Hold Tight and Pretend it's a Plan

Saturday I had to take a standardized test called the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE). You have to take it to be a lawyer. I took it this year because I did a professional responsibility class last semester and I don't want to have to worry about it next year. Since I'm on the Journal of Legal Ethics it will look especially bad if I fail it. So I hope I did not fail. 

All of this is to say that I had every intention of studying for the MPRE on Friday. Every intention. Then I looked on facebook and saw that my friend Kirk, owner of Captain Cookie DC, had sent out a request for help for the afternoon. Well, I've always wanted to work on a DC food truck and as luck would have it, I had all afternoon free (to study for the MPRE). I texted Kirk on the off-chance that someone else hadn't already lept to his aid. I received a text back within a few minutes that told me to come to Virginia and 20th NW whenever I could. I took that as a sign that I shouldn't worry about the MPRE (I can always retake it next year). 

So I spent my whole Friday afternoon selling cookies and ice cream out of Kirk's cookie truck. It was awesome. I felt connected with DC (we are famous for our food trucks) and everyone was smiling at me all day, which is a stark difference from how I imagine everyone will be looking at me whenever I become a lawyer. 

The view from inside Captain Cookie's truck. I even got a special hat.

Having studied up as an expert in DC Food Trucking, I took my ethics exam on Saturday morning. It's a good thing it was multiple choice or I might have said "just give the client a cookie" as an answer to every ethical dilemma. Unfortunately, actual legal ethics rules are an even mixture of common sense and archaic traditions that make no sense at all (sure, you can call yourself a "Proctor in Admiralty"if you practice maritime law, but don't you dare suggest that you are a specialist in murder cases unless a random ABA accredited group has given you an award that says you're a specialist in murder cases). 

The rest of Saturday was spent shopping at Trader Joe's, where I bought everything because I love Trader Joe's almost as much as I love Costco, which is a lot. Mainly, I realize that I appreciate stores that remove brands and just give me one option for each type of thing to be bought.

Sunday was a very nice day so we decided to go on a run to see the Cherry Blossom Festival. Kels and I ran from my house to the Thomas Jefferson memorial in about half an hour. Pete met up with us there to share in the festivities. Though few trees had actually blossomed, this turned the afternoon into a find-the-BEST-tree scavenger hunt. 

No good ones over here, but an artsy shot of TJ (and all the tourists) is always good.

Then, far away in a corner, we found the perfect cherry blossoms.

I told them to pose like they were in a high-school yearbook.

Pete was much better at staying in character.

But she got it eventually.

Though Pete and I really nailed it, I think.

Obligatory.

Look at them! How majestic they are!

Look, you don't spend an hour walking around trying to find the ONE cherry blossom tree that actually looks decent and then NOT take pictures like this.

After looking at trees we went to the American History Museum. I always thought this museum was just okay, but that was because I had no idea there was a bottom floor filled with gigantic and awesome exhibits, including one about electricity (featuring giant early 20th century pistons and generators).

Also, a valuable lesson learned. In any great endeavor, step 5 is always "Consequences."

We're about to get to step 5 of the semester. Exams are less than a month away and so many of my classes are winding down and/or up as dictated by format. That's okay. It's all part of the plan.