Chapter 4: Being Awesome

The end of a day of studying.

I’m taking my blog inspiration from another blog writer today… Jen Rouse, a talented writer, who, once upon a time, taught me my crime beat job back at the newspaper.

Last week, Jen announced her goal for the year: “just be awesome.”

She didn’t mean it in the sense of I’m-the-best-person-in-room but more the idea of living your best day to day. And I like that idea. So here’s my “just be awesome” list as it applies to law school (or what I know of law school after two weeks):

1. Be early. As much as I loathed my undergraduate professor’s mantra, it’s true: “Early is on time. On time is late. And late is unacceptable.”

2. Be prepared. These law professors will call your name when you least expect it.

3. Relax. As much as possible. Enjoy the half hour of TV time or the 15 minutes of for-fun reading before falling asleep.

4. Be nice. Be the person people want to study with, not avoid, in the library.

5. Remember my motto… Dress well, test well. (I haven’t really had the opportunity to test this theory in law school but I assume it will work just as well as before.)

Note: Thanks, Jen.

Chapter 3: The Books

Here’s a visual of the first term of law school:

Chapter 2: Shopping for School Supplies

BrownTrout Publishers as seen on Amazon.

I went to the office supply store yesterday to buy a spiral notebook for school. I know laptops are all the rage for in-class note taking but I think all my years of scribbling in a reporter’s notebook have got me stuck on the paper and pen technique. So for now, I’ll stick with what I know.

While I was at the store, I wandered around a bit and discovered what has to be one of the top 10 most ridiculous calendars of all time. The Yoga Kittens.

I got home and checked it out online. If you’re interested, you can purchase your own Yoga Kittens calendar on Amazon. Or if you’re more of a dog person, there’s the Yoga Puppies calendar. I couldn’t help but check out the comments on the Yoga Cats calendar. Full of Cuteness said the calendar “has the name and description of the poses which the cats are doing.” Really? Are you planning to use the calendar to actually learn yoga poses? The second (and last) reviewer said she was “disappointed that these are just rehashed pictures from 2 previous calendars.” Really? Third year buying the cat yoga calendar? Maybe it’s time to try the Justin Bieber calendar – just to mix things up a little.

(And in case you couldn’t figure it out… I’m a pro at procrastinating. Now it’s back to studying.)

Chapter 1: Getting Started

It’s official. I’m registered, oriented, loaded down with books, and making good use of my highlighter pen. I’m a law student.

I did receive a warning two weeks ago. On registration day there was a young man outside the classroom building, telling anyone who would listen not to go to law school. I believe he was a student. And I hope he was just having a bad day and not the one sane person on campus. Either way, it’s too late. My check’s been cashed and I’m starting on week two of this adventure.

Return from Haiti

I’ve been back from Haiti for one week and starting to feel caught up on life here at home which means I have more time to think back on my trip. I plan on writing more but, for now, here’s something I wrote our first night in Haiti for the Haiti Foundation of Hope website:

One Year and Nine Months Ago
October 12, 2011 

We arrived safely in Haiti today. After traveling for more than 20 hours, we ate a hearty meal and are now resting for tomorrow.

On the drive to our final destination today, we took a right turn onto a road that I’d never noticed before. We drove about 200 yards uphill to a spot where the ground leveled off. The ground was covered with small rocks, and green bushes were taking over the land. It was a memorial for the victims of the earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12, 2010. On that spot, under those rocks, thousands of earthquake victims had been buried – buried in one mass grave and without any markers. At the time it had been a burial of necessity.

Sometime after the earthquake and the burial, a memorial appeared on the site. There are no road signs or large statutes or even a permanent marker. But the visitor who turns down the unsuspecting road will see hundreds of black wooden crosses about two feet tall placed among the rocks. Some of the crosses are standing but most have fallen down – I suppose they have been knocked down by wind and rain and time. Among the crosses are wreathes and higher up on the hill stands a large cross draped with purple cloth.

I don’t know who is responsible for the memorial. I only know that it was a privilege to visit there today. To remember all of the lives that were lost one year and nine months ago today.

Before loading into the vehicles to continue our journey, we stopped to say a prayer. To summarize our prayer, which was all that needed to be said: God be with the survivors.

Postscript: Almost two years later, the effects of the earthquake are still visible here in Haiti. Today it was seen in a man with one leg standing on the side of the road in Port-au-Prince, a crumpled building that has yet to be rebuilt, and the thousands of makeshift shelters that have become homes to the homeless.

An Evening in Haiti

Here I am in Haiti, sitting on a balcony above the clinic where I’m working with a volunteer medical team. It’s late in the evening and most of the team is drifting off to sleep and the compound below has quieted for the day. I am no longer dripping with sweat. I’m not cool but I’m comfortable even without the breeze that has refused to come today. With the help of a 20 minute lunchtime nap, I’m awake now when I should be closing my eyes.

Right now, the hills around me are black. There is no electricity except for here at the clinic and the clouds have hidden the moon. I can’t see anything but I can hear someone walking on the road outside the gate. Every few minutes, lightening brightens the sky in the east. I can hear the soft voices of clinic workers – guards, translators and the many others needed to make this place run – speaking in Creole below. I hear dogs barking, crickets (or some similar bug) chirping all around me and roosters crowing (including the one I saw earlier today inside the school canteen). I suspect I will hear a donkey or two before I fall asleep tonight. I hear no mosquitoes but the sudden itch on my ankles tells me they are here.

We’ve been here in Haiti for almost a week. It’s been busy and productive and fun and exhausting and fulfilling and humorous and sad and beautiful. It’s been amazing.

I’m off to turn off the last of the lights and tuck myself into bed. Bon unit tout moun.

Night Sky in Haiti

Thursday’s night sky in Haiti.

Pictures from Haiti

Pictures from the memorial and gravesite for some of the victims of the 2010 earthquake.

Pictures from the medical conference held on Saturday.

A view from the clinic rooftop.

PCT, here I come

I’m getting ready for an upcoming four-day backpacking trip along part of the Pacific Crest Trail. It’s been a while since I’ve been backpacking and in the past I’ve only gone for a night or two. So this will be a new challenge. I’ll be hiking with my sister, dad and uncle. My dad and uncle are already on the trail – they are hiking the entire Oregon portion of the PCT – and you can follow their adventure on my uncle’s (Bob Welch’s) website.

On Monday I went for my final training hike at Bald Hill near Corvallis:

It was an uneventful, quiet evening hike that felt more like a summer stroll (minus the 20-pound pack on my back). This past Saturday, however, I went for a hike that was a little more challenging. It was above Detroit, along French Creek Ridge. With not much notice, I found a friend, Terri, who was brave enough to join me for what she called our “epic adventure.”

Here are a few highlights and lessons learned from that day hike:

Listen to others – I found the French Creek Ridge hike in a William Sullivan hiking book. He offered the warning to wear long pants because plants hang over the trail. I decided, however, that it was finally summer weather and I was wearing shorts. Now my legs have the scratches and bruises to prove that Mr. Sullivan had the better idea.

Watch your backside – There were a number of fallen trees across the trail. One in particular was just the right height were I couldn’t get over it and it had branches hanging down so it was difficult to go under. I dropped my backpack on the other side and struggled under the tree. In the process, about a thousand pine needles (I guess technically, they were fir needles) fell down the back of my shorts and – ahem – a certain undergarment. I tried unsuccessfully to shake out the needles and after walking about 10 yards I realized that if I didn’t work a little harder to remove the pine needles it was going to be the most uncomfortable hike ever.

You might be more prepared than you think – After about half a mile on the trail, I began to really regret not having packed my mosquito spray (or so I thought). We even passed three older gentlemen, one of whom let us use his bug spray. Later on, at our turn around, as I was digging in my pack for a snack, what did I find? My mosquito spray.

Watch your step –  Yeah, I tripped on a tree root and fell superman style.

Views can be motivating – The hike had amazing views of Mt. Jefferson and the Three Sisters in one direction and the Opal Creek Wilderness in the other. Sometimes wanting to see what’s around the corner can be just the motivation you need to put one foot in front of the other.

Rewards are good – The Mountain House rootbeer float I had on the way home was delicious.

Trail Running, Part II

I’ve recently made my first attempts at trail running. Today, I ran the trail at Silver Falls State Park. Here are a few things I’ve learned about trail running so far:

1. When you’re running on a trail predominately used by hikers, you realize at some point that not only do you look like the crazy one on the trail, you are the crazy one on the trail.

2. Hills are inevitable. It’s ok to slow down and change your pace – even walk if you have to – but one way or another, you’re going to have to get to the top. (I’m sure there’s a life lesson in there somewhere.)

3. Energy bars – the not so great tasting ones – become delicious somewhere around mile 5.

4. Boring old water tastes equally delicious.

5. Here in Oregon, if you attempt to run around mud puddles, you’re likely to add another mile to your run. You might as well just make a splash.

6. When you’re stretched to your limits, your reactions to the world around you can be surprising. Example: Today, when I was heading uphill and passed a hiker who jokingly yelled, “faster, faster,” I didn’t know whether to laugh or punch him. I think I managed to grunt, “ha, ha, ha.” (But I still wanted to punch him.)

7. Once you’re soaking wet (as in running in Oregon spring weather), you can’t get any wetter.

8. Keep a set of dry clothes in the car (see No. 7).

9. There’s a bit of irony in trail running. Part of the reason you go is to enjoy the scenery but if you want any chance at finishing the run without falling down a hill, you have to keep your eyes on the trail just in front of you.

10. It can be a lot of fun.