DNR, DTR, WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE????

I pride myself on staying au courant with the hip and groovy happenings on Baylor campus. I have four children of my own and see dozens of college aged kids every day at my office. Keeping up with the fashions is the easy part. Keeping abreast of the latest abbreviated sayings is the hard part.

Several years ago I was introduced to the term DTR (Define The Relationship). Supposedly couples who have been dating have these meetings. The least secure member of the couple will call the other and request (demand) a "DTR". Seems like they are making this whole relationship thing way too difficult. If you have to define the relationship maybe it is not worth defining.

I mistakenly used the term DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) one time when asking my daughter about one of her friend's boyfriends. Now, I am in my fifties and have signed these DNR documents for myself and my parents and made an honest mistake....the first time. After that I used the term to replace the intended abbreviation. Just to see if anyone noticed.

After all, this term may be closer to the truth. If one is having to ask to define the relationship that they are in, perhaps the relationship does not need to be resuscitated. Think about it.

Call me old-fashioned, call me uncool and unhip, but I speak the truth!

Much Ado about To Do's by Violet

July has been a complete whirlwind experience. Somehow, all of my to do lists for the summer have gone straight out the window. I think the main reason being that I expend all of my intellectual energy at work and then simply want to sleep and eat and run when I get home from work. Well that is all going to change today. Today I am going to be super productive when I get home, and bring the same work attitude home with me- with the assistance of caffeine of course.

At my clerkship I usually knock out a couple of small projects today and chip away at the large research projects that keep my open hours still busy. Not only do I research specific issues, but today for instance, I put together a spreadsheet of all the expenses and incomes of a guardianship proceeding (something my MBA comes in quite handy for- now if they could only know of the potential benefits of my power point expertise). I also looked up to see how to get a Oklahoma joint counsel attorney licensed for the 9th circuit court of appeals in Beaumont. But the majority of my day I spent researching constructor’s liability limitations in RCLA, the Residential Construction Liability Act- one of the less interesting projects that I have worked on while here. But I still love the work, reading, reading, writing, and more reading. So now, I want to project that “love” of doing something, to my to do list.

1. Study for the MPRE: In two weeks and a day, I take the MPRE, the ethics portion of the Texas Bar Exam. Most people take this right after they take the Bar, but I wanted to get it over with, and study when I had the time. I’ve been half-ass studying for about an hour or 45 minutes a day for the last 2 weeks, skipping only two days- I think. I need to kick in gear, listen to online lectures and work practice problems. I should be just as enthused to do this as I am to kick start a work project given to me by a partner.

2. Clean my room: I am a full fledged mess. My room continuously looks like not only a tornado went through it, but 4 other natural disasters of different proportions and effects. It was more exacerbated by the May move of my brother into the room where I normally kept half of my junk. Yes, May, three months ago. So another goal of mine for the past two week has been to put up a little of my room every day: throw away sheets of paper, hang up clothes, run loads of laundry. But what actually ends up happening is the very next morning I throw all of the clothes on the floor getting ready that I hung up the previous night. So it’s a constant state of disarray. And it’s not even to a point where I could hire someone to give it a once around- I don’t think anyone would actually be able to get in there to do that. Hi, my name is violet, and I’m a hoarder.

3. Read for Practice Court: My hardest two quarters of law school are only 4 weeks away. I can already feel the fire and hear the gnashing of teeth. I don’t normally get intimidated by other’s warnings that something is “hard” or “stressful”, and usually wait to find it out for myself, while working a part time job. Practice Court, or PC as it is more affectionately termed, is different. I have been hearing the woes of PC since I was considering Baylor law school in undergrad. And I have to say, I have lived with a PC student, been friends with many, and they look like absolutely death for the 18 weeks that they are put through this education hell. My friend Brent Ivy, would actually throw up in the mornings before 7:45 class because he was so terrified of being kicked out of class. Two girls last semester were actually carted away from the room because they fainted when called on. The two practice court professors actually make grown men cry during class. Every night a range of 100-400 pages of reading is assigned, on top of advocacy exercises that take anywhere from 4-10 hours extra starting at 4 in the afternoon once or twice a week, this is besides the 5-8 hours of school a day (depending how long the professors keep you). And the kicker is that if you do get called on, and you do not perform to the expectation of the professor on that day, you receive a memo, which is a write up on the subject that you could not effectively expound upon- these are then re-written again and again until the professor is satisfied with the answer. Needless to say, I desperately need to get a head start on the reading so I can work away the nerves of the unknown.
I have been telling my family about this anxiety ever since summer starter but no one in my family ever believes me- they think I am crying Wolf- or channeling Chicken Little. But I found a write up of a recent Baylor Lawyer graduate that explains the experience very similar to all the stories I have heard:
“If you spend a few minutes researching Baylor Law you will undoubtedly uncover the mantra, “Baylor Law School is the boot camp of law schools.” The Princeton Review first wrote that line in their brief summary of the law school. At most law schools, the third year is the easiest, but at Baylor the third year is by far the most intense, because all students are required to spend two quarters in “Practice Court.” Practice Court is the crown jewel of Baylor’s juris doctorate program, consisting of about six months of exceedingly intense study of civil procedure, evidence, and all aspects of trial procedure. In the program, students frequently have daily reading assignments in excess of 300 pages (and when we are talking about statutes and cases, that takes a long, long time to read). At the same time, there are trial exercises to prepare the students to handle all aspects of trying a case. When a student graduates from Baylor Law School they know precisely what to do from the time a client walks into the office door, to filing the paperwork for a trial, to participating in discovery, to selecting a jury, to trying the case, to writing the jury charge, and even what motions to file once a judgment has been rendered. Baylor students know not only the law and theory behind all of those aspects, they actually done it. There are few educational experiences that will define and shape who you are and how you perform the way that Practice Court does. At times, the tremendous work load is feels like it is simply hazing—when I sit down with any Baylor Law graduate, the first thing we always do is compare Practice Court stories (for example, I once heard this exchange: “Well, you may have gone three straight days without sleep, but when I was in Practice Court, the old Professor Underwood became so irritate when I couldn’t dictate a proper ‘no-evidence motion for summary judgment’ that he threw his coffee cup across the room! He called on me for the next five straight classes!”).
- AND THIS IS A POSITIVE SLANT! I hope you all are feeling very bad for me right about now. I will be expecting food delivered to me in the Fall.


So my to do list turned into a worry list, at least it will light a fire under my butt and get me to be active once I get home. My mom often makes fun of me, because in my head, if I think about the “to do” action, I sometimes cross it off as done, just because I have given it a single thought. The actual doing is the hard part for me- I can make lists all day long. I simply cannot waste time sleeping anymore, I need to ACTUALLY do my TO DO's.

DOG DAYS OF SUMMER

Whoever names these days as "dog days" was very descriptive. I feel like I spend the entire month of July with my tongue out panting. Everywhere I go I am HOT! I have lived in Texas all of my life. You would think that I would get used to this muggy, hot weather. But, year after year, I continue to think that maybe this year will be different. Maybe this will be the year that I will be able to use my outdoor patio for more than just one month (April) of the year.

I actually grew up in a house without air conditioning. A fact that I simply cannot imagine now. If our cars had air conditioning in them back then, we never used it. I have vivid memories of riding in the backseat of our family car, with all the windows rolled down and the vents opened wide. Every hair on my head would be swirling around the car as if animated on its own. Oh, there was air in our car....it just wasn't "conditioned".

When did we all get so spoiled to constant a 70 degree temperature? Heating and Air Conditioning companies have us believing that we should keep our doors and windows buttoned up tight, conditioning our air to a constant and comfortable temperature. As a kid, we all slept with our windows thrown open wide, cool breezes waking us in the morning and the smells of wildflowers and freshly cut lawns....or even the nearby ranch's cattle ushering us into the day. The screens kept out the mosquitoes and bugs, God kept out the Bogey man. I never felt uncomfortable or afraid...of course Daddy was only on the other side of the wall, a few steps away. I remember the curtains actually blew in the breeze. What happened?

Last year our A/C unit had to be replaced. We limped along for a few week's trying to decide what was actually wrong with the unit and what direction to take in fixing it. Should we just replace compressor, add freon or replace the entire unit? But because we had had the screens removed from all of our windows ( they just look better) and most of the members of our family are allergic to pollen we sleep with our windows and doors closed and locked as usual. Well, many hot, sleepless nights and several thousands of dollars later we got cool again. I slept with ice bags laid across my body and everyone woke in grumpy moods. The lack of cool air put us all off of our game. I never use my car without using the a/c or the heater. "Artificial" air is the norm. I cannot even find the "vent" button on my newest car. Is there a way to get outside air into my car without turning on a fan or temperature button?

Air conditioning is probably the best invention since sliced bread in my opinion....as long as it keeps working. Although I feel a bit spoiled given how I grew up. But I really think that it is hotter now than it was thirty years ago. Of course, I can always blame global warming or old age. Both of which are a reality. Maybe I will just go find a sprinkler to run through.

Bob Loblaw's Law Blog by Violet

I absolutely love my clerkship this summer. Although most of my MBA friends, have “internships” or “residencies”, most law school students obtain “clerkships” for a summer hiatus between either their 1st and 2nd year, 2nd and 3rd year or both. Like most internships, these clerkships provide not only experience but also sometimes the prospect of future employment. However, times are tough, and many, many of my law school classmates are still unemployed after they pass the bar. But I still have a semester to worry about that right? I have to pass the Bar first.

Well the impetus for this entire blog this summer is to explain my experience outside of my MBA/JD educational experience and share my real work experience in my time as a Clerk of a law firm. Clerks are usually just researchers. We use our power and knowledge of education and solve some of the tough problems that cannot just be talked out with a slick lawyer tongue. However, I was hired specifically for the bankruptcy section- which I LOVE, and only do other legal work when I am not focused on Chapter 7, 11, or 13 bankruptcy plans.

I started working for my current firm back in February. I went in for an interview February 4th, and started two weeks later. I still remember it was the week of a huge finance test, because Nick stopped me in the hall because I was looking so frazzled (trying to start working 25 hours a week on top of taking midterms and finals, working for my graduate assistantship and clerking over at the law school for Professor Guinn) and asked if I needed someone to study with. Since the beginning with this firm, I was loaded up with work, and loved every minute of it. There are some lull weeks, but most of the time I have 5 or 6 legal projects at a time, and that is what I enjoy- because my brain can hop around on subjects, sleep on some, and pick them back up once I finish another menial one. So I started part time, hoping to get the summer gig, and once April rolled around I was asked how long I could work this summer, “every single day before practice court start” I replied. And I have, but for one day I took off for Fuller Family Retreat on the Fourth of July weekend and another day or two that I will take off to visit Missouri in a couple of weeks.


With last week being one of my busier weeks, I am surprised that this week has come to such a lull. I just finished two of the huge projects that I’ve been working on this week and I have absolutely nothing left to do. So as usual when I have nothing to do, I went to all of the floors starting with 6 and working my way up to 9- asking for work. I don’t particularly like asking for work, I’d rather it come to me- but at least this way I look eager. Usually I get something at the first floor I go to, but today I got a lot of ”let me think about what I have for you to work on and get back to you”- which means I got nothing now, but I’ll be hella busy later. So I got one letter to proofread, when I finally reached the ninth floor, but am sure that this means the rest of my week will be pleasantly busy.


I am really getting used to this 8-5 routine, or even sometimes 7-6 or 7, I like staying busy and I love the firm I am working for. Choosing to implement my law degree instead of just trying to go look for management jobs with the MBA was definitely the right decision. I enjoy the challenge of legal problems, and researching is basically like studying all day- which excites the nerd in me. I wish the looming practice court wasn’t in my near future, I feel about ready to be done with school (I know my parents have to be glad about that) and I am ready to be a big girl now.

Also- the title is an Arrested Development (sitcom) reference if you didn't catch it and think I'm crazy.

Horse Races by Violet

Every year, the firm that I work for takes their summer clerks to the races. In particular, they take them to Lone Star Park in Fort Worth, Texas. This is such a great Southern Tradition, and a fun night out to be wined and dined. I had prepared for this day though, knowing that I KNEW nothing about placing bets (as a good Baptist girl, I had never gambled in my life), I asked a fellow MBA classmate who announces horse races. Not only did he send me 20 sheets worth of stats about the horses on each specific race, he also sent me his pics- which I held close until the betting began.

So the firm rented a 15 passenger van, and 10 grown adult men, one other female clerk, and I climbed into the caravan to trek to Fort Worth. It was fun to get to know the attorneys away from the office environment. This was a new fun, after work event, and it was even different than the relaxed lunches we take every day.

Once at the races, I loved it. This was a beautiful venue and was even bigger than I thought it would be. I loved the large stadium seating right in front of the tall windows overlooking the track. We were seated at dining tables with a perfect view of the track. We started eating some of the wonderful food, but I made sure to rattle off my bets before the first race started. I was pleasantly surprised with my winnings, because I am normally an extremely cautious person. I doubled my money, and stopped before the last race, because I didn’t want to lose any more.

Overall it was a wonderful new experience, and a great way to have fun with my co-workers and the firm that I have been working for since January.

FULLER FAMILY RETREAT

For the past eighteen years our family has taken a retreat and visited a resort in San Antonio. Even if we went somewhere else that year we would spend at least some time at the resort. Close enough to drive to -- when the kids were younger I would go with the children and Roger would follow when he could. Usually my sister and her family join us for a Cousin's Extravaganza, but this year the Fullers went solo.

I am continually amazed as the kids get older that they still want to go with the family for this low key vacation. Yet after 18 years, the memories only continue to grow and each child will not be the one to miss out. Each year I take a mental snapshot (of course there are numerous physical snapshots)when we are there just in case this is the last year they all want to be together--- I realize that they will grow up and move away, physically and emotionally. I try to prepare myself for that eventuality.

My idea of a vacation is lying on a deck chair reading magazines that I normally wouldn't and drinking fruity drinks. "Doing nothing" is an art form and I am still perfecting it. Just about got it down.

This is a time for me to renew and refresh for the year...no dishwasher to unload or laundry to fold. Just my children to love and enjoy. I always make the time to spend an afternoon with each child to reconnect with where they are at this time in their lives and where they want to be going. We discuss past successes and challenges and plan for future opportunities and goals. You can image that over the years these discussions have been varied with each offspring. Though, it should be noted that some things are experienced by each child at the same stage. Which makes me smile as my last, Harrison, brings up a challenge that he thinks to be uniquely his. Which it is...to him.

The younger two still run around the resort all day making new friends and taking part in the planned activities. They usually are taking part in a water volleyball game or a watermelon eating contest. The Fullers are competitive and if the word contest is used....we are in! This year Violet and Ace were parked by me in deck chairs in the sunshine. I can see that Violet, taking after her mother, uses this time for respite from her demanding clerkship and everyday responsibilities of a twenty something. Ace has decided that a jacuzzi/hot tub will definitely be a fixture in his future home. Smart guy. I will visit often.

Rarely do I have all of my babies together in one place anymore. Much less when all are in a good mood and in vacation mode. What a happy time for the Fuller Family. Maybe we can make it to nineteen years in a row next year. Here's hoping!