A Look Back: UVA Law 2L Year 2006-2007

To celebrate the five-year anniversary of my law school graduation on Sunday, I've been reviewing  my three years there. I already did my 1L year, and this post is my second year.

August 2006
The summer before my 2L year, I lived in Charlottesville and worked for Legal Aid Justice Center.  I started applying for jobs at the end of the summer through our on grounds interview process. I applied to jobs in New York, DC, Boston, and even Miami. Shortly after I met Kevin, I had 27 interviews that would determine where I would live in two years. Our seventh date was quintessentially Virginian: we had a double date with Brandon and Becky to Ash Lawn-Highland and Jefferson Vineyard.

First picture with Kevin at Jefferson Vineyard 2006 

Sarah W., Alissa, and I went to the Rockingham County Fair, where I finally made peace with goats. I had hosted Sarah W. the previous year when she was looking at law schools and I'd put on the hard sell. I was thrilled to see her come back. I had tons of law firm interviews on campus before the semester started.

Sarah W. at the Rockingham County Fair

September in 2006

Brian, Katy, Sarah, and I went to the opening of the JPJ arena to watch the UVA v. Pittsburgh away game on the big screen. Kevin went with Cory and Brady but they weren't students then so they were in a different section. Afterwards, I met Cory and he tried to scare me away by telling me Kevin's more scandalous undergrad stories. (Not cool, Cory, not cool.) Cory also gave Brian a fun little nickname that has stuck all these years.

Katy, Sarah, Brian, I mean CavMan, and me at the UVA v. Pittsburgh game 2006

I had law firm interview callbacks in New York City, so I was able to spend a little time with my parents. 

My gorgeous parents, Ramsey 2006

Kevin and I went to a Jose Gonzalez concert, and Jose slipped on an ice cube I dropped. The Latin American Law Organization threw its first party, Fiesta de Otono, and Kevin and I attempted to salsa. My law school friends and I went to our second Fall Foxfield, with our church hats and all. Brian threw a coffee party-- fun! Kevin and I went on new hikes.

Rob, Jane, Audra, Sarah, me, Katy, and Brian at Fall Foxfield 2006

October 2006
This was a great month.  Kevin and I had only been dating for a short while. Cathy came to visit us, and we went out on an accidental and rainy Charlottesville crawl to South Street Pub, X-Lounge, Millers, C&O, and back to X-Lounge. It was a lot of people too: Becky, Brandon, Sarah, Donald, Josh, Jon, and later Roger. Though I think only Cathy, Jon, Kevin, and I made it to all the locations. For a Thursday night in Charlottesville, it was epic.

Cathy, Kevin, me, Sarah at X-Lounge

I went to DC for a call-back interview. Jon and I went to an Eric Clapton concert. Kevin and I went hiking at Ivy Creek. Kevin, Brady, Nick and Emily, and James W. and I went to an Islands concert. A bunch of us went to a UNC v. UVA football game.

Kevin, me, Audra, Jon, and Roger at the UVA football game

We went out for Brian's 23rd birthday at Flaming Wok, and after-partied at Jane's while she reveled in the St. Louis Cardinals winning the World Series (her great-grandfather is Branch Rickey).  Finally, we closed out the month with a two crazy Halloween parties in one night.

Brian's 23rd birthday: Audra, Donald, Sarah, me, Katy, Brian, Jane

Halloween 2006!

November 2006
We had our 2L PILA semi-formal dance.  We went to many UVA football and basketball games.

PILA Semiformal Dance 2006 

Katy, Brian, Ericka, and Audra at the UVA v.Miami Football Game

For Thanksgiving, Kevin's mom Kathy, her roommate Dayami, and Kevin's brother Andrew came up from Florida. Kevin's cousin Katie came down from Maryland. It was the first time I met his mom, and the first words out of her mouth were, "So do you want kids?"  Haha. True story.  She made all the food because she's awesome and the next day we all went hiking in the George Washington National Forest.  After they headed back home, Kevin and I went to UVA's Lighting of the Lawn ceremony.  It was a really pretty ceremony that for some reason involved hundreds of al capella bands. It was nice to experience part of the UVA undergrad experience.

Lighting of the Lawn 2006

December 2006

Kevin and I threw a big Christmas party for our friends at the end of the semester. We celebrated our first Christmas together a little early in Charlottesville, then separated to go to our respective families for Christmas. It was the only holiday we ever spent apart after we met.

 

Kevin and Ericka under the mistletoe

Jane, Roger, and Audra at our Christmas party

Jackie, Jinsoo, and Brian

Donald, Sarah, me, and Josh

January 2007
Kevin and I celebrated New Years with our college friends at Ireland's Four Courts Restaurant in Arlington, Virginia.  It was warm enough to go hiking in Shenandoah so we did at least twice that month. My friend Katy and I went to a resort in Costa Rica for winter break, and Kevin went with his friends to Ireland.  When we got back, Kevin and I took daytrips to Scottsville and Richmond.  We went to a Camera Obscura concert.  It was before the market crash and recession, and things were crazy back then, so my law firm raised all our starting salaries a full year and half before we started work. (Yeah....)  Brian, Jackie, and I went to a Feb Club's Eve party.

Me and Kevin at Jabberwocky in Charlottesville after the Camera Obscura concert

February 2007

I encouraged Brian to run for president of the law school (he wanted to anyway) and became his campaign manager. He was victorious!

Student Bar Association Presidential Debate 2007

 

Katy and I working on Brian's campaign

UVA beat Duke at basketball and stormed the court.  I was there, dyed-orange hair and all, but failed to storm the court.  That same night I went to a prehistorically-themed Feb Club party dressed as one of two Betty Rubles.  I lost my camera on some random lawn, and the lawn's owner reviewed my photos and decided some drunk law student had lost their camera-- luckily the lawn owner knew a law professor and I got my camera back. Only in Charlottesville!

Two Betty Rubles, Feb Club 2007

The following night, I went to another Feb Club Party that had a "Welcome to the Jungle" theme.  I made myself a "jungle" costume.  I went as the actual foliage, though there were many people dressed as Guns N' Roses band members.  It worked both ways.  There were more Feb Club parties: "Snow Pants or No Pants," Kegs and Eggs on Sunday morning, "Old School" on Katy's 29th birthday, "The Breakfast Club," begrudgingly hosted by Jane, and the "Fiesta Muy Grande" hosted by me and the rest of the Latin American Law Organization, and "Sports Stars" to close out the month.

Welcome to the Jungle: Brian, Josh, me, Roger

Feb Club- Old School!

We had our 2L Barristers Ball at the Omni Hotel. We celebrated Donald's 24th birthday at Thai 99 with his siblings and friends, and Roger's 27th birthday at Basil Restaurant with a different group. Kevin and I went to a Deerhoof concert with Nick, Emily, and Brady.

Barristers Ball 2007


Fiesta Muy Grande

March 2007
Some friends from law school and I went on an amazing Caribbean cruise for Spring Break.  As a result, I celebrated my 28th birthday in Cozumel. We also went to Guatemala and Belize.

High Temple at Lamanai, Belize 2007

In our 2L year of law school, a bunch of us went to the libel show.  My pre-party included shooters because that's how I rolled back then. I helped with the multi-law-school Softball Tournament.

Libel Show 2007

April 2007
My friends and I did Relay for Life and fund-raised money to fight cancer in honor of my dad and Kevin's mom and grandmother who were all cancer survivors.  As far as I knew, my dad had been cancer-free for 8 years at this point.

Jenny, Sarah M, Ramona, Roger, Brian, me and Audra before walking all night

May 2007
After my spring finals, Kevin and I moved to Brooklyn together for my summer associate job at a law firm in Manhattan. In the pre-crash days they wined and dined us. We had to go back to Charlottesville a few days later for Brady's graduation.

Kevin, me, Brady, Dan, and Kelly at Brady's graduation

Back in New York, Kevin and I had an apartment-warming party, went to see Moon for the Misbegotten at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre.

 

I take over NYC, May 2007

• My 3L Year at UVA

Pray for Owen 2013

I only blog about a small group of our close family and friends. As a shorthand, most them were the people we invited to our wedding. We love these people and their destinies are closely entwined with ours. Their happiness is our happiness, their sorrow is our sorrow, and I imagine that most of them feel the same way.

Two weeks ago, our friends Chrissy and Jason's little boy Owen was diagnosed with cancer. He'll be 3.5 this June, and the horror of our little friend having to deal with a serious disease, much less at this age is more than any of us know how to handle. We think of him constantly and literally hundreds of people are praying for him every day.

One of my favorite photos- Jason, Chrissy, and Owen at our home

Chrissy and Jason have been amazing parents since Owen was in the womb. Many of you know that in the last few years I've commented that I am impressed at what a good and patient mother Chrissy has grown up to be, and she knows I've been impressed because I've constantly asked her for advice since James was born. Once they learned Owen is sick, they began treatment immediately at one of the best children's hospitals in the country and Jason shaved his head in solidarity with his little boy. They are amazing, and Owen has the most incredible support. He's been improving steadily and I have all the hope in the world that the whole family will get through this well. But even so, it's so deeply unfair for anyone to have to go through this at all.

Meeting Owen at 3 months, March 2010

I want you guys to pray like crazy for Owen. To help you with that I want to tell you about how much I love him. Owen was the youngest person at my wedding because Chrissy was about 3 months pregnant with him then. I met him for the first time 3 months after he was born in March of 2010. You can see from the picture above that he is one gorgeous baby. I fell in love with those pouty Shiloh Pitt lips that he is still currently rocking. And I immediately started telling him inappropriate stories about his mother as a crazy 20-something. That's how we bonded.

The next time I saw Owen that July, Chrissy and I were both at the hospital because her mom and my dad were fighting cancer. He was the little light in all the darkness we were suffering. I talked to Chrissy about how I'd been hoping to get pregnant soon, but with my dad sick, I felt lost. I still remember Chrissy saying, "Thank God for Owen, I love babies." I was pregnant with James by the end of the month.

 

Gwen, Matthew, Chrissy, and Owen, December 2010

When I saw Owen again that Christmas, Chrissy's mom and my dad were gone, and the only thing that made that first Christmas even a little bearable was our other loved ones. Owen was just starting to try to pull up on furniture and kept trying to crawl away into trouble. I was pregnant with James, and Chrissy gleefully poked my tummy.

Although Chrissy and Jason came to meet James as soon as he was born, Owen and James met for the first time the following December. Owen was exactly two years old then, and full of energy. He ran up and down our halls with one of James's walking push-toys. James was just 8 months but he was inspired by Owen. After the visit, James started trying to walk.

Christmas 2011

When we went to visit Chrissy, Jason, and Owen last May in Cincinnati, Hailey was still cooking, so the boys got to spend more time together. Here's the two them poking each other during the photo like brothers. They  ate pizza together, played with Owen's toys, and watched a little How to Train Your Dragon together. Owen was starting to talk a lot more and I could tell he's super smart.

In Cincy together in 2012

Playing at Owen's water table

Look at Owen's smile! Owen, Jason, and James playing cars, May 2012

I most recently saw Owen in Ramsey in October. Technically I was there to meet Hailey, but James got lots of time with his buddy.

James, Kevin, Owen, and Jason playing ball

Look at these cute baby boys watching a video together

Owen is my little buddy. James totally looks up to him. We love him, and we are so looking forward to our next visit with him. So please pray that he is 100% healthy again fast fast fast.

Cape Cod- April 2012

We went to the Cape for the Pareseau wedding, but while we were there Great Auntie Mary babysat for us and hosted a little birthday brunch just for the immediate family. How lovely!  Here are a few pictures from the weekend.

Chewing grandma's reading glasses

Enjoying ice tea from a straw

Chilling with Uncle Andrew

With Great Auntie Mary who babysat while we were at the wedding

Disassembling Great-grandma Ruth's coffee table

Opening some birthday presents

Petting Chris's dog Harry...

and chasing Harry.

James thinks Nomar is a toy, and Nomar thinks they are mortal enemies.

"Yaya" Dolores teaching James to bat

Sharing cheerios with his best friend Ellen

Roger and Lina's Wedding 2012

This Sunday, my friend from law school Roger married Lina at the Ritz Carlton in Tysons Corner, Virginia. The wedding was on Sunday because Roger and Lina are Jewish, Lina having recently converted.  We didn't particularly notice it was Sunday though, because Kevin had the week off for Spring Break, so we were able to party all night.

At the reception with Lina and Roger

I spoke to Roger in the days leading up to the wedding and he was very excited to be getting married.  He had a case of very warm feet, if there is such a thing. The ceremony was lovely, and Lina looked amazing as you can see from the photo above. There are so many beautiful things about Jewish wedding ceremonies.  First, I love that both the groom and the bride are walked down the aisle and by both of their parents.  Some of my friends and I have lost parents, and anything that honors all your parents like that stands out to me a lot more than it did before.

Roger entering with his very happy parents

The chuppah, or wedding canopy is so nice that I think it's been adapted in weddings of other faiths with "wedding arches."  Roger and Lina had a beautiful white flowy one in front of a white curtain backdrop that made it look like they were in heaven. (Yes, I know, Jewish people don't believe in heaven, but I was just describing how pretty it looked.) 

I love the bride and groom circling each other.  I think maybe it used to just be the bride circling the groom, but it's been modernized so both the bride and the groom do it now. (Don't quote me on this- I don't know.)  It's a symbolic gesture about honoring each other that makes a lot of sense once you've been married for a while.  It also looked especially beautiful with Lina's train and veil lightly draping around Roger's feet as she went around.

Encircling each other (Lina's turn)

The ketubah, oftentimes called the wedding contract, is signed privately before the ceremony begins.  After the signing, the couple is technically married, but these days I think the couple still looks forward to the first kiss at the end of the ceremony. Roger and Lina's ketubah was presented during the ceremony and put on display behind the bridesmaids. It had a lovely drawing of a tree on it, and I imagine that it will look really nice hanging somewhere in their home.

And who doesn't love the drama of the breaking of the glass?  It's so exciting! I'm not sure of the exact meaning, but it has to do with joy being tempered in marriage and in life (or it's about the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, or both). Someone gave Roger a special colored glass to break so that it can be framed as a piece of artwork after the wedding. What a great idea!

The big kiss after Roger smashed the glass

The cocktail hour was fun, with delicious appetizers and a orange-vodka-cream cocktail I thoroughly enjoyed.  I especially chased around these salmon and cream cheese appetizers that were topped with caviar. Yes, please!

UVA friends at cocktail hour

The reception was very fun with great dancing music.  Since Lina is Colombian, the reception music reminded me of our own wedding with some more traditional Spanish music like Celia Cruz and more modern Spanish music like reggaeton. 

During the first dance, Roger and Lina invited everyone to join them dancing

They also had this tradition, the Mizinke, that many of the guests had never seen before, but it's wonderful and everyone should start doing it.  When parents marry off their last child-- Roger is their youngest of three boys-- they sit in the middle of the floor with laurels and everyone dances around them and congratulates them.  Very fun!

Celebrating their last son's marriage

And of course, Roger and Lina danced the Horah.  Though I've been to Jewish weddings before, this was the first time I participated in dancing the Horah because I was so afraid of doing the right thing. This time, I felt I had to overcome my fear, so in I jumped.  So fun! Why did I ever resist?  The wedding had 200 guests and it felt like all of them were dancing and pulling me around the dance floor.  At the end, Kevin and Brian were recruited to hold up the couple's chairs.  Lina looked a bit nervous but they both bounced around the dance floor without falling off. Mazel tov!

Dancing the Horah

As a bonus for us, Lina and Roger didn't leave on their honeymoon right away, so we got to spend Monday night watching the NCAA Men's National Championship basketball game with them.  Roger actually won one of the basketball pools he was in, so he got a little wedding present from the universe.  

Now I wasn't asked to give a speech at their wedding, but hey, I have a blog, and I get to say whatever I want, so here's what I would have said (and did say when they got engaged):

Love is Lina converting to Judaism so that they can better share their lives with God and their children. Love is Roger learning to speak Spanish so he can share in Lina's culture and family life. 

Love is Roger and Lina hiking, five-foot tall Lina straggling behind six-foot tall Roger, until she saw a bear on their path and she darted out in front of him to protect him. That kind of love is fierce, and powerful, and necessary, and you are so blessed to share it.