I can't believe my last post was November 21st. I have pretty much been in a funk ever since I heard about my cousin's death. We went to the funeral in D.C. I may blog about that at some point. (The Secretary of Defense was there!) Other than that I've been working on passing my classes. After this week I will be out from a crushing amount of work and better able to focus on fun things, interesting things, and future things. Tonight is my last traditional final. I still have a correspondence final due on Saturday. Tonight's final on Contract Law for Engineers is the culmination of a great course. Unfortunately I've learned so much I don't have a clue what the test will be on. I'm just hoping that knowing the cases, reading the book, reading the slides and remembering the IRAC model will get me through. My term paper was due last week and thankfully that is out of the way. I did an analysis of the new Patent Reform Act of 2007 and its impacts on science and engineering.
Tomorrow is my birthday. I always prefer to turn odd years, they make me feel younger. Unfortunately the forecast for my zip code is: (0° -27°) so my chances of doing anything other than snuggling up at home are minimal. I hate going out to eat and dreading the ride home in the cold car. I'll probably postpone my birthday until this weekend and try and get my correspondence final in Mass Media Law out of the way, that is unless hubby has sweet birthday plans that he has been very good at concealing.
Having all of my classes out of the way will be a big relief. Then I can try and be happy about my birthday and begin to get in a holiday spirit. For me, Christmas officially begins after my birthday. I usually refuse to do more than put up my tree in advance of December the 13th. This year I broke my rule and shopped ahead of my birthday. This was done partially to prevent mental breakdown by doing all of my shopping for 4 siblings, one sibling in law, and 4 parents all in 12 days right before Christmas. I shopped online and will hopefully see a steady stream of packages arriving at my doorstep over the next few days. I highly recommend online shopping to law students. It can save money if you use coupon codes which give a percentage off and free shipping, plus you can do it during your few free moments that come here and there rather than having to plan shopping around your studying. I use www.mrrebate.com, which gives me a % cash back and coupon codes, usually get a 25-30% off code and free shipping and then pay with my credit card which gives me 2% back. I almost never pay more than 70% of an items cost using this system. It's worked out well so far. All I have to do is wrap things when they arrive. This leaves me plenty of time to focus on more important things like the government's role in regulating advertising. Hmm...that's even sort of related to Christmas. I wish they'd regulate that Christmas ads can't run before Thanksgiving, but I guess I've learned enough in my class to realize why that isn't possible.
