Alex's Addictions #1: Television

I'm sitting here watching TV and I couldn't think of anything to write a blog post about today. But then...I realized I should write about just that, TV! I am sort of, kind of, totally addicted to TV. I mean, there are worse things to be addicted to, right? It's how I unwind. I hate going to bed at night still thinking about law school anything, so I usually watch an episode of TV and it actually helps me fall asleep. It gets my mind off things that I am stressed about and it (usually) keeps my mind from racing at night.

I also watch an episode or two of TV when I go to the gym. What better motivation, right? I bring my iPad Mini and it's absolutely perfect. You can also download Netflix/Hulu/Your cable provider's app for your phone and watch TV from there as well.

The amount of TV that I watch and the various types of genres of TV that are included ranges from the Kardashians to Homeland. But here we go... 

Best New Fall 2014 Shows: 

(Sunday nights, CBS) - About the Secretary of State (trying to impersonate Hilary Clinton, probably, but I'm not complaining). I love international politics. And a great political drama show. The first episode was not boring and it left me excited for next Sunday's episode. 

(Wednesday nights, FOX) - I read that this was a mix of Glee and The Fault in Our Stars. After watching the first episode, I think it's more Glee than TFINOS. It's not as sad as you think a hospital drama about kids would be. I actually really enjoyed it! And I'm watching the second episode as I speak... 

New Fall TV Shows I Am Excited For: 

This show comes out on Thursday (tomorrow). It's about a first year criminal law class at Harvard. You didn't think I wouldn't watch it, right? 

I've heard that Jane the Virgin has gotten lots of good reviews. I'm a sucker for any TV show with a strong female lead, so I'm going to give it a try. 

Return Show I'm Most Excited for: 

Parenthood is the BEST show. It's returning this year for it's final season and that makes me so sad. All the episodes are available on Netflix, so everyone should go watch it now and then tune in this season so that the ratings go up and it doesn't get cancelled. Mark my words, this is going to be one of those shows that everyone discovers after it has ended and then everyone is sad it was only around for 5 seasons (Friday Night Lights, anyone?) It is about a family - the parents, the 4 siblings, and their respective lives and kids. There are so many likable characters. And it's so real - it explores everyday issues that families face -- cancer, learning disabilities, discovering your sexuality, yourself, single parenting, divorce, long distance relationships, college relationships, balancing work/family life...I could go on and on.

Show I Just Cannot Stop Watching: 

This is also Grey's last season. It's been on for 10 seasons and I feel like I've invested too much at this point to just stop watching now. And something crazy ALWAYS happens to keep you hooked (they've had a hosptial shooter, ferry crash, plane crash, bus explosion, train crash, bomb in a mans body all over the course of 10 seasons). I think this show was the reason I thought I was going to go to med school before I realized that was not for me. Oh and did I mention it's based in Seattle? Obviously that's also helped me keep watching... 

Show(s) that just make me happy (I couldn't pick just one): 

I can't even pick the best character because they are the best. Nick's faces? Schmidt's logic. Winston's antics. Coach getting high. And Jess, just Jess.  

Lilly is the best character on modern family. She's sassy and hilarious and I watch this show mainly to watch Lilly but everyone else is the reason I cannot stop watching. 

I just started watching this show this summer, but I'm all caught up now. I love love love Mindy Kaling (you should read her book). Aside from being absolutely hilarious, I love any show with a strong, female lead who isn't stick thin. Kaling is a great role model for younger girls (smart, sassy, stylish)...and while I'm praising her you should also go watch her giving the Harvard Law Graduation Speech (on YouTube). 

Favorite Law Show: 

I had to put one on here! While Suits scared me at first (they were ALWAYS in the office... do lawyers ever get to go home?), once I got over the fact that it took place in New York (and I will never work there), I started to love it. Harvey (left) is extremely attractive...so that doesn't hurt

Favorite Reality Show: 

I was going to put the Kardashians here, but the Bachelor probably wins because it is the best to pair with friends and wine. It's so cheesy (and I'm talking about all versions here - Bachelor, Bachlorette, and Bachelor in Paradise) but oh so wonderful. Some of my best memories in college were hosting wine nights with my roommates for this show or sitting in my sorority's TV room with 40 other girls all watching the finale... 

Favorite "Game" Show: 

Dancing with the Stars is mainly my favorite show because I love love love to watch dance. And dance (but I'm not very good). If they ever make a non-celebrity version of the show, I will be the first to sign up because it looks SO FUN! 

Favorite Current Drama: 

I want to be Olivia Pope. She's the political goddess of D.C. And I want all her outfits (did you hear Anne Taylor is coming out with an Olivia Pope line? I AM SO EXCITED!) Enough said.

Embarrassing but Amazing ABC Family Show: 

A show about a lesbian couple who has one biological child, two bi-racial twins, and then adopts two more foster kids, one of which might be gay and the other of which served time in juvie. And it does all those things in a real, believable, non-cheesy way. I think everyone should watch :) The first 2 seasons are on Netflix! Modern day 7th Heaven.

My All-Time Favorite Shows (that are no longer on the air):

1) The best way to cheer myself up - watch friends. I own every season. It's the best show ever and will forever be my answer to "what is your favorite TV show?" But sometimes I question how realistic it is - I mean, do they ever work? Haha 

2) I want to be Rory Gilmore. I have every season. It's about to come out on Netflix so if you haven't watched it, now you have no excuse. 

3. Friday Night Lights - Texas Football. Coach Taylor. This show makes me want to move to Texas (and this liberal girl doesn't say that very often) 

4. One Tree Hill, the show I grew up with through my teenage years. It got crazier over the years, but they really pulled it off. And Sophia Bush (aka Brooke) is such a great person, advocate, and role model that I also want to be her. And I want her clothes. 

WOW that was a long post!! 

Date with Alex

Last night I had found myself with nothing to do. Brett was at a birthday party for a co-worker and the plans that I had with a friend fell through. I started the night feeling lame that I had no friday plans (FOMO is real, right?). But after letting myself wallow for about 5 minutes, I decided that I needed to turn my mood around and enjoy the time with myself.

I think so often we are always worried about what to do next. We are always thinking ahead, worried about being stuck with nothing to do on a Friday night. And social media does not help. I mean how many times do we think "I have to get at least one Instagram-worthy picture before the night ends!" I am totally guilty of this. But this makes us forget the importance of spending time just with ourselves.

In high school, I was never alone or independent because I just had too many things to do all the time. I was being shuttled from 7 hours of school, to 3 hours of swimming, to homework for all my classes, and to extracurricular clubs every single day. On the weekends, there was always a swim meet, a dance, a football, or a sleep over with my friends to keep me busy.

Once I got to college, I joined a sorority. Living in one house with 100 girls (true story, in my sorority you moved in on bid day and lived there at least until junior year) does not foster independence. There was always someone around, someone to hang out with, or even just go to the library with. If the house was empty, my parents lived 30 minutes away.

It was not until I studied abroad spring quarter of my junior year until I started getting a taste of doing things alone. Don't get me wrong, most of my study abroad was jammed packed with weekend trips, program outings, and exploring with friends. But I finally found myself with moments of downtime in a city that did not feel like home (at least at first). I couldn't rely on the backup plan to go to my parents house. I was living in an apartment (not a sorority of 100 girls). By the end of my time in Rome, I found myself craving those moments to myself where I could go explore and do whatever I wanted, on my own schedule.

Last night was a perfect reminder to enjoy the night with the person who gets me most -- me!

Date night with myself consisted of --

I knew I should watch this by myself (cue cry session)

The Fault in Our Stars was a good movie...but the book was 20x better.

People magazine, red wine, pumpkin candles, and cookies :) 

My favorite kind of cookie 

Here we go...

It's been 2 weeks since I signed up for my first half marathon! I'm coming to terms with it and I'm slowly getting less terrified! My mom has been acting as my personal trainer and created a running schedule for me to stick with. With 19 weeks to go, I think I'll be okay :) I thought I would share this anyone who might be in a similar position as me.

[Disclaimer - I started training when I was regularly running 3.4 miles probably 2-3x a week, sometimes 4 miles. And HR = heart rate.]

Week One:
Monday - spin class
Tuesday - 3 miles
Wednesday - cross train & weights
Thursday - 3.8 miles (140-150 HR)
Friday - 3 miles (150-160 HR)
Saturday - Rest
Sunday - 4.2 - 4.5 miles (140-150 HR)

Week Two:
Monday - 2.5 miles (6 x 30 sprints) 1 minute recovery. Warm up 10 minutes. 5 minute cool down.
Tuesday - cross train & weights
Wednesday - 4 mile run
Thursday - cross train & weights
Friday - 3 miles (150-160 HR)
Saturday - Rest
Sunday - 4.5 - 4.7 miles (140-150 HR)

We are in a heatwave in Los Angeles which means it's way too hot to run outside, even at 7:00am. I've been doing a lot of the runs on a treadmill...which has been weird because I used to hate it and never be able to get past 3 miles without dying of boredom. But watching TV on my iPad has helped that for sure.

On my cross train days I will either swim, go to the gym (elliptical or stair-master), go to spin or even do some sort of on-demand, TV workout if I'm feeling ultra-lazy.

Yay! 

Choosing UCLA

It's crazy to think that just two years ago, I had absolutely no idea where I would be attending law school. At this time in 2012, I was finishing up studying for the October LSAT. UCLA was on my radar - but so were a lot of other schools. I hadn't decided if I wanted to stay in Seattle or take a chance and move away.

And here we are, two years later. And in two years from now (at almost this exact time) I will be getting my BAR exam results (which will hopefully be a happy day). WHAT?! Life is crazy!

So why did I choose UCLA? I'm pretty sure this question was asked in every single interview I've had in the past two months. But there were a lot of decisions that went into my choice and I was trying to choose between five schools, but in the end...

I knew I wanted to stay on the west coast. People will give you mixed reviews about going to a school in the city that you want to practice. I think that this is generally good advice because it is easier to get a job in the city where your school is (merely because the career services office does most of their outreach in that city). However, I wasn't sure if I wanted to be in Seattle or LA. I got into a few schools on the east coast/midwest as well, but when it came down to it, I knew that my life would be revolving around the west coast (best coast, duh) and so I decided to stay on this side of the US. And I'm very happy with that decision. That being said, I don't think location should be the deciding factor, especially if you get into a highly ranked school because it doesn't matter as much. (I mean if I got into Yale, I would move in a heartbeat...obviously).

I visited and loved the faculty and students. When I sat in on a class, the guy sitting next to me just started chatting with me. I could tell that the people in that class were all friendly. I didn't get any ultra-competitive vibes. Instead, people were literally asking others for notes right in front of me. And the teacher that taught that class was hilarious.

I found out I was accepted because the Dean of Admissions personally called me. And I later found out that he calls every single student. No other school did that for me! I thought it was extremely personal and so awesome! That was a true testament to how much the administration cares about the students, and I have found that to be true since attending.

Beach 12 miles away and sun 300 days a year. Umm what can make you more relaxed than taking a break to lay by the ocean? Or even stepping outside from the library and having it be sunny? It does make a difference. (However, I have discovered that studying and the beach do not mix.)

Seattle, I love ya, but I needed to get away. I had lived in Seattle for my entire life before moving to LA (aside from a 3 month study abroad in Rome). When else was I going to be able to easily pack up and move away? I don't have a family, kids, etc. But that brings me to my next point...

My boyfriend also got into UCLA. My boyfriend and I have been dating for five years, so I'm not going to lie to myself and say that he was not a factor in my decision at all. We did all 4 years of college long distance. We did not want to do long distance anymore. And we both felt like we were at the point in our lives and our relationship where we could factor each other in to our decision. We both knew we wanted to go to grad school (he got his masters in engineering) and so we applied to schools in the same cities. We both got into schools in Seattle, Los Angeles, and Michigan. So that basically narrowed our decision down to Los Angeles and Seattle (sorry Michigan). While we both had to make the decisions for ourselves (and we made them at different times), we both did. One of the factors we thought about together was that this would be a chance for a new adventure for the two of us. It has 100% held true and brought us even closer together than before.

[money also had a factor in my decision - and I think that is one of the most important factors in anyone's decision - but I don't want to talk about it here. Feel free to e-mail me with more questions!]

That brings me to...

With the benefits of hindsight, am I happy with my decision? - ABSOLUTELY! I do not regret it at all. Today I walked through campus on my way home and took some pictures. How could you not fall in love with this place?

LA Weekend Getaway - San Diego!

One thing that I was most excited about when I decided to head down to LA for law school was the fact that I was going to be able to explore not just LA but all of Southern California! Before moving here last August, I had only been to LA a handful of times. Twice to visit Disneyland (which is not LA but Anaheim), once to Long Beach before my family departed on a Mexican cruise, and once to visit UCLA Law and see one of my best friends who attended UCLA for undergrad.

Naturally being the type-A person that I am, I created a list of all the places in Southern California that I wanted to visit. First on my list...San Diego! I had actually been to San Diego once before when I was looking at undergrad colleges with my mom. We started in San Francisco drove all the way down to San Diego to visit USD. However, we only stayed in San Diego for maybe 2 nights and didn't explore much because we were exhausted.

This June, it was the boyfriend and I's 5 (!!) year anniversary. We decided to celebrate with a weekend trip to San Diego. Since June, I have actually been to San Diego 2 more times (once to visit my best friend who was visiting San Diego and then this past weekend for the Seahawks v. Chargers game). I thought I would share with you my favorite parts!

For our anniversary trip, we got a cheap last-minute hotel deal at a 4 star hotel in the heart of the Gas Lamp district, which was perfect because we were around all the bars and yummy places to eat.

Our first stop - San Diego Zoo! We did the zoo in a few hours (my advice = get there right when it opens and avoid the crowds!) We still had to wait 30 minutes to see the pandas.

Fav part = being able to walk around w/ beer 

The waterfront - walking along the waterfront downtown was so much fun. You can go onto the aircraft carrier (we didn't do it, but we both said we would do it next time), people watch, or continue south and run into a little village of shops (and ice cream) right on the water.

Our celebratory 5 year picture

Pacific Beach - when I visited my friends, we stayed in Pacific Beach. It was so much fun! The water was noticeably warmer than the beaches in Los Angeles (at least I thought so) and there was so much to do! We had yummy acai bowls for breakfast.

Qualcomm Stadium - this probably doesn't deserve mentioning because the stadium was pretttttty ugly, but B and I went this weekend for the Seahawks v. Chargers game. Tailgating was SO much fun. Honestly I'm pretty sure there were more hawks fans around than chargers fans. Once we got into the game, things went downhill. It was so hot in the stands (98 degrees), which meant it was 112+ on the field for the players, so I can only imagine what it was like playing in that heat. Therefore, I'm not too mad at them for losing.

But Seahawks loss and all, San Diego is still one of my favorite places!

Day In the Life of a Law Student

Before you go to law school, you have no idea what you are in for. People try to tell you it's bad. Less people tell you that it's good. But the typical, average day of a law student (at least this law student) goes as follows!

7:00 - 9:00am - wake up and immediately make coffee [just a sidenote - I hated coffee until I started law school]. Get ready for my day, read some blogs, skim over any reading that I may have forgotten about over a long break from class

UCLA Pool where I love to swim 

9:00am - noon: During 1L I had class during this period. This year, I don't actually start until 10:35 earliest. I try and go for a run or to the gym before my 10:35 classes

I can't complain when I get to walk by this everyday 

Noon - 1:00pm: Lunch period. Law school IS like middle school and you actually have a lunch break where no one meets for class. This is typically when all clubs hold meetings or events. Most of those meeting include free food, so it's pretty easy to get a free lunch almost every day (if you try hard enough. and you really like pizza).

1:00 - 6:00pm: Afternoon classes or library time. On tuesdays, I have class until 7:30 unfortunately. But during my breaks in between I usually just go to the library and do my homework for tomorrow.

UCLA Law Library

6:00 - 7:00pm: Make dinner or run errands, chores!

My favorite (and quickest) dinner = basil, tomato,
mozzarella and balsamic glaze

7:00-9:00pm: On busy weeks, I will have to continue to do homework or finish reading for the next day until 9. People say that you should treat law school like a 9-5 job. For some people, that might work. But for me, I've come to accept that it will not be like that for me. I tend to work better with some intermittent breaks scattered in between.

This is what our dining room table looked like last
 year when we were both in school (B has since graduated) 

9:00 - 11:00pm: Watch TV! Or read! My time to do whatever I want and try and wind down from my day. Main goal = don't think about law at all :)

Unless it is Suits, that is... 

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Surf City, Baby!

I signed up for my very first half marathon last week! I'm running the Surf City Half on February 1st, 2015 in Huntington Beach, CA. Running a half marathon is something that has been on my bucket list for a long time, but I was always too scared to sign up. I finally bit the bullet (and paid too much money) last weekend. I'm a little nervous...

I have been a swimmer my whole life, so I've always had the mindset that I am better in the water than on land. I also despised running for my first 18 years of life. However, once I moved away to college and found that a) the pool was super far away from my sorority house where I was living and b) it was cold, especially in the winter/rainy months in Seattle, to swim and then walk back to my sorority soaking wet, I started running for exercise.

Since then, I'm a pretty consistent weekly runner, but my mileage never goes over 5 miles. I usually stay in the 3-4 mile range, one to three times a week. Obviously running 13.1 miles terrifies me.

I come from a family of runners, so it should be in my blood, right? Probably wrong, but I'm going to to keep telling myself that. My little brother was an awesome cross-country runner in high school. My mom is a Ironman Triathlete and has done her fair share of marathons (even qualifying for the Boston marathon DURING an Ironman... so after swimming 2.4 miles and biking 112). Thus, I decided to suck it up and stop freaking out.

I will keep my blog updated on my training efforts and schedules (my mom is helping me put together a training schedule that is very gradual) but right now, I decided to post about how I choose the Huntington Beach 1/2 Marathon, as opposed to any of the other million marathons Los Angeles has to offer.

Why did I choose the Huntington Beach 1/2 Marathon? 

1) It's in February, which gives me approximately 5 months to prepare. Most training schedules start at 12 weeks before, so I'm totally giving myself extra time which makes me feel a lot better!

2) It's in February, thus the weather down here in Southern California (hopefully) won't be too hot! And it gives me perfect weather to train during (except this week, when temps are supposed to be 99 until Tuesday and when I go back to Seattle for Christmas...that's going to be cold and wet).

3) It's in Huntington Beach, which means the course is flat! And next to the water, so the views will  give me some extra motivation.

4) It's only an hour away from my apartment, so I won't have to splurge on a hotel the night before (I am a poor law student, remember)

5) The medals they give to finishers are apparently very coveted, so at least I am getting something cool for my $100 entry fee

6) There is a beer garden at the end. Self-explanatory, right?

Surviving Law School Stress

I thought I would do a post on my top 10 tips on how I manage stress in law school. I think one of the the hardest part of law school is attempting to stay calm when everyone else around you is freaking out. This especially happens towards the end of the semester when everyone starts going crazy because finals are approaching. This list is geared towards finals, but these things apply everyday too!

1. Take time for yourself everyday. You need to do something that you love to do for at least 30 - 60 minutes of your day that has nothing to do with law school. Watch that terrible but amazing reality TV show that makes your brain go numb. Surf the internet. Bake. Plan a vacation you want to take somewhere someday. During finals, I would watch one of my favorite TV shows every night before bed to attempt to silence my mind before I went to sleep (sometimes it worked, sometimes not).

Fiction books > case books 

2. Exercise: The best way to handle everything is to get your heart rate up and you will feel so much better afterwards. If you don't like going to the gym or are not a runner, just go on a brisk walk! It's a perfect study break and keeps you from going crazy.

Taking advantage the year round sun in LA by hiking

3. Always have something non-law school to look forward to on the weekend: Before finals started looming (i.e. November/April), I would make sure that I dedicated either a full day of my weekend or at least half of the day to do something fun. I usually used my time do explore LA, watch football, or de-stress on the beach with a good book. But you need that large portion of time to unwind. And something to look forward to during the week!

My boyfriend and I went on a brewery tour of LA

4. Keep your non-law school friends close: I love the people I've met in law school so far. I know that they will be close friends forever. However, sometimes you just need to vent to people who do not know what you are talking about to make you realize that your problems are much smaller than you think they are. A good vent session with my best friends back home or my boyfriend does wonders for my stress level.

My best friend from high school visiting

5. Remind yourself of the big picture: During 1L, you will be bogged down in reading appellate cases upon cases and you can forget what it actually means to be a lawyer. Volunteer with a clinic, go watch a professional talk at lunch, do something to remind yourself that you will (probably) not be spending the remainder of your life reading cases from 1902.

6. Remind yourself why YOU came to law school: If you go to school that really stresses OCI (on campus interviews for large, private law firms), it can be easy to forget why you came to school in the first place and get caught up in what the school seems to be throwing at you. If you want to do criminal law, public interest, government work, don't give up on that because you feel forced into the private sector.

7. Reward yourself: I usually choose chocolate to reward myself! Food always makes me happy. And during finals, do whatever it takes to make yourself happy.

The best gelato 

8. Once you take a test, move on: I think that one of the worst things that you can do is talk about an exam with your friends afterwards. Every administrator and professor will probably tell you this. You will probably ignore it and as soon as you exit your first final, you will run up to your friends and talk about what you were unsure of. Then your friends will mention something that you did not write about and you will start freaking out because you think you are wrong. It's a never-ending cycle and so pointless because the test is over and there is nothing else you can do about it!

9. During finals, consider finding a different study location away from the library: During finals, that place can just be swarming with extra stress. Sometimes, I feel like the minute I walk in the door I am 10x more stressed than I was before. Coffee shops or public libraries are good alternatives!

10. Do what feels right for you, not what everyone else is doing! What may work for everyone else (and me) might not work for you.

Hello blogging world :)

Good Morning! I'm Alex...

I am so new to this. I don't even know where to begin. So I guess I'll start with a little bit about myself... 

Age: 23

Current Location: Los Angeles, CA

Born and Raised: Edmonds, WA [about 20 minutes away from Seattle]

Occupation: Current 2nd year law student, hoping to become some sort of litigator one day. 

How I spend my free time: exploring los angeles, going on runs, swimming, reading, watching way too much crappy reality television, trying new places to eat, attempting to cook, taking pictures, trying to plan new adventures in other parts of the world that I don't have time/money to go to. 

Law School: UCLA School of Law

College: University of Washington 

Major: Political Science & International Studies

Football Team: Seattle Seahawks!!!!! 

Current Goals: To finish 2L year stronger than last, to run a 1/2 marathon without stopping on February 1st, to find a job, to read more in my free time, and to create this blog!

Recently, my morning ritual has changed from watching TV while I get ready for my day to drinking coffee and reading blogs. I decided that it was time to start my own! I have no idea what I am doing, how to make this blog look prettier without spending money, or how to even see if people read/care about what I write. But if anything, I will be able to look back and get a glimpse of what my life was like at age 23. 

I choose the name "searching for sunshine" because that is one of the reasons I moved to California. However, I've realized that I actually miss the rain and that sunshine just means being happy. I hope to write about my experiences in law school and college, how to stay sane when you are surrounded by stress and craziness, how I attempt to stay healthy, how I am going to train for my first 1/2 marathon, what life is like in los angeles (or what it's like moving to any big city where you don't know many people), why I am obsessed with Seattle, how I stay happy, and everything in between. 

I can't wait to get started & thanks for following along :)