Tomorrow is the first day 1Ls can start sending cover letters and resumes to potential employers for summer employment. Too bad I have not done any research whatsoever about this. Argh!
The last few days have been very full. So far every evening this week I have been going to an event at my law school. This certainly fills up my schedule but I figure this is what I came to law school for. On Monday I saw the general counsel of Microsoft give a speech about the future of technology. It turned out not to be that interesting because the questions that people asked him were way too detailed to be comprehensible for a non-techie like me.
Yesterday it was Michael Jackson's lawyer and Dan Abrams talking about the Michael Jackson trial. Tom Mesereau, MJ's lawyer, is a really good speaker and was very very smooth. Abrams was surprisingly short and appeared nervous in the beginning (said "um" a lot, etc). But he gradually got better. It was entertaining to see Mesereau passionately attacking the media for treating MJ unfairly (and he was quite convincing about it; I was surprised myself) while Abrams was sitting on stage and then Abrams giving a spirited defense of the media. This was well worth it.
Today, the author of a very well-written and best-selling civ pro hornbook came to campus to give students exam-taking advice. He was well-spoken and brief. The entire thing only took about 40 minutes but was pretty helpful.
Today I also went with my study group to my civ pro professor's office hours and met with her as a group and asked questions. THAT was very helpful as well. My civ pro professor, although unbearably boring in class, is extremely nice in person. She's also very tall, very elegant, and very beautiful. Today I learned for the first time that she was an all-star basketball player when she was in college.
Exam season is really upon us. All of our professors have begun giving out advice about exams, etc. So far, no changes in the behavior of my classmates yet, although I am being watchful and keeping my fingers crossed that no one does anything psychotic. (You never know...)
I emailed each of the profeessors asking them to meet with my entire study group and answer our questions about exams. All of them wrote back and arranged times. Today was the fist meeting and went very well. Yes I'm proud of myself.
Lots of social activities planned for the next few days. Let's hope I can squeeze job-finding and studying in as well...
11/30/2005
11/27/2005
So Much to Do...
Last day of the Thanksgiving long weekend. Drove up this morning with Boyfriend back to law school and listened to Arthur Miller on the way. It's interesting to see how much more I know now, listening to these tapes 3 months later. Last time I touched those tapes was when Boyfriend and I were driving up to Montreal... Fun times! But back then I didn't know a lot of civil procedure. Not that I know that much now. Just more than before...
I have a lot to do in the next few days. First, 10-page open memo is due on Tuesday, which means I'll be spending most of tomorrow evening writing it. Yuck. I have already worked on it off and on during the last few days, did the research, and so on. The research for this memo was very depressing, because it involved a lot of stalking cases, which were very scary to read about.
I also need to start looking for a job for this summer, since December is rapidly approaching. Talked with DK over IM today about this. He's appying to a lot of private firm jobs and wants to be in New York, although doesn't yet want to rule out international, either. I mostly want to do international, but have no idea where to start or how to look. Sounds like it's time to make an appointment with the public interest office...
Then, I also need to complete readings and really start studying for final exams. I did 2/3 of a civ pro exam and 2/3 of a torts exam over break. Not fun. I don't think I did that well, either. The torts exam involved a policy question so broad it was almost absurd. Basically, it said "discuss the role of the court in torts claims..." and I was like "WHAT?! You expect us to talk about this in an hour?!? Absurd..."
My study group is meeting this Tuesday instead of Monday because of the open memo.
Even though there's so much to do, I kind of look forward to going back to school again. Yay. :)
I have a lot to do in the next few days. First, 10-page open memo is due on Tuesday, which means I'll be spending most of tomorrow evening writing it. Yuck. I have already worked on it off and on during the last few days, did the research, and so on. The research for this memo was very depressing, because it involved a lot of stalking cases, which were very scary to read about.
I also need to start looking for a job for this summer, since December is rapidly approaching. Talked with DK over IM today about this. He's appying to a lot of private firm jobs and wants to be in New York, although doesn't yet want to rule out international, either. I mostly want to do international, but have no idea where to start or how to look. Sounds like it's time to make an appointment with the public interest office...
Then, I also need to complete readings and really start studying for final exams. I did 2/3 of a civ pro exam and 2/3 of a torts exam over break. Not fun. I don't think I did that well, either. The torts exam involved a policy question so broad it was almost absurd. Basically, it said "discuss the role of the court in torts claims..." and I was like "WHAT?! You expect us to talk about this in an hour?!? Absurd..."
My study group is meeting this Tuesday instead of Monday because of the open memo.
Even though there's so much to do, I kind of look forward to going back to school again. Yay. :)
11/26/2005
Nice Thanksgiving
Had a nice, though not too relaxed, Thanksgiving, mainly due to the fact that a 10-page open memo is due right after the break. Damn you, Law School! (More specifically the First Year Lawyering class).
I did a lot of research and writing, but then again, I also played a lot of Resident Evil 4. So, maybe I really shouldn't complain too much.
Boyfriend's parents came to visit us, and spent Thanksgiving night here. Thankfully, we decided to forego turkey in favor of chicken for the Thanksigivng meal, since neither Boyfriend's father nor I like turkey. Obviously, I didn't do any cooking. :D Instead, Boyfriend and her mother got the chicken from Boston Chicken, which was very good (we ordered a turkey from there last year also, which was very good, considering that it was a turkey.). I opened a bottle of my favorite carmenere, and a good time was had by all.
On Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, I met up with JK, my college boyfriend and still a good friend of mine, who is a 3L in "that other school". JK is doing well; just got a clerkship with a controversial DC appellate court judge. JK was very conservative in college, and has a conservative dad who is an appelate court judge. He complained about politicized the entire clerkship application process was, and how with his last name no one but conservative judges would even give him a chance. JK was also depressed because he hadn't seen his girlfriend, who is from LA, in more than 5 weeks. I did my best to cheer him up.
Since I had my van, we went to IKEA to pick out a bed for him. While there, he said loudly that he didn't want anything at the foot of the bed for "having sex" purposes. I shushed him but it was too late. People stared. Ay...
Thanksgiving itself was uneventful. It if it were up to me, I would have drunk a lot more wine But since Boyfriend's parents were here, I had to restrain myself.
I actually vaguely missed law school, minus all the work, obviously. Leaving tomorrow back to B-Town. Am feeling excited to go back.
I did a lot of research and writing, but then again, I also played a lot of Resident Evil 4. So, maybe I really shouldn't complain too much.
Boyfriend's parents came to visit us, and spent Thanksgiving night here. Thankfully, we decided to forego turkey in favor of chicken for the Thanksigivng meal, since neither Boyfriend's father nor I like turkey. Obviously, I didn't do any cooking. :D Instead, Boyfriend and her mother got the chicken from Boston Chicken, which was very good (we ordered a turkey from there last year also, which was very good, considering that it was a turkey.). I opened a bottle of my favorite carmenere, and a good time was had by all.
On Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, I met up with JK, my college boyfriend and still a good friend of mine, who is a 3L in "that other school". JK is doing well; just got a clerkship with a controversial DC appellate court judge. JK was very conservative in college, and has a conservative dad who is an appelate court judge. He complained about politicized the entire clerkship application process was, and how with his last name no one but conservative judges would even give him a chance. JK was also depressed because he hadn't seen his girlfriend, who is from LA, in more than 5 weeks. I did my best to cheer him up.
Since I had my van, we went to IKEA to pick out a bed for him. While there, he said loudly that he didn't want anything at the foot of the bed for "having sex" purposes. I shushed him but it was too late. People stared. Ay...
Thanksgiving itself was uneventful. It if it were up to me, I would have drunk a lot more wine But since Boyfriend's parents were here, I had to restrain myself.
I actually vaguely missed law school, minus all the work, obviously. Leaving tomorrow back to B-Town. Am feeling excited to go back.
11/24/2005
I Give Thanks
I read through some of my old posts today. It is wonderful to read what I was thinking and doing four, five, six months ago. I'm glad I have a record of this period of my life.
And you, my readers, are most of the reason why I keep on posting day after day. Thank you for your interest in me. Thank you for sharing random moments in my life. Thank you for giving me a reason to write. Thank you.
And you, my readers, are most of the reason why I keep on posting day after day. Thank you for your interest in me. Thank you for sharing random moments in my life. Thank you for giving me a reason to write. Thank you.
11/23/2005
Missing Friend
I was doing a practice exam for civ pro when my cell phone rang. The caller ID showed that it was from a restricted number. It was probably a wrong number. I hesitated before picking up.
On the other end of the line, an unfamiliar woman's voice, accented and anxious.
"Who is this?"
"This is PB."
"This is N's mother. I am calling you because I found your phone number in N's address book. N is missing and I'm looking for him."
"Oh my God!" I gasped into the phone. N is an old college friend of mine. We kept in touch fitfully after college; saw each other once or twice but sometimes talked on the phone for hours. The last time I spoke to him, however, was a few months ago, and since law school began, I have been terrible at keeping up with all my college friends, and haven't spoken to him at all.
His mother was clearly distraught but fighting to keep calm. It took me a while to understand what had happened. She said that N had left with some college friends for Kentucky to visit another friend a few weeks ago and was due to return yesterday. But when he didn't come back she got very worried. She's now frantically trying to track him down.
In college, N wasn't the most responsible of people. He often missed scheduled lunch dates with no explanation or missed deadlines. Still, it was worrisome, and I felt for his mother.
"How do you know N? Are you his college friend."
"Yes, I graduated in the same year as him," I told her. "Class of 2001."
"Do you know M?" she asked me. "Do you know G? They also went to the same school. This is who N was supposed to visit in Kentucky."
I didn't know either of these people. But after she gave me G's last name, I was able to log into the alumni directory, and found her listed phone number. I also gave her Dickie's number, in case he knows something (and some people) that I don't.
"Thank you so so so much," she said, sounding like she was about to cry. I wished her luck and told her to let me know if there was anything else I could do. After hanging up the phone, I called N's cell phone. There wasn't even a ring tone. Just silence. It was creepy.
When Boyfriend got home from shopping I told him what had happened. "Hopefully she's already called the police," he said. I hadn't even thought of that. I hope it wouldn't come to this. Hopefully N was just being his irresponsible self and will sheepishly materialize later today, with an apologetic smile and no good explanation.
N, I hope you are okay. Wherever you are, call your mom! She's worried sick about you.
On the other end of the line, an unfamiliar woman's voice, accented and anxious.
"Who is this?"
"This is PB."
"This is N's mother. I am calling you because I found your phone number in N's address book. N is missing and I'm looking for him."
"Oh my God!" I gasped into the phone. N is an old college friend of mine. We kept in touch fitfully after college; saw each other once or twice but sometimes talked on the phone for hours. The last time I spoke to him, however, was a few months ago, and since law school began, I have been terrible at keeping up with all my college friends, and haven't spoken to him at all.
His mother was clearly distraught but fighting to keep calm. It took me a while to understand what had happened. She said that N had left with some college friends for Kentucky to visit another friend a few weeks ago and was due to return yesterday. But when he didn't come back she got very worried. She's now frantically trying to track him down.
In college, N wasn't the most responsible of people. He often missed scheduled lunch dates with no explanation or missed deadlines. Still, it was worrisome, and I felt for his mother.
"How do you know N? Are you his college friend."
"Yes, I graduated in the same year as him," I told her. "Class of 2001."
"Do you know M?" she asked me. "Do you know G? They also went to the same school. This is who N was supposed to visit in Kentucky."
I didn't know either of these people. But after she gave me G's last name, I was able to log into the alumni directory, and found her listed phone number. I also gave her Dickie's number, in case he knows something (and some people) that I don't.
"Thank you so so so much," she said, sounding like she was about to cry. I wished her luck and told her to let me know if there was anything else I could do. After hanging up the phone, I called N's cell phone. There wasn't even a ring tone. Just silence. It was creepy.
When Boyfriend got home from shopping I told him what had happened. "Hopefully she's already called the police," he said. I hadn't even thought of that. I hope it wouldn't come to this. Hopefully N was just being his irresponsible self and will sheepishly materialize later today, with an apologetic smile and no good explanation.
N, I hope you are okay. Wherever you are, call your mom! She's worried sick about you.
11/21/2005
Tax!
Okay, so just performed some elaborate process of elimination on the elective choices.
First, crossed out all the courses that conflict with my required courses for next semester. That was 11 courses.
Second, crossed out all courses taught by visiting prof. Sorry, but quality not guaranteed and hard to build long-term relationship. That was 11 courses.
Third, noted courses with assistant / associate profs or lecturers rather than fully tenured profs. That was 6. Checked those profs out. Some seem okay, but the subject matter didn't really interest me (Jewish law, migrant law, and UN law) . Another has no evaluations and is terribly young (as in, 4 years older than me. Eliminate.)
Fourth: eliminatd the one course that required a competitive application process, for which the deadline has already passed. :P
That left 11 courses to consider, which are actually 8 substantive courses, since some has more than one sections. I checked each of the profs out, and crossed out the ones that received bad ratings, or for whom I couldn't find ratings (which means they haven't taught for a while...) That eliminated 2.
Then eliminated 1 course b/c it will be co-taught by 3 professors. In my experience those classes are usually schizophrenic and disorganized, and it's hard to build a relationship with any one of the profs.
Then eliminated all courses whose subject matter I'm not terribly interested in (health care).
This left 5 courses: tax, globalization, conflict of laws, local law, and "law and mind" (I have no idea what that last one is, either.)
After this very scientific process (thank you, thank you), tax is currently on the top of my list.
Now I just need to hope that I get it in the lottery.
First, crossed out all the courses that conflict with my required courses for next semester. That was 11 courses.
Second, crossed out all courses taught by visiting prof. Sorry, but quality not guaranteed and hard to build long-term relationship. That was 11 courses.
Third, noted courses with assistant / associate profs or lecturers rather than fully tenured profs. That was 6. Checked those profs out. Some seem okay, but the subject matter didn't really interest me (Jewish law, migrant law, and UN law) . Another has no evaluations and is terribly young (as in, 4 years older than me. Eliminate.)
Fourth: eliminatd the one course that required a competitive application process, for which the deadline has already passed. :P
That left 11 courses to consider, which are actually 8 substantive courses, since some has more than one sections. I checked each of the profs out, and crossed out the ones that received bad ratings, or for whom I couldn't find ratings (which means they haven't taught for a while...) That eliminated 2.
Then eliminated 1 course b/c it will be co-taught by 3 professors. In my experience those classes are usually schizophrenic and disorganized, and it's hard to build a relationship with any one of the profs.
Then eliminated all courses whose subject matter I'm not terribly interested in (health care).
This left 5 courses: tax, globalization, conflict of laws, local law, and "law and mind" (I have no idea what that last one is, either.)
After this very scientific process (thank you, thank you), tax is currently on the top of my list.
Now I just need to hope that I get it in the lottery.
Electives
So, at my law school, 1Ls can take an elective apart from the two required first year courses second semester. I took a look at the (surprisingly short) list of available courses for 1L today. The list was pretty uninspiring. There are 40 classes we could choose from. 25% of them conflicted with my required courses (so no con law, corporations, race relations law, real estate law, or philanthropy and the law for me.)
This leaves 30 courses to choose from.
Dinner now. (Boyfriend bought sushi!) More on this later.
This leaves 30 courses to choose from.
Dinner now. (Boyfriend bought sushi!) More on this later.
11/20/2005
The Game
So, guess we lost The Game again. It's like the fifth year in a row or something. Shame on the 'Dogs. Good thing I didn't go and watch it, because it was cold and the game apparently went into triple overtime and it's so depressing to lose after all that.
...Though I sure could use a good drink right about now...
(For those of you who know what I'm talking about, Bow-wow-wow!)
...Though I sure could use a good drink right about now...
(For those of you who know what I'm talking about, Bow-wow-wow!)
11/19/2005
Momentous Day
Today was possibly the most momentous day I have had in my law school career. No, I did not ace or fail an exam or did an important piece of legal scholarship. Nor did I have an epiphany about what I want to do with my legal degree or decide what elective I want to take next semester, although I have been actively thinking of such questions.
Instead, I went out with some friends and pierced my ears.
Yes, you see, I have spent 26 years on this earth as a normal, heterosexual female without having had any body piercing whatsoever. In high school, when other girls came to school with dangling earrings, I could only look on in envy. (I had other fashion problems back then, but enough about that.) So, my body was piercing virgin territory. My parents were strict (esp. my mom, who detested anything feminine and non-unisexual.) So my ear lobes remained whole and unpierced.
In college and beyond, I had considerable freedom, but squeamishness took over. Even though I entertained the idea of getting some piercings now and then, I never went through with it because I... am... afraid... of... pain...
But law school has cured me of all that. Ha! I feel invincible after several chapters of civ pro reading!! If I survived many classes harping endlessly on the Fourth Amendment, I could survive ANYTHING! Nothing can stop me! I want to wear those sparkling chandelier earrings NOW!
As it turns out, I won't be able to wear them for another six weeks. Instead, I have gotten these discrete flower-shaped duds on my ears at the moment. They look very cute, but I won't be able to take them off for another forty-one days. Plenty of time to pick out some sexy earrings.
And that is what I did today. (And dim sun with J and her husband and AC and a lot of shocking sex talk coming from AC and shopping afterwards at H&M together and buying cute earmuffs, but how can I talk about that when I have pierced ears?!?!?).
Instead, I went out with some friends and pierced my ears.
Yes, you see, I have spent 26 years on this earth as a normal, heterosexual female without having had any body piercing whatsoever. In high school, when other girls came to school with dangling earrings, I could only look on in envy. (I had other fashion problems back then, but enough about that.) So, my body was piercing virgin territory. My parents were strict (esp. my mom, who detested anything feminine and non-unisexual.) So my ear lobes remained whole and unpierced.
In college and beyond, I had considerable freedom, but squeamishness took over. Even though I entertained the idea of getting some piercings now and then, I never went through with it because I... am... afraid... of... pain...
But law school has cured me of all that. Ha! I feel invincible after several chapters of civ pro reading!! If I survived many classes harping endlessly on the Fourth Amendment, I could survive ANYTHING! Nothing can stop me! I want to wear those sparkling chandelier earrings NOW!
As it turns out, I won't be able to wear them for another six weeks. Instead, I have gotten these discrete flower-shaped duds on my ears at the moment. They look very cute, but I won't be able to take them off for another forty-one days. Plenty of time to pick out some sexy earrings.
And that is what I did today. (And dim sun with J and her husband and AC and a lot of shocking sex talk coming from AC and shopping afterwards at H&M together and buying cute earmuffs, but how can I talk about that when I have pierced ears?!?!?).
Harry Potter 4 Was Awesome
Not just saying this because I'm a Harry Potter fan. The movie was the best of the HP movies and a ton of fun. Very well paced; appropriate dark at places but plenty of funny scenes; Awesome special effects!
Just came back from opening night where the house was packed. See it if you haven't already done so!
Just came back from opening night where the house was packed. See it if you haven't already done so!
11/17/2005
You Know What I Hate??
People who sniffle, SWALLOW, and who still don't blow their nose.
This guy who sits next to me was doing this FOR THE ENTIRE CLASS during crim. I was so grossed out that I moved away from him halfway through class, after enduring 40 minutes it. I didn't care whether he was offended. I hope he was, because it was just RUDE to do what he did.
Anyway, that was my gripe of the day.
This guy who sits next to me was doing this FOR THE ENTIRE CLASS during crim. I was so grossed out that I moved away from him halfway through class, after enduring 40 minutes it. I didn't care whether he was offended. I hope he was, because it was just RUDE to do what he did.
Anyway, that was my gripe of the day.
11/16/2005
Section Game Night
Our section game night was tonight. I brought my Scrabble game. ABS set up a poker tournament. Since I don't know anything about poker, I (wisely) decided to stick with the game I know. (S tried to teach me last night, to no avail.) Our crim law professor came and played scrabble with us for a while. We had four teams. JM, the girl in my study group, played on a team with me. JR and MB were on the same team; JE and PG were on the same team, and Prof. M and AD were on the same team. JM and I kept on grabbing shitty, shitty letters, sometimes all vowels. We came in third. Prof M. and AD's team came in second, and the grand winner was JR and MB. Grrrrr...
Then played speed chess with S. In spite of his gross mistakes in the beginning (including losing his queen AND one rook to me within the first 15 moves of the game), time got me in the end. I never claimed to be a good chess player (and J, you know this!).
In case my life sounds like nothing but fun and games to you, this evening I also buckled down after coming home and read 40 pages of torts. Well, okay, that really wasn't that hard since the subject matter -- product liability -- is very interesting. Also, Wednesdays are always a bitch, since there are three back-to-back classes today. Torts was pretty interesting; crim law was unbearably boring; and in civ pro we had a mock trial relitigating Asahi, where my very colorful and flamingly gay friend L argued for the original plaintiff. A good time was had by all.
Back to reading... (see? I'm a good girl...)
Then played speed chess with S. In spite of his gross mistakes in the beginning (including losing his queen AND one rook to me within the first 15 moves of the game), time got me in the end. I never claimed to be a good chess player (and J, you know this!).
In case my life sounds like nothing but fun and games to you, this evening I also buckled down after coming home and read 40 pages of torts. Well, okay, that really wasn't that hard since the subject matter -- product liability -- is very interesting. Also, Wednesdays are always a bitch, since there are three back-to-back classes today. Torts was pretty interesting; crim law was unbearably boring; and in civ pro we had a mock trial relitigating Asahi, where my very colorful and flamingly gay friend L argued for the original plaintiff. A good time was had by all.
Back to reading... (see? I'm a good girl...)
11/15/2005
The Nerdiest Game Ever
Today was a good day. In the morning we had crim. After that, I had my business law reading group with our very young, recently tenured and endowed, and very attractive Indian professor, who received his JD/MBA from my law school only seven years ago.
We talked a bit about junk bonds trading and the rise of Mike Milken, then, somehow, ended up discussing why law school graduates tend not to have as much passion and love for what they do as business school graduates. My theory is that law is a much more stratified and prestige-oriented profession than business, and the three years of law school is basically a brain-washing process that forces you to accept the values and gradations of the rest of the law community. This is why we are so obsessed with rankings -- which school is #1, which law firm is #1, which journal is more prestigious, which judge is a bigger "feeder judge", whose professors get cited more often, etc.
Someone else made the point that the type of people who are lawyers are more risk-averse and only chose law out of anxiety and fear but anything they really love. So of course most of they are not going to really love anything they really do in the profession, either.
Anyway, I know these things are hard to generalize and harder to resolve, but the conversation got me thinking nonetheless. I am pretty happy with law school so far. I hope it's not all downhill from here. I guess I have a responsibility to make sure that it's not.
After my reading group, I went to a game appointment with S, ABS, and another person from our section, JE, to play Twilight Emperium in the law school cafeteria. This game is extremely nerdy and VERY elaborate. We needed a very large table in order to accommodate all the game pieces, and the whole game took about 3.5 hours.
The game is straight out of the tradition of Lord of the Rings and Star Trek, and it's like an intergalectic version of Civilization, with players controlling planets and vying for domination... the rules are extremely complex and took me a while to master, so I won't bore you with them here. Even from the look of it, it was the nerdiest game ever, and as R (another person who occasionally played the game with us) would say, you can judge a game's nerdiness by how many new and invented words it requires you to say while playing it. And this game has a ton of invented words. Just as an example: I controlled the Nuula people. 'Nuff said.
S attacked the Nuulas in the middle of the game. Epic battle ensued. I fend him off (with some extremely lucky moves and dice rolling), but the resources that we wasted (war is so wasteful!) caused ABS to forge ahead and to win. JE came in second. I came in third. S, for his treacherousness, came in last. :D
After that, JE went home to read. ABS, S, and I decided to walk to a Vietnamese restaurant in the Square. We had a very relaxed dinner (perhaps too relaxed). After that, I took a little detour and went to ABS's apartment to see his cat Pandora, then finally went home circa 8 to begin my reading.
We talked a bit about junk bonds trading and the rise of Mike Milken, then, somehow, ended up discussing why law school graduates tend not to have as much passion and love for what they do as business school graduates. My theory is that law is a much more stratified and prestige-oriented profession than business, and the three years of law school is basically a brain-washing process that forces you to accept the values and gradations of the rest of the law community. This is why we are so obsessed with rankings -- which school is #1, which law firm is #1, which journal is more prestigious, which judge is a bigger "feeder judge", whose professors get cited more often, etc.
Someone else made the point that the type of people who are lawyers are more risk-averse and only chose law out of anxiety and fear but anything they really love. So of course most of they are not going to really love anything they really do in the profession, either.
Anyway, I know these things are hard to generalize and harder to resolve, but the conversation got me thinking nonetheless. I am pretty happy with law school so far. I hope it's not all downhill from here. I guess I have a responsibility to make sure that it's not.
After my reading group, I went to a game appointment with S, ABS, and another person from our section, JE, to play Twilight Emperium in the law school cafeteria. This game is extremely nerdy and VERY elaborate. We needed a very large table in order to accommodate all the game pieces, and the whole game took about 3.5 hours.
The game is straight out of the tradition of Lord of the Rings and Star Trek, and it's like an intergalectic version of Civilization, with players controlling planets and vying for domination... the rules are extremely complex and took me a while to master, so I won't bore you with them here. Even from the look of it, it was the nerdiest game ever, and as R (another person who occasionally played the game with us) would say, you can judge a game's nerdiness by how many new and invented words it requires you to say while playing it. And this game has a ton of invented words. Just as an example: I controlled the Nuula people. 'Nuff said.
S attacked the Nuulas in the middle of the game. Epic battle ensued. I fend him off (with some extremely lucky moves and dice rolling), but the resources that we wasted (war is so wasteful!) caused ABS to forge ahead and to win. JE came in second. I came in third. S, for his treacherousness, came in last. :D
After that, JE went home to read. ABS, S, and I decided to walk to a Vietnamese restaurant in the Square. We had a very relaxed dinner (perhaps too relaxed). After that, I took a little detour and went to ABS's apartment to see his cat Pandora, then finally went home circa 8 to begin my reading.
11/14/2005
Secton Politics, 1L Job Fair
It's been warm in the past few days, which is nice, especially since I know that winter is just around the corner. I worn a cotton dress today -- feels so much like spring. But I have my snow boots ready.
Three things that are of note today. First, I decided to invite my entire section to go to see the Harry Potter movie with me. Boyfriend is not a big Harry Potter fan and finds the entire line of Harry Potter products excruciatingly boring. Thank God I now have friends who disagree!
So, I wrote an email to the entire section inviting them. It's kind of unusual of me to do this, because usually I am ultra-sensitive and fear rejection. But I figured that if no one responds I will just chalk it up to the fact that they are not Harry Potter fans. :)
But so far, 8 people responded. So I now have to look into tickets, schedules, etc.
Second, I organized a study group last week and today it met for the first time in the library! We did practice exam questions and then talked about them with each other. It was a lot of fun and very helpful, as well.
The formation of this study group was a little agonizing. Initially, I wanted to just invite my best friend from the section, J, to do this. But then I thought, there are so many smart people in the section. Perhaps we should invite more. So I wrote J an email and suggested a few names, including R, D, JM, and S. I told her that I'd like to limit the number of participants to five because beyond that it was too unwieldy and hard to communicate.
J wrote back and said that it was a really good idea. She did say though that she wondered whether S would be too unfocused to really study. I was planning a meeting once a week where everyone would do practice exam questions and come together to discuss them, and this requires a little bit of discipline. S (to my knowledge) is the hard-drinking type who always manages to get his work done though not in a steady way. Anyway, after speaking to her, I decided to only invite R, JM, and D. All of them responded and said that they loved the idea. But I was immediately worried that my other friends in the section would be insulted that they weren't invited into our study group.
I know. I'm neurotic about these things. But I really do hate anything divisive or exclusive. I want everyone to get along and, more importantly, to get along with ME. But the truth of the matter is, I can't include everyone in the study group, and I had to choose. So oh well.
But anyway, that's the story of the study group. We met for the first time today and it went really well. Everyone was focused and on and had good things to say. The dynamics were really good. I am proud and happy though am a little sad that S, A, ABS, and a bunch of other friends were not included. S had lunch with us today and learned about the study group. He didn't say anything, but I wonder how he felt.
Third thing of note was that there was a 1L job fair tonight at school, where 2Ls and 3Ls who worked for public interest organizations talked to 1Ls about their experience working at various organizations. It was informative and got me thinking seriously about working abroad for the summer. My law school guarantees funding for all the 1Ls who want to do public interest work, and it seems like we have a lot of latitude in choosing what we want to do/where we want to go.
Okay, this is it for now. I can't believe I wrote so much. Should go to sleep now!
Three things that are of note today. First, I decided to invite my entire section to go to see the Harry Potter movie with me. Boyfriend is not a big Harry Potter fan and finds the entire line of Harry Potter products excruciatingly boring. Thank God I now have friends who disagree!
So, I wrote an email to the entire section inviting them. It's kind of unusual of me to do this, because usually I am ultra-sensitive and fear rejection. But I figured that if no one responds I will just chalk it up to the fact that they are not Harry Potter fans. :)
But so far, 8 people responded. So I now have to look into tickets, schedules, etc.
Second, I organized a study group last week and today it met for the first time in the library! We did practice exam questions and then talked about them with each other. It was a lot of fun and very helpful, as well.
The formation of this study group was a little agonizing. Initially, I wanted to just invite my best friend from the section, J, to do this. But then I thought, there are so many smart people in the section. Perhaps we should invite more. So I wrote J an email and suggested a few names, including R, D, JM, and S. I told her that I'd like to limit the number of participants to five because beyond that it was too unwieldy and hard to communicate.
J wrote back and said that it was a really good idea. She did say though that she wondered whether S would be too unfocused to really study. I was planning a meeting once a week where everyone would do practice exam questions and come together to discuss them, and this requires a little bit of discipline. S (to my knowledge) is the hard-drinking type who always manages to get his work done though not in a steady way. Anyway, after speaking to her, I decided to only invite R, JM, and D. All of them responded and said that they loved the idea. But I was immediately worried that my other friends in the section would be insulted that they weren't invited into our study group.
I know. I'm neurotic about these things. But I really do hate anything divisive or exclusive. I want everyone to get along and, more importantly, to get along with ME. But the truth of the matter is, I can't include everyone in the study group, and I had to choose. So oh well.
But anyway, that's the story of the study group. We met for the first time today and it went really well. Everyone was focused and on and had good things to say. The dynamics were really good. I am proud and happy though am a little sad that S, A, ABS, and a bunch of other friends were not included. S had lunch with us today and learned about the study group. He didn't say anything, but I wonder how he felt.
Third thing of note was that there was a 1L job fair tonight at school, where 2Ls and 3Ls who worked for public interest organizations talked to 1Ls about their experience working at various organizations. It was informative and got me thinking seriously about working abroad for the summer. My law school guarantees funding for all the 1Ls who want to do public interest work, and it seems like we have a lot of latitude in choosing what we want to do/where we want to go.
Okay, this is it for now. I can't believe I wrote so much. Should go to sleep now!
11/13/2005
Slacker's Weekend
Spent the weekend mildly slacking off. I did all my work evetually, it just took me a long time, and I didn't get nearly as much work as I'd liked. But it was fun.
Satureday, went to the law school for brunch. Met S and another girl from our section there. Talked with S 'til nearly 3, not wanting to do work. S finally left. I was left alone in the dining hall and decided to buckle down. Worked on the memo for a few hours. It bored me to tears. If I ever hear the word "negligent marketing" or "negligent entrustment" again I think I'm going to puke.
Played a few rounds of pool with A in the evening in the poolroom, then went home. Boyfriend came home. I spent the rest of the evening checking citations on my stupid memo. Finally went to sleep around midnight.
Sunday -- Boyfriend wanted to watch football, so I went to school again -- good thing school is only 10 minutes away! Spent the entire day updating my civ pro outline, doing a civ pro sample problem, and then reading for crim law. These questions are HARD! I really need to buckle down and start getting the concepts straight in my head. Otherwise there's no way I'm going to get a good grade on these exams.
Came home, read crim some more, but kind of inefficiently. People kept on IMing me!! Why don't I just turn my AIM off? Because I'm a social being and fear loneliness and abandonment, and because I have no self-control whatsoever, and because the crim law really bored me and I was actually looking forward to chatting with various classmates and griping about how boring crim law has become. We finished the substantive section of our crim law course and are now studying criminal procedure. The cases we are reading are kind of dry... Perhaps I will explain another day.
Satureday, went to the law school for brunch. Met S and another girl from our section there. Talked with S 'til nearly 3, not wanting to do work. S finally left. I was left alone in the dining hall and decided to buckle down. Worked on the memo for a few hours. It bored me to tears. If I ever hear the word "negligent marketing" or "negligent entrustment" again I think I'm going to puke.
Played a few rounds of pool with A in the evening in the poolroom, then went home. Boyfriend came home. I spent the rest of the evening checking citations on my stupid memo. Finally went to sleep around midnight.
Sunday -- Boyfriend wanted to watch football, so I went to school again -- good thing school is only 10 minutes away! Spent the entire day updating my civ pro outline, doing a civ pro sample problem, and then reading for crim law. These questions are HARD! I really need to buckle down and start getting the concepts straight in my head. Otherwise there's no way I'm going to get a good grade on these exams.
Came home, read crim some more, but kind of inefficiently. People kept on IMing me!! Why don't I just turn my AIM off? Because I'm a social being and fear loneliness and abandonment, and because I have no self-control whatsoever, and because the crim law really bored me and I was actually looking forward to chatting with various classmates and griping about how boring crim law has become. We finished the substantive section of our crim law course and are now studying criminal procedure. The cases we are reading are kind of dry... Perhaps I will explain another day.
11/11/2005
Opera Night
Another Friday... Time is passing very quickly these days. This weekend is going to be a busy one, because another memo is due next Monday. So will probably spend most of this weekend revising and bluebooking.
This afternoon after class, I went to my friend D's house for our weekly Scrabble game. D's mother-in-law is also in town and came in the middle of the game with D's wife L. L looks very god, basically the same as she looked 7 years ago, which is pretty amazing. I lost the scrabble game by 17 points. :( We are scheduling a rematch and tiebreaker next Friday.
After that I walked to meet R and L from my section to go to the opera together in downtown B-town. We first had dinner at a great Vietnamese restaurant in Chinatown, and talked tons and tons of section gossip, then went to the opera, which was AMAZING! I never listened to operas that much before (except for many Wagner operas when I lived in Berlin) but this reminded me of how fun it is. Opera is so over the top -- big costumes; elaborate sets (although our set is kind of modern and sparse); great music... The main character, a soprano tonight was very very good, and certain scenes really brought tears to my eyes.
So, note to self: watch operas more often!!
This afternoon after class, I went to my friend D's house for our weekly Scrabble game. D's mother-in-law is also in town and came in the middle of the game with D's wife L. L looks very god, basically the same as she looked 7 years ago, which is pretty amazing. I lost the scrabble game by 17 points. :( We are scheduling a rematch and tiebreaker next Friday.
After that I walked to meet R and L from my section to go to the opera together in downtown B-town. We first had dinner at a great Vietnamese restaurant in Chinatown, and talked tons and tons of section gossip, then went to the opera, which was AMAZING! I never listened to operas that much before (except for many Wagner operas when I lived in Berlin) but this reminded me of how fun it is. Opera is so over the top -- big costumes; elaborate sets (although our set is kind of modern and sparse); great music... The main character, a soprano tonight was very very good, and certain scenes really brought tears to my eyes.
So, note to self: watch operas more often!!
Musical
Just came back from the bar with S. The evening was supposed to involve more people but it ended up just being the two of us. We had a very intense conversation over white russians for me and beers for him. Then he was gentlemanly and walked me home. Came home feeling very fond of him and happy in general.
Earlier tonight, went to see a very strange law school musical with J and ABS. The musical has nothing to do with law and as far as I could tell was just some law students who want to be actors putting together a show on a whim. The pretty Korean girl from our section stars in the musical and does a pretty good job. Other than that, the musical features some of the worst singing I've ever heard, hilarious acting, and a good time all around. The show is funny, sometimes intentionally and sometimes unintentionally, I laughed pretty hard. Also, it has an INSANE ending. I had a lot of fun...
Really should go to sleep now if I have any hope of making it to torts tomorrow.
Earlier tonight, went to see a very strange law school musical with J and ABS. The musical has nothing to do with law and as far as I could tell was just some law students who want to be actors putting together a show on a whim. The pretty Korean girl from our section stars in the musical and does a pretty good job. Other than that, the musical features some of the worst singing I've ever heard, hilarious acting, and a good time all around. The show is funny, sometimes intentionally and sometimes unintentionally, I laughed pretty hard. Also, it has an INSANE ending. I had a lot of fun...
Really should go to sleep now if I have any hope of making it to torts tomorrow.
11/08/2005
Prison Sucks
You probably know this already, but I just wanted to reiterate this again. Prison. Sucks.
Try not to break the law so you don't have to go to prison.
Anyway, yes, I went on the tour for a medium-security prison today. It was one of the most depressing places I have ever been to. I guess this is good. We don't want our prisons to be enjoyable or anything. But still, the place was smelly, dirty, and soul-crushing.
We looked at the cells where inmates stayed in. The lack of privacy is astounding. The guards could go into the inmate's cell at any time. To demonstrate to us what kind of stuff inmates can or cannot keep, one of the guards lifted the box inside the cell for us and showed us what things the inmate had inside. A few girls in our group cringed. Later, we said that we felt bad that we were going through other people's stuff. Then someone else pointed out that it wasn't as if the inmates had that much expectations of privacy anyway. In fact, it was part of their punishment. To live under a microscope.
They were strip searched when they came in. Everything that was sent to them goes through this central office where it is scrutnized. The state gives them the clothes, the sheets, the boxes and the shelves that they are allowed to keep. The state is also allowed to go into their room at any time for any reason to search their belongings.
The prison was an all male prison. The dress code was white shirt and gray pants. The inmates were not as restricted as I thought they'd be. They moved around in the hallways and had an almost collegial relationship with their guards, who seemed to know them by name.
All the inmates watched us as we came and went. They leered at the women in the group. There were a lot of catcalls.
I felt very self-conscious. One of the people in my section joked (very politically incorrectly) that our prison trip was as if we were taking a fieldtrip to the zoo. But somehow, we felt like the animal on display. The eyes of the inmates were hungry, stripping us down. It occurred to me that a few of these people are probably in the prison for rape.
I felt oddly grateful for the guards. They were all pretty courteous and also protective. Before we went into one of the hallways with cells on either sides, the guards stood at the door and told everyone to go into their cells. The way he stood, with feet apart, hands on his waist, was so authoritative and strong. I was glad that he was there.
The air was bad in the buildings. The whole place smelled like a mixture of body odors, urine, and the kind of cheap cleaners they used in my junior high school building. We later joked that it was probably bulit, furnished, and cleaned by the same contractors who does all these jobs for the government.
There were many minorities there. Our tour guides explained to us that the prison we were visiting was more of a transfer station, for newly admitted inmates who needed to be classified and then moved elsewhere permanently. For this reason, the average time the inmates spend at the facility was six months. Although they saw a lot of the same people there again and again.
In between the buildings was a big yard, fenced in by wires. Many prisoners were playing basketball there. They stopped and gazed at us as we walked by. I noticed that there was not a tree anywhere, nor grass. The ground was gray. All the buildings looked wind-swept and gray too.
Elsewhere in the prison, in a large room that was normally used for chapel service, several hundred prisoners were watching "Passion of the Christ." As we peeked into the room, they also turned and looked at us hungrily. The movie was showing on a small 14-inch TV in the front. It occurred to me that they couldn't possibly all see the screen. The damned movie is in Aramaic, too, and they couldn't read the subtitles either. What were they all doing in there? I wondered.
"You think this place is depressing?" One of the tour guides, the deputy superintendent of the prison, said. "Well, even this can't seem to keep them away."
I suppose none of this should surprise me, but it still did. I was very glad when I left that place.
Try not to break the law so you don't have to go to prison.
Anyway, yes, I went on the tour for a medium-security prison today. It was one of the most depressing places I have ever been to. I guess this is good. We don't want our prisons to be enjoyable or anything. But still, the place was smelly, dirty, and soul-crushing.
We looked at the cells where inmates stayed in. The lack of privacy is astounding. The guards could go into the inmate's cell at any time. To demonstrate to us what kind of stuff inmates can or cannot keep, one of the guards lifted the box inside the cell for us and showed us what things the inmate had inside. A few girls in our group cringed. Later, we said that we felt bad that we were going through other people's stuff. Then someone else pointed out that it wasn't as if the inmates had that much expectations of privacy anyway. In fact, it was part of their punishment. To live under a microscope.
They were strip searched when they came in. Everything that was sent to them goes through this central office where it is scrutnized. The state gives them the clothes, the sheets, the boxes and the shelves that they are allowed to keep. The state is also allowed to go into their room at any time for any reason to search their belongings.
The prison was an all male prison. The dress code was white shirt and gray pants. The inmates were not as restricted as I thought they'd be. They moved around in the hallways and had an almost collegial relationship with their guards, who seemed to know them by name.
All the inmates watched us as we came and went. They leered at the women in the group. There were a lot of catcalls.
I felt very self-conscious. One of the people in my section joked (very politically incorrectly) that our prison trip was as if we were taking a fieldtrip to the zoo. But somehow, we felt like the animal on display. The eyes of the inmates were hungry, stripping us down. It occurred to me that a few of these people are probably in the prison for rape.
I felt oddly grateful for the guards. They were all pretty courteous and also protective. Before we went into one of the hallways with cells on either sides, the guards stood at the door and told everyone to go into their cells. The way he stood, with feet apart, hands on his waist, was so authoritative and strong. I was glad that he was there.
The air was bad in the buildings. The whole place smelled like a mixture of body odors, urine, and the kind of cheap cleaners they used in my junior high school building. We later joked that it was probably bulit, furnished, and cleaned by the same contractors who does all these jobs for the government.
There were many minorities there. Our tour guides explained to us that the prison we were visiting was more of a transfer station, for newly admitted inmates who needed to be classified and then moved elsewhere permanently. For this reason, the average time the inmates spend at the facility was six months. Although they saw a lot of the same people there again and again.
In between the buildings was a big yard, fenced in by wires. Many prisoners were playing basketball there. They stopped and gazed at us as we walked by. I noticed that there was not a tree anywhere, nor grass. The ground was gray. All the buildings looked wind-swept and gray too.
Elsewhere in the prison, in a large room that was normally used for chapel service, several hundred prisoners were watching "Passion of the Christ." As we peeked into the room, they also turned and looked at us hungrily. The movie was showing on a small 14-inch TV in the front. It occurred to me that they couldn't possibly all see the screen. The damned movie is in Aramaic, too, and they couldn't read the subtitles either. What were they all doing in there? I wondered.
"You think this place is depressing?" One of the tour guides, the deputy superintendent of the prison, said. "Well, even this can't seem to keep them away."
I suppose none of this should surprise me, but it still did. I was very glad when I left that place.
11/07/2005
Looking Forward to Prison
Slept 13 hours last night! From 8:00 to 9:00 this morning. Feel very focused and refreshed today -- ready to work. Unlike my usual self. :)
Yesterday, spent the whole day doing some crim law final exms... They are so hard! I misread the directions to an problem and thought that the word limit was 1,000 words, so I ended up with 1,100 words... but reread the directions and realized that the word limit is actually 500 words, which is insane!
Today, had crim law class, which is now really about criminal procedure rather than substantive criminal law (we've officially entered the second half of the course on Tuesday). It was pretty intereting -- all Fourth Amendment stuff; no unreasonable search and seizure; no arrest warrants without probable cause, etc.
Then, went out to lunch with a group of my classmates to lunch with my civ pro professor. My law school has a budge for every professor to take students out to dinner. We went to a mexican restaurant, sat around a big table, and talked. Although her class is boring, Prof. D is actually very nice in person. She talked very frankly about university politics, told us that she hated civ pro herself when she was a 1L, and in general gave us advice about how to survive the first year of law school. There was a whole bunch of motivational stuff mixed in there as well ("you have the whole world open wide for you..."). All in all, it was a very good experience.
I have another lunch this Wednesday with my crim law professor. I was actually the one who organized this lunch, and I invited some of my friends at the section to join me. This should be fun as well.
Part of our section went to visit a state prison today. It's a trip organized by my crim law professor. I was slated to go tomorrow, and I'm really looking forward to the trip. Apparently, prison has a very strict dress code. Our prof sent us a total of 6-7 emails about the prohibited clothing items, which are very numerous. Here's a partial list:
-shorts, cut-offs,culottes
-halter tops
-tube tops
-half shirts or short blouses
-see-through clothing of any type
-sweat pants
-jogging suits
-skirt/dress with slit above knees or wrap-arounds, mini skirts
-tank tops, sleeveless garments
-low-cut blouses
-unlined or open pocket
-hats of any type, gloves, mittens, or scarves
-stretch pants, stirrup pants, spandex, other tight clothing
-camouflage fatigues, BDU's or cargo pants
-hospital type gowns/clothing/scrubs
-overalls (farmer jeans)
-torn clothing or clothing with holes
-excessively loose fitting or baggy clothing
-leg warmers
-t-shirts or shirts without collars
-clothing with elastic waist bands, elastic in the waist, wrist bands and/or pant legs, or draw-string clothing
Some items, on the other hand, are just bizaare. For instance, we are not allowed to wear "more than one pair of pants." Guys are not allowed to wear "black pants and white shirt". Are they afraid of waiters or something?? Also, like most restaurants, we are not allowed to go bare feet.
Anyway, I'll have to give some serious thought about what to wear tomorrow when I "go to prison".
Yesterday, spent the whole day doing some crim law final exms... They are so hard! I misread the directions to an problem and thought that the word limit was 1,000 words, so I ended up with 1,100 words... but reread the directions and realized that the word limit is actually 500 words, which is insane!
Today, had crim law class, which is now really about criminal procedure rather than substantive criminal law (we've officially entered the second half of the course on Tuesday). It was pretty intereting -- all Fourth Amendment stuff; no unreasonable search and seizure; no arrest warrants without probable cause, etc.
Then, went out to lunch with a group of my classmates to lunch with my civ pro professor. My law school has a budge for every professor to take students out to dinner. We went to a mexican restaurant, sat around a big table, and talked. Although her class is boring, Prof. D is actually very nice in person. She talked very frankly about university politics, told us that she hated civ pro herself when she was a 1L, and in general gave us advice about how to survive the first year of law school. There was a whole bunch of motivational stuff mixed in there as well ("you have the whole world open wide for you..."). All in all, it was a very good experience.
I have another lunch this Wednesday with my crim law professor. I was actually the one who organized this lunch, and I invited some of my friends at the section to join me. This should be fun as well.
Part of our section went to visit a state prison today. It's a trip organized by my crim law professor. I was slated to go tomorrow, and I'm really looking forward to the trip. Apparently, prison has a very strict dress code. Our prof sent us a total of 6-7 emails about the prohibited clothing items, which are very numerous. Here's a partial list:
-shorts, cut-offs,culottes
-halter tops
-tube tops
-half shirts or short blouses
-see-through clothing of any type
-sweat pants
-jogging suits
-skirt/dress with slit above knees or wrap-arounds, mini skirts
-tank tops, sleeveless garments
-low-cut blouses
-unlined or open pocket
-hats of any type, gloves, mittens, or scarves
-stretch pants, stirrup pants, spandex, other tight clothing
-camouflage fatigues, BDU's or cargo pants
-hospital type gowns/clothing/scrubs
-overalls (farmer jeans)
-torn clothing or clothing with holes
-excessively loose fitting or baggy clothing
-leg warmers
-t-shirts or shirts without collars
-clothing with elastic waist bands, elastic in the waist, wrist bands and/or pant legs, or draw-string clothing
Some items, on the other hand, are just bizaare. For instance, we are not allowed to wear "more than one pair of pants." Guys are not allowed to wear "black pants and white shirt". Are they afraid of waiters or something?? Also, like most restaurants, we are not allowed to go bare feet.
Anyway, I'll have to give some serious thought about what to wear tomorrow when I "go to prison".
11/05/2005
Shopping!
Last night when I went to the deli to meet S, I ran into N, a pretty and petite Korean girl from our class. (Our section has 3 East Asian girls, myself included, but no East Asian guys. There are two Southeast Asian guys however, and no Southeast Asian girl. J, my bestfriend from the section, is half East-Asian and half Indian, so I'm not really sure where to place her in that category. Why do I care? I have no idea.)
Anyway, N said that she was going shopping today and asked if I wanted to come along. Being the shopaholic that I am, immediately agreed. So this morning at around 10:30, we met up and took the subway into the city. At first, we wanted to go to a famous outlet store downtown. But as we walkeed around there, we realized that we hated the place -- it was simply too disorganized and too crowded, and neither of us felt like looking through racks and overfilled bins to discover the one or two items that may be good among the tons and tons of mediocre clothing.
So, disappointed, we took the subway to another downtown spot where a nice shopping large center is, and immediately felt much better. The next hour and a half were spent splitting up and intensely shopping at BR, NM, JC, and BB. When we met up again, each of us had several large shopping bags in hand. :)
Came home and took a nap. Boyfriend came back from N-Town around 6, while I was still asleep. When I woke up, we decided to go out to dinner, and walked to this great restaurant nearby. Then came home, played some literati, and now am buckling down to work. :)
Anyway, N said that she was going shopping today and asked if I wanted to come along. Being the shopaholic that I am, immediately agreed. So this morning at around 10:30, we met up and took the subway into the city. At first, we wanted to go to a famous outlet store downtown. But as we walkeed around there, we realized that we hated the place -- it was simply too disorganized and too crowded, and neither of us felt like looking through racks and overfilled bins to discover the one or two items that may be good among the tons and tons of mediocre clothing.
So, disappointed, we took the subway to another downtown spot where a nice shopping large center is, and immediately felt much better. The next hour and a half were spent splitting up and intensely shopping at BR, NM, JC, and BB. When we met up again, each of us had several large shopping bags in hand. :)
Came home and took a nap. Boyfriend came back from N-Town around 6, while I was still asleep. When I woke up, we decided to go out to dinner, and walked to this great restaurant nearby. Then came home, played some literati, and now am buckling down to work. :)
11/04/2005
Past Two Days
Last two days have been fun... Last night, we had the section happy hour after class at a bar near my apartment. Then A, S, D, and R came to my apartment to watch the Apprentice. it was the first time anyone has been to my apartment, and they seemed to like it. J and her husband were going to come too, but at the last minute they flaked out. So it was just me and the guys.
S was a little drunk and was very loud. I was a bit afraid that he was going to annoy the neighbors. I have never really seen S like this, since usually he's shy and quiet. Well, this was interesting, and thankfully the neighbors did not call the police.
Tonight... I was going to go out for drinks with A, S, and some others, but at the last minute the plan petered out and instead I was in the campus cafe for a bit, reading for the civ pro assignment that I was supposed to have done by today's class. We are reading some intersting stuff on personal jurisdiction -- very complicated doctrinally and even though I read about all this over the summer I'm still struggling to keep up with the discussions in class. Then came home. Drank some wine. Around 8 S wrote and asked whether I wanted to grab a sandwich. We met at a little deli and talked for a while.
Came home and had more wine. Tried to read civ pro but couldn't really focus. Instead played many, many games of literati.
Should go to sleep now. I made plans to go shopping with this girl N in my section tomorrow morning, so it will be an early start for me! :)
S was a little drunk and was very loud. I was a bit afraid that he was going to annoy the neighbors. I have never really seen S like this, since usually he's shy and quiet. Well, this was interesting, and thankfully the neighbors did not call the police.
Tonight... I was going to go out for drinks with A, S, and some others, but at the last minute the plan petered out and instead I was in the campus cafe for a bit, reading for the civ pro assignment that I was supposed to have done by today's class. We are reading some intersting stuff on personal jurisdiction -- very complicated doctrinally and even though I read about all this over the summer I'm still struggling to keep up with the discussions in class. Then came home. Drank some wine. Around 8 S wrote and asked whether I wanted to grab a sandwich. We met at a little deli and talked for a while.
Came home and had more wine. Tried to read civ pro but couldn't really focus. Instead played many, many games of literati.
Should go to sleep now. I made plans to go shopping with this girl N in my section tomorrow morning, so it will be an early start for me! :)
11/02/2005
Phew... Still Alive
This week was hellish. H-E-L-L-I-S-H, I tell you! I had about a gazilion projects to finish, several writing and research assignments, 40 citations (which equals roughly 40 hours of work, and no, (sadly), I'm not exaggerating at all), tons and tons of reading, and a bunch of obligations that I had to perform for my former company. Well, I can't believe that I survived. I have averaged between 4-5 hours of sleep per day, and drank tons and tons of coffee (to the point where I am jittery and anxious).
Thankfully, this busy period is drawing to a close temporarily, so I'll be back on my normal schedule of "just" reading for class and writing the occasional memo. Yay.
Don't want to mislead you, however, into thinking that the honeymoon with the law school is over. Law school is still great. I'm still enjoying all my classes. This is part of the reason why this past week has been so crazy. Many of my classmates would probably just have skipped classes to save time. But since classes are the highlights of my day, I simply refused to do that.
However, the honeymoon with law school is definitely over for SOME people in my section. Fewer and fewer peopel come to our early torts class, and some people skip classes for days. Also, my friend J tells me that some people are beginning to crack under the pressure (pressure?!? WHAT pressure?). Some people, for instance, feel afraid to speak up during class because they feel that other people judge them and will look down upon them if their comments are stupid. I felt genuinely surprised when J told me this. I thought that our section has a relatively good atmosphere, and if anything, I certainly couldn't care LESS what people think of me. My self image is not built on whether other people consider me intelligent. If anything, I'm probably considered to be a ditz by quite a few people in my class, and I rather like it. :D It's better than the image of an old spinster.
Anyway, I shouldl really go to sleep now. Something I haven't done... in a while...
Thankfully, this busy period is drawing to a close temporarily, so I'll be back on my normal schedule of "just" reading for class and writing the occasional memo. Yay.
Don't want to mislead you, however, into thinking that the honeymoon with the law school is over. Law school is still great. I'm still enjoying all my classes. This is part of the reason why this past week has been so crazy. Many of my classmates would probably just have skipped classes to save time. But since classes are the highlights of my day, I simply refused to do that.
However, the honeymoon with law school is definitely over for SOME people in my section. Fewer and fewer peopel come to our early torts class, and some people skip classes for days. Also, my friend J tells me that some people are beginning to crack under the pressure (pressure?!? WHAT pressure?). Some people, for instance, feel afraid to speak up during class because they feel that other people judge them and will look down upon them if their comments are stupid. I felt genuinely surprised when J told me this. I thought that our section has a relatively good atmosphere, and if anything, I certainly couldn't care LESS what people think of me. My self image is not built on whether other people consider me intelligent. If anything, I'm probably considered to be a ditz by quite a few people in my class, and I rather like it. :D It's better than the image of an old spinster.
Anyway, I shouldl really go to sleep now. Something I haven't done... in a while...
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