Tea and Books

"You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me."                     -C.S. Lewis


It's a chilly Sunday afternoon, and I am sitting at my desk with steaming hot mint green tea in my roommate's pretty "Le Pear, Produit de France" mug and leftover pizza on a stark white plate.  There must be some romance in that, and if there is, I'm sure the poets will find it.  I write short stories.


The real issue is my reading homework and legal writing assignment and the many ways to avoid them.  So far, I have watched a movie (One Night with the King, the Hollywood-ized story of Queen Ester), spent too much time on Facebook, revised an old short story to give it a new spin, and heated up my tea and pizza.  Of course, my killer sore throat, hacking cough and inability to breathe are contributing factors to my unmotivated behavior.  And -- contrary to friendly advice -- the copious amount of Vitamin C I have taken over the past couple days has not yet worked its magic.


I would, however, like to post one of my favorite poems for you.  (I never said I do not read poetry.)  It is simple and beautiful, though I may not agree with all of the author's politics.


"The Summer Day" by Mary Oliver
Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean -
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down -
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?


Now, I think, I will start a load of laundry.

A New Soul and a New Nose

"The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year.  It is that we should have a new soul and a new nose; new feet, a new backbone, new ears, and new eyes.  Unless a particular man made New Year resolutions, he would make no resolutions.  Unless a man starts afresh about things, he will certainly do nothing effective."  -G.K. Chesterton


This is a belated New Year's post, but here it is nonetheless, as I look forward to my second semester of law school and what 2011 has up its sleeves.


2010 was full of wonderfulness.  Here are some of the highlights...

• Ringing in the new year at FOCUS Conference in Orlando
• Disney World with friends
• Living in the Treehouse with five of the most beautiful friends
• Spring break in Honduras
• Beach week in Destin
• College graduation
• Being accepted to my first choice law school
• Lazy summer at home with my family
• Harry Potter World
• Returning to my alma mater and favorite city for law school
• Living with two beautiful roommates
• Hiking and rock climbing in Fall Creek Falls
• Study parties at the Frassati House
• Friends' concerts galore
• Finishing (surviving?) my first semester of law school
• The weddings of wonderful friends
• Celebrating Christmas with my family

Now for 2011.  Some resolutions...

• Read regularly and get through those books on my bookshelf that have been on the "To Read" list forever, including The Kite Runner, All the King's Men, Catch-22, Lord of the Flies, Fahrenheit 451, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Well and the Shadows, and The Count of Monte Cristo
• Get back into my exercise routine
• Go to bed earlier and get up earlier
• Experiment more in the kitchen
• Practice and put my Spanish skills to use
• Study in a library/quiet/non-distracting place
• Drink less coffee
• Learn how to drive stick shift
• Learn how to play the guitar
• Start writing a book, screenplay and song with Jade
• Fall ever more in love with God

So, here is to fondly remembering the past, but leaving it in its place so that the present and the future may take hold.


I'm excited, 2011.  Let's do it.

The (First) Homestretch

Time continues to amaze me.  Life moves from one day to the next, and (still to my surprise) those days add up to weeks, to months, to years... and I ask, "Where has life gone?  What have I been doing?"

I remember meeting my first best friend in second grade.  Her name was Emily, and she asked me a simple question: "Do you want a gerbil?"  I do not think I knew what a gerbil was at that moment, but I soon learned, and I named him "Squeak."

With memories from when I was seven years old so vivid, life seems short... yet those memories also seem like a lifetime ago and like they belong to a different person.  I admit I am not old.  Twenty-two can hardly be called ancient, but the experiences I have had since meeting Emily have helped me grow into someone very different from that little, curly-haired girl.

I now spend my days staring at podiums that say "Law School" and think, "Gosh, am I really here?  How did I get this far?"  Law school is something I have been thinking about since I was in high school, and now it is real, and that reality makes me feel older than my actual age.  Maybe because it was always something that was part of the ambiguous thing called "the future" and now the future is the present.

I have finished classes for my first semester at law school, and three exams stand between me and three weeks of vacation.  It's the homestretch at the end of the year...

 These are the books that have been my friends through this semester, and they will be through the next 12 days...







These are some of the orange and pink highlighters that have graced the pages of those books.  I only have a few because the suggestion to save them was made to me quite late into the semester... I probably went through one orange and one pink highlighter per week (much more quickly than the other colors) and had to order boxes of orange and pink highlighters from Amazon.  Maybe I will create a masterpiece with them at the end of this first year.

 These are the chocolates that are now my friends as I study.  A study party cannot be a party without some chocolate... Dove Dark Chocolate makes life very sweet... or semi-sweet, if you want to be technical.

These are the things that are carrying me through life outside of school.  There's only so much law school and law reading one can take.  Life is empty without poetry, adventure and prayer.






Besides these things, there are beautiful people who make life truly worthwhile and help to keep me sane, or -- rather -- quite silly and quite myself...

I am blessed with wonderful friends, including my lovely roommates with whom there are many fun conversations... especially if they take place late at night...

I avoid the law library at all costs because it stresses me out and often study in more relaxing places with my dear friend and nursing-student study buddy... with whom there are probably too many laughs and not enough productivity...

And, of course, my wacky and amazing family that shows their support through letters, emails and phone calls... though they are a thousand miles away (literally), they are truly very close to me, and I look forward to another crazy photo shoot this Christmas...






These people and things have shaped my life in significant ways over the last twenty-two years and brought much joy into it.  I am thankful that I have such great support as I tackle law school and especially this first of six exam homestretches...

"Tell me, what is it you plan to do / With your one wild and precious life?" -Mary Oliver

Trust Snape

To continue my Harry Potter excitement (because I may or may not have been squealing this morning in the Frassati kitchen)...

The purple "Trust Snape" sticker has been posted on my bulletin board since the sixth book came out in 2005.  I am a huge Snape fan, and want to post an entry about how awesome he is... self-sacrifice, love, and all that jazz... but right now Reg. State is calling my name.

Are you a Snape fan?  Because you should be...

Harry Potter, Get in My Life NOW

As I sit at my desk on this beautiful Sunday afternoon, I want to throw my memo out the window.  I want it to write itself and turn itself in by Thursday night so that I can merrily be on my way to the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I.

Yes, I am a Harry Potter nerd.  Why?  Because Harry Potter is awesome.

Get excited... there's some magic in the air...

Retail Therapy

Joys related to buying things.  Shallow?  Maybe... but when you examine what I've bought, it probably just makes me look like a nerdy jock.  (Oxymoron?)

1.  Running shoes.  They will hopefully help my poor feet through training for a half-marathon and 10-mile obstacle course.  In happy news, I am easily hitting 2.5 miles (yes, a small victory, but it is certainly a victory for me).  In sad news, my shin splints are killing me this week.  Back to the elliptical and bike it is.  Someone motivate me to properly heat and ice my shins.  Also, I need a lesson on how to wrap my feet.  [Note to self: Remember to bring tape to school.]

2.  Gloves + Headband.  I love me some Tennessee seasons, but I am still so much a Florida girl (where our four seasons are hot, hotter, hottest and hurricane).  Running in 40 degree weather is rough on the extremities.  I'm excited to use my new gear when I can ditch the elliptical and bike once again.

3.  Fully Empowered by Pablo Neruda.  I bought a bilingual version, which will  help me practice my Spanish and my translation skills as I compare the English and Spanish.  I was excited to find that I had no problem reading the Spanish versions and even enjoy them more.  They are more musical.  Originals are always better than copies, no?
Here's a glimpse from the poem "La palabra."

"y no hablar es morir entre los seres:
se hace lenguaje hasta la caballera,
habla la boca sin mover los labios:
los ojos de repente son palabras."

4.  The Last Train to Memphis by Peter Guralnick.  Peter was one of my favorite professors in undergrad.  I learned a lot about non-fiction creative writing in the two semesters I took his class... including the fact that biography is such a fascinating genre.  It is interesting to see how author biases factor into "non-fiction" writing.  That's what makes it "creative."  For example, I am sure whatever biography I would ever write about Elvis (of course, it is unlikely this will ever happen) would be so different from what Peter has written.  I am excited to read his work and wish I had done so sooner.  Better late than never, though?

5.  All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren.  This is really forward-looking, mainly because I am very excited about reading this book.  I've heard wonderful things about it, and it's been sitting on my mental "To Read" list for the past few years.  [*Note: There are about a million books on my "To Read" list... and that may be a conservative estimate.  Le sigh... English major.]  Dear fellow Legit Lit friends, how do we feel about having this on the group's "To Read" list next semester?

6.  Living L'Arche by Kevin Reimer.  L'Arche is an international organization that was founded by Jean Vanier in 1964.  It is a network of communities for people with intellectual disabilities and those who volunteer to live with and assist them.  From the synopsis of the book: "This book shows that compassionate love involves work, and risk, and commitment, but offers the possibility of transformation."  I've been wanting to learn more about the L'Arche communities ever since I first heard about them last year.  My younger sister (a.k.a. my favorite person in the world) has Down Syndrome and stories like this especially touch my heart.



So, if you would like to judge me on my purchases, feel free.  But remember... English major.

Words, Words, Words

Books I am currently reading:


1. I Believe in Love by Fr. Jean C.J. D'Elbee.  A spiritual classic, and from what I've heard from friends, life-changing.
2. The Man Who Was Thursday by GK Chesterton.  A nightmare, a mystery and a whole lot of wisdom.
3. The Moral Compass of the American Lawyer by Richard Zitrin and Carol Langford.  An examination of the moral dilemmas that lawyers face.


I encourage you to read all three (yes, Moral Compass included even if you're not a lawyer).


Reflections will be posted on my readings in the future.


For now, I'm off to hear some great Cajun music.


An addition: What I just finished reading: A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway.  Summed up in a quote from the book: "Do not worry. You have always written before and you will write now. All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence you know." (22)