Monday April 18, 2011 12:54 a.m.

See that beauty? It's my final research paper for my negotiation class that I had absolutely no time to write. Friday night I had no idea what my thesis would be. My research was hardly started. I hadn't written one single word. Furthermore, I didn't have all weekend to work on it as I have two other finals to study for. So, the fact that it is complete, that I feel that it is an actually decent paper, and  that it's ready to turn in hours before its 5:00pm deadline later this evening is nothing short of a miracle. In fact, Friday night I prayed that Heavenly Father would give me the strength and ability to get everything done I needed to this weekend. I must say, he has answered my prayer.

Last night I studied by candle light. . .

. . . not because I am terribly romantic like that, but because our power went ka-putz AFTER the electric company visited our apartment complex. True, there were 60mph winds and I did hear a huge explosion, so there was probably good reason they turned off our power. I just wished it had happened on a night where my husband wasn't in class and I didn't have a crazy amount of studying to do. It would've been nice to snuggle with my love by candle light. 

Alas, I studied professional ethics and now my eyes hurt from reading in dim light. Also, I learned that when you burn multiple (read 8) scented candles of differing varieties at the same time, you should be prepared for a fragrance overload headache.  

Finals Must Haves

Alright! It's that time of year again--the time of year where I study my brains out, get no sleep, blog too much, and consume way too much Diet Coke. 

FINALS!

Just thought I'd share some "must haves" for all of you who might wonder what a law student needs to get through these awfully stressful weeks.

Exhibit #1: Laptop with side monitor. All your notes will not fit into one screen, thus the need for two. 

Exhibit #2: An awesome study chair. Your rear end will be in that chair for hours on end, so make sure it's comfy! (Thanks to my hunky husband who let me splurge on this beauty!)

Exhibit #3: Slippers. Let's be honest, these are a must have no matter what time of year it is.

Exhibit #4: Diet Coke with Lime to get you through. Really, any caffeinated soda will do. Some prefer Red Bull, but it makes my heart race and that scares me. Be prepared to consume your beverage of choice  from 9am until you finally pass out at night. If you start showing the signs of overdose (jitters, racing heart, etc.) you might want to hold off for a few hours until you start lagging again. 

Well, I'm all set. Notice I didn't mention motivation, although that probably is an essential too. I better go look for some. 

Now this is what I call March Madness

Before I became Mrs. Flager, I didn't know that much about sports. However, being married to the biggest sports nut I know has quickly changed that. This is the first time I have EVER filled out a March Madness bracket. Heck, last year I didn't even know what March Madness was. (It's the college basketball playoffs for those of you like me.) 

Anyway, the law school has a bracket pool and I thought it would be fun for Joe and I to fill out some brackets and see how we did against each other and the school. I am Flager1 and he is Flager2. Will you look at that! I'm beating him! Now, that may not seem like a big deal to many of you, but believe me, it is. Joe is so good at everything, I feel like I can hardly keep up. So when a moment like this occurs, I have to glory in in it!

By the way, can you believe that I am third out of everyone in the law school? Neither can I.

P.S. I am SO proud of my BYU cougars making it to the Sweet 16! Go Cougars!

Happy March everyone!

(Disclaimer: Joe may have helped me a bit in putting the bracket together. But, I assure you, it is my own picks that are putting me in the lead. )

Today.

6:00am--Wake up
6:15am--Get out of bed, shower, get ready
7:05am--Kiss Husband as we both run out the door, realize it snowed again
7:20am--Arrive at school, it is still dark outside
7:25am--At desk at school, check email, Facebook, and news
7:30am--Study Business Associations, finish outline, go over class slides, listen to lectures
9:50am--Realize that I am wearing black jeans and a brown coat. Lock coat in desk
10:00am--Class (Professional Responsibility), shiver through class
11:00am--Girl talk with Rachel and Lauren
11:15am--Study group, go over Business Associations
12:50am--Bathroom break and grab an orange and a granola bar from my desk for lunch
1:00pm--Class (Immigration Law), eat orange and granola bar
1:20pm--Go back to desk and study more Business Associations
3:00pm--Take Business Associations MIDTERM, be surprised that it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be
4:00pm--Start source verification for the legal journal edit
7:00pm--Still doing edit and realize that I am hungry. The sugar from the granola bar and orange has run out.
7:45pm--Pack up and drive home, car is FREEZING, it is still dark outside, realize I never saw the sun today
8:05pm--Arrive home to empty cold house, turn on heater so it is warm when husband gets home from class
8:10pm--Microwave Smart Ones dinner, celery stalks, and Chuck
8:45pm--Get back to editing assignment
9:40pm--Husband gets home! Kiss husband.
10:15pm--Husband goes to bed. Kiss him goodnight. Keep working on edit.
11:05pm--Finish edit
11:06pm--Check Facebook
11:10pm--Update resume and fill out application for ILMR Journal Board Member position
11: 39pm--Submit application (20 mins before the deadline!)
11:40pm--Read news, wonder what will happen in Egypt
11:55pm--Start this blog post, feel like it has been a productive day
12:05pm--BED TIME!!

Tis The Season . . .

. . . to freak out. It's that time of year again. No, I'm not talking about Christmas, although that may be happening too. No, I'm talking about FINALS. That dreaded time of year when I am faced with a brutal understanding of just how much I DIDN'T learn this semester. Ugh. Well, at least I have a nice desk to study at, comfy PJs, a space heater to keep my toesies warm, and a coco motion that makes the PERFECT cup of hot chocolate to keep me going. Oh, and I have 2 cases of Diet Coke. They are already almost half gone. But hey, I only drink them during finals, so I am allowed. 

Also, I wrapped, packaged, and sent all my Christmas packages today. Yay me! They went to New York, New York; Phoenix, AZ; and Berlin, Germany. I hope they bring my brothers and brother-in-law some smiles. 

Oh, and my husband has been wincing in pain all weekend from a toothache. Poor guy. I had to take care of him, but I don't mind. I love him, so it's OK. He's at the dentist right now. Thank heavens for good friends that are dental hygienists and so they can get him a last minute appointment on a Monday morning!

Well, that's it for me. Time to get back to freaking out, oh, I mean studying. 

Here's a picture of our Christmas decorations. I love our little tree. Did you know I collect nativities? I just love them. Joe had to point out that we have seven baby Jesus-es in our living room. Isn't that just great?!

STUMP the Professor

So, I said that I was going to post every week, and after one week I failed. Sad day. But to be fair, I did have a midterm (that was actually a comprehensive final) on Monday morning that I had to study for. I am so glad that is over, but finals are right around the corner and I am NOT ready at all. Oh man.

This last week was STUMP the Professor at school. I, along with 2 other girls, have been planning this all semester. We've easily put 30 hours into it each. I am so glad that it went off well! Basically, STUMP is a charity event that benefits the local battered woman's shelter. Students buy tickets and then they get to submit questions that are submitted to 2 teams of law professors. If the professors can't answer the question, then they are "STUMPED" and the student that submitted a question gets a prize that has been donated by local businesses. All the proceeds and left over donations go to the battered women's shelter. It was a lot of work to put it together, but it was a lot of fun too! We raised over $1100 for the shelter, and that's a new record for the law school! Wahoo!

The winning team: Professors Fee, Baradaran, Scharffs, and Gerdy

The runners up: Professors Daniels, Baradaran, and Anderson-Jones. (Professor Moore not pictured).

The Party Planners: Me, Stefanie Franc, and Camille Borg

Founders Day Dinner

At the start of every semester, the law school puts on a grand dinner in downtown Salt Lake to commemorate the founding of the law school. Prominent attorneys from all over the region come (Elder Dallin H. Oaks and Elder Christofferson as well as many members of the Utah Supreme Court for example). The  school also gives awards to distinguished alumni. The school gives the law students the $45 meal for $15. So, it's a great excuse to dress up and feel like real fancy lawyers for an evening.

Here's our table. Unfortunately the girl who took the picture failed to focus it so it is fuzzy. But as you can see, the food was fantastic!

Here's some of my favorite classmates: Jennifer Rajan, Kandis Bryant, Heidi Moss, and Lauren Shaw. 

Some of my other favorites: Camille Borg, Lornalie Merideth, Rachel LeCheminat and her husband Casey.

And here we are! Don't Joe and I just look so professional?

Just so you know, it wasn't all about the food (although Joe might argue otherwise). I found the speaker's remarks really interesting. Chief Justice Christine Durham of the Utah Supreme Court spoke on the quality of our elected judges and the recipient of the distinguished alumni award spoke of her struggles in being a woman attorney in the 1970s when she graduated from law school. Overall, I really enjoyed the whole evening!

Sometimes Law School is Like High School.

At times I feel like I am right back in high school (except the homework is harder and all the students are over achievers).

Take this week for example. We had the Law School Student Body Association Opening Social. This consisted of free pizza for all who attended (we get WAY too much pizza), all the student body leadership dressed up as make shift super heroes (think thrift store leotards) and a hoola-hoop contest between the faculty and students. It reminds be of spirit week at my old high school. I'm sure that we seriously scared all the first years. The truth is, it was fun. Where else can you get footage of your Constitutional Law professor's hoola-hoop skills?

Professor Anderson-Jones is on the right with the pink hoola-hoop. The funny thing is, after this, she proceeded in lawyerly fashion to argue why should should win anyway, as she continued to hoola-hoop. She is one of my most favorite professors, I have to say.

Back to School.

That's right. The school year has started again and I find my self spending endless hours in the library reading from black and white pages already. I'm taking:

Civil Rights

Wills & Estates

Evidence

The First Amendment

Basic Mediation

Overall, I'm pretty happy. My professors seem really great and I feel like I have a better grasp of things. At least I think I have a better idea of what I am supposed to be doing. The fact that I don't have any class on Fridays may have something to do with my optimism. All I can say is that it is WAY better being a second year than a first year. 

This picture of my study group (some of my very favorite people, you know) was taken last April after our last final. Don't we all just look so tired and ecstatic to be over for the year? Just imagine how we'll look at graduation!

Daa da da da daaaa daaaa....

After four years of hard work, my dear sister Allie and brother-in-law Chris graduated from BYU!

We headed to the Marriot Center to watch the first day of festivities.

Cecily and Nathan kept themselves entertained as we waited for all the grads to come in.

My proud parents. Isn't my mother just beautiful?!

The next day we went to the Fine Arts graduation and got so see them walk the stage.

Chris graduated magna cum laude and Allie graduated cum laude. They are top of their class!

Now these two have moved to New York city where Chris is in a Masters/Ph.D. program at Columbia and Allie is getting her Masters in Art History from NYU. I am so proud of them. They have worked so hard and deserves those degrees! Joe and I will sure miss them! 

There's a Ute in our house.

Joseph Flager: Graduate student.

That's right, Joe got into grad school! He'll be getting his Masters of Accounting (MACC) from the University of Utah. He's doing the part-time program. So he is still working full-time for the police department (Did I mention that he got hired on a permanent basis which means he got a raise and full benefits? YES!) He is taking two classes a semester, but with all the work that entails, that means he doesn't get home until 10 pm Tuesday through Friday. He will graduate in the spring of 2012, so we will graduate at the same time!

I am so proud of my sweet husband.

This is what happens . . .

. . . when you spill your breakfast on your laptop. You have to call the Dell people and have them replace your motherboard. (THANK GOODNESS for my AMAZING warranty!) The technician came to my house and took my laptop completely apart to clean it and replace the motherboard. Once I saw how he had to take it apart, I questioned whether it would ever work properly again. But, it works fine! However, I never want this to happen to my laptop again.

Moral of the story: Don't eat while at your computer--especially not cold cereal. There is nothing more gross than your keys sticking because there is milk in your keyboard! 

Almost There

Just ONE more Holy-moly final left! These finals have just about killed me, but I'm holding on!

And, today my dear brother Adam is going into the MTC to learn German so he can serve the good people of Germany. I'm so proud of him. He's all growed up. :)

Consequences of a Highlighter High

I think I am going crazy. I have used so much highlighter in the past 72 hours that I think I am on a little high. Sticky notes are everywhere. I have overtaken the kitchen table...well the whole kitchen actually. It looks more like an office. Several books are open to various pages. My backpack's contents are dumped all over the floor. I haven't actually gotten dressed since Friday. My bum is sore from sitting so long. I think my computer might overheat. I have consumed more calories in the last 72 hours than any person should eat in a week. I have no idea whether it is cold, hot, or just right outside. Every time my husband asks me a question, all that comes out of my mouth is some legal mumbo jumbo.

You've guessed it. The storm is approaching. Bring on FINALS!

I CANNOT tell you how excited I am to get this semester OVER with.

You are NOT your grades.

I have heard that phrase about 87 times in the last week. Almost every professor, T.A., and member of the administration has said it. One professor even went so far as to make us camel shaped sugar cookies to celebrate grades and class rankings coming out for us first year law students. She calls it "hump day." (Camels have humps. Get it?) Rumor has it that they even have a suicide watch for all us law students. Scary, I know. With all the looks of sympathy, I could tell that all the faculty and administration were really worried. They were worried that those who got low grades would go suicidal and those that got great grades would become prideful. I can understand why they were troubled.

This semester I have met some of the most hard working, bright, interesting, and amazing people. Every one of my classmates has an amazing life story and an incredible mind. I have learned so much from them. So what do you do with a group of amazing people? How do you distinguish who is the best and who needs to try a little harder? You grade on a curve and then rank them. It's a cruel system. However, I can see the purpose of it. I can also see how, if one didn't have the proper perspective, it could affect their psyche negatively.

Hence the message . . . YOU ARE NOT YOUR GRADES.

I appreciate the message. It's true. Although grades do measure an aspect of our performance, they do not measure us as a whole. In fact, when you look at the time you spent in that one class getting that grade, it is a very small portion of your life. After all, what makes a person? Letters on a transcript? I think far more important things make us who we are, such as:

How we treat/care for our families

How we treat strangers

How we help others

How we care for ourselves

How we serve our communities

How we make the world more beautiful

How we serve our God

So, remember, you are not your grades. (Whether you are still in school, or not. There are always other ways the world tries to grade us.) You are SO much more than that. You are full of talent, gifts, and promise.

I'm not saying this because I got bad grades. I have a strict don't ask/don't tell policy. But let me say, I didn't fail any classes, and that was what I all I dared to hope for. I am happy with my scores and feel proud of what I accomplished.

Now . . . on to next semester!

The first semester of law school. . .

. . . is DONE!

Hooray!!

Two down . . .

. . . Two finals to go!

By the way, I go the keys to my new apartment yesterday. You don't know how excited I am to have a place for US. I know this sounds domestic, but can't wait to make it a home.

One down . . .

. . . three finals to go!

This pic came from here.

I woke up this morning at 5am, unable to get back to sleep. I was so nervous! Since attempting to fall back asleep proved useless, I got up, showered, made myself some yummy blueberry pancakes, and studied until it was time to go. When I got to school, the tension was so think. I swear, you could touch it. At least I wasn't the only one nervous! The clock struck 8:30AM and then I sat there for three hours, basically typing everything I knew about contract law. It was a hard test, and I don't know how I did. But it's over. *Sigh*. Hooray!

To celebrate the completion of our first final in law school, the girls and I went out to lunch. I got a turkey sandwich and a salad and it was SO yummy. They restaurant (ZUPAS, one of my favs) always gives you a chocolate covered strawberry. Isn't that nice? I guess they are feeling the Christmas spirit there cuz they've started putting candy cane pieces in the chocolate they dip the strawberries in. WARNING: Candy cane chocolate dipped strawberries DO NOT taste as good as they look! Oh well, it was still a good time with fantastic friends! Then I got to talk to my sweet finance on the phone. Goodness I love him. He always knows how to make me smile and feel better about life. And then Kandis and I decided we needed a Diet Coke with Lime to help us face the rest of the day. I got to drive around in her Mini Cooper. Can I just say, it's the cutest car ever!

Overall, it wasn't as horrible as it could have been and I am feeling better about the whole law school thing. :)

Now on to study property. . .

"You were an exceptionally interesting class."

Those were the last words our contract professor told us.

Thanks, I think?