About a month ago I was named the Head BarBri Rep. for Thomas Goode Jones School of law. Being rep for BarBri has its perks in and of itself. Namely, you don't have to pay the over $2600 fee for the bar review course provided by BarBri. However, as the Head Rep., you not only get the course free you also get paid for your services as the Head Rep. for the school.
Yesterday, I found out there is even another perk. I received an email saying that our Head Rep. meeting was going to be in Houston, TX in two weeks. The best part is, is that it is an all expense paid trip (AKA It's FREE). Although Houston may not seem like the most exciting place, it is a pretty cool town and I haven't been there in years. Another reason I am looking forward to it is that a good friend of mine from college lives in Houston. I probably have not seen her since we graduated college over two years ago. We both have made several empty promises over the last few years we were going to meet up and hang out, needless to say, busy lives have prevented us from doing that.
The only regret I have as of right now about the date of this meeting is that it is not football season so I won't be able to get to see a Texans game (not a fan, but an NFL fan). On a side note, 2 blogs in 1 week, not to shabby!!
Quote of the Blog:
"Gratefulness is the key to a happy life that we hold in our hands, because if we are not grateful, then no matter how much we have we will not be happy -- because we will always want to have something else or something more."
Brother David Steindl-Rast
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
All Expense Paid Trip
Monday, July 13, 2009
Random Pictures
Pic above is of my brother, God Father, and me at the Alabama v. Florida SEC champ game in 92' and the pic below is of me and friends at a Jimmy Buffet Concert in April of this year!
Change on the Blog
So I was sitting around today at work, playing on twitter, and I realized, "I have a blog" and I haven't written on it in months. To all those 2 or 3 who follow me on my blog, I apologize for neglecting you for the last few months. As I am sure you are aware now, I have changed the template on my blog and intend to start updating this weekly and hopefully several times a week.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Vacation Is Good for the Mind, Body, and Soul no matter the Hassle
With travel and vacation comes hassle and delays. It seems you can't fly anywhere these days without being delayed, losing your luggage, or something going not as planned. For me, this happened recently on a trip to Colorado.
The day began around 4:30 waking up for a long day ahead, but one that was suppose to end with me miles away from home in snowy Steamboat, Co. So the getting up early to catch an early flight actually didn't bother me because I knew in several hours I would be in Steamboat and as long as there were no delays I would be skiing on the mountain that afternoon. How sadly mistaken I was. The flight from B'ham to Dallas Fort Worth was uneventful, actually we arrived about 10 mins. early. The layover in DFW was about 2 hours, which gave me the first time to do something good for my mind, body, and soul which was to rest in the comfort of the Admiral club. For a certain fee per year you can sit and wait for you flight in the leisure of this huge area all while enjoying complimentary food and drinks for a fee or you can apply for an American express card and get in free (I applied for the card). The admiral club is where the rich and famous sit and wait for their flight, seeing as if the rich and famous don't have their own plane. In all seriousness it is a great place to wait for a flight and not have to fight the hussle and bussle going on out in the terminal. Enough about the admiral club though.
Believe it or not our flight leaving Dallas was on time as well. We pushed back from the gate and we were on our way to the little airport out in Steamboat known as Hayden/Craig field. The flight out to Hayden was a little bumpy do to a storm blowing through. It came to my attention about 10 mins. after we were scheduled to land that WE HADN'T landed. About this time the captain (a woman) came on the speaker and said that we didn't have visibility clearance to land. Our plane had to have a mile and a half visibility land and there was only 3/4 of a mile visibility at the time. No fear the captain said we have fuel to circle for another 60 mins. The captain then said she would give us updates on where we stood. At this time I'm calculating the amount of time I am going to lose skiing that day but I fig. I still will be able to get up on the mountain. 55 mins. go by before the captain comes back on the speaker, after passengers, including myself, ask for an update. Once on, the captain says the visibility hasn't changed and we were low on fuel so we needed to head to Denver. When I heard this, I was thinking this is great not only am I not going to get to ski today I am now going to have to ride on a shuttle from Denver to Steamboat which takes about 4 hours. I was getting a little heated to say the least. When we landed on the ground in Denver everyone was ready to get off the plane and figure out what to do, but to our surprise the captain said the storm had lifted at Steamboat, and we were going to refuel and fly back out. Even though I knew my chance of skiing that day was gone I was totally fine with us flying back to Steamboat which takes 35 mins. as opposed to riding to Steamboat from Denver which takes 4 hours.
Well, yet again things didn't go as planned. We got back over Steamboat and the captain came on the speaker and said "welp folks, bad news the storm is back, good news is we have fuel to fly around for a while so we will try to wait it out." There is not much more you can hate than flying in circles 35,000 ft. in the air, air which was very turbulent due to the storm, waiting to land. We flew around Steamboat for and hour and 15 mins. at this time I heard the engines go way down, which either meant we were about to crash or we were landing. My mind went directly to crashing since the captain had yet to come on and tell us that we were landing. Right as I was grabbing a pen to write my will she came on and said we just got clearance and we are gonna try and throw her in there. This statement came with loud cheers and applause from a tired crowd on a full plane, a plane that include crying babies and kids asking the parents ARE WE THERE YET!!!! half way into the landing i realize we are climbing again, and again I am thinking WTF is going on now. Our captain them comes on and says "the ground crew forgot to tell me the runway changed and I was lining up for the wrong runway" aka I wasn't paying attention and I forgot which runway we were to land on. Well thanks to our captain, she used to much fuel trying to land so we couldn't realign and try the other runway and instead had to go back to Denver. At this time everyone is cranky and just ready to get off the plane after having been on the plane for over 6 hours.
Once we landed in Denver an American Airlines worker got on the plane and said you can either be booked on a flight back to Dallas or you can try to get to Steamboat on your own but there is nothing we can do for you. Basically American dumped us in Denver and said "do what you want, we are done with you." As you can imagine this is not what a group of angry and irritated passengers wanted to hear, and at this point I am thinking not only am I not skiing today I may not be skiing tomorrow or even this year. After 2 hours of arguing with American they finally agreed to get 5 buses in the morning and shuttle us all to steamboat and they would put us up in a hotel (at a discounted price) for the night. Finally, I knew we would be making it to steamboat.
The next morning turned out to be just as eventful as the night before. Upon arriving at the airport we learn that the shuttles were going to drop us off at the Hayden airport which is 40 mins passed Steamboat, you would literally drive by Steamboat as you go to the airport. Already losing an afternoon of skiing now at least a morning of another day of skiing I was getting pretty mad with American. I took my anger out on a worker for American. I was not going to stand for these buses going to the airport all while passing Steamboat on the way. After a few choice words he gave me the bus people's number and I called them. After several mins of discussion they said they had no problem with dropping us off in Steamboat. RELIEF!!!!! I would be skiing in a few hours.
About 6 hours after that conversation we were in Steamboat, and I was skiing. When I got on the mountain I forgot all the happenings of the past day and a half, waking up at 4:30, flying over Steamboat twice, attempting to land once, flying in circles for over 2 hours, and a 4 hour bus ride to Steamboat. It was amazing to see the beauty god has created out there. The snow covered mountains are just indescribable!!!! My mind, body, and soul could ask for no more, this was PERFECT. The entire trip was great. Steamboat is an amazing place and it is a great place just to go relax, ski, have fun, and just enjoy being with your fam (if they take you out there like mine). After leaving Steamboat I flew to New Orleans for my good friends bachelor party which I was throwing. Although New Orleans is a far cry from Steamboat, it is one of my favorite places in the world and we had a blast, even though my team did lose the sugar bowl (no comments Lacey or Blaire). Trips like these make you realize, the hassle involved in traveling is just part of it. I have found out that the best way to deal with it is just to roll with the punches. If you sit around and dread what happened on the trip out there, you are not going to enjoy the time you are out there on vacation. Vacation is suppose to be good for you mind, body, and soul so do all of those things a favor and when things don't go exactly as planned just let them roll off your back because the vacation WILL still happen even if it, is delayed to.
Quote of the blog:
"There are as many nights as days, and the one is just as long as the other in the year's course. Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word 'happy' would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness. "
Carl Jung
Monday, December 1, 2008
ALABAMA FOOTBALL!
I have been holding off on writing this blog because I am very superstitious, but the Alabama Auburn game is now officially in the books for 2008 and I feel it is a perfect time to write it. I recently read an article on how Auburn will never measure up to Alabama. Although I don't know if I totally agree with that, because I do think things can change, I have to agree with that right now. The article's main point was how Auburn fans measure their teams success compared to how Alabama fans measure theirs.
Auburn fans consider it a successful season if they beat Alabama. For Alabama, this is a big measuring stick, but it is not the only one. We measure our success by how we compare nationally. See at Alabama we don't consider it a successful season unless we are winning SEC western division championships, SEC Championships, or even National Championships. For the last 6 years Auburn, to their credit, has had a strangle hold on us. However, this was in a down period for Alabama. Until the last few years Alabama has been on major probation, and until this past year Alabama has not had the full slate of scholarship player allowed by the NCAA. during this period Auburn has beat us and beat us bad while we were down. But the tide is turning and Auburn is still measuring their success on how they compete against us.
To prove this point I pose a question to Auburn fans, since Coach Tubs has been at Auburn how many SEC West Championships have you won, how many SEC Championships have you won, and how many National Championships have you won. While it is always good to beat an instate rival, is it really that rewarding to beat an instate rival while they are down, and to continue to praise your coach even though he has accomplished so little for you Nationally. At Alabama we get made fun of for living in the past. I believe this is because we have a past, and past that includes 12 National Championships. We don't ask if we will win another, we just ask when. See when the new addition was put on Bryant Denny, we added a plaza in the front. In this plaza we recognize all our past coaches who have won national championships, and we have a spot with no coach in it where we will place the next coach who leads us to glory. And while we get made fun us this, by many Auburn fans, Auburn fans for the last 6 years have loved bring up the 6 years of defeating Alabama. Now is this living in the past? The point is if you have a glories past don't live in it, but do remember it and enjoy it, you deserve to.
Why would any school enjoy keeping a coach that has gotten them so little nationally? Is it just because they have gotten them so much instate the last several years? This is my point with Auburn, until they start realizing that it doesn't matter if you beat an instate rival while they are down, and that it does matter when they start competing nationally, they will never be on the same level as Alabama. I am one of the biggest Alabama fans there ever was, but I know when we beat a good Auburn team it helps us out, and when they beat a good Alabama team it will help them out. Auburn fans, do you really won't to measure yourself on how you compete against your instate rival or do you won't to be nationally known and start measuring up to national competition. I believe the answer is in what the Auburn administration does in the next few weeks. Keeping Coach Tubs, will signal that you will continue to measure your seasons on how you compete against Alabama.
As for now all is well in the State of Alabama with Bama Nation back on top. Hopefully we will win this Sat. and compete for our 13 National Championship, but if we don't, what an amazing season it has been with only 9 Seniors and 16 freshman seeing action with 14 contributing immensely. Congratulations Alabama on winning the SEC WEST and for your all but announced birth in a BCS bowl whether it's the Sugar or the National Championship Game. Roll Tide!
Quote of the blog.
"When you make a mistake, there are only three things you should ever do about it: 1. Admit it. 2. Learn from it, and 3. Don't repeat it.”
Paul Bear Bryant
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Loss of the Blog V Card
I must admit, I have never been the one to want to blog. Honestly I thought people who did it had wayyyy to much time on their hands, that was until today. I was sitting in Crim. Pro. (Law School Class) and looking over at a friends blog, Blaire Wood, when I realized, where else can you just say what you want and people who want to listen will read and those who won't, well they won't.
Since this is my initial blog I figured I would tell you a little about myself. I grew up in a small Alabama town that has a great past. The town is Alexander City, Alabama. We are known for two things, 1) We are the home of Russell Athletics, and yes everything in the town is named after Russell. From the place you are born, Russell Hospital, to the place you go to high school, Benjamin Russell High School, to the place you by hardware to build a house, Russel Do-It Center, to the place you look for realestate or buy a home, Russell Lands, to the place you buy clothes, Russell Retail, and I am sure I am missing a few along the way. 2) we are known for OUR lake, Lake Martin. It is the best man made lake in the state of Alabama and one of the best in the United States. Multimillion dollar houses line the shores of this beautiful lake, huge catfish, some the size as Volkswagens, swim the waters, and one of the top golf courses in the southeast, Willow Point, calls Lake Martin home. Alex City, as the locals call it, was a great town to grow up in. It was like any small town though, everyone knew everyone and with that came the "everyone knows everyone's business."
After High School I went to THE University of Alabama where I majored in Finance and was a member of Sigma Chi Fraternity. These were truly the best 4 years of my life and I now know why some people take the victory lap and make it the best 5, 6, 7, 10 plus years of their life. I made great friend for life and went on more dates than I would want to admit. Unfortunately my time at Alabama didn't result in a National Championship, SEC Championship, or for that matter even a SEC west division Championship. The years I was there, the football team was a little down to say the least, but we did have one great victory, which was my junior year over the University of Florida, which my best friend Nick Dolyes missed do to a drunken Friday night, we will never let him live that down. There are many stories from college that I am sure will come out in future blogs, but for now this should be enough to wet your tongue.
After college I wasn't just ready for the real world, so I decided to go to law school. After I received a 75% scholarship to Jones School of Law in Montgomery, AL I packed my bags and headed south, ok it was only like 120 miles south of Tuscaloosa but it was south. Law School has most definitely been the most difficult road in my life. Everyone who has been to law school will probably agree with that. Within the first two months of law school I went through a grandparents near death experience, a break-up with a girl friend, a virus that wiped me out for at least two weeks, and oh yea this was all during year 1 of law school. Needless to say though I wouldn't trade the lessons I have learned over the last year and a half, I made it through my first year of law school with a decent GPA, high enough to keep the scholarship, and I was highly active in school activities such as SBA 1L Sec. B Senator, SBA Treasure, 1L Moot court Tournament quarter finalist, etc, and I am now almost halfway through my second year. Montgomery, AL is definitely not where I won't to end up, I can not get out of this town quick enough. I am not sure where the road after law school leads, but I hope it is towards Georgia, as that is where I hope to find a job after law school.
I look forward to writing future post and hope you all enjoy reading them. As I said at the beginning you can read if you like and you can stop if you like, but I have officially lost my blog v card.
MJS
Quote of the Blog:
And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.
Abraham Lincoln
