Thoughts on September

My "crafty" thrift store wreath

-->

It is officially fall, both in the Northern Hemisphere and in the Tibbs household. I waited until the fall equinox to put up some decorations which I have been collecting and Emily and I found on the cheap at Thrift Town (cue Mackelmore song…). I took a whopping 15 minute study break to make a wreath for the front door, string up some orange Halloween lights and put out cornucopia and the Dia de los Muertos skeletons on the mantel (and fill the candy bowl the Halloween treats!). Even though my decorations are no pinterest masterpiece, I love that it feels festive in my house. Yay fall! It is finally chilly enough for me to wear fuzzy socks in the evenings too. I love this season!

The coming of fall also means I am rapidly progressing through my second year of law school. I am half way done with the semester already and when the semester is over, I will be halfway done with law school! Woo hoo! What a crazy thought.

Tim and I have planned to take our winter vacation (the only vacation time we both have off together at the same time) in Hawaii this year. As much as we feel sad that we will be abandoning our families, who we see so infrequently with our busy schedules normally, we decided we need a luxurious break for just the two of us. So, we have our tickets purchased for a week in Oahu! We are seriously looking forward to relaxing on the beach, snorkeling, and enjoying a mele kalikimaka on the island. As a bonus, we will get to see our dearest friend, and Peace Corps Guyana housemate/sister Sara! She and her boyfriend moved out to Hawaii last year and they will be our hosts for part of our vacation. We are really looking forward to seeing her and relaxing in island style! IT is certainly something to look forward to.

Toast gets lazy if she doesn't get walked enough.

In the meantime, school is going well. I like most of my classes, although there are some required courses on subjects that I never imagine I will ever use when I am a real grown up lawyer, that I am just trying to endure/pass. By far, the toughest thing about the second year of law school is managing time and conflicting obligations. The workload is about the same, but I have gotten much more involved in the activities that I treated as secondary projects last year.

Plus, I am working ten hours a week this semester at a small, but BUSY, immigration law office. So far I love it! I am learning so much more about the practice of immigration law. We do family-based immigration, humanitarian cases (asylum, victims of crime and domestic violence) and employment-based immigration. My coworkers are fantastic. They are friendly and smart and willing to teach me. And I believe we all share similar values, which makes for a wonderful work environment. I love that I get to interact with clients on a daily basis (my Spanish is rapidly coming back to me by necessity!). My favorite thing about this type of law is that it is basically my job to be a strategic story-teller. By this I mean I get to take someone’s life story and present it in legalese in a way that meets all the required statutory legal elements in a way that is compelling enough to win the case or get the requested relief and, ultimately, make a huge impact on someone’s future. It is basically exactly what I want to be doing when I graduate!

Mt office. I was invited to personalize it. I love that, although I have no windows and am only there two days a week, I have a few things that make it feel like me.

I guess, all in all, when I have a minute to sit back and reflect, life is pretty great. Tim and I are only busy because we choose to be and, frankly, we love what we do and where we are in life right now.

Happy fall evening, working together, enjoying the beautiful patio!

Early Fall Focus

September is in full force. The books are out, “to be corrected” papers are stacked higher and higher, and the candle is burning at both ends. Welcome, Fall! 

Even though most schools have just reopened I’ve been working with students since August 5. I’ve been making unit plans, lesson plans, adjusting classroom management strategies, attending meeting after meeting some on teacher training, some on data assessment, and some to get aligned with the norms of my department team. It’s been a whirl-wind. New ideas are forming, new strengths are developing and, to an extent, sleep is being deprived. Though, I am at a significantly smaller school, I feel like my duties have doubled. This is mostly because we don’t have enough staff or students to fill all of those small roles. Moreover, I am the only English Teacher at the school for grades 8-12, but I am only working with 8, 9, and 12 while the 10^th and 11^th graders are taking a college course and the 6^th and 7^th graders have solid humanities teachers. This is another hurdle: 3 different classes to prep. Last year, I had only 10^th grade so one lesson plan would be sufficient, these days its 3 lesson plans a night. 

But I digress. Don’t get me wrong, this is the hardest I’ve ever worked, but I don’t mind. The school is great; the staff is extremely supportive and understanding and they only want me to become a better teacher. I appreciate that. I’ve connected with so many of them and hope I can continue teaching and honing my craft here for the years to come.

Moving away from work, Sacramento is still being its wonderful—if confused—self. It has been hot and sunny, but then we had a crazy “Fall-Fake Out” (on Labor Day) where it was grey and cloudy all day and rain began to pour throughout the day. Then, it was 90+ degrees again and will stay that way throughout this week.

Chelsea is doing a lot work too organizing immigration events for her practicum course, reading page after page for her other classes, working at a firm 10-hours a week. And just the other night we hosted a “Solidarity Mixer” at our house. It was a fun night and we met some really interesting people.

We are staying busy and are really looking forward to the real fall when the temperature drops and the trees weep colors.

But until then, I’m off to grade and plan!