The "Ultimate" Tradition

Southern Living came out with a list of 40 Things Every Southerner Should Do in this month's issue. I thought the list was fairly comprehensive, though I don't exactly consider Oklahoma and D.C. the "South." The highlight, though, was number 27: Picnic in the Grove. To quote them directly:

We Southerners cherish college football and the campus traditions that accompany it. When the University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma go head-to-head during the State Fair of Texas in Dallas, you must fill up on Fletcher’s Corny Dogs in order to root either team to victory. Tiger fans eagerly line up to roll Toomer’s Corner and scream "War Eagle" every time Auburn posts a win. The ultimate tradition, though, takes place at Ole Miss in Oxford. Thousands of fans gather to picnic in the Grove and feast on gourmet spreads.

I couldn't agree more.

An End to the Madness

Well, we didn't even make it to the Final Four. With an entire weekend of basketball left to play, we have nothing on the line. Not a single bracket in our little group has any possible points remaining, because not one of us picked ANY of the remaining teams to make it this far.

Of course, we're not alone. These teams weren't supposed to make it this far. I saw today that 1980 was the only year when every #1 seed lost before the Final Four...until this year.

So, if you are still amassing points, you're either lucky or psychic. As for the rest of us, there's always next year.

(As a side note, congrats to Carla Ward, whose bracket won in our group.)

Bracket? What Bracket?

In spite of my basketball prowess, my teams have failed me so far this weekend. Case in point? The Kansas Jayhawks. I had them going to the Final Four, and they're already out. Hope your bracket is looking better than mine...

The Oldest Musher

A 50 year-old won the Iditarod this morning. We're talking about 10 days in the Alaskan snow with only his sled dogs for company. All of a sudden, my day doesn't seem so difficult.

Peace Through the Storm

Jason and I went to get some dinner tonight, amidst the tornado sirens (we pick great times to be in our car). We were on our way home and stopped at a gas station. Jason went inside to pay and asked the gas station attendant if she was worried about the bad weather. Unimpressed with the storm, she plainly answered, "No. I'm a Christian. I don't worry."

Those are words of wisdom this confirmed worrywart needed to hear.

Bring on the Basketball!

You've got to appreciate the marketing minds behind March Madness. As Ole Miss basketball has been less than stellar this year, I have not cared one iota about basketball the past few months. But that's all about to change, because it's March...and I can do my very own bracket! They have appealed to my competitive side and given me a reason to watch and cheer.

So, I am eagerly filling out my ignorant "picks" and awaiting the beginning of the tournament. And whether you're a basketball fan or not, I encourage you to do the same. It will make the next few weeks far more entertaining.

Shhh!

Well, I've taken the MPRE and won't know if I passed for 5 WEEKS. In the mean time, I've witnessed offensive coffeehouse behavior during my 24 hour preparation for the exam. So, it's time we established some coffeehouse etiquette.

Here's the deal: If your local coffeehouse has more than one room, and in one room sit many loud undergrads with no need for productivity on a Friday night, and in the other room sits one lonely soul working furiously to learn material in a short span of time, and you and your date/friend/colleague intend to have a loud discussion about the mysteries of the universe, DO NOT sit down in the otherwise silent room and talk loudly!!!

Now, I realize that coffeehouses are not libraries and that if I wanted complete solitude I should have stayed at home. I study in coffee shops and other public places because I feel less inclined to crawl in my bed and forget the whole thing, and because I actually enjoy a reasonable amount of background noise.

That does not mean, however, that I want to know every detail about the personal lives surrounding me--and I would feel that way regardless of whether I were studying. People seem all too inclined to share their most intimate feelings in the most public of settings these days, completely disregarding the presence of other people.

Cell phone talkers are among the worst culprits. This also happens a lot in restaurants, where Table A is so enthralled with the rollicking good time they're having that they fail to realize no one else in the restaurant can hear their dinner companions over the laughter of Table A. But this behavior is particularly aggravating when the perpetrators are the only people talking in a given place. It's not that I expected the couple to sit silently just because I was doing so--I just didn't want to hear every intimate detail of their conversation.

So, if everyone around you seems hard at work, just make some small effort to confine your conversation to your table. Rule of thumb: if I'm two tables away, and I'm literally plugging my ears to concentrate, and I can still hear every word you're saying, you are TOO LOUD.

The Countdown

Well, here it is. The ultimate test of how much information I can learn in one night. The MPRE is tomorrow at 9:00 am.

Wish me luck...

Calling all Graduates

As an addendum to Monday's post, I'd like to add the Balfour people to the list of monopolistic geniuses. The premiere graduation company, they really know how to capitalize on the system. They service entire school systems and are the only people on campus taking orders. And after all, who doesn't want a high school graduation announcement to show how proud they are of little Suzy? Not to mention a graduation ring--she's worked hard, after all!

But these people don't just stop with high school graduations. They service colleges, law schools, medical schools...the list goes on. If you're graduating from anything, chances are good the Balfour people will be there congratulating you. And they'll be providing forms to order announcements, rings, "certificates of appreciation," and all other regalia you could imagine.

Having said this, I'll be ordering a modest amount of graduation announcements from them this afternoon. Maybe one day I'll come up with some sort of "necessity" for a large group of people, like graduates, and make my very own fortune.

Legacy of Faith

My mom called me Sunday night to tell me that my great-grandmother had passed away that afternoon. She died almost a month after another great-grandmother of mine.

I know how unusual it is to reach the age of twenty-five with living great-grandparents. I have been immeasurably blessed to know them. But with the blessing of knowing them comes the sadness of losing them. With so many older people in our family, we have been in a season of loss for the last few years. I started college with five living great-grandparents. I now have one.

I have most recently lost my great-grandmothers. These women were talented and strong. My Mama Kirk could sew and knit beautifully. She used to make our Easter dresses, and later made us gorgeous afghans. My Gigi was also crafty, painting china or canvas; she particularly liked painting birds. A passionate but constant woman, someone at her funeral correctly stated, "No one could love you as hard as Addie." Mama Dawson, our most recent loss, was quite a musician. She could play hundreds of hymns and songs without sheet music on her piano, and she often entertained the "old people," as she called them, with musical productions. These women loved life and loved their families. They have left us many memories.

I have recently collected the last cards I received from Mama Dawson and Gigi, as well as Mama's funeral program and placed them in my Bible at Hebrews 11. They are my own "Faith Hall of Fame," because in addition to their individual talents, each woman loved the Lord and served His people. They serve as examples of lives well-lived.

I have great peace knowing they are with their Lord, whom they loved so dearly. Gigi's card, which she sent me in college, appropriately says, "Angels are Watching Over You." Indeed they are.

Why Didn't I Think of That?

I'd like to meet the people who invented BarBri for several reasons.

First, they've got some explaining to do regarding the shortage of workbooks at the MPRE review course last weekend.

Second, they're geniuses. Never has an organization managed to extract thousands of dollars from most of the law students in the country, control their entire summer schedules, and leave them in the dark as to the class schedule indefinitely quite like BarBri. Obviously, this power comes from the fact they have virtually no competition (MicroMash hasn't even approached the popularity that BarBri enjoys, and it's too new for many people to entrust their bar exam to it.)

But it gets better. As far as I have heard, these BarBri review courses are TAPED! That's right. We're all paying $2000 to watch tapes all summer! You do the math, but I'd imagine the cost of having ONE person do several lectures and then taping and disseminating those lectures doesn't cost them $2000 per "student." They've got to just be swimming in money.

Hmm...

Sometimes I wish this blog were anonymous. That way, I could complain about particular classes and specific events without anyone knowing for sure I was complaining about them.

Dozing on the Highest Court in the Land

Quote from an AP article yesterday regarding the Texas redistricting hearings:

The subject matter was extremely technical, and near the end of the argument Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dozed in her chair. Justices David Souter and Samuel Alito who flank the 72-year-old, looked at her but did not give her a nudge.

Who needs to retire, when you can sleep at work?