I Love Caramel Sundaes

As was evident last night when I joined my roomies for a caramel sundae from McDonalds. Mmmmm ... caramel.

Well, this week has been pretty uneventful, although in one tutorial I think I more or less learned how to write a law exam (in the context of my contracts class, anyway).

It seems like when you have a question asked, you don't actually answer it. Actually, what you do, is answer all facets of it ... you work through all the sides ... it's like a big if then algorithm, for those who have programmed before. This has cleared away another veil in the fogginess of first year law.

I bought a ticket for the first year formal. I'm sitting with a bunch of people that are also going to be going solo (since Jason isn't going to come out for one day, just to turn around again and go home for Thanksgiving with me). Should be fun. I already have that fancy shirt from the wedding, so I should be set.

This afternoon is the LSA softball tourney, which I think I'm going to watch (not play ... I will drink and make a fool of myself infront of classmates, but playing softball infront of them is just crossing a line in dignity).

I've got some reading to do, though (surprise, surprise).

Oh Boy

So, yesterday was a good day all in all. Went to class, hit the gym, got lots done ... and then .... AND THEN ... I went to the Caveat Lector's (law student newspaper) fundraiser at Winston's Pub. This is where it all unraveled.

It was called a fireside chat, and was designed to be a forum for upper year students to tell us first year students how it is. It definitely was that, but unfortunately, there was an unlimited flow of beer for a few hours. YIKES.

Suffice it to say that I saw some interesting sides to many people. Some fun, some scary, some creepy, some annoying. It was all entertaining.

Oh law students, how we love ourselves sooooo much. It really does become endearing after awhile. I think.

So Much to Say, So Little Patience for Typing

My laptop doesn't let me type with the same ferocity as my desktop at home. But ... I'll grin and bear it ... for the public good. Speaking of the public good - I got the news today that I'll officially be volunteering with Pro Bono Students Canada, at the U of S branch (obviously). I've been assigned to a project with another student, and a lawyer, and will be helping the Student's Union Women's Centre at the U of S with some of their legal information needs. I'm am so excited about this, I could spit (but I won't).

We had a FABULOUS weekend. I drove home on Friday with one of my roomies, got to hang with my Sister and Brother-in-Law, got to have breakfast, on Saturday, with my Parents and my Brother, then drove to Banff with my Hubby and BIL, attended the AWESOMELY romantic wedding of some friends of ours (that's us at the wedding to the right, and a picture of the STUNNING location where the wedding itself took place - to the left), came back to Calgary on Sunday, hung out with my family a bit, then hit the road again, back to Saskatoon, with my roomie. Don't even THINK about lecturing me on run-on sentences. Don't even whisper a thought about it.

In Banff we stayed at the same resort that the wedding and reception occurred at, and boy were we both impressed. The rooms were quite nice, and the entire wedding was intimate, and ran quite smoothly. The food was really good, and the dessert was KILLER! We'd rate the Buffalo Mountain Lodge a 4.5 out of 5 for sure.

On the trip back to Saskatoon, my Roomie and I stopped in Hanna for some pizza, where we were propositioned (i.e. asked to dance, asked if we like rodeos/cowboys/things I refuse to mention on the internet, and generally assaulted with distasteful remarks) by a car full of (what I can only assume were) locals. It was awful, and we scurried to get out of there as fast as we could. Also, near Kindersley, we almost hit (what we took the liberty of assuming, in a stroke of creative genius) a REINDEER! I had to slam and swerve, and my roomie could have kissed him if her window was down, or at least given him a pat on the head to ensure our spot on the "NICE" list with Santa and the boyz.

Tonight, I'm hitting the books, and getting ahead on my reading a little bit, so that I don't have to get up early tomorrow and hit the gym ... I can work it into my lunch hour instead.

OH - and just for the record, I was wearing a strapless shirt in the picture above, even though it looks like I'm possibly only wearing jewelry. The last time I tried to wear only jewelry to a wedding, I was threatened with section 174 of the criminal code. Yup ... I'm paying attention in my criminal law class so far.

What To Say About Today?

Well, so far today I used my new parking pass (yay), hit the gym (sweaty), read some Constitutional Law, went to my first Library Tutorial, Went to Constitutional Law class, ate lunch (I bought an egg salad sandwich, and my Diet Coke now sits beside me, waiting to be cracked), and now I'm reading until 2:30, when I have two more classes.

I can't wait to get home and sleep, I'm bagged.

Fun thing - I found out how to get from the Law building to Kirk Hall without going outside. It's a bit of a labyrinth, but since it's kind of raining today, I was thrilled with it.

I got to watch the season opener for America's Next Top Model last night, ahhh ... ANTM ... how I've missed you. It won't be quite the same here in Saskatoon, as my ANTM watching posse are all so far away from me - three in Calgary, one in Montreal. BUT - as you can see from my sidebar below, we're all watching it together - in spirit.

I'm super excited about the plans for this weekend. Jason and I get to go to the wedding of some friends of ours, in Banff. Should be awesome.

Tomorrow, our Torts class is cancelled - so we only have one class at 1:00. Yup - that means a serious sleep-in. I can't wait.

OH! One more thing. I've been meaning to write about this. Yesterday (while in the horrific cold parking line-up) I finished reading a book. This book was probably one of the best books that I've read in the last 2 years (which is saying a lot, because I read a LOT of books in 2 years). The writing itself is stellar, the story is stellar, I'm just enamoured with this author - and this was her first work! Do yourself a flavour (heh heh), and check this book out. It is long, but it only took me 2 weeks to get through (and I'm in law school for goodness sakes).


Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by: Susanna Clarke

It's magical, witty, smart, mysterious, enchanting, amazing, dreamy, and dark. SUCH a good read. GO. RIGHT NOW. BUY IT. And tell me what you think afterwards.

You can read more about it at: http://www.jonathanstrange.com/

I'm Sick of Lines

I'm so tired of waiting in mass line-ups, but hopefully, I've just finished my last one for the year. I thought that the locker line-up was bad - it was a vacation in Mexico compared to the parking pass line-up this morning.

I panicked after my classes last night, as I did a drive-by of the parking office to make sure that I knew where it was. People were already setting up tents etc. to spend the night waiting in line for the first-come-first-serve parking pass sale that was to happen this morning at 8:00.

I decided to come and see what I could get, regardless of feeling the futility.

I got to the parking office this morning at about 6:15, and parked my layered-up keister on the cold, cold cement to begin the wait. Waiting for 3 hours outside at this time of year was a cold, cold endeavor. I was freezing, regardless of my mittens and big boots.

In order to ensure the most comfort possible, the U of S did provide a few creature comforts. A port-a-potty was situated close at hand - for those souls that braved the night long wait. Also, at 7:30, donuts and coffee were delivered to the front doors of the Maintenance building, where all those in line were free to partake - this was a move that I was super impressed with.

I was through the line by 9:15, and had in hand my Stadium Parking pass (yay). Made me very happy. The lot Y passes went first, then lot P and the Stadium parking passes were going after that. I believe that pretty much everyone that went should get a pass (as to whether it was their first choice for a lot or not, I'm not sure).

Moral of the story: If you REALLY have a lot preference, rock on and wait in line overnight ... if you're not so partial to one in particular, you could probably show up at 7:00 AM on parking pass morning, and get a spot without having to freeze your butt off to the extent that I did.

Now - I should be set up. I've got two lockers, all my books, tuition is paid, dental and health benefits have been waived, I've got a parking pass, and I more or less know my way around campus. Should be smooth sailing from now on. Only took three weeks.

All that's left is to find the perfect time to hit the grocery store, so that with my basket of 20 things (when the express lanes are closed for some reason) I don't get stuck behind a cart full of supplies that someone is clearly hoarding in case of natural disaster, no reasonable person (or housefull of reasonable people) would ever go through that much food in a lifetime. Let me know if you have any advice/tips on beating the grocery store madness.

A Few Interesting Things

A couple of things that are interesting (to me, in any case) that came up in class today.

First, in my Torts class, the Prof was explaining how different perspectives may lead to proceeding on the same incident in different ways. He offhandedly remarked "...if you're a fault kind of person ..." in which he meant, whether or not you're the kind of person that likes to find fault somewhere, or the kind of person that needs to find fault somewhere.

It got me to thinking - am I a fault person? I really don't know. I think that finding a cause can be helpful, and not only provide some peace in some situations, but can certainly help explain how to prevent them in the future - but sometimes when you find a cause, you find that nobody is really at fault at all. I think I'm okay with that - with nobody being held accountable if nobody is accountable. I guess that I wouldn't be a fault person.

I suppose that as the year goes on and I analyze more tort cases, I'll see more which way I really lean ...

Secondly, in our Property class today, we went over a case today, which involved the issue of whether an Advanced Degree obtained over the course of marriage constitutes matrimonial property when the marriage ends (i.e. does the non-degree earning partner deserve half the value of the degree?).

So ... in the case we discussed, it was found that the wife would receive half the value of the law degree that her husband had earned while she supported him (although, it wasn't actually called "property").

Heh heh heh - but ... in Canada, as per our Prof, advanced degrees are generally NOT found to be property. How funny and personally relatable.

Lastly, today in our Criminal class, the Prof did a lot of talking, and in the lulls in his lecture, I was struck by the sound of the feverish typing on the laptops in class. It wasn't that people were typing - but the sound of the soft and gentle clicking. It reminded me of a Star Trek: The Next Generation episode. Yeah, that's right, I'm a nerdy Trekker (which, if you know anything about Star Trek means that I'm a TNG girl, as opposed to the Trekkies, which are into the original series).

After a bit of googling and Wikipedia surfing, I found it. It's "Schisms", and it's about some crew members waking up every morning as though they'd never slept, and having crazy recollections about wierd things ... like a clicking sound. When it all gets put together - they've been abducted by aliens and had experiments conducted on them. Yup ... that's what criminal law class will now always remind me of - alien abductions.

Yikes.

Light Drizzle

Does anyone else think that the Weather Network's graphic for "light drizzle" looks hilarious, and more like rain hammering down to flood the world like nothing since Noah's days with the ark?

Ha ha ha ha ha.

Poor Calgary.


Also, I thought I'd explain a few things about my first few weeks of law school that have cleared up (a little bit).

The first little bit of law school has been incredibly vague. Personally, I haven't had a problem with this, since I prescribe to the "go-with-the-flow" mentality. Some people, though, have struggled with it a bit more, and rightly so.

On our schedules, each Wednesday morning is blocked off with "Tutorials" written into the timeslot. What does this mean, when are our tutorials, what are they for, are the compulsory, when do we get the schedule?

Well ... tutorials are offered in each of our classes: Torts, Criminal, Property, Contracts, and Constitutional. Each class has three tutorials a semester, and each tutorial is an hour in length. In the tutorial, we have been split up into groups of 20, and with the Prof, take a look at problems that have been assigned, and learn how to apply those proper principles and theory in order to solve them. For each tutorial that we have in a particular class, the Prof cancels one of our regularly scheduled lectures.

Whew.

So ... we got our tutorial schedule yesterday, and our first two tutorials are on Wednesday. This was pretty foggy when we first started, but we'll jump right in, now that we know.

Also, when it comes to school, the expectations are still a little big unknown. I've spoken to a few classmates of mine, and everyone seems to feel the same way (generally).

We all go to class, read what we're supposed to be reading, and answer the questions that we can, when the Prof asks them. BUT ... it feels (in the words of one of my classmates) as though we're only "going through the motions" so far.

The Associate Dean has ensured us that we should have a better idea about what to focus on once we've completed a few tutorials, as these are problem solving classes, so we'll see.

Basically, the first few days of law school, you'll find out quickly that law school classes are unlike those that you would have had in your undergrad. There isn't the same type of lecture format. Some of the Profs will outline various principles, but basically, you'll be assigned some reading beforehand, you'll come to class prepared, and the Profs will ask questions about the reading material, which the class will discuss.

The first case brief that you do will also be fairly vague (and frankly, briefing is still kind of out there for me). You'll be told about case briefing (we were given a seminar on this in our Orientation), you'll be given a case, and you'll be told to have at'er. It took me awhile to understand, not only the content of the cases, but to understand the format. Why is there a separate Concur statement, what is a Dissent? It gets clearer as you go along, so don't panic if you feel like a fish out of water ... I think that this is how they want you to feel off the start (I can hear their maniacal laughs now ... wafting through the law library). Just remember that, in class, when they're asking questions, the Profs don't expect you to know it all - they just want you to take your best stab at it.

Whew. Better get to reading ... I still have a bunch to do, and I opted for Starbucks this morning as opposed to the gym (I know, I know), so I still have to work my work-out into my day (heh heh).

Home Sweet Home

It's amazing how just a few days at home can recharge me like nothing else. There's nothing like sleeping in your own bed, and being in your own home ... I got time to meet some friends for drinks, go for breakkie with my family, chill with Jason at home (which made him remark that he now knows where all his time goes when I'm home - chillin' on the couch), shopping with Mom, and dinner at the Parent's house. It was fabulous, and I was so happy to be there, and now I'm ready for another week of law school.

I've been thinking for awhile about a compare and contrast between the University of Calgary, where I did my undergrad degree, and what I've seen of the University of Saskatchewan so far. Here's my list, as has been compiled in my head over the last few days (I want to add more, as I think of things ... if anyone else has anything to add - let me know through the comments):

U of C:

- Included in tuition, all students get transit passes (which consists of a special sticker being put on your student ID card, your student ID card then becomes a transit pass for the school year). This is such a huge PLUS ... since here in Saskatoon a student bus pass for one semester is $200. I understand that Saskatoon is smaller, etc. but I'm finding the decision to buy a full semester long bus pass to be too big a commitment to make.

- Student's Centre is way bigger, with way more options for FOOD! I'm finding the food court options lacking at U of S, and while they do have a Tim Horton's, which U of C does not, they don't have anywhere near the many cuisine choices.

- The Information Commons at the U of C rocks. It's a floor in the library that has piles of computers available for student use. It's open 24 hours some days of the week, and it is super convenient. Perhaps U of S has something similar, but I haven't come across it yet. I've just seen smaller computer labs which are great, but often booked. There's also some PCs in the hallways of the student centre, but you have to stand at them, it's not somewhere you'd go to write a paper.

U of S:

- Getting a student ID card, and standing in line at the book store on the first few days was a DREAM compared to these things at the U of C. The staff at U of S are organized, and quick. They're well oiled machines that get lines moving fast. This was HUGELY appreciated.

- There is SCHOOL SPIRIT, which isn't limited to campus. EVERYONE loves the Huskies; they wear Huskies clothing, they attend Huskies functions, they talk about the Huskies on the radio, they talk about student functions in general on the radio, and everyone goes to Huskies games. This was something that I didn't notice in Calgary - that tangible and elusive feeling of community and togetherness, and common goals and objectives. It's here - in droves.

- Campus is gorgeous. It's hard to resist wanting to be here. The buildings are regal, and the landscaping is luscious. U of S wins hands down in this area.

- Lowest tuition for law school in Canada. Nuff said. (Besides McGill, apparently ... I've been mislead! How embarassing - thank you to the anonymous commenter that corrected me)

I Got a Gym Locker!

Yay! I left the house at 7:00 this morning, hit my Law locker, and then headed over to the PAC (Physical Activity Centre, I think), and got in line for a gym locker. The office opened at 8:30, and when I got into line at just before 7:30, the line wrapped around the running track 3/4 of the way. Crazy. I did get a locker though, and was only 5 minutes late for my Constitutional Law class. I'm so very excited.

I didn't get ANY reading done at home last night (testament to the fact that reading at school is a way better route for me to take). It didn't matter in Constitutional Law, I skimmed that reading while in line for my locker, and I even raised my hand and spoke up today (I'm still thinking of the comments that I got here, and stick to the formula of speaking up every three classes - he he he, still haven't id'd any GUNNER's in my class yet, though).

Ah ... the rain. How I love it (or hate it, I really flip-flop on that one, it really depends on whether I have organized sports on the go, or no).

Anyhoo - back to the reading! I only have one case to read before 2:30, and then one more case to read for tomorrow - yay for keeping on top of reading!

I Bought This Book Today:

Understanding Property - A Guide to Canada's Property Law by: Marjorie L Benson, Marie-Ann Bowden.

I can't find a picture of the cover, but it's navy and yellow.

Marie-Ann Bowden is actually a prof here at the U of S, I have her for the first time today for Legal Reading/Writing.

According to upper year law students, this book is GOLDEN for understanding the first year property course. I figured I'd take any help that I can get. It's rather expensive (cough, I almost choked when I bought it), but I think it'll be worth it, especially since I'd like to (maybe) get into Intellectual Property eventually.

Ooooh - I Found Another One

Law Students/Potential Law Students - BOOKMARK THIS PAGE:

http://dictionary.law.com/

This is like Dictionary.com, but you can put in either legal words, or LEGAL PHRASES.

How sharp is that? I love it! Looks like I won't need a legal dictionary until, perhaps, exam time! As long as I've got internet, I'm hooked up.

Another tip: For Criminal Law and Tort Law we had to buy packages from the bookstore of materials prepared by our Profs. These came in printed version, wrapped in plastic, triple hole punched, but not bound. Most people put them into duotangs or binders, but I took mine to Staples and had them spiral bound and had a clear plastic cover put on the front and back. People in my class have so far remarked that they're going to do it as well, as it makes for super easy handling of these notes, and they should stand up better than in a binder. It was $10.00 for the two to be done at Staples.

An Interesting Morning Already

This morning, in Saskatoon (as you can see by my Weather Network Button), it is thunderstorming like crazy. After I had showered and was getting dressed in my room, there was a huge crack of thunder, then all the power went out. How lucky am I that I wasn't still in the shower? I know it's silly, but those Bloody Mary stories that I heard about as a kid still haunt me when I'm in dark bathrooms with big mirrors. No other mirrors will do it to me, but bathroom mirrors .... shudder. So ... I'm thinking that I'll have to buy a lottery ticket this morning, since I'm so lucky.

The power was still out as I drove to school, all the traffic lights in our area were out, luckily people were handling it just fine.

Also, I'm one spoiled girl. My Parents bought me a plane ticket home this weekend. YAY! No driving, and I get to see my Hubby, Family, and my cute little house! I'm pretty excited, and take full notice of how spoiled I am.

Yay, I Have Internet at Home!!

You should all see an increase in my net frequency from now on, and I finally have the ability to surf for pleasure guilt free (and while that statement may sound rather suspect, I stand by it). While at school, I felt, due to the limited internet time that I had, that I had better make the most of it - and actually stick to something school related.

YAY! Now I can surf more systematically through all my blogger favourites (and catch up on my gossip ... GOSH I've fallen behind on all that).

School was pretty good today. There are still some books that aren't in the bookstore yet (specifically, our pocket criminal code book), which is frustrating. I have yet to find a really great lunch to buy on campus. I had pasta today, which wasn't BAD, but it took FOREVER to order, as they make it to order. Won't be standing in that line again, it's deceptive, because even if it's short, it takes far too much of my life away from me.

With the arrival of our internet come that arrival, also, of cable TV (WOO HOO). I'm watching the season finale of Big Brother tonight, and am oh so content, curled up in my sweats with my laptop.

Sigh.

Utter contentment (not total, since I'd need J here for that , wink wink).

Thank Goodness for Dictionary.com

Seriously. While many people have suggested purchasing a legal dictionary (there are even CANADIAN ones out there - imagine that), I have opted to cheap out and rely on my old friend, www.dictionary.com. So far (check out my sidebar), she hasn't let me down.

As I go through all the legal readings so far, I'm feeling that my vocabulary is lacking ... but really ... I think it's just the legal context and culture that I haven't been exposed to.

I'm going to try and tackle anything foreign that comes my way, so that (hopefully) it will get easier, and I'll be able to sling about phrases and verbiage like a master hurler (and no, I don't mean that this makes me want to puke - yet).

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

On a whim, I decided to jet to Drayton Valley this weekend to watch Jason partake in an annual family Slo-Pitch tournament. We still don't have cable or internet at home (in Saskatoon), and I didn't have as much reading as I thought I might for school, so the decision to drive to Alberta was an easy one.

The weather was gorgeous, and it was great to see the In-Laws, and of course, my Hubby. My nephews are still the cutest, and my Mother-In-Law (heh heh) takes good care of us.

Now that I'm back in Saskatoon, sitting in the Law Library (with internet access ... yay), I thought I'd summarize my thoughts and findings on the first week of law school.

1 - When you send your acceptance of an offer to attend a law school, they have you send in a passport photo of yourself. WHY? Because they make class lists for all the profs with your name and picture. There will be no hiding out from questions made to the class. I'm not sure if there's any other reason, but this one I've seen with my own eyes!

2 - While there is a lot of reading in law school, there is also a lot of downtime, and if you're diligent, there should be time enough to do it all. Of course, due to the load, I see the snowball effect being entirely too dangerous. I, therefore, will attempt to stay on top of my reading. I have stuck with my philosophy of treating law school like a job (so far), and have been at school at 8:00 everyday (even though my classes start at 10:00), and I have had more than enough time to do all my reading at school. While, I understand, that the readings will increase in volume etc. etc. etc. ... I also have had time to surf the internet at write long blog entries ... so ... I think I'll be OK. Frustrated, and perhaps stressed ... but OK.

3 - There are lots of people that use laptops in class for notetaking, and lots that don't. I'm one of the latter, as I find that when I actually handwrite, my retention is better.

4 - Having a locker in the law building rocks. I'm so tired of feeling like a pack mule, hauling all of my stuff around, and as I develop my routine, it is so great to have a place to drop off the computer and the textbooks. I am in love with my locker.

5 - The first few weeks of school seem key for signing up for various things. Not only are there tons of administration type things that need to be done, tuition, books, opting out of health and dental coverage, etc ... but signing up for clubs, signing up for campus rec classes, these all happen quickly, and I can see how easy it would be to miss a deadline.

6 - While the first day of school was scary, it wasn't half as bad as I thought it would be. Everyone was really nice and chatty, and within a few minutes you'll have met enough people that you have a good group of "friends".

And now ... I better get back to reading so that my pompous claims above (about easily keeping up) don't prove to be false.

Ladybugs and Wasps

Saskatoon is full of them. I've never seen more ladybugs or wasps in my life.

An another note - with the help of Jason over the phone - I've got my wireless working on campus (yay) ... and I am reminded how disabled I feel with no internet connection at home. Things that would be easy, usually, are difficult. Where is a car wash, what time is the library open, how much are the various student parking lots? These are a few of the questions that I wish I had the all knowing deity Google to answer for me.

So ... to catch everyone up on what's up with me, yesterday was the final of two days of Orientation at U of S law. Rather than tell you all EXACTLY what we did, here are the highlites, as I see them:

- There is a lot of reading in law school - prepare for this.
- Barristers and Solicitors are not the same thing.
- Paying for parking daily really sucks.

These points are kind of jokes, but in all I would say that the Orientation is worth going to. I did not attend the Keg party and pub night that have been LSA events so far, but there's some fun stuff coming up that I hope to participate in.

I did buy an LSA membership, which got me a locker in the law building (which has actually been handy so far). The LSA sets up camp all week in the law building, so you do have time to make your choice. Membership is $25, but they offer a lot of activities and such.

I've already hit the gym here (yay), and the facilities are super nice. I really want to get a phys.ed locker, though, so I don't have to haul my shower stuff all over campus with me.

I've had my first Constitutional law class, which looks to be interesting, yet perhaps dry at times. There was no reading that we were expected to have done today, but starting Monday, we're to be on the reading train.

I bought all of my books yesterday, new, at the U of S bookstore. I spent $400 (keep in mind that I already had my contracts book), and I still have to get 2 more which were out of stock. Much better than I was expecting. I warned the security guard there that he better know CPR, because when I heard the total for my books, I may just have a coronary. Luckily, we didn't have to bring out any First Aid action, I survived.

Anyhow, I have much internet surfing to catch up on, and some serious studying to do (I am a serious academic, you know).

Orientation - Day 1

Ahhh ... Orientation Day. With the crisp sent of fall hanging in the air, I marched my flip-flops through dewy grass covered campus and found my way over to the Law Building at U of S.

I arrived in good time at 8:00, prompt - as requested in our orientation instructions - to take 20 minutes to register, and then wait for about an hour and a half. My advice to anyone starting Law at U of S next year - don't arrive until 9:30 (although, there was coffee and doughnuts up for grabs ... mmmm ... doughnuts). Upon registering, you do get to grab loads of free stuff. There was a (pleather?) folder from Osler, a canvas laundry bag from Thomson Carswell, lip gloss from Borden Ladner Gervais, and post-it flags from Gowlings, which I grabbed.

The Dean gave us first years an introduction to the faculty, and gave us a brief introduction to law school. He seems very funny and smart, and has a very calm demeanor. Not at all oppresive or unapproachable. We then broke down into groups of 20, and with 2 profs and a senior law student, we introduced ourselves and had a chance to ask any questions that may have come up for us so far.

Next, the provided us with lunch, pizza and fruit, and I skittered off to get my U of S ID card, which I need to get access to the gym. Ya'll know how good I've been with my gym streak - I must keep it up!

We came back to some brief talks from the librarian, and a couple of others (I must admit, I was nodding off, not to hack on anyone that talked at us, but it was right after lunch, and boy was I drowsy). Next, we got a briefing on "Life after Law", from a Lawyer's vantage. This speaker was eloquent, and entertaining. I was held in rapture. Definitely something I enjoyed. It was at this point that I really started getting excited about the journey that begins today.

We got paired up with siblings from the upper years, watched the ground-breaking ceremony for the new law extension that is supposed to be finished by fall of next year, and attended a BBQ.

I met some fabulous people, am easing into the "sitting through a lecture" mode, and got loads of free stuff. What's not to love? Heh heh.

This cr@p post will have to do, since I'm technically STEALING this internet signal right now (yikes - don't tell on me ... and ... if you have a wireless router, put a damn password on it so that people can't steal it), as my internet isn't getting hooked up until a week from today.

Lisa Has Arrived

Well ... I'm here in Saskatoon. First impressions of the city itself are pretty positive. It really is a beautiful spot, lots of green, pretty clean looking, and a definite youthful vibe. You can tell already what a college spot this is, since support of the Huskies is in evidence everywhere. Jason and I drove out yesterday, had dinner at Beily's on 8th St, drove up Broadway, had drinks at the Hose and Hydrant, and finished off our night watching the Hot Rod Hullabaloo at Bud's on Broadway, a Blues bar.

All in all, it was a pretty fantastic introduction to Saskatoon, and a mighty fine date.

Today we unpacked some of my stuff, toured around the downtown area, drove along the river, and of course, toured around the U of S campus. I found where I have to go for my student orientation, and got a glimpse of campus. It's true, what people say, the campus is gorgeous. The buildings are regal, and there is tons of green space. Hopefully I'll enjoy my time there, and not grow to hate it (heh heh).


I dropped Jason off at the airport earlier this evening, and it hit me that it will be three weeks until I see him again. Sigh. This long distance thing is going to kill me. Maybe I'll make him quit his job and move out here sometime soon. The thought will keep me going for awhile, anyway. It's my first night alone (and by alone, I mean with my two roomies), and if this is the hardest one, I think I'm in good shape for the school year.

Moving Day

So ... today is the big day that I move some of my stuff from Calgary to Saskatoon. My Husband is coming with me, and flying back tomorrow, so I'll have some help with the hauling.

Last night I saw some pics of the place that I'll be staying, and it looks so much nicer than I could have imagined. I'm excited.

Next time I write - it will be from the big bad Saskatoon!