Hip, Hip, LA!!! And, er, thanks.

So, I've done it. Reached a life long dream. I am a national competitor. And not just in a cereal box top collection thing, not mega millions, and not publisher's clearing house. But, a real, honest-to-god competition requiring my own effort and brain power.

OK, so it's not exactly up there with getting married, running a marathon, being a lawyer, or having kids, but still it's cool.

Anyway, I have been participating in the ABA Negotiations competition, in which a partner and myself have mock negotiations with other teams. It's cool b/c it'a practical application of some of the stuff I slave over day in and day out. Also, it's what an attorney spends much of his time doing no matter what you do.

My partner and I competed in the New England regional competition two weeks ago. We placed 3rd which was great(no one from BU had done it in 7 years), and we thought that was the end of the line. Honestly, we were a little relieved; it was a lot of extra work and we have finals coming up among other things like, well...life.

Yesterday, the ABA contacted the school and invited us to the national competition in LA. No explanation, no indication, just show up, you're in. And, we are going, the school pays for it, and it's in February, so finals will be over and the new semester will be nascent.

It is exciting. My partner is psyched, my family is psyched, Noreen is kind of psyched(she understandably wants to go), but I'm not really feeling psyched. Don't get me wrong, I'm pleased about the opportunity, and it will look really good on my resume when I apply to jobs in...eep...2 weeks and continuing. But, it's just not there. I don't know, maybe it's because I know we didn't earn it fair and square(winning regionals), maybe because it's more work, or , the theory I prefer, I'm just so overloaded and focused on exams that I can't realistically enjoy it. It really does seem to be that. I'm so focused on reading, processing, reviewing, planning, organizing, etc that I don't have time or emotional space to enjoy. I know that sounds like a weird thing. If anything, that should relieve some of it. And still...

To be sure, I am not in a state of woe over this. In fact, after Dec. 20, this is probably something I will be greatly looking forward to. Let's call it a deferred enjoyment of the moment.

Onward, Noreen and I are "Doing" Thanksgiving for our families this year(sans my mom and stepdad, who we'll be with at X-mas). Yep, my first turkey, and I'm cooking it all, except the pies(I don't bake). That will be a nice break actually, and I am looking forward to the respite. I'll let you know how it goes.

Happy Thanksgiving! We've got a lot, and hey, I've got you. Thanks.