One of the reasons I keep this blog, aside from pointing out funny Mormon / Blogger / Utahn / American idiosyncracies, is to keep a lot of you updated about my life. So here's an update. A run down of, perhaps, the best year of my life. Ever.
One year ago this time, I was just finishing up the bar exam, trying to figure out how to convince the love of my life that she should remain the love of my life forever, and wondering just how I was going to make money to support myself (let alone the soon-to-be-permanent love of my life). It was stressful, and I was adrift on the tide of a bad economy.
And then miracle by miracle started to pop up. Here are some of them:
1. August 21, 2009: A job I'd interviewed for with a judge I didn't hear back from in May suddenly opened up again. And they offered me the job! How long did it take me to accept the offer? The measurement for a period of time that small hasn't even been imagined yet.
2. August 22, 2009: Riding the euphoria of a job and knowing that, at least for a little while, I could afford to keep eating and maybe even live somewhere, I asked erv to marry me. In an incredibly sappy, kitschy way that she just ate up. And it totally worked!
3. September 2009: Find out from facebook that bar scores are up--somewhere. Find out from friend where to find my score. Find out from internet that a lot of people passed and a lot of people failed. Frantically try to find my exam number. Find out from my email what my bar exam number was. Find out I passed.
I nearly hyperventilated in the ten minutes it took me to figure all of this out.
Later the same day, find out from letter that I passed with way more points than I ever needed to. Curse myself for having studied too much. Cross myself for having studied enough.
4. September 2009: Find an amazing apartment at an amazing price in downtown on Craigslist. We close the same day we see it.
5. October 2009: Sworn in as a licensed attorney in the State of Utah. Get a raise for becoming an attorney. Lose a lot of money towards bar fees. Still, I feel I came out better for this deal.
6. October 24, 2009: I married the girl that makes me still feel all twitterpated inside.
7. October 25, 2009: Relieved to see that the girl I married didn't run off in the night. Still hasn't (crossing fingers).
8. January 2010: Made it through tryouts and into an amazing chamber choir. Did we sing complex latin requiems? Of course. Were we snooty? You bet. But did we sound fantastic? Every time we warbled. (The band broke up in April, sadly. Probably in order to get rid of me. :P).
9. May 2010: Visit my little brother in Seoul Korea. One case of Kimchi poisoning aside (and it burned!), we had a fun, culturally enlightening visit. I have to admit, however, that having to order my food based on pictures in the menu is not my favorite activity. Nor does it always produce the tastiest food.
10. July 2010: Longtime Professor, mentor, and good friend, Tom Lee becomes the latest Utah Supreme Court Justice. Among such cool things as watching him get sworn in by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and later meeting and conversing with the same, I was humbled when, a few weeks after being approved by the Utah Senate, Justice Lee called me and asked me to come clerk for him in 2011-2012.*
Pause. Blink. Blink.
I stammered out "yes" in about five different ways and five different languages, rambled on for a few minutes about how "awesome...I mean awe-inspiring...I mean...Yes!" it was. And when I finally composed myself enough to say, "it will be an absolute honor" and hung up the phone, I squealed like a little girl for at least two minuets.
*Quick primer on judicial clerkships: law clerks have a lot of functions in a judge's chambers, but perhaps what Justice Thomas told me is the most succinct way to put it. "[]Our job is to make the judge's job easier." We research, write, debate, and basically make sure the judge is prepared in hearings and that his opinion sparkles with brilliance and accuracy. A judicial clerkship often opens professional doors that wouldn't open otherwise.
And, at the end of the day, it's just fascinating, invigorating work. Needless to say, I am completely stoked to get in there, roll up my sleeves, and work hard.
TODAY: And today, well...today I'm just grateful to be alive and kicking. I have a job that pays me money, I have friends I love spending time with, I have the greatest family in the world, and perhaps most importantly, I have a wife who absolutely loves me.
Things really are coming up Vogeler.
It's at these times that I usually brace for the incoming crap storm, but at least for right now, I'll enjoy it.
A lot.
6 comments:
greatest post ever! I am SOOO happy for all of the miracles in your life! Especially erin, of course! yay! yay! yay!
And I LOVE your post title!
Well deserved, Eric. I'm glad this year has treated you so well. Here's to an even better 2010-2011!
Congratulations on the clerkship! That's awesome!
Hooray! Congratulations! And let's hope we can sing together again soon. (More crossing fingers...)
I hope things continue to "come up Voegler". Even if you do eventually have to weather the storm, you've had an awesome year to look back on! Lucky you!!! Maybe you should try the lottery ;)
My name is William Vogeler, so I guess I'm coming up Vogeler. Anyway, I saw your blog and couldn't resist the urge to say, "hello." As fate would have it, I am also and attorney and a Mormon. Other than that, we probably have nothing in common, except perhaps a sense of humor.
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