It's been quite some time and a few pounds ago...

So, I haven't really posted on this site in a while. Although I make no promises to post regularly, I do hope to use it more often than never. Given the amount of time that has passed since I last wrote, significant updates are in order.

I came home from Argentina, sadly. It was a phenomenal experience, and I miss most of the people that I met during my time there. The only thing I don't miss - the amount of weight that I gained while there and the extent to which Buenos Aires does not serve vegetables.

Post-Argentina, I scurried back to Chicago for a few days before flying off to New York for my first interview for a 2L Summer Job. It was exciting stuff. I guess you can say that I was in the "New York State of Mind" while I was there, and I truly loved getting to know the city a little bit better, especially by hanging out with my cousin, my law/life mentor, and one of my sorority sisters. Throughout the three weekends I was there, I got to live a relatively glamorous life - even staying at one hotel that faced Times Square and was right next to the place where they film Good Morning America.

In addition to my interviews in New York, I spent several weekends interviewing in Chicago, probably more than I should have. It was great to meet so many great people and to have a genuine understanding of the differences both between firms in NY v. Chicago and between firms within a city. I had some really entertaining conversations with interviewers, including several in which the other person came out to me. Pretty random. In any case, it was a great experience, despite the fact that it detracted from my schoolwork. :(

The rest of first semester was rather uneventful. My classes were okay for the most part, but I was somewhat burnt out. I pushed through it and finally made it to the end of the semester. I spent some time at home before heading off to Hawaii with my best friend and his family. Even though it was only 5 days, it was exactly what I needed - once again, minus the weight that I gained while there, but whatever! It was my vacation, and it was the first time that I didn't think about law school during an entire week. I came back from the sunshine and fun times with a little bit more happiness, minus the fact that I had returned to freezing temperatures and spending significant time in the hospital while my dad was recovering from a hip replacement that he had had while I was gone. Nonetheless, it was really great to feel useful and closer to my parents than ever. While I won't go as far as to say that I enjoyed the endless hours at the hospital, I did find joy in the little moments - e.g., seeing my dad walk normally for the first time in over a year.

After a brief break, I returned early to school for two intersession classes - International Business Transactions and Private International Law. I really enjoyed both classes and was glad to get 3-credits out of the way in such a short amount of time. More importantly, however, than the classes, I started a new journey during those two weeks. Given the weight gain from Argentina and Hawaii, I decided I needed to make a change. This one's for real. I have set out to lose 42lbs in 2011. Why 42lbs? Because I want to be at an acceptable weight for my height and gender. Do I know whether, given my bone structure and wide hips, I can achieve that goal? No. Still, it's a goal that challenges me and that will stay with me until I get any kind of confirmation that I cannot actually achieve it. So far, I've lost 9.8lbs since January 3. I'm doing it very slowly so that my body doesn't yo-yo back to where I started. I'm pretty sure that this is the lightest I've been since the beginning of high school, at the very least. I'm starting to feel very good about my journey, even though I strained something in my foot last week. Still, I'm sticking with it because I am training for the Turkey Trot (8K) in November. I'm incredibly motivated, and I hope that this will be a significant life change.

That's all for now.

Besito,

A