Cape Charles

Cape Charles, Virginia on the Eastern Shore is about an hour from campus. It has clean beaches, charismatic older homes and the peace and quiet I sometimes crave. This picture was taken in late April when I was studying for exams.

Hopefully you are all enjoying summer vacation. Don't be afraid to explore new places!

Norfolk Botanical Gardens

Love this bunch of hydrangeas.

Experiencing May at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens is something that everyone should take the time to do.You can bring a picnic and rest wherever you desire on the grounds. There is also a designated BBQ area.

The cost is around ten dollars a person. At first I thought that to be a little pricey, but after I saw the size of the grounds and took a free tour I felt like I was definitely getting a good deal. Plus, I was able to walk away with a number of amazing photographs.

The park was established in 1938. Now it stands at 155 acres with thousands of plants. There are gardens dedicated to particular plants, specific regions, and even a butterfly garden.

My favorite spot was the hydrangea garden which was in full bloom. The flowers were beautiful shades of blue, magenta, and light purple. I came across a grouping that looked like a perfect heart.I was really inspired by these romantic blooms. The hydrangea might just be my new favorite flower, second to orchids.

The rose garden was also magnificent. There were hundreds of blooms. It was very aromatic. The roses smelled heavenly. They bloom twice a year usually by Mother's Day and again in the month of October. There was a wedding party setting up that afternoon just before I left. I believe there were some high school students taking prom pictures there as well.

Can you spot the eagle in the tree?

A really unique aspect about the location is that there is an actual bald eagle nest which is visible to visitors on the free tour.

Later on in the day, I had the unexpected opportunity to spot the eagle in one of the trees. I didn't get a great picture, but at least you can see the basic shape of him. There is a viewing spot, much like a treehouse, that you can use to get an even better view of the Nation's bird.

Check out the friendship pond to see turtles.

Plus, there is an eagle cam up in one of the trees allowing online visitors to watch the eagle from home. In the past the park has shared footage of 19 eaglets being reared. This year there were no eaglets, because the female eagle was killed in a tragic accident with a plane last year.

I really encourage you to visit this beautiful spot. Bring your friends and family. Share a picnic with them. Try to spot the eagle. Don't forget to bring your camera. One final bit of advice: if you have allergies, do make sure to take your medication.

Me in the butterfly garden.

Summer School? You betcha!

The only time I'd ever been enrolled in summer school was my sophomore year in high school--Driver's Education. Since then, I've purposefully tried to stay away from crunched classes. I decided a few weeks ago that this summer would be different, especially since the summer program at Regent Law was so highly spoken of by my upper level friends.

Before summer school started I had an entire week to my own. The "summer," as I refer to my week off,  has started off smoothly enough. I'm still holding my breath to hear back about my grades, but that hasn't stopped me from enjoying my new-found freedom. I had a great time visiting Washington, D.C. I have already read three books cover to cover. Best of all, I've been able to catch up on some movies I have been wanting to watch for a while.

Things are about to change, though. I'm still waiting on my schedule for my externship with Legal Aid, but I anticipate working there two or three days out of the week throughout the rest of the summer. In addition, I am enrolled in the Negotiations course. I thought both of these responsibilities would keep my summer busy enough.

Monday evening was the first Negotiations class with Professor Pfeiffer. The three hour class was long, but pretty entertaining.

Then, it was brought to my attention on Tuesday that the Advance Legal Research and Writing Class had an opening. I had been wait-listed but could now join if I liked. No lie, I saw the email at 12:54 P.M. and had to respond by 1:00 P.M. By pure luck I was on campus visiting a friend and could easily go up to the registrar's office. I made it up to the office just in time to accept enrollment into the course.

Five hours later, I found myself sitting in the class, the only rising 2L to be found. I'm still deciding whether this is good or bad. It could just be a stroke of luck.

Professor Hamm was delightful. She comically questioned the class if we knew that it was Summer and the beach is nearby. Then she compared the class to p90x. As a class, we will work hard, but by the end we will be ripped. I love the analogy. I'm ready. Bring it on.

Call me crazy, naive, ambitious, ridiculous, or superwoman, but I'm excited for the prospects of the things I'll learn and the projects I'll get to work on. It will surely be a lot of work, but I'm going to have fun. I just know it. Plus, by the end of the summer, this hard work will pay off an I'll need eight less units to graduate.

Looking for Housing?

I wish I knew where to begin looking for housing when I first moved to Virginia Beach. Here are a few recommendations to get you started.

For On-Campus housing:

• Here you will find all the information you need to know about Regent Housing, costs, and restrictions. http://www.regent.edu/campus/housing/

For Off-Campus housing:

• The following page has a listing for nearby apartments (not affiliated with Regent) and also an off-campus referral service which shows rental options offered by private individuals (not affiliated with Regent). http://www.regent.edu/campus/housing/off_campus.cfm
• Also check out The Branch for student listings. Lately there have been a number of inexpensive rooms in homes, apartments, and condos for rent that are also relatively close to campus. To access The Branch log on to "my.regent.edu" and you will see a link to The Branch under my applications.
• If you are already in the area, go to your local grocery story and pick up an Apartment Guide book. They are usually found at the store entrance and are free. Take this with you to get a better sense of the apartments in the area.

Plan ahead

• It takes a while to see many apartments. Map out the places you'd like to visit. Call ahead to make an appointment. 
• Bring copies of your work history. Most places want to see pay stubs for two months. Some places require that you make at least twice the amount of the rent.

ATTENTION All 1L Students

This Thursday will be our final opportunity to gather as a 1L class before the Torts exam. Many of us won't even see one another until fall semester starts the fun all over again. 

For the past two semesters I have been thankful that Ben Goodrich has organized brief prayer meetings before each of our exams. Haven't heard about it? Didn't know there was such a thing? Guess what?! YOU HAVE ONE LAST CHANCE TO COME OUT AND PRAY BEFORE TORTS!

This is a formal invitation to come out and pray for God's guidance in our lives over our final exam and also for our summer plans wherever they take us. The prayer session will be brief and give those with 9 AM tests plenty of time to set up.

Everyone is welcome to attend. Please meet in the lobby of Robertson Hall at 8:30 AM on Thursday, April, 26, 2012 if you would like to be a part of this epic final prayer meeting of the year. 

Check out the recently developed facebook page to confirm your attendance.

2 DOWN, 2 TO GO!!!!

Approximately 8:15 AM en route to school for my
Civil Procedure exam. This was taken with the
camera on my iphone.

Last week was the final week of 1L classes. The highlight for most people was Professor Duane ripping a telephone book in half with his bare hands. It did make me smile seeing him do it, but I wasn't as impressed with his little party trick. For me the highlight of the week was the thought of knowing that my first year of law school is nearly over. The only thing that was standing between me and summer vacation was four exams! 

Pastor Craig Walker of Upward Church, formerly Harvest Central Church, spoke to the law students. He urged us to finish well. As Christians in our lives. And as students. His key to success was very simple. He said (and I'm paraphrasing) establish a finishing goal. Start today. Stick with it. His message could not have been more poignant for law students weary from the semester with a mountain of studying and exams to traverse.

This was exactly a week ago. Finally, without any classes left or new material to learn, I was able to begin studying more deeply and thoroughly. 

One of my classmates explained to me that studying for finals is like a near death experience. I'm not sure what experience she can relate studying for finals to, but I thought it was interesting enough. She said that when you begin to think about exams, your entire semester flashes before you and you are filled with regret for the things you could have done better or should have done period. She was right in a sense. In law school you never can learn enough, study enough, make enough flash cards, or get enough old outlines from other people. There will always be things that you could have done better but life gets in the way. I agree that I had intentions to do this semester a little bit differently than it actually turned out, but that's OK. I still went to class, got my work done, and participated to the best of my ability. And you know what?! I still had a life, too!

Over the last weekend I studied until my eyes burned, but I also took the time to enjoy the beautiful spring weather. 

Tuesday was my Contracts exam. I told everyone I anticipated eating it for breakfast. Well, I ate it and it gave me indegestion. Enough said.

Today was my Civil Procedure exam. I got up early, reviewed some last minute things, ate breakfast, and left my apartment at around 8 AM. I headed to school early to attend the student prayer group that happens in the lobby of Robertson Hall. I'm about a mile from the exit when my car starts to feel different. I'm slowing down and I hear a weird noise. Immediately I pull over to the right hand side of the highway. I'm scared to get out of the car because everyone else is zipping by, but I have to because something doesn't feel right. Nothing wrong on the left side. I walk around to the passenger side and I see this: a completely dead rear tire. PULVERIZED!

I called in for backup. Things worked out. Got the tire fixed and made it to the exam with enough time to hit up the vending machine for some M & Ms. It is just my luck that the package gets stuck and won't fall off the dispenser. WOW! If these events are the worst thing that happens to me today, I'll be just fine.

Professor Duane's exam was a bit nicer than last semester, but there still were 150 multiple choice questions and 10 short answer. I took nearly the full amount of time. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for the best.

After this morning's shenanigans and exam I decided to take the afternoon off. A cheeseburger from Five Guys killed the hunger and a walk at my favorite park (Oak Grove Lake Park) killed the headache. 

Now I'm on to bigger and better things...PROPERTY! If I plan it out right I can schedule in some fun with TORTS! 

I'm smiling because the end is in sight!!!!

That's it. Just two more exams to go. I'll be lucky to pass all of these exams plus my LARW paper turned in a month ago. If I pass everything, I'll be an official 2L continuing on my mission to change the world!

Tree Blossoms Are Everywhere!

Blossoms photographed on March 21, 2012.

Even walking out to my car can be a blessing. These blossoms were spotted in the parking lot in front of the library. I am no flower expert, but my Google research tells me these are black cherry blooms. They are not great for allergies, but they sure do make for a beautiful view (and picture).