Photos Courtesy of Ryan Dixon Photography

My friend Ryan Dixon graciously agreed to take some graduation photos for me. He did an awesome job!

Now without that puffy hat and robe...

And although I may act silly at times...

...I'm also an attorney (almost).

Thanks Ryan!

Remembering How Much I've Forgotten

My bar review course began this week. Two days in and I'm already setting fantastic precedents for the next ten weeks.

The first few days of the course consist of problem sets, or mini tests, in various areas of the law, an exercise that was surely designed to show me how much I once knew but have since forgotten. Even the problem set on property law was a personal failure, despite the fact that I tutored this subject during my second year of law school. My solace? During the review lectures discussing the problems in detail, the lecturers sometimes identify a question as being "tough," "tricky," or the "meat and potatoes." These questions are almost always among the few that I get correct, and I am choosing to believe that this was the result of more than just sheer luck. I'm willing to mislead myself if it means subduing the panic attacks.

On top of realizing that I've forgotten at over 50% of what I learned over the last three years, I was late to class today. That wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't only the second day of class. In my defense, I was running early this morning until my car wouldn't start. The culprit was a dead battery and luckily it was an easy fix. Calm as I was this morning, I could only imagine the very different reaction that such a snafu would evoke if this happened during the actual bar exam: Rather than calmly asking my land lady for a jump start, I would be demanding that she drop everything and immediately drive me to the testing site. Hopefully, for my land lady's sake, I've fulfilled my car trouble quota for the next few months.

Cars

The theme for today is cars. First, Chris had the AC in his Miata repaired. While the Miata was at the shop, I had the windshield replaced in my car. After picking up the Miata, Chris took the RX-7 for spin. He drove less than two blocks before we towed his car home. Now I go to bed with two cars in improved condition and one in worse condition. In sum, not so bad.

Law School is Over!

I began looking forward to graduation the day after spring break ended. During the last few weeks of school, I painfully forced myself to go through the motions. I wrote papers. I drafted documents. I completed assignments. I studied for exams. And then it was here: Graduation weekend.

On friday afternoon my parents and grandparents arrived with the chihuahua. A few hours later my two brothers, Dennis and Casey, arrived in the white Grand Marquis with Mimi sitting in the backseat. Casey hooked his WII up to the TV in their hotel suite. My grandpa called it the weed as he learned how to play WII golf that evening.

Friday night Jesse and Vanessa, my newly-wed brother-in-law and his wife, arrived at our apartment with Vivian, my sister-in-law. I did not know that Vivian was coming with Jesse and Vanessa or else I wouldn't have given our air mattress and sleeping bag to Casey. As a result, Vivian was relegated to layers of blankets piled on top of an extra-long chair cushion.

Saturday morning we prettied ourselves up for church. As the men were selfishly hogging the bathroom, the ladies were left to this less-than-ideal arrangement for doing our make-up:

On our way to church we stopped at the hotel to collect the rest of our party, whereupon a humorous conversation about the name of the pastor at our church ensued (Sven Frantzen, Van Swanson, Vins Ransom?). Although Dennis had stepped out of the shower moments before we arrived, even he was ready to go.

Once at church, Chris disappeared and then reappeared with his parents. The in-laws had arrived, also in a white Grand Marquis, and our graduation entourage was finally complete.

Saturday lunch took place in the community room of our apartment building. It was a completely natural combination of haystacks, enchiladas, and pie.

The meal arrangement required many trips between our apartment on the third floor and the community room on the first floor. With so money people going in and out of the apartment, it was only a matter of time before the chihuahua snuck out. Dennis found her contently walking the halls of our "no pets allowed" building. Fortunately, we have yet to receive any reprimands from our land lady.

The actual hooding ceremony was at six on Saturday evening. With so many people in town for this very event, I found it ironic that I drove to and from the ceremony by myself.

Before I left the apartment, I donned my size three robe and realized that size three means "for three people." Once I arrived at the arena where the ceremony would take place I was surrounded by classmates equally confused about our strange attire. Note how we are all wearing our hats and hoods differently:

(Thanks to Harvey's brother for getting the double T in the background!)

After confusing instructions on how to properly fold our hoods, we marched out into the arena. I am choosing to omit details on the small mistake I made during this procession, other than noting that a small mistake may have occurred. Here is a picture from the actual ceremony. Bet you can't find me (and maybe I can't find myself either...):

After an hour of listening to last names beginning with the letters A through R being called, it was finally my turn to ascend the stage. In law school, any attorney licensed to practice in the state can be your hooding attorney. I was honored to have Prof. Beyer, the professor I work for, be my hooding attorney. After my name was called, I walked on stage and Prof. Beyer placed my hood over my head and around my neck.

And just so you know that law school professors at Texas Tech are not all business all the time, here is a picture of Prof. Beyer and I from Easter:

After the ceremony ended, I found my family wandering the halls of the arena. I successfully corralled everyone together for a group shot:

From Left to Right:

Row one: Vanessa, Jesse, Rudy (Chris's Dad) Mimi, Chris

Row two: Zombie Lulu (Chris's mom), myself, my mom, Grandma, Grandpa

Row Three: Vivian

Row four: Casey, Dennis, my dad.

After the hooding ceremony, we headed back to the apartment. All of our furniture had been moved to the bedroom and the living room had been transformed into a pleasant party room. Again, I found it a bit ironic that I was the first person to arrive, but eventually everyone else showed up.

(If Vivian looks pre-occupied in the last picture, it's because she can't remember where she parked her train).

We feasted on pizza, wings, ice cream, and cake.

We modeled my goofy hat.

And then it was over. Graduation weekend came and went. It was a lovely weekend that makes tomorrow even harder. Tomorrow marks the beginning of more lectures, more reading, and more studying. But it also marks the day that I start looking forward to my post-bar-exam vacation.

California here I come...

Panhandle Beauty

I was in grade school the first time I went to Palo Duro Canyon. My visit lasted no more than one hour - it was the middle of winter, everything was dead, and we were in the midst of a snowstorm (It was also during this trip that I made my first and last visit to Wienerschnitzel, thoroughly grossed out by the idea of a chili-and-sauerkraut-hotdog at 10 a.m.).

A few weeks ago I returned to Palo Duro Canyon. This time, the canyon was green and gorgeous (and there were no early morning chili and sauerkraut hotdogs). Below are pictures from a stunning hike on the Lighthouse Trail.

Recent Events, In no Particular Order

Because I haven't blogged in quite some time, I am providing a point-by-point replay of the more interesting happenings from the last month:

1. I bought Chris a stunt kite for Valentines day. The spring winds made possible our first successful kite launching. I spent half the time "reminding" Chris to stay away from power lines. In defense of my incesscent "reminders," you should know that I have a substantial fear of electrocution, which is substantiated by this prior post.


2. I forgot that I was supposed to tell the children's story at church until it was time to tell the children's story at church. I remember sitting in the pew, thinking it odd that no adult was up front with the kiddos, who by this time were patiently waiting for their story. As soon as that thought entered my head, the music director whispered in my ear, "Kim, you're telling the story." Within the next 30 seconds, the following events occurred: 1) I turned 15 shades of red; 2) I jumped out of the pew and raced up front, causing a low chuckle throughout the sanctuary; 3) I thought to myself "What am I going to say;" 4) I picked up the microhone and said, "Well, apparently I'm telling the children's story today," at which point all eyes were on me like a bad car accident; and 5) I came up with a story that sounded like I had planned it. It was quite impressive, although the glory goes to God and not to me.


3. I met my new neighbor. He told me his name, but it just sounded like a bunch of vowels awkwardly thrown together. I told him that I was going to have a hard time remembering his name. He told me to call him by his nickname. As far as I could tell, his nickname is Ffssh. Luckily, Ffssh is never in the hallways when I am.

4. I learned why my first grade teacher was always trying to teach me the correct way to hold a pencil when writing. She was worried that someday I would go to lawschool, have a professor too old to admister exams via computer, and be forced to complete a three hour, hand-written exam. Furthermore, she knew that this exam would be comprised of questions so vague and broad that I really needed 6 hours to complete it and therefore, I would have to write faster than I type. I bet my first grade teacher did not know, however, that I would not be allowed to use lined paper to complete this exam, instead forced to throw down sloppy words in sloping lines on 14 sheets of regular copy paper. Mrs. Gilliam, please know that I now apologize for being so stubborn. My hand was shaking and one of my fingers was blue after it was all said and done.

5. I entered my final weeks of law school and apparently, I decided to go out with a bang! While my friends are taking it easy as they study for one or two exams, I am spending long days and nights at the library studying for FOUR final exams. Blech. That was really bad planning on my part.

6. Following up on number five, I discovered that planning a three week vacation and/or graudation party is WAY more fun than studying.

7. I took my Spanish proficiency to a new level. I made up a word, and that word has become part of the Sias lingo. I can't wait until my children learn this word and then use it when talking to Abuelita Sias. Abuelita Sias will smile and give her normal soft laugh, as if she approves, all the while thinking, "Oye, la Gringa habla Espanol como un burro."

8. I received my bar exam preparation books in the mail. The small but dense box contains 8 books with exciting titles like Multistate Performance Test Workbook and Texas Lecture Handouts. A couple of the boooks are thicker than a ream of paper. Wow - this summer is going to be so much fun!

Five Weeks...

...until I graduate from law school. Woot - Woot!

90 Years!

This past weekend was the 90th Anniversary of my church. As part of the celebrations, Chris and I organized a game of The Amazing Race. Below are pictures from one of the stops in the game:

Cindy, Katie, Glenn, Kathy, and Billie.

Yogeld, Sheila, Rachel, two new friends whose names I should remember, Connie, & Ysidro.

Jacob, Amber, Tori, and Daniel.

I thought Jacob was caught off-guard, and then I saw Amber.

Roxie, Judith, Ryan, and Danny.

Don't get too close now, Danny.

Pastor Sven, Beatriz, Johnnie, Sarah, and Zachery.

Jacksen, Naomi, Todd, Courtney, and Kerry.

Game Night

While I was in Fort Worth over spring break, my dear friends in Lubbock all got together for a fun game night. How dare they have game night while I'm gone? Don't they know that game night is my favorite? I guess they owe me one. And by one, I mean one game night while I am in town and able to attend.

I'm waiting for the call...

An Adventist Bachelorette Party?

By their very nature, the words Adventist and Bachelorette Party do not belong in the same sentence. They are polar opposites, one evoking images of debauchery and the other evoking images of utmost conservatism. And so, like other aspects of Adventist culture that take something "worldly" and make it more conservative (think of all those cleverly named foods in a can), we also have our own version of a bachelorette party. We tamely call it a lingerie shower. And while we may look innocent,

don't be fooled by the conservative name or our posed picture - it doesn't mean that our girls-night-out in honor of the bride-to-be is prudishly innocent or clean.

Sias Weddings

Last week Chris and I attended my brother-in-law's wedding. I sat in a chapel pew by myself during the wedding ceremony. While most eyes were on the bride and groom, my eyes were on Chris who was standing by the groom's side as the best man. It reminded me of our wedding day and the many days that led up to it.

Our story is not one of love at first sight. In fact, I do not remember the first time I met Chris. Instead, I just remember knowing him.

For the first year that I knew Chris, we only saw each other occasionally. We would run into each other when mutual friends came together. We always ended up sitting and talking together in these settings. One time we ran into each other at UTA. To this day I can remember what he was wearing and how I was struck by his handsomeness. One spring break we both went on a beach trip with mutual friends and spent the entire car ride home talking about nothing and everything.

Then one summer Chris started talking to a girl. I was surprised to find myself jealous that someone else was getting his full attention. I realized that I wanted to be closer to Chris and I told myself that I would no longer sit idly by. The following school year I began inviting Chris to have lunch with me. We met for lunch almost every Tuesday that semester.

The truth is out now: In the beginning, I pursued Chris.

Over lunch that semester, we slowly built up a friendship; a foundation. At that time I only knew that I wanted to know Chris more. I liked being around him because he always had something interesting to say while I usually felt like I had nothing interesting to say. Later Chris told me that he liked being around me because I always had something interesting to say while he usually felt like he had nothing interesting to say. In hindsight, we can see that we had instant chemistry.

By Christmas we were dating. I had no particular expectations for our relationship. I was having fun and never thought about being in a serious relationship. I only knew that I enjoyed being around Chris like no other person I knew or had ever known.

I can distinctly remember, however, the moment when I realized that I was in love and wanted no other man in my life. I was driving and can remember the exact place on the road where I made this exciting discovery. And then one day, there we were, in the same position as Jesse and Vanessa were in this past weekend:

Last week Chris and I attended my brother-in-law's wedding. I sat in a chapel pew by myself during the wedding ceremony. While most eyes were on the bride and groom, my eyes were on Chris who was standing by the groom's side as the best man. And that's when our story rushed through my mind. As I watched Jesse and Vanessa make the same commitment Chris and I made two years ago, I found myself wishing for them the same happiness in that Chris and I have found in marriage.

Natural Gas or Aliens?

Right now I'm visiting Fort Worth and staying with my parents. Once a rural oasis, my parent's house is now filled with the alien-like sounds of a nearby natural gas rig. The constant hum of machines accompanied by strange, wavering, high-pitched noises make me think that ET is going to walk though the door at any minute. And if ET does walk through the door, I will run straight to my car and won't look back until I'm in Lubbock.

A Typical Day at the Park

Click on the image to make it larger.

Winter Olympics

The 2010 winter olympics are almost over. The first week of TV coverage was very distracting. I found myself watching for hours at a time. I recall thinking that the olympics should be on year-round, but after a week I had enough and year-round olympics no longer sounded so exciting. Nonetheless, here are some olympic highlights according to Kim.

1. Figures Skating Outfits. This is figure skating's pair Yuko Kavaguti and Alexander Smirnov. If this picture could talk, it would say "Sorry Honey, the swan ate my huevos."

2. Group Races. I most enjoyed short track speed skating, ski-cross, and snow-board cross. These races combine four key factors: high speeds, lots of turns, a slick surface, and athletes racing together rather than individually. This combination guarantees nail-biting suspense as racers try to avoid the inevitable: an ugly, high-speed crash. And unlike Nascar where highspeed crashes are often the highlight of the race, these olympic events do not require me to watch 499 uneventful laps just to see the one exciting lap.

3. Doppelgangers. I discovered that Chris's doppelganger is Apollo Anton Ohno.

All that Chris is missing is a gold medal or two...

Not another snow day...

Unlike my prior post, this post is not one of happiness and excitement. After numerous snow days this year, I am tired of looking out the window in the morning and realizing that I am running late because I did not allocate time for this:

I am not a morning person and therefore, I do not wake up in time for surprises like a thick layer of ice on my windshield or two inches of show insulating my car. Either I need a garage or else I need to move somewhere warmer, if not both.

Snow Day!

Last week it snowed again! When I left for school in the morning, it was raining. Two hours later, I was shocked to see that everything was covered in snow.

Being that I am a native Texan, I am not well-equipped for dealing with snowy weather. Before driving home, I scraped the snow off my windshield and windows. It was not until I was driving, however, that I realized I should have cleaned off the hood as well. Had I cleaned off the hood, my vision would not have been obstructed by the mound of snow that I removed from my windshield. Had I the forethought to clean off the hood, I would have had the forethought to clean off my lights as well, so that they would actually shine on the road before me as I drove home on a cloudy, sunless afternoon. Unfortunately, I did not have this forethought, and when I parked at home I did not realize that my headlights were still on because they were covered in snow.

Nor did I not notice that my car lights were on when I went out later in the day to take pictures of our snowy landscape. But I sure did enjoy the way our "backyard" looked.

Later that afternoon, my neighbor came knocking on my front door seeking a "boost." Earlier that day I heard him operating various hand tools through our common wall, so I thought he needed help with some project in his apartment. I was perplexed because I didn't know how I would lift-up (boost) this guy who is 6 inches taller than me, much less do it without blushing. My neighbor noticed my perplexed look right away. "Can you give my car a boost," he said, "I left my lights on."

Happy that I could help out my neighbor, I bundled up and headed out the door. I told my neighbor that we were really fortunate that I was parked right next to him in the parking lot, which would have been true had I not left my lights on as well. Chris arrived home from work within a half hour and helped us solve the problem.

In case you can't tell, Chris parked on my right and jumped my car. Then I jumped my neighbor's car. Then Chris and I went and took a lovely picture in the snow, at which time Chris told me I looked like Kenny from South Park.

All in all, it was a eventful snow day.

Coincidence or Divine Intervention?

Today, at exactly 1:56 p.m, I remembered that the ring tone on my phone had been set on silent all day. I quickly fished my phone out of my bag and turned on the ringer, even though I wasn't expecting any calls. Exactly five minutes later the phone rang. The caller id read "UNAVAILABLE" (the phone uses all-caps; it's the phone that's yelling, not me). I answered the phone with a suspicious, "Hello?," and was surprised to hear a familiar voice respond. It was a longtime pal (since the first grade!) who lives halfway around the world (in Norway!). We hadn't talked in a very long time, perhaps a year or more, and I would have completely missed the call had I not turned on the phone's ringer when I did. The initial excitement of the phone call prevented me from realizing the divine string of events that made our subsequent conversation possible. It was only after I hung-up that I realized this. Luckily, my longtime pal reads my blog, and she should get the message right about now.

Sometimes I Get Lucky

I am not a photography expert, but every now and then I snap a picture that I am especially proud of. I've decided to compile these pictures into one post, and then update the post over time. So, here are my favorites, in no particular order.