tough competition. In all the time I competed in ICCA, I never realized how tough it was to judge. But in the end, we came out with a winner, and a couple of runners-up. If you're interested in specifics, scroll down to the bottom of this page. After a bit of cleaning up, the night was over. Plus a two hour drive home. At 2am, I collapsed. Luckily I was in my pajamas in bed at the time. :)

And the final piece of news: my ward choir started rehearsing again yesterday. We finally have a place to rehearse! They sound great. It's nice to be conducting again.

That was my musical weekend. La la la!

Judge Rejects English-only Drivers Test

An Alabama statute, which makes English the official language of the state, apparently does not make it the only language.

The story here.

NG

Okay, so we're into February at this point, and I still have no grades posted. My whole section is chomping at the bit here, hoping that maybe we'll have at least ONE grade posted. Instead, every time we visit the grade site, we're faced with an unfriendly batch of "NG"s. No grade. Hopefully they'll be up soon!

Alito is confirmed

Alito is confirmed: the story here.

Pretty cool that Alito was confirmed while I was sitting in my constitutional law class.

I love this guy. Believes in supporting the family as the fundamental unit of society. Brilliant, brilliant man. Supports individual liberties, and balances them with social need. Has given his life to public service, and will be a superb Supreme Court Justice.

A little more about him here.

yee-haw!

So today was a perfect day back! I got my tuition paid, I completed all my final registration requirements, I saw all my old buddies, it was all grand. I had my first class at 8:25am (yikes), which was Accounting. We spent half the time talking about the FASB, and I felt like bragging about my Dad working for them. I already understand my Wall Street Journal a little better! Property class was pretty interesting as well. My teachers are doing their best with what could be otherwise boring subjects. Things look promising.

But the biggest development of the day: I GOT A JOB! I got a phone call from the recruiting attorney at Manning, Curtis, Bradshaw, & Bednar, and she offered me a job, which I accepted on the spot. Rosa and I had talked it over beforehand and decided that if I got an offer from them, I should just take it. So I did. Hooray!

The firm is small, and I'll be their only summer clerk. I'll get lots of hands-on experience, and hopefully get some good skills. Now I just have to focus on this semester... back to tonight's homework: reading the Constitution!

Sweet vacation

Rosa and I just got back from our vacation in Utah. Even though it lasted two weeks, it went by like two snaps.

The first week, I spent a lot of time on the computer, working with my team to finish my moot court brief. I also sang in my mother's lesson in Church, and Rosie accompanied me. We had a joint birthday-party for Mom, Dad, Rosa, and Mark, who all have January birthdays! I had a job interview with a small firm, Manning, Curtis, Bradshaw, & Bednar. It was just lunch and a short interview, but I had a good time. The people there were really friendly, and I think it went well. We visited Provo a couple times, helping the BYU a cappella groups prepare for the International Championship of Collegiate A cappella, which we then attended that Saturday. Our groups, Vocal Point and Noteworthy, took first and second respectively. Both will advance to the Semi-final round at Stanford this March. Before going to see the ICCA show, we got together with some of the other Noteworthy alumni, and held the first meeting of the Noteworthy Alumni Association. It was so fun to be with all our old friends! Everyone is still so passionate about the group! It'll be fun to see where things go with the NAA in coming years. I can already tell that these ladies will be able to do so much for the group! We also had a fun triple date with Mark & Laura and my parents, when we went out to see The Nerd, which is one of the funniest plays ever made. One of Rosa's friends from her BYU acting class played the leading role, and it was absolutely hilarious. It was a great week.

The next week proved less eventful, but still extremely enjoyable. Rosie and I sang a duet in Sacrament Meeting, I had another job interview (with Kirton & McConkie), we missed my Dad on his birthday (he was in CT, getting trained by the FASB), we had visits from old BYU friends and old mission buddies, and Noteworthy came to spend the weekend at our house for a Winter retreat. So freakin' cool. It's fun to hear them all sing so well, but it's even more fun to see them really capture the vision of where the group can go.

The trip home was eventful yesterday. We left home late for our flight. When we finally made it to the airport, it was just in time to discover that I had left my wallet on the counter! Mom drove it to us in extreme haste, and I made the plane with literally seconds to spare. Three flights later, we landed in Charlottesville, but our luggage didn't make it. Luckily, this morning it was dropped off, and all is well (except for some broken zippers!).

This would've been more interesting in installments along the way, as opposed to a big sudden unloading of stories, but at least it's all there. Today is the first day of class! Off I go!

zzzzzz...

I've been editing my team's Moot Court brief for several hours now. You know your life is dull when a bathroom break seems like a fun change of pace.

Happy New Year!

So it's a little after 6pm, and we just got home from church. You see, there are three wards that meet in our building, and there's barely enough parking for one. The ward that comes from very far away (over 45 min) gets the middle of the day spot, so the other two wards swap between really early and really late. So the last four months, we've had church at 8:30am, but we just switched today to 3:10pm! It's weird when you come out of church and it's dark out. We have to remember to turn on our porch light before we leave for church! But at least we get to sleep in... :)

So anyway, happy new year! We thought about not staying up last night, but we got invited to our neighbors' place. We enjoyed a bit of Dick Clark (and Ryan Seacrest) and Martinelli's. 2005 was an excellent year. I graduated from college, went on tour with Vocal Point, started law school, and of course GOT MARRIED. This next year isn't looking as eventful, but maybe that's good. I need a rest after last year. Although who knows. I always seem to get into some kind of mischief.

So Happy New Year to all and to all a... something clever.