Thursday Morning Lameness

I've been studying Oil and Gas for the Texas Bar Exam. Since I didn't take this course in law school, and since I also wasn't tested on it on my previous bar, it's kinda new to me. Something that particular sticks with me is Texas's interpretation of the open mines doctrine. That lease better never expire, because then you're fucked, life tenant. 

Oh look, it's Ryan Gosling.

Happy Thursday (for what it's worth).

New Houses, Book Tours, and Signings

I have been a little slow in keeping up with my ghosts lately.  I'm hoping to catch up soon with a new batch of  dark tales.   I have been slowed down by moving into a new house.  Our new home is beautiful and sits on a wildlife preserve.  We are enjoying it immensely.   To help me celebrate my move, I have started a book tour for my latest book, The Midnight Queen.  Please give it a look if you have the chance.  I'll also be signing copies of Haunted North Alabama at Costco in Huntsville, Alabama.   Come chat with me and watch my book tour while I get ready to start a new year of ghost stories and haunted places!

VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR December 12th - January 4th

December 12 - Reading Addiction Blog Tours - Meet and Greet

December 13 - Waiting on Sunday to Drown - Review/Guest Post

December 14 - My Cozie Corner - Review

December 15 - Bunny's Reviews - Guest Post/PROMO

December 16 - A Dream Within a Dream - PROMO

December 18 - Pure Textuality - Guest Post/PROMO

December 19 - Mom With a Kindle - Interview/PROMO

December 20 - Jen McConnel - Guest Post/PROMO

December 21 - Marked By Books - Review/Interview

December 22 - Lovely Reads - Guest Post/PROMO

December 26 - The Avid Reader - PROMO

December 27 - Words I Write Crazy - Review/Guest Post

December 29 - Black Lillies are Dead - Guest Post/PROMO

December 30 - Book Lovin Mama's - PROMO

December 31 - Delerious About Books - Interview/PROMO

January 1 - The Cosy Dragon - Review

January 2 - Krystal's Enchanting Reads - PROMO

January 3 - Brooke Blogs - PROMO

January 4 - My Reading Addiction - Review

 

 

Equipping my dream office

One of these days, by golly, I'm going to have an office. And clients. And maybe even practice law. And if I'm dreaming, I'd like to do it in a decent part of town, with a climate-controlled building, in a space I fill myself. 

What my dream office shall (and what, realistically, every law office should) be equipped with:

1. I'm geekishly in love with this Viscante oak executive home office, found here (I actually used that stock photo as my office and added everything else I wanted). I want it all: the hutch, the desk, the EVERYTHING.

2. Framed certificates depicting my awesomeness (undergrad and law school degrees, and law licenses)

3. A super-sexy all-in-one copy/fax/scan/email machine. I'd love to be almost completely paperless (although I'd maintain one paper copy of each client's file for safekeeping).

4. A lateral filing desk, in which to keep the aforementioned paper copies. 

5. An ergonomic, back-loving office chair (like this one, the golden standard, from Herman Miller).

6. A really wide computer monitor. Because I'm blind. 

7. Westlaw Next. Because it's awesome. 

8. A chair for potential clients. Comfortable, but not too comfortable (because I want them to leave).

9. A Keurig. We all need caffeine.

10. Wall art. (The Razorbacks are gonna win it all next year, I TELL YA.)

11. Appropriate lighting. A girl has to see.

NOT PICTURED:

11. A sofa. Plush. (Because I might want to nap on it....duh.)

12. Bookcases upon which to display my vast knowledge of the law. Ha. (Okay, my outdated legal encyclopedias that will impress clients.)

13. External hard drive. If my computer crashes, I have to be prepared.

OPTIONAL, THOUGH PREFERRED:

14. A great view.

15. A stellar paralegal.

Texas Bar Examination update

Update on Texas Bar Examination:

1. Please don't forget to send in your letters of good standing. ::facepalm::

2. Also, don't forget to send in your MPRE results. (Goodbye, $25...)

3. I somehow forgot to sign a notarized document in the Texas Bar Exam packet. Like, it was notarized, but I just didn't sign it. (What the hell is wrong with me?!!?!?)

4. Can I restate how amazing my Twitter community is? Particularly Adamdm4, who sent me his Barbri books to study with. :)

5. Though I've had my mess-ups along the way, Texas has been extremely nice throughout the entire application process, so there IS that....

6. I've been retyping the lecture handouts with blanks to fill in with my own handwriting, which is a long and arduous task that I'm afraid I am going to give up soon....

7. But I've made it through Agency/Partnership. And Bankruptcy. And Texas Civil Procedure. :) This is good, no? 

8. On the other hand, that means I've completed ~100 pages. Out of the phonebook that is Barbri.

::gulp::

9. Today I'm focusing on Federal Income Taxation. Then I might reward myself with some Criminal Law review. I'm such a rebel.

10. I've officially got all of my Texas documents turned in. Now....we wait. (And rejoice.)

Another blog about nothing....

It seems like every time I sit down to write, either (a) I have nothing relevant to say, (b) I see something shiny, or (c) I end up deleting everything because I think it sounds dumb. I still have a second blog to write about whether or not new attorneys qualify for the patent exam, then the followups regarding HOW to apply (spoiler: it's a pain in the ass) and my plans of attack after I send mine in (it's finished, but money is tight). I've also been contemplating blogging daily about my prep for the Texas bar exam, which may serve as a "what not to do" in the end (although I don't plan on failing it--but then again, who does?). Since I have recently applied for another spate of jobs, I'm sure I could always finangle a blog out regarding how my life sucks because I'm unemployed, living at my parents' house, and have enough rejection letters to paper our living room with (no, but really, I do, and for some unknown God-awful reason, I KEEP them. All of them.).

Which leads me to my post today. I don't think y'all want to hear another whiny blog about unemployment. And my life isn't particularly interesting at the moment, although I find enough things to keep me entertained (namely, my 11 year old brother). I'm pretty sure y'all don't care about my eye exam visit (or the fact that I reeeeallly wanted that second pair of frames, BECAUSE THEY ARE CUTE AND I NEED MOAR GLASSES).

I'm also sure you don't care about my health woes or exercise escapades. And a large majority of my blog readers are taking final exams, WHICH SUCK AND I'M SO SORRY YOU'RE HAVING TO DO THAT. (Seriously.) Btw, those of you who find by blog by googling "no friends in law school"--your day will come, but for real, most of those guys are assholes, and the majority of my lawyer friends (save for about three) are people I met on twitter, because those guys/gals rock.

So yeah. This is really a blog about nothing. But it kinda feels good to write about nothing.

 (Oh look, grumpy cat hates law school finals too....)

(Or, in my case, studying for the bar....)

At any rate....

Happy Krampus Day!

Last year, I was thrilled to discover Krampus Day.   I wasn't thrilled enough to celebrate this holiday, but I loved learning about it   Now, Krampus Dy seems to be a day I'll remember for a long time to come. In fact, I am reposting this blog from last year just to celebrate Krampus Day.  So if you think you've seen this blog post before, you have! In America, we embrace all cultures and pull their traditions into our own culture and make it our own. I believe we should do the same for Krampus Day. It is time to begin our Krampus Day Celebrations! According to Wikipedia, "Traditionally, young men dress up as the Krampus in the first two weeks of December, particularly on the evening of 5 December, and roam the streets frightening children and women with rusty chains and bells. In some rural areas the tradition also includes birching – by Krampus, especially of young girls"   This year, this time frame is oddly meaningful to me as I'm due December 1st and if I don't have a baby boy by the 5th, we'll be taking him by force.   As a mother of two other boys who like to chase each other with bells and other nonsense, this holiday also seems oddly appropriate this year.  All I have to do is add horns and my boys will be set for Krampus day.  This is very convenient because they already have horns from their various Halloween costumes from years passed.  So this year, I'm celebrating Krampus day.  Here's some more background information for all those that missed Krampus Day last year.


Krampus is part of Austrian and Hungarian folklore and is associated with Christmas. His name, taken from the Germanic Krampen means claw. Krampus looks like and acts like the devil. He is a demon that travels with Saint Nickolas on Christmas Eve and while Santa delivers candies and treats to the good little children, Krampus delivers corporal punishment and horror to the bad little children. He provides a little extra incentive for the children to be good. Apparently in Austria, not getting presents wasn't enough to motivate children. Satan himself had to beat the children with willow branches and carry them off to hell. I think it would take about this much incentive to get my boys to stop fighting on a nightly basis, so they might be on to something.

Krampus became so popular that his story and legends spread throughout Europe and became especially popular in Croatia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia and northern Italy. He became so popular that he earned his own holiday. Dec 5 is Krampus day. It is almost like a prolonged Devil's Night in Detroit, without the fire. On Krampus day and the days around it, young men take to the streets dressed in their most fearful Krampus costumes. They roam the streets scaring children with loud rusty bells and chains. They chase down young girls and hit them with birch branches. I feel like this would add some spice to our Christmas preparations. Who wouldn't want to be terrified by a large devil in these days leading up to Christmas? I have to say that it would make shopping a little bit less painful and it certainly sounds like more fun than black Friday! So get out your rusty chains and bells an find your ugliest mask and take to the streets. It is almost Krampus Day.

I Take Another Tentative Step Into The Twenty First Century

A few months ago I opened a Twitter account.

Having so far resisted the lure of social network sites I did so on the recommendation of other writers. They told me that it would increase my internet presence and thus help to promote my work. So who am I to argue with the experts?

Before taking the plunge I decided to have a look around and see what all the fuss is about. I wasn't impressed. I trawled a few sites only to be informed that someone I didn't know was sitting in Starbucks with a latte and laughing out loud (what at, they didn't say). Another stranger was deliberating over what colour socks to put on. Why this should be of interest to me I wasn't sure.

But I persevered and soon found a few sites that were more pertinent to my interests. I even discovered that several of you lovely people out there are already veteran Twitterers. (You know who you are). I learned that you can indeed publicise your work (and other people's) and you can pass on information that may be relevant to your friends. You can brag about your successes and moan about your failures. It's a bit like blogging but more immediate and concise.

I have an interesting assortment of Followers. Apart from friends and colleagues I have The British High Commission in Singapore, a restaurant in Coventry and a rock band from Los Angeles. I think that's what you call an eclectic mix.

I don't have a mobile phone (come off it, I'm not THAT far into the 21st century!) so I'm not going to be sitting in a restaurant and informing the world that the waiter's fly is undone. Neither will I announce to all and sundry that I am strolling through Tesco and laughing my bottom off. I have more important subjects to occupy my mind than to lapse into such banalities. My advice is that, if you use it sensibly, it won't excessively intrude into your life. But if you decide it's not for you there's no more to be said.

Anyway, I'm off to get a cup-a-soup. I can't make up my mind whether to have chicken and vegetable or carrot and lentil... Damn!

@KeithHavers