So many, many, many thoughts.
First of all, I'm starting my own firm. It's like, why not? No one can hire me full time but I'm working with four different attorneys who are wonderful and love me and are willing to mentor me. It's kinda scary. Kinda exciting. Kinda awesome. Fortunately I had the foresight in law school to attend a lecture on virtual offices and practice management systems for solo practitioners! Low overhead is my game. I'll be just like all the other home-based business women in Relief Society, except instead of selling wickless candles and stamps, I'll sell demand letters and advanced directives. Perhaps this could go multi-level marketing :) Juuuuust kidding.
On the first annual Convince Your MIL to Shirk Her Responsibilities and Hang Out Instead Day, we went banking and shopping and peach-jam-a-making. I bought a Kaftan from Cost Plus for like $7. I think I just may live in it. When I showed it off to Logan I made sure to spread my arms out wide, so he could see just how unattractive it is in all its shapeless rectangular glory. His face was priceless. Anyway, it's nice to know that I'll have SOMETHING to wear if I am ever pregnant and carrying triplets.
When closing out my US Bank account (due to their treachery), the teller asked what the memo on the cashier's check to me should be. I responded that it should be "Coolest person in the world" And he made it so. Only it's in all caps, so it looks a bit manic: COOLEST PERSON IN THE WORLD, but nevertheless. US Bank's last official act after screwing me over was to give me my money back and call me the coolest person in the world. If I had thought about it, I might have done it differently. I already know I'm the coolest person in the world, but I would have loved an apology from them. The memo should have said, "WE ARE SWINE. WE ARE UNWORTHY SWINE."
I am also going to be a mentor in the HOPE program which is affiliated with Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Lane County. HOPE is specifically for high-school age girls who are in the foster program. Apparently, teenage girls who are aging out of foster care are the highest risk population for substance abuse, homelessness, teen parenting, and failing out of high school. The HOPE program is designed to take determined and high-achieving girls from this high-risk population and give them the skills they need to succeed. The girls have to apply and they only take 10 a year. As a mentor, I would be assigned to a girl and I'm there to support her as she takes what they call "Independent living" classes--how to apply for a job, how to balance a checkbook, maintaining healthy relationships. That kinda stuff. But if all we ever do is hang out and be friends, that's okay too. I'm just there for whatever she needs. Whether it's a chance to de-stress from this intense program she is in, or doing practice job interviews.
I'm very excited about it. I feel uniquely qualified to do this. I love that age group and I know that if it weren't for my high-school English teacher kicking my butt, I might have spent my entire life being a loser, never trying hard, never working toward my potential because I never had any expectations for my life. But these girls are already so on top of it. They have had immense trials in their young lives and have already decided to break the cycle, they just need support. And the fact that I get to be a part of that process is very cool to me.
And let's devote this next paragraph to a stream of consciousness about Logan who is off designing a music school as we speak. He's gone a lot, but this is what I know about his semester: His studio stool is incredibly uncomfortable. There is, in fact, a restroom in the Architecture School that is a "People" restroom. Not men. Not women. People. It's very liberated. Studio profs are not quick to compliment their students' work, but Logan's prof said something he did was "beautiful" and this has fed Logan for a week. Logan is taking a spatial composition class, which they dub "space comp." It is taught by an alien, a British professor who I imagine to be like Terry Pratchett. Logan calls it "space camp" for good measure.
And that's the life of Us.
4 comments:
Love the new blog look...love that you're willing to mentor. They girls will have fun with you and you'll be a great inspiration! Tell Logan to not forget the "GREEN" classes...that's were the architectural action is right now. Best of luck in your independent business venture. You'll do great.
Joy--Logan has no control over his schedule for his first year, but he will absolutely take green classes next year.
University of Oregon is the #1 rated school for green architecture (and #15 overall). It will be hard to avoid sustainable architecture classes, and he's already working to get LEED certification.
I think that people restroom was due to a huge kerfuffle over a transgendered person using a restroom that made other people uncomfortable, or some similar situation. So they made a unisex bathroom rather than have lawsuits. I wish I could make jam with you and had the energy to mentor. I'm just afraid I would commit then get overburdened and back out and hurt someone. I did love working with boys and girls club though.
Once again, congratulations on going solo. You rock the casbah. You can totally do it.
I made some mutant jam with all the fruit I had hanging around that was getting old, including among other things: apples, peaches, and pluots. Surprisingly, it turned out very tasty.
Good on you for mentoring. I should look into something like that. I have commitment issues, though. ;)
I don't think an ungendered bathroom is that big of a deal. There's nothing remotely interesting about a dude using a urinal (and yes, I've walked into the boy's bathroom on accident—I remain as yet unscarred). Use a stall if you want privacy.
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