I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. This was my first time being home for Thanksgiving in three years, so it meant a lot to me. It was also my first Thanksgiving without my Nana, and her absence was felt, but I'm thankful that she's in a better place. I enjoyed spending the day cooking with my mom. In addition to all of our traditional dishes, we tried something new: mini pumpkin pies baked in cupcake tins! They were incredible, and will definitely be a new tradition for us.My family and I went around and named some of the things for which we are thankful this year. It was a positive exercise for me, especially since I'm still coming to terms with my bar exam results. Here are some of the things I mentioned:
- Going to Jamaica for my human rights fact-finding mission
- My experience as managing editor of the Poverty Journal
- The Catholic community at Georgetown Law
- Graduating from law school
- My new kittens
- My iPhone, which connects me with so many people I love
- My friends in DC, who are doing a great job of keeping in touch
- The support of so many friends during and after the bar exam
- Having a family willing and able to take me in during my bar exam studies and un(der)employment
That last line is the most significant for me. I have been graced with the luxury of being able to wait for the right job opportunity, and to focus on my bar exam studies. Despite the bumps in the road that I've faced this year, overall I am extremely blessed.
I got some good news from Georgetown: they're willing to extend my stipend to work with the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies! So, although today was supposed to be the last day of my three-month fellowship at CGRS--indeed, they took me out for a delicious farewell lunch of Burmese food* yesterday--I will actually be working 24 hours per week through the end of December. I'm glad to be able to do a little more work with CGRS, because there are so many interesting projects going on.
Also, I really appreciate how flexible they are about my work schedule. In light of my three-hour roundtrip commute, they have agreed to let me telecommute exclusively for the month of December. So helpful, not only to save time, but also money. (Caltrain and Bart have been running me $22 per day roundtrip, ouch!) I wish I could stick around longer, but Barbri classes start up again on January 2nd, so I'm trying to avoid working during my bar prep.
Speaking of the bar, my supervising attorney had a great talk with me yesterday, during which she revealed to me that she, too, had to take the bar exam twice. As she and I have a lot in common--Georgetown Law alumnae, straight through from a Pac 12 state school, human rights fact-finding mission, certificate in Refugees and Humanitarian Emergencies--it was very reassuring to hear that she had been successful during the February administration, and went on to find public interest employment in her field of choice. I have been blessed with so many encouraging, supportive supervising attorneys in my past legal jobs, and CGRS is no exception.
*I had never had Burmese before, and it is fantastic! I love the Indian and Thai influences. I had coconut chicken noodle soup and tea leaf salad. So good. I want to try my hand at a coconut milk-based soup, now. Check out Burmese Kitchen if you find yourself with a hankering for Burmese food in the middle of the Tenderloin.
