Friday, May 13, 2011 at approximately 4:30 p.m. pacific time I finished a 3 hour property exam and as a result had finished my first year of law school.
Afterwards, I grabbed some nachos with my study group and then we headed over to the bar that is located across the street from campus. I was only planning on staying for an hour or two, since being the only sober person in a bar tends to get boring pretty quick. With that said, I had a great time celebrating/talking with all my great law school friends. But I was shocked when I felt ready to go that it was already 10 and that I had been entertained for about 4 hours. So I said my goodbyes/congrats and headed out.
When I got home from the bar I decided to celebrate in my own Mormon way. I grabbed a Mountain Dew, put on my swimsuit and relaxed in the hot tub for a half hour.
It was a great way to unwind and reflect on the past 10 months of my life as a California resident and a law school student. It hasn't been the easiest year of my life and there were definitely times when I wondered what the hell I was doing. But overall, it has been a great one. I've made some great friends at school and at church. I've had some awesome times (concerts, baseball games, Switzerland, the beach, visits to the city, softball, dodgeball, poker nights, etc.). And I've learned a little bit/studied for a disgusting amount of time.
A wise man once wrote that "every blessing ignored becomes a curse." I know that being grateful is an important part of life and a large factor in my ability to be happy....what I'm really trying to say is that I have a good life and I am grateful for it each and every day. And it is good in large part due to all the great friends and family I have. So thanks everyone who is a part of my life, whether you're at law school, church, Utah, California, New York, Idaho, Switzerland, or somewhere else. I love you all and hope you are grateful for your life and realize just how great your life is too.
Finals started this last week, one 3 hour test on Tuesday, one on Friday, another this Monday, and the last on Friday the 13th. Nevertheless, life is good. Really good.
Why, in the middle of finals would I say that? Well let me tell you.
First and foremost, on Tuesday, immediately following my first final, my coed softball team, the bad news barristers, won our final game of the season, went undefeated and became the Intramural Softball regular season champions! That's right, the old law students handed losses to all 4 of our opponents. It is likely one of the greatest accomplishments of my schooling career. Especially considering that going into it I wasn't too sure we would be any good at all. Turns out we are pretty dam good and I can't wait to see what we can accomplish these next two weeks.
Second, on Thursday I received a check in the mail for $118.43 from T-Mobile. I was part of a class-action law suit against them for unfair contract cancellation practices. I think it's just a premonition of how awesome I am going to be as a lawyer. Also, it's nice cause I'm hoping it can feed me with a steady diet of beans and protein shakes for the next 54 days.
Third, summer is pretty much here! And now I live in California rather than Utah and it is awesome.
Also, I got into summer school classes here, so it looks like I'm gonna stay and party in the 408 rather than be a tourist in Istanbul. So now I get to enjoy a summer of sun, bbq, baseball, beaches, workouts, basketball, xbox, lost, starcraft, and hopefully a chance to work a few weekends at the infamous Bohemian Grove. If you don't know what it is google it and educate your ignorant self. I am already getting excited for the summer and in anticipation I am all tanned up for it...it is shaping up to be the best summer of my life of 2011!
But before that party even starts I get to visit the UT for the last two weeks of May and watch a few of my friends get married/become dead to me, but mostly I'm coming back to party with y'all. So consider yourselves warned and make sure you're ready to shotgun mountain dews, play bingo, and watch American Idol and Saved by the Bell just like the old days.
Finals suck, but there are a lot of positive things going on in my life and I am just excited for the fun times that will be this summer and I am very excite!
PS - I decided after watching Hot Rod for the thirty-first time that I want to name my firstborn, regardless of gender, Voltron Zollinger. If my future wife isn't cool with it I'll settle for Ron Swanson Zollinger or Tom Haverford Zollinger. You think I'm kidding...but I'm not.
As all of you know. San Diego + Me is not happening this summer.
So many of you are likely up late at night thinking, "Brett, what are you going to do this summer?"
So rather than let you stew for weeks, here are the current plans/possibilities:
1- Watch all 6 seasons of lost
2- Watch a crap load of movies, specifically Harry Potter 7: Part 2
3- Baseball games, BBQs, sun, beach, get tan
4- Study abroad/internship in Istanbul
5- Read a book, for fun
Finals start tomorrow, but I'm just excited to see what I end up doing this summer. If you have any suggestions, feel free to send them my way.
Good Friday started off not so good. I began the day outlining and being rejected by my San Diego internship. I told my friends that even a win by the Braves would do next to nothing to make-up for the rejection. But by 6 I was in San Fransisco getting ready to watch the Braves beat the Giants and forgetting about my lack of an internship for the summer. I had some sweet seats in the bleachers in right-center and had a great time watching the Braves beat the Giants 4-1. My opportunities for heckling were many and the weather was fantastic. And after the game, the Giants fans' weak attempts at insults concerning Brooks Conrad and the World Series only made my night brighter.
On Saturday I got some rays while watching my nephews play a lot of baseball, had an Easter feast, and then watched Tim Hudson and the Braves (this time on the tv) beat Tim Lincecum and the Giants 5-2.
The weekend culminated with a great day at church, being reminded that Christ lives, and the Braves sweeping the Giants 9-6 in 10 innings. It was a great weekend and reminded me just how great life is and can be regardless of the little setbacks and trials we experience. And I kind of felt like this.
I was disappointed about being rejected by SD, but within a few hours something as simple as a baseball game had lifted my spirits and I began to realize that things would work out for the summer. Christ plays, or should play, the same role in our lives. When we are down He can lift us up, He can remind us that life is wonderful and that it is worth living no matter what seems to go wrong. The late Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley was an optimist and once said, "Things will work out. Keep trying. Be believing. Don't get discouraged. Things will work out." I truly believe these words. I know that things will work out for all of us as we strive to do what is right and follow Jesus Christ.
With that said, to all you Giants fans out there...Jason Heyward > Buster Posey.
One year of law school has almost been completed. Crazy right?
One might ask, "Brett, what have you learned so far?"
I would respond, "First, in order to stay sane, one must have a balanced life. Second, the answer is the commerce clause."
I don't really want to explain the commerce clause, but here are a few things I've done to attempt having a balanced life:
- Reddit! (don't look at any links with NSFW, it's not a good idea.)
- Chill with Joe in San Rafael
- Hit the gym 5 times a week and get swoll
- Chipotle and the Safeway "chicken bacon ranch"
- Dodgeball League
- Phantogram
- Church every week
- Co-Ed Intramural Softball
- Parks and Recreation
Now for things that don't keep me sane:
- Classes
- Outlining all freaking day
- My 45 minute commute
- Constipation/diarrhea
- Finals. They are like corn on a stick, and this is how I feel about them coming up in about 2 weeks....
Now let's just hope I can make it thru finals with my sanity and grades intact and we can consider this year a borderline success.
PS - I'll find out about my internship by Friday morning, so keep up the praying friends!
I went to the Exploratorium in San Francisco this weekend and it was pretty sweet. For those of you who don't know what it is, it's like a science museum, but one where you get to try everything out. It's hard to explain, but it's like a ginormous playground that explains and gives examples of many different principles of science. Joe and I went Saturday and we spent about two and a half hours there and only saw about 2/3 of the exhibit. It cost 12 bucks with a student ID, but I would recommend it to anyone in the area who enjoys science or museums or learning or a good time or all of the above.
Being there reminded me about just how much I love science, especially when it doesn't require you to calculate anything or show your work. Ever since I was young, I have been intrigued by science and have loved to see how it applied in the world around me. Now I am a grown man and I am most definitely no physicist or chemist, but there are many out there trying to gain a better understanding of the workings of the universe. Einstein and Hawkings are freaks of nature, but thanks to them and the things they observed, we now have a better understanding of the world/universe around us. While I will likely never understand the principles the same way that they understand them, I nevertheless am benefited by their efforts through the progression of science and technology and I am continually intrigued by the ideas and principles they and other scientists present.
All this thinking about science reminded of this video about quantum physics I saw awhile back. It shows how little we understand the basics of science and specifically how little we understand about quantum physics and particles. It's about 5 minutes long and the animation is a little cheesy, but I promise that it is worth watching.
I think that scientific anomalies, like that shown in the video, are very complex on the surface and yet underlying them all are some very simple and clear principles by which everything is ruled. Whatever the situation is, I know that I am intrigued and love to learn about stuff like this.
