The Kavanaugh Report

In the middle of finals...they suck. blah. Be back on December 18.

Last Saturday Morgan and I adopted a new dog! Her name is Lexi and shes a two year old Toy Fox Terrier. Morgan and I decided to start looking for another dog a couple of weeks ago. For a long time I was very against having two dogs, but as the end of school gets closer the more open I became to the idea. So over the last couple weeks we have been casually looking at the Animal Humane Society's website for another little dog. We found a couple we liked and actually went and looked at one before we found Lexi. But, we didn't connect with that dog, so our search continued. Finally, last Friday I noticed a little dog named Lucky on the website and Morgan and I agreed to go look at her. We went on Saturday morning to meet Lucky, and she was great. We took her for a walk, and she was wild but affectionate. She loved to be held and cuddled. She had been given up by her previous people then transferred from a high-kill shelter in Oklahoma to the shelter in St. Paul. We knew right away...

Last week Morgan and I were supposed to have fall break. We were going to relax, catch up on sleep, do some homework, and study for midterms. Instead we spent all last week totally sick. Morgan and I started feeling crappy the weekend before break and it just got worse over the week. We had fevers, body aches, and the worst coughs. Morgan finally went to the doctor on Thursday and found out he had pneumonia and the flu. He was given antibiotics and finally started to get better by Sunday. I went to urgent care on Thursday, and the doctor there confirmed that I also had the flu. He said I "probably" had H1N1, but wouldn't test me to make sure. I, thankfully, did not have pneumonia. The doctor said I would feel better in a couple days, but I didn't. Finally on Monday, I was diagnosed with a sinus infection and was given antibiotics. I'm finally feeling better now, although still very tired. Basically, we had the worst fall break ever. We are now more behind, stresse...

As Morgan and I get closer to graduation we have to consider where we would like to end up living. A lot of this decision depends on where we both are able to find a job, but we do have some say as to where we apply. Our main debate is whether we want to try and stay in the city, move to the suburbs, or move to greater Minnesota (think Rochester, Mankato, etc.). I honestly cant imagine living anywhere other than the city, but I'm coming around to the idea of living in one of the inner-suburbs. There are just so many things that I really love about living in the city. One, is the great restaurants! I love the fact that I can get any type of food I want, at almost any time. I can't imagine living somewhere I didn't have that. Second, I love the culture. We can go to a professional sporting event one night, a museum the next day, and great shopping the next. Finally, my favorite thing about living in the city is that it is never boring. Every day I see something interesting an...

Dear Metro Transit Readers (or any mass transit user): I have noticed recently that everyone could use an update on the "rules" of riding the bus. Clearly I'm the authority since, at 24 years old, I've never had a drivers license and ride the bus more than the average user. Here are some rules that everyone should keep in mind while riding the bus: Use the back door! It exists for a reason. No one (especially me) wants to wait while you slowly move past the back door to make your way to the front. There is nothing special about the front door. Being fat is not a disability. Don't waste everyone's time by requiring the bus driver to put down the ramp. Walk down the two stairs, it wont kill you (although, the McDonald's in your hand might). Have your transit card ready when getting on the bus. Everyone on the bus knows you just spent 8 + min waiting for the bus to come, so use that time wisely and take the damn cash out of your wallet. Better yet, go get a G...

Morgan and I are officially 3L's. We made it to our last year of law school! School started August 20th and we are into the full swing of things now. The few weeks leading up to school starting were pretty hectic for both of us. Morgan was at Ft. McCoy in Wisconsin for a little over two weeks for some army training. It was difficult having him gone but the time went pretty fast since I was so busy. The first week Morgan was away I dog-sat for my parents two dogs, Minnie and Bentley. Minnie is 11 years old and was very upset that she was left here. She followed me everywhere and howled when I left. I finally figured out that if I left talk radio on for her she would be a little more calm - so all the dogs enjoyed 9 days of Rush/Hannity/Lewis and I'm sure they all walked away from that better dogs ;-). Bentley is just a puppy and was 6 months old when he was here. He had amazing amounts of energy and taught me that I will NEVER get a puppy in a second floor apartment. I got quite...

Today I realized that summer was more than half over and I hadn't updated this at all! Oops. Although, there really isn't much to report. I spent most of the summer taking a class on Income Tax. I thought I would hate the subject, but it turned out to be a lot more interesting than I thought. I actually kinda liked it. I learned some information that is helpful in real life, and I'm semi-looking forward to doing my taxes this coming winter. But I haven't gotten my grade back, so I can't say for sure how well it went. Income Tax ended on July 17th, so I've had the last 9 days to relax, before I start my second class. Tonight I start a class called, Fundamentals of Business Finance. Its a one week, one credit, pass/fail class. I'm hoping it will teach me some basic business principles which will hopefully make me more marketable to employers when I start looking for a full-time position in a couple months. Morgan and I have had some fun! Over the 4th of July w...

Morgan and I decided to create a second blog where we could post all the professional pictures from our wedding. This way all of our family and friends could see the pictures and order the ones they want. Hope you enjoy. The Kavanaugh Report: Wedding Pictures

This summer I'm taking a couple of classes. I'm taking income tax and a class on the fundamentals of business finance. Income tax lasts a couple of months and I get 4 credits for it. I'm two weeks into it - which is like taking a month of classes during the semester. So far I like the class, but not the hours. It's from 8:30am -11:30am three days a week (Tuesday - Thursday). I didn't realize how much I had become accustomed to my late afternoon classes till I had to get up at 6:00am each morning. Its been a rough few mornings, but I think I'm finally starting to get used to it thanks mostly to Starbucks and their soy White Chocolate Mochas. Taking this class also means that I'm back to studying, reading, and all the other "fun" stuff that comes along with law school. This schedule does have its perks, I get at least a 4 day weekend every week (this week its 5 since my professor scheduled an online class for Tuesday). Although, I'm starting to r...

Thanks to Holly, I discovered a new website that I had to share with everyone. Its http://www.morphthing.com/ . It allows you to morph images of two people to see what their babies would look like. I didn't think it would work, but it's actually super awesome!! Plus I got a sneak peak at what my babies with Brad Pitt will look like ;-). More seriously (well slightly more serious), I morphed Morgan and myself, and here were the results: I think they are really darn cute, especially the last one. The middle one actually looks a lot like Morgan did as a kid. Well we will all have to wait a few years to see if these pictures are accurate but it was a fun way to avoid my homework. OK one more. Brad Pitt + Me: Move over Shiloh! Haha! ;-)

A little car history for me: When I was 16 years old, I bought my first car with cash, a 1989 Toyota Camry LE, red, for $1,500. It had over 160,000 miles on it, but everything worked great on it. I bought it from a nice old lady who owned it from new. She took great care of it and it worked perfect for me. I sold that car a year and a half later for...$1,500. It was a great little car. I upgraded to a 1995 Toyota Camry XLE with 68,000 miles. I bought it from a nice old lady who had owned it since new, for $7,900. That car worked perfect, no major problems. I sold it to my dad before college and its still going strong. A year after being without a car, I purchased a 1995 Toyota Avalon XLS, with 160,000 miles on it from...you guessed it, a nice old lady who owned it since new. At the time, the car was actually worth $4,900, but she needed to get rid of it and sold it to me for $3,600. That car lasted me 5+ years with no major problems. It took me to Chicago and back so many times I lost...

"Christ, you know it ain't easy, you know how hard it can be; The way things are going — they're gonna crucify me." – The Ballad of John and Yoko, The Beatles My I-Pod randomly played the Ballad of John and Yoko this morning and this line perfectly summed up finals for me. Ok, they didn’t quite crucify me, but it sure felt like they were going to at times. This semester I had 5 exams in 13 days for a total of 13.5 hours of taking exams. I cant really explain how much work these exams take. I miss college when I could spend two hours looking over my notes and book and walk away with an A in the class. Law school is a completely different game. I spend an average of 30 hours of studying per class just to feel like I can walk into the exam and not embarrass myself. For 5 classes that’s a total of 150 hours of studying in the last 2.5 weeks, plus study groups, and the actual exams. It also doesn’t help that I can barely sleep during finals, although I’m in bed for 8-9 hou...

Well, I survived another year of law school. Overall I feel pretty good about how the year went. I am really looking forward to working at the law firm, without having to worry about school. I think I will learn a lot this summer. Today I feel like I've been hit by a truck. I'm surprised by how sore I get during finals time, sitting for 14+ hours per day, hunched over a computer, really starts to takes it toll. I don't remember being this sore at Boot Camp! OK, that's probably not true, but I really need a few days to recover. When I didn't shave for a week before my Corporations exam, and the bags under my eyes grew larger, I was shocked in the morning at how crappy I looked! I'm also sick of eating fast food. It's hard not to eat fast food during finals because there is so little time. I have a PT test in June (PT Test: the Army requires me to remain in shape. Every six months I am tested in push ups, sit ups and a 2-mile run. I have to reach a minimum in ...

I feel scammed. I was told that the second year of law school is way easier than the first year. False. There is so much more work to do second year. It has been a long year and I am glad I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. My (and Nicole's) last final is on May 14th at 6pm. I cannot wait for this weekend! I plan on sleeping as much as possible and playing video games. I am not a fan of Grey's Anatomy (Nicole is), however, I did enjoy the first season, (before it turned into a soap opera and was actually a medical show); anyway, Meredith says something in the first season like, "Why do I continue to hit myself in the face with a hammer? Because it feels so good when you stop." That's kind of how law school is, and how great this weekend will be. It is very rewarding to finish a semester and I am glad to be almost done with another year. I am looking forward to having a more "normal" summer of "just" working 40 hours per week. ...

8:00: Wake Up; First serving of caffeine 10:30: Arrive at WMCL ; Aggressively search out study space 10:45: Study; Second serving of caffeine 1:30: Eat lunch while studying; Third serving of caffeine 3:30: Fourth serving of caffeine 6:00: Study group 8:00: Leave school for dinner 9:00: Another hour of studying 10:00: TV 10:30: Bed This is just a typical day. Some days are worse, some are better. Sleep is the most important part about doing well on finals, I would never ever skimp on sleep to try to get ahead. Caffeine is also important - although I'm already not looking forward to the week after finals when I have to force myself off that caffeine and suffer through the withdrawal. 9 days to go - focused on my goal: