look how strong i am

i could probably throw you through that wall.

FIRST LAST

I have a lot of lasts coming up. Most of them really good.  Last law school exam.  Last day to study for the bar.  LAST DAY OF THE BAR. Last day living in Waco (I'll miss it, but I miss the girls more).  And last day to be unemployed.

Today is the first last.  Last day of classes.  Last law school class.  Actually, this is kinda bittersweet.  I have so enjoyed the learning environment here.  I remember very well the first day of law school classes.  It was truly invigorating.  WJC and the Fuse.  I can't think of a better pair to launch into this experience.  Then Cordon and Salzmann joined the Four (way) Under Forty that led us through that rainy summer of 2007.  The grass was unusually green.  We were just the right amount of green - eager, envious of those further down the path and completely and expectedly inept.  It was a good place to be.

I loved everything about that first summer, but most of all the classes.  Preparing, learning.  Staying on your toes so Counseller wouldn't destroy you.  Watching Fusellier throw stuff at SterBur.  Reminiscing about the fabulous carreer of Eric Stoltz with Salzmann.  Talking Cowboys preseason and parental beatdowns with Cordon.  And above all being stretched more intellectually than I truly thought possible.  Yet even on this very last day, Benham (a terrific adjunct) mixes experience, antecdotes and brand new caselaw to show me how little I still know.  Such is the law.  All I can hope is that before it is all over, I will see more projectiles sent SterBur's way.

Bad is Better

A lot of us are thinking back on the soundtrack of our younger years today with great fondness. I cannot tell you how many laps around the skating rink were accompanied by the funk and freak of MJ and Vincent Price. But as I really look at the King of Pop's discography, it becomes clear that the followup to Thriller was at least slightly superior. The scope of both albums is vast (from Beat it to The Girl is Mine and Smooth Criminal to The Way You Make Me Feel). He was just as rock as he was soul - that is what pop meant when he was king.

But if I had to choose to just have one album, Bad wins. Dirty Diana may not be Darling Nikki, but it's pretty freakin' good. Man in the Mirror is actually still a little moving to me. And Smooth Criminal may be my all time favorite MJ song AND video. Yup. Bad wins.

And I think I'd be okay without ever hearing P.Y.T again. Or ever seeing the Say Say Say video (I know it isn't on Thriller, but it deserves a pan).

I have become re-acquainted with my fascination with tornadoes. They are crazy awesome. It is really just part of growing up in tornado alley (like hurricanes on the coast). I personally got excited any time that sky would get a green hue. You could see the fronts colliding in the evening sky. Just exhilarating. I have been withing a few hundred yards of a couple over my lifetime and seen several at the 2+ mile distance.

I think they don't get as much national attention as hurricanes b/c you can't track them for weeks and pontificate about where they may eventually cause destruction. You develop a relationship with a hurricane. Heck, they even have names. Tornadoes are like one night stands. You never know when one might spring up, and they'll be gone just as fast. If you are fortunate enough to experience one, you cannot back down. I mean, these regular guys drove right towards it. Just watching that video made my heart race a bit.


(as a point of disclosure, i have never in my life had anything close to a one night stand)

twitter

I started a twitter account with every intention of being a productive part of the "twitterverse." But that crap is nonsense. So now http://twitter.com/diadelkendall is a haven for twitter's lone naysayer (or should i say "naytweeter"? no. i should not).

If you are on there, follow me to freedom. And suggestions are always welcome.

Here's some samples
Why twitter blows #1 - your mom does it.

Why twitter blows #3 - "Tweet"? Seriously? That's what they settled on? Dirt dobbers.

Why twitter blows # 4 (from Dave) - "if I'm on facebook, what does Twitter add for me-I've got an account, but can't figure out why I care."

Life in the New Reality

Easter came. Christ arose. The bunny died. And all is well.

One of the most astounding qualities of any living creature is the ability to adapt to incredible changes in circumstances or reality. It was every bit as true on that first Easter as it was for my little E today. Just hours later she has gotten over what was certainly the most tramatic experience in her first 8 years on earth. And now, she cannot contain the new truth. She wants to tell everyone. But since CG is still living with the bunny, E must be measured and patient sharing this new and now wonderful truth.

Imagine those disciples on Easter. The disappointment reached a low they had never imagined. Not only was He dead. But now? Now he was gone from the grave.

And this was devastating. Until they realized he was more than gone. He is Risen. A new, strange, frightening reality. A reality they weren't sure they could accept. A truth they didn't know how to live with. But it didn't take long. They couldn't stop themselves. They told everyone. And we still do. We tell everyone. Sometimes the wrong people. Sometimes to our own demise and peril. Sometimes with people who just aren't ready. But we still do it. We still tell the truth to anyone and everyone.

We have to. It's our reality.

Shattered Dreams

I can't believe I did it. I have never broken her heart like this. Nobody had. The shock and pain washed over her face leaving a flood of tears as lasting proof. I thought she knew. I assumed she at least suspected.

But she didn't. She was floating along in that childlike wonder believing all was just as I had said. One sentence. Six little words formed a statement that would forever change our worlds.

It is my fault. I led her to believe this fairy tale. I was the one who told her it was true. But, how could she not have known? It was obviously too good to be true. I mean, seriously, a rabbit who can carry enough candy to supply all the children in the world? It's absurd.

But it was her reality. And it has been shattered and forever reformed. She's a little bit wiser, a little less naive.

And isn't that what Easter is really all about?