Name that Memorial Part 8 or something like that

Well, seeing as how I am moving to California on Friday, this will probably be my second to last or last "Name that Memorial" post for awhile. I am pretty sure I've blogged about this memorial before, but the run was so beautiful this morning it is blog worthy. Thankfully the dreadful humidity and heat broke and I actually felt COOL (temperature-wise and because of my running partner) during the run!

So, here are clues...

1) I saw a gorgeous sunrise over D.C. The sun was blocked by clouds in an otherwise clear sky (as in, there were no visible water particles in the air and any dust was similarly washed out by yesterday's storm). The sun's rays were shining down directly on the Capitol building.

2) Three. Think three.

3) This memorial has free concerts every Wednesday and Friday evening during the summer.

Guess away!

Good Reminders

My dad likes to send me the monthly stake* missionary newsletters from my home stake. One of the missionaries wrote the following this month. He's 19 or 20 years old and spending two years of his life teaching the people of Australia about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I was really touched by what he said.

"A testimony cannot be stationary- it's either growing or shrinking. There is no solid ground. We must be doing our part to help that testimony grow, and that involves reading and praying daily. If you have a testimony of the Book of Mormon, then reconfirm it tonight."--Elder Zachary Ward, Auckland New Zealand Mission

Here's one from a missionary serving in the Dominican Republic:

"If you don't believe in revelation its because you haven’t received it, and how would you be able to receive it if you don't believe in it? I believe in it."--Elder David Bentz, Santiago Dominican Republic Mission

*A "stake" is a geographical group of congregations called "wards" in the LDS Church. Usually a stake has about 6-10 ward units.

When your name dictates your profession or hobbies...

I got an e-mail from Runner's World.

"Amby Burfoot, executive editor of RUNNER'S WORLD magazine and Boston Marathon winner..."

When I first read it, I though her last name was "Barefoot." You know, when your eyes/brain only read the first and last letters of a word? Yeah. That or I'm a hick. "Those youngin's was just runnin' through them fields burfoot the other day."

Okay, back to studying for the bar exam.

Signs You Might Be Studying For the Bar Exam

1) You don't know when the sun sets, just that it's sometime between going into the library and coming out.

2) You listen to the same song over and over and over again to break up the monotony of sitting in a room by yourself.

3) You read articles on Yahoo! News about Khloe Kardashian and Eva Longoria (and didn't know who they were before starting to study for the bar).

4) You get excited that Paula, Freer, and Schecter are the final three lecturers.

5) The acronyms MBE, MPT, MSE, NYT, and MPQ1 have meaning.

6) All of your (rare) conversations with other human beings somehow revolve around the bar exam, and you are incapable of forming coherent sentences on any other topic.

7) You eat chocolate chips for dinner. Just chocolate chips.

8) You crave a good run, even if it means running in the pouring rain. (Warm rain is actually quite pleasant, I learned. Shout out to MJ.)

9) You hallucinate the little red light on your Blackberry going off because you hope to have some contact with the non-Barbri world.

10) Spell-checker goes crazy when you type your outlines because it doesn't recognize half the words you are typing and auto-corrects the other half. (I really did mean settlOR, thank you. Not settlER.)

Only 18 more days until it's over.

Dear Anne:

Bren and Sterling are the type of engaged couple who will invite you in to read Architectural Digest with them on a Friday night. They are the type of people to whom you bequeath your beloved Tupperware that you bought yourself for your 19th birthday because you won't have room for it in your New York apartment. And in turn, they are the type of people who would loan you their* copy of Anne Fadiman's Ex Libris.

I first picked up Ex Libris during Bren and Sterling's engagement party because Nate is the type of person who will let you peruse his books when you are too tired to socialize. Nate is the type of person who would marry Anne Fadiman if she weren't already married with two children. He is the type of person who would have Anne Fadiman sign a copy of Ex Libris for his sister.

I am the type of self-proclaimed literary snob who will not read a bestseller unless it comes highly recommended by people I trust or I have never heard of it despite its bestseller status. Anne Fadiman came highly recommended and I had never heard of her until March.

Anne Fadiman is the type of person who would walk around town proofreading advertisements with Lynne Truss. She is the type of person who grew up building with her father's books instead of blocks. She is the type of person who knows words like sesquipedalian and uses them. Ms. Fadiman is the type of person who writes in a voice I rarely have the courage to use.

On Saturday, I was discussing moving with my parents, and my dad asked, "Why are you keeping your books? Can't you just give them away?" I was shocked. Get rid of my books? I knew my status as a member of my family was questioned for years when I insisted I did not like guacamole, but my dad's words confirmed what my mom has been telling me for years: "Megan, you are the odd one."**

So on Sunday, I spent some quality time with Anne Fadiman, and I felt kinship. If I am odd, I am not alone. And I am inspired. Inspired to visit secondhand bookstores and purchase a real*** bookcase.


*The book actually currently belongs to Sterling, but Bren and Sterling are the type of engaged couple for whom it is completely appropriate to apply plural possessive pronouns even before they are officially married.

**My mother does love me. So much so that she spent 40 hours in labor when I was born. But apparently not everyone plans their entire life while in high school.

***A real bookcase is made out of real wood. You don't assemble it yourself at home. You buy it in one piece and it lasts your lifetime, the same way it has lasted through the lifetimes of several other people.

Favorite Words

Have you ever had a favorite word? When you are studying for the bar you start to think about random things like your favorite word. No, let's be honest, I thought about my favorite words way before I started studying for the bar. I probably even started thinking about my favorite words before I played Boggle.

For example, in high school, my biology/chemistry lab group was fascinated with the word "ignoble." How many other negative words do you know with the prefix "ig-"?

I love the word "paraphernalia." Fortunately Google Chrome has a spell checker because I just spelled it incorrectly and had to change it. Say it a few times. It's pretty cool.

During the second semester of law school, my little study group had a few favorite words. Ben's was "ostensibly." He used it in almost every sentence. Mine was "comport." Thank you, Julie Cohen, for permanently fixing the word "comport" in my day-to-day vocabulary. Professor Cohen can also be thanked for affixing in my mind the concept of the 30,000 foot view of property law. Right now that's about as close as I want to get to property law, but sadly, I must return to studying.

Readers, any favorite words?