Long Time No Blog

After a long hiatus, we are finally back! Let me give you the rundown of the events in my life since I last checked in. I finished my first year of law school in May and I’m so glad it’s done. Two more to go. I had around a month off to pack up for our move to our new place. I started my summer associate job at Michael Best & Friedrich. We moved to our new place. I worked for eight weeks and had an amazing time. Now I have a little over a month off to finish putting together our new place. Corey is coming to visit really soon and we have a whole week of fun planned. Classes start back up in early September and I have interviews for my job next summer at the end of August.

This summer has been focused mainly on doing well at my summer job at Michael Best. The job lasted for eight weeks and was the best place I could have possibly worked. It’s located in downtown Madison right across from the Capitol. I got my own office that overlooked the lake and it even had my name on it! The office as a whole was beautiful as you can see from the pictures below. The best part about working there was the people. They were very down-to Earth and friendly. I feel like I made many good friends there. A few particular attorneys really went out of their way to reach out to Ashley and me. One attorney invited Ashley and I to her neighborhood Fourth of July party. There was food, beer and music which meant I was full, slightly drunk and dancing poorly. All around, a good time. Ashley and I also were able to see another attorney’s band play a few times around Madison. They play stuff that Dad likes to listen to and that Ashley and I can’t dance to but it’s still fun to listen to. I was also able to go to lunch almost everyday with a different attorney and every lunch was an enjoyable outing. The work I did there really cemented the fact that I want to be a lawyer. I did interesting and engaging work in a variety of practice groups including business, litigation, land and resources, environmental, criminal law and employment. I am keeping my fingers crossed that I will get the opportunity to return. Here are those pictures!

Entry Way

Walking into the firm

Foyer/Waiting Room

Library Entrance

Waiting Room from Above

Entrance to my Office

My name on my office!

My office (cleaned out)

View from my office

View from boardroom

The firm had several social events all of which were a lot of fun. One of the best events was the softball game in the small field near Miller Park which is where the Milwaukee Brewers play. The summer associates played with the partners against the associates. We won 18 to 8. I had two hits and I scored a run. Ashley and I also got to take a picture with the Chorizo! For those who don’t know, every home game the Brewers have five giant mascot sausages that race around the bases and people all cheer for their favorite! Ashley and I also recently went to our first Brewers game where we got to see the sausage race and Ashley got a sausage race t-shirt.

CHORIZO!!!

Go Chorizo!

Our new place is super awesome and Ashley will talk about it more in her post. I think that’s about it. We will post again while Corey is here to update you on his Wisconsin experience. Maybe he can guest author a post on the blog! Hope everyone is doing well and we miss you a lot.

Miscellaneous Blog

Hey everyone! Sorry it has taken us so long to write a blog. Since this blog is long overdue, it has a lot of pictures and is kind of random! Sorry about that! Here goes:

Jimmy and I didn't really feel like going out on a Valentine's Day date, so we decided to spend a nice weekend inside building something together. We made a cat tree for Pepper! Unfortunately, she hates it and does not use it whatsoever. 

The pets and some hats.

Pepper likes to drink from Zorro's dish. He's pretty okay with it. 

Pathetic excuse for an Easter bunny. 

The 3 of them in the same frame! It has been impossible to get them all to stay still until now!

I made a diaper cake for a friend's baby shower. Here is the bottom level of rolled up diapers with a 4 ounce bottle in the center.

Another tier of diapers and another bottle.

All 3 tiers, some ribbons, mini-size baby products, baby towels, mittens, and socks!

The finished product at the baby shower!

I gave a poster session for my fellowship! Most of that data is not mine, but someone else's from our lab. The bottom right hand stuff is mine. I have to give a poster session every year (probably at least twice a year from now on), so it will be nice to see how my poster slowly evolves into having more and more of my data.

 

Mom, this hair straightener is great! Thank you thank you thank you!!!!

That's all for now!

Love,

Ash, Jim, Z, B, and P

we're still alive!

Long time no blog! Too much homework, too many exams, too much time spent in class and lab. But we're doing okay and will hopefully do a real blog soon!

Hello Again...I've Come Up for Air!

Hey everyone! I am taking a break from learning the law to say hello and try to catch everyone up from my last post. Let me just start from the beginning...



Law school orientation was really fun! I ate lots of good food, drank a substantial amount of beer and thought I got a good impression of what was to come. I was riding high until I had to buy my books...








As you can see, there are a lot of books. This is not including my supplements, study aids and other good stuff. Add a clunky laptop and you have the makings of adult scoliosis. I need two backpacks to get my books to school and back.



The classes are ok. Just ok. I feel like I am learning everything and understanding how all the pieces fit into a larger puzzle. Some classes I understand better than others but they all require a lot of work. Every night there is a significant amount of work. I'm always reading my casebooks (main textbooks), reading hornbooks (supplemental books to help explain the main pieces of the casebooks) and trying to keep up on my notes for all of it. I'm on track but never ahead.



Ashley and I have kind of given up on the football games. We hope to make it to one more but the team is doing pretty badly and the tickets sell for a good amount of money.



The weather has turned to fall. Next weekend Ashley and I are planning on going to the arboretum and to take lots of pictures of the leaves changing color. It is so beautiful and always keep my attention on the bus. It still has been pretty warm including a bit of a heat wave this week but people are saying that this is probably the last of the warm days. Nights are going to start dropping into the 30s and starting next month some significant snow fall should start. Thank god the buses are doing most of the driving and that most restaurants deliver!



Also, Ashley got some assistance using this blog so I will do some begging of my own. I need to buy some study aid supplements for law school but they cost money...money I don't have. For those willing to help, look at them as an investment. The study aids will lead to higher grades which can lead to better jobs and in turn a higher income which ultimately leads to more awesome presents come holiday time.



In any case, we are looking forward to a trip home this January. Once Ashley picks her lab she can set up a time to come home and we'll have to buy the plane tickets (or hopefully Santa will get us some). The pets are doing great, Ashley and I are pretty much sane and we are chugging along. Sorry for not writing but even while writing this, I am adding to the amount of time I am going to have to dedicate to Criminal Law...

-Jimmy

Ashley's Blog

Hello everyone! Sorry it has taken us so long to blog, but we have been so busy with classes and stuff. Jimmy and I will be blogging separately because we both have a lot to say!

First of all, the pets are doing well. They are both healthy and happy. Bailey is shedding; I think he senses the seasons changing. Bailey also likes having his fur brushed. It's pretty cute. 

Wisconsin football games are REALLY fun! I'm so happy that Jimmy and I were able to get season tickets. I had to look up all the rules of football online because although I've watched games on TV, I've NEVER truly known what was going on. Now I know, and I've been watching football every weekend with Jimmy. It's pretty exciting! I wish I could play, but I'm afraid that I'll get hurt. 

Classes are OK. We haven't had any tests yet, but I seem to be doing well on my homework. I'm just nervous for the first exams. I don't know what to expect! I am taking one class called Biochemical Methods which teaches us many different biochemistry tools you can use in the lab. I am also taking a class called Prokaryotic Molecular Biology. Prokaryotes are single celled critters like bacteria, and we learn all about their molecular functions. 

One thing that I have learned is that Biochemistry methods are different from Genetic methods which are also different from molecular biology methods. People always ask me what I am. Am I a geneticist? Am I a molecular biologist? Am I a biochemist? I always get frustrated when people ask me this. Science is SO advanced and we are learning SO much that I think it's kind of dumb to call yourself one thing. I think it's much better to learn everything that you can from different scientific fields. If you have a bunch of knowledge from all over the place, you'll be able to solve problems better. But that's just my opinion. 

Now for the good stuff: lab work! Right now, I am in a lab that works on plants and how they respond to gravity. In general, you plant a seed and the root grows down into the dirt, and the stem grows upward. When you take a plant that is already growing, and you turn it on it's side, the root will sense that (within minutes!) and the root with turn and grow towards its new down direction. The stem will also turn and grow upward. Our lab focuses on the roots. We are trying to figure out how the plant "knows" that it's been turned, and how turns this into a response. I think it's amazing. We have brains and neurons, skeletons, and muscles that help us recognize things and react. Plants do not!

There are some cons to working in a plant lab. Plants take a long time to grow. In the yeast lab, you could grow your yeast overnight and be ready to use them the next day. It takes a while for the plant seedlings to grow, so you spend a lot of time waiting.  There are also pros. Plants smell better than yeast. Plant seedlings are cuter than yeast. And, it's therapeutic to plant the little guys. I've included a link to the lab website if you want to check it out. 

Other than class and lab, I don't do much. Seriously, it sucks. I feel like I have no life. But slowly, I'm becoming a bigger dork than ever. I actually feel kinda guilty when I'm not in the lab. Weird! What are these people doing to me?!?

Love,

Ashley

Also, I'm in the market for a cheap (aka free) copy of Adobe Illustrator.  If anyone can swing me a copy (made for a Mac) I'll be your bestest friend!

Blarg

This is coming to you as live as it can be from my crappy half cubicle! Ash and I tried out being hermits this past weekend and realized it's not for us. So no pictures this week. This weekend we plan on going to the movies to see Pineapple Express and Stepbrothers. We are also going canoe-ing on the lake with Zorro. Hilarious pictures are guaranteed to ensue.

As for me, law school starts in under a month and I am beginning to wonder why Ash and I didn't just run off somewhere or just slept for a year before doing all this craziness. I guess it's ok though because I cannot imagine working like this for more than the 3 months I'm doing it. In any case, I hope you are all doing well and enjoying your lives. See you in about 4 and a half months! I expect gifts!

The Past Few Weeks: Ashley

I'd like to start off by having you guys look at this first picture:


Yes, that is Bailey, on the couch. After owning him for over a year, Bailey now knows that we are probably not going to kill him. He's trusting us a lot more and gets on the couch pretty much every day. Now, he allows me to give him kisses!


We found out about this place called Michael's in a newspaper. It was listed in a food column as a restaurant that is dog-friendly. Michael's is famous for their frozen custard (it's like ice cream, but even smoother & creamier), and they even make a custard that dogs can eat. We decided to buy 2 pints of custard for us, and a small dish of the dog custard for Zorro. Here are some pictures of Zorro enjoying his yummy treat.






I've been working in the lab for over a month now, and I'm still really enjoying it. Here is a picture of part of the lab. There is a lot more than this, but I only took pictures of my area.



Here is a close-up of my bench. I cleaned up a bit before I took this picture, so please do not fall under the impression that this is what it looks like all the time. This is VERY organized for me.


Here are some pictures from the Olbrich Botanical Gardens. There is a butterfly exhibit going on right now, so it was really cool.











I guess that's it for now. Bailey loves us, Zorro ate custard, I'm still working in the lab, and we saw some butterflies. Yup, that's it.

Love,
Ashley

The Past Few Weeks: Jimmy

Hey everyone! Let me start by saying I miss you all and I am excited for your visits! Ashley and I have been really busy the past few weeks but I finally have some time to write a bit.

First, here is the view from my half cubicle...

It's not much but it's what pays the bills. Well actually Ashley officially makes more money than me so I just supplement her income. If she were a real sugar momma I would be at home tearing up GTA 4 but I guess I still love the girl. The work is easy but a bit mind numbing. I'm happy it's only for a few more weeks.

I work about a block from the Captiol. It's a beautiful building and was designed by the same guy who did the White House in DC.

I hope that my future office is in the little topper piece under the statue.

The whole downtown area is great. Lots to do, lots to see. Every weekend there seems to be something going on. Last weekend, Ashley and I went to the Maxwell Street Days sale on State Street. All the businesses put their merchandise on State Street at really reduced prices. Here is a view of State Street with the Capitol in the background.

State Street dead ends into the University almost next to my law school. Ashley and I walked up to the lake next to campus known as the Union Terrace. They show movies or have music every night during the summer and the Student Union serves delicious beer at low prices. It makes for a great time. This is a picture of the Red Gym, a staple of the University of Wisconsin which is right up on the lake.

Here is a view of the lake. It's a beautiful lake and only one of many. The water is slowly receding after all of the storms which might I add are pretty awesome. Tons of lightning and the water really comes down.

I just received my law school schedule! My classes are not too early in the morning and end at a pretty decent time. I am taking Torts, Civil Procedure, Intro to Criminal Law, Contracts and Legal Reasoning and Writing. Here are some pictures of the law school and Bascom Hill, where the law school is located.

This weekend Ashley and I went to the Olbrich Gardens. During the months of July and August, they breed butterflies in their gardens. Here are a couple pictures and I'm sure Ashley will post more.

That's about it for now. I hope everyone is doing well and try to keep in touch.