Once again I had a very busy, but very fun, weekend. Friday night was D&D. The whole group was there and we ordered in Chinese food from Chin Chin's and kicked some Gnoll ass. The game rocked (Rob is an excellent DM) and we all had fun. We stopped the game a bit earlier than usual because Carrie, Rob, and I needed to get up early on Saturday. Carrie was spending the night on our sleeper sofa, so once everything wrapped up we sent the other players home. Including the one who never leaves even when Rob is sleeping (and snoring) on the floor and I'm nodding off on the couch. Thanks to Bryce, this player was dragged out. Berek and Pita tried to help get him to leave as well, but apparently when Berek was trying to convince him that we needed sleep he snapped at Berek and told him that he would leave when he was good and ready. *sigh*

Saturday the alarm went off at 7am and after a night of very little sleep (insomnia sucks) I wandered into the shower. Once I was out of the shower I woke Rob and Carrie up. We all got dressed and ready to go and headed out of the house around 8:30am. The drive to Malibu wasn't bad at all. The roads were pretty open and it was in between rain showers. We got to Pepperdine in plenty of time and even had some time for Carrie and I to go over the bench brief and grab a bagel for breakfast. Around 9:45 we were all gathered in the law school cafeteria and given our judges robes. Sweeeeeet. For those not in the know, Carrie and I were judging two rounds of this years Dalsimer competition (a moot court competition). Rob came along because he wanted to watch. Once we were robed up our groups were called and we were taken to our rooms. Carrie and I requested to be together and so it was her, myself, and a woman who graduated in 1997 named Joanne Wendell. She was very cool and she was our Chief Justice for both rounds.

Our first round was in Classroom A. Eeeeewwww. That's the classroom where I had Toxic Torts, Sentencing and Corrections, and Environmental Law. It's very small, very cramped, and always has a weird smell to it. During the first round I was the judge that scared everyone. Rob said I was rather intimidating and the students looked scared when I grilled them. Joanne was middle of the road to them and Carrie was fairly nice. At the end of the round we thought that both sides did a really good job and had a hard time picking which team we wanted to advance. Then we headed back into the cafeteria where they had sandwiches and fruit for lunch.

A little after 12pm we were called in for the second round. We had the same judge group in the same stinky room. This time we asked a lot fewer questions. The students were very well versed in the law and had their arguments very tight. While we did ask some questions, it wasn't near as many as in the first round. We just didn't need to beacause usually when we were going to ask something, the student started talking about it. These two teams blew the first two out of the water. They were amazing and I really hope the Petitioner team advances. After we scored them they told us that the Respondent team was a "dummy team". They weren't really in the competition. They were two moot court board members who needed to fake their way through it because there were an odd number of teams. We were all shocked. They didn't do as well as the Petitioner team, but they did VERY well and did much better than the teams in round one. All in all, I was impressed with both teams in both rounds. It was kind of nice that we didn't get any teams that majorly sucked. They all had strengths and they all had weaknesses, but they all also got the hang of arguing in front of people they don't know.

There was one thing I kept thinking when watching these students. I was in their position not so long ago. These are kids who are working hard to get through law school with no clue of whether any of it will pay off or not. The 3Ls are probably starting to worry about the bar already while the 2Ls are just trying to get through law school. It made me realize that while I do miss being in law school sometimes, I am SO happy that I have the knowledge that I passed the bar. Sure, I might have a hard time finding a job, but I will find one eventually. And I won't ever have to worry about whether or not I can practice law because I have my bar card. It made me really appreciate where I am right now, even if there's the downside of being unemployed.

After the rounds were over with we all headed back to my place. The drive home sucked. It was raining fairly hard and traffic was at a standstill for most of the way home. By the time we got home my sheer exhaustion had hit me (and I was super tired) and I was getting a rather bad headache from driving in horrible traffic and in the rain. Bryce came over to pick Carrie up and Rob and I took a nap. A rather long nap. We didn't get up until around 9pm. But at least we did get up, which meant we could do something and our night wasn't totally wasted. We ended up getting together with Berek and Pita and heading over to the Pig (a really cool coffee house). We got a couch with a chess set at it and watched Rob and Berek play chess. Berek won. After the Pig we headed to Carl's for some food and then Berek and Pita dropped Rob and I off at our place. We headed upstairs and passed out.

Sunday Rob was able to get up at a normal time. I wasn't. So, while I was sleeping Rob was a sweetie and cleaned the bathroom (which really needed it). I got up late (around 4pm) and was still exhausted when I got up. I hate this. There's something seriously wrong with me because I'm always tired. I can't remember the last time I was awake and didn't feel really sleepy. I wonder if it's my sleep apnea doing this to me. When we got up we made plans with Berek and Pita. We lounged around the house and they came over around 7pm.

We headed to Pasadena and stopped at the Game Zone. I ended up getting some dice, a new dice bag, and some D&D miniatures. Rob, Pita, and Berek also got a pack of D&D miniatures. We figured they would be great to use on the map sheet during our table top game's combat scenes. Pita was the only one to get a dragon (a white one) in her pack. Lucky woman.

After the game store we headed to Coco's for some food. After dinner I started to feel very ill. For about ten minutes I had horrible chest pains and felt very dizzy, very out of it, and very nausious. By the time we left I was feeling a bit better, but the nausia stuck with me for a good part of the night. We stopped at the drug store on the way home so that we could pick up some cola syrup (to help with my nausia) and some Zycam (Rob's getting a cold). After the drug store Berek and Pita dropped us off at home. Rob and I watched Adult Swim and then a program on minorities in TV that aired on VH1 and then went to sleep. I had chest pains on and off during the night, but the cola syrup really helped on the nausia.

I'm feeling a lot better today. I slept in and I'm now taking it easy around the house. I'm just spending the day doing laundry and job hunting. Rob and I had considered going out tonight, but at this point I think we may stay in and go see a movie tomorrow night. We'll see how both of us feels when he heads home from work.

----------

Basically your worst nightmare.

Which Drive-in Damsel Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla