Flash Card for Bar Exam

Flash Card for Bar Exam
Originally uploaded by RumAli

Burgundy is going through Bar Review right now, which, according to Wikipedia, is "considered by many to be one of the most stressful and unpleasant experiences which a law student faces before becoming a lawyer." Nevertheless, I flew in to chill out with her for a weekend.

On the ride from Portland to Eugene, Oregon, I helped her go through some flash cards she had made. i was really intrigued with Property Law. All that stuff about wills and who gets what and living trusts and people drinking in houses in which they shouldn't be drinking was all very interesting to me. That crazy minutiae. Later on in the weekend, we would listen to some a lecture on Evidence. What a vacation, right?!? No, really, it was a lot of fun. Lots of stuff about admitting testimony from an unknown source. Lots of timing issues about when things were said. The preciseness coupled with the application of the stuff she is learning is mind blowing.

The Bluberry Kolaczki

The Bluberry Kolaczki
Originally uploaded by RumAli

Yeah I went to Polish Fest for the first time to watch the Chopin Youth Piano Competition. I wanted to see if any of my piano students would be able to compete. Then I read in the program that some junior participants, who weren't even in high school yet, were playing songs that I was playing in college. I was like, yikes.

It was great to hear the youngsters play. Made me want to go home and relearn some of that stuff. When a 16-year old flew through the Etude in C Minor (Op. 10, No. 12, aka "The Revolutionary Etude") I had flashbacks of playing this for an audition I had for the Oberlin Conservatory and feeling how fatigued my hand was while playing the piece. (It was the last of five pieces that I played for that crazy audition.)

The Chopin Youth Competition is funny, though, because in between performances, you could hear the om-pah-pah of an electric polka band from one of the other pavilions. A classical recital hall this was not, and the competition was all the more better for it. There were birds flying above the stage!

Afterwards, I trawled around the grounds looking for something to eat. I finally settled on The Blueberry Kolaczki from the Kawiarnia Polish Bakery. Good people. The pastry was insanely sugary. In my memory, I consumed the pastry and immediately got on my bike and just started biking South. I felt like I had the energy to bike to Poland, but I petered out within two miles of crossing the county line. Then I turned around and made a beeline to Classic Slice.