I'm still getting used to the being-away-all-day and the getting-up-early routine, and today I was feeling very fatigued at 7 p.m., so I think it will be an early night for this girl.
In the course of frantically combing the registrat's website for possibly desirable courses that have not yet been registered, I came across a seminar that is strangely still half-empty, taught by a prof that we snatched this year from Columbia. Weird. I wonder if it's because he's a horrible teacher, or what? Well in any case, I enrolled myself in it. Now I just have to find out what the class is about. :)
Also, I'm now 6th on the waitlist for local government law! Crossing my fingers...
1/30/2007
1/29/2007
Class Decision Drama
I had high hopes for the one seminar I signed up for this semester with Prof R. Sadly, it disappointed me, and I am ... disappointed.
Take t from me: It's never a good sign when a prof prefaces the class by saying that it was the first time he is teaching the class, that it is an "experiment," and that he doesn't exactly know what he wants to do yet. Then, we proceeded to have meandering discussions for TWO HOURS with people awkwardly contributing freshman-year, first-political-philosophy-class-EVER type comments and critiques to our reading assignments. I mean, the reading itself should have tipped me off: some Jeremy Bentham, some critique on Bentham, some basic "omg should we have utilitarianism but it's so PROBLEMATIC!" type essays. Yawn. By the second hour I was really ready to kill self. Or fall asleep. I wanted to leave but I didn't want to be rude.
I just dropped the class this evening. But now what should I take?! Argh.
I'm fastening all my hope on local gov law. Currently, I'm #11 on the waitlist. It does not look good.
Take t from me: It's never a good sign when a prof prefaces the class by saying that it was the first time he is teaching the class, that it is an "experiment," and that he doesn't exactly know what he wants to do yet. Then, we proceeded to have meandering discussions for TWO HOURS with people awkwardly contributing freshman-year, first-political-philosophy-class-EVER type comments and critiques to our reading assignments. I mean, the reading itself should have tipped me off: some Jeremy Bentham, some critique on Bentham, some basic "omg should we have utilitarianism but it's so PROBLEMATIC!" type essays. Yawn. By the second hour I was really ready to kill self. Or fall asleep. I wanted to leave but I didn't want to be rude.
I just dropped the class this evening. But now what should I take?! Argh.
I'm fastening all my hope on local gov law. Currently, I'm #11 on the waitlist. It does not look good.
1/28/2007
School Starts Anew
I'm SO not ready for the spring semester... I don't have all my classes picked out yet, and haven't done most of my readings. Argh! That damned memo ate up all my intersession!
1/27/2007
Nostalgia
Was going through my photo album today and saw this photo, which made me miss Jerusalem very much.
It's funny how your love for a city can foment while you're absent from it, growing stronger, more complex, more layered. It was like that with Germany, with Berlin in particular. I saw it first in 2000, and then was absent from it for a year. But during that year, it was continually on my mind, the grayness, the cold wetness, the stately marble buildilngs of Ku'damm, those walls with bullet holes... the fog that curled around the Fersehturm, the bored-looking urbanites on Alexanderplatz, the leather-clad hipsters walking around the Frier Uni. I think it was in being away from Berlin that I really fell in love with it.
And here, it is the being away from Jerusalem that makes me want to go back, that hilly city, white city, the city where, from an aerial view, it is as if all the houses and streets were built haphazardly and in danger of falling down any minute (see photo above); the city where every rock, every stick could be (and probably is) an artifact; that utterly chaotic, self-contradicotry city with five-thousand-year-old walls and ramshackle buildings and noisy Arabic markets and that hot, dry smell of the desert. And yet in the evening, when the sun sets, the city suddenly settles into a softness and almost sorrowful silence.
And the people! I had never seen so many people walking around with vehement, determined expressions. The language you overhear always sounded urgent, and everyone smoked as if there was no tomorrow. And then the women have such lovely olive skins...
Imagine spending August in Jerusalem! Even the hotness and driness sound appealing right now.
I wrote to a few professors whom I thought might have connections in the Middle East. Some have written back. Some have not. We'll see.
Off to grocery shopping!
It's funny how your love for a city can foment while you're absent from it, growing stronger, more complex, more layered. It was like that with Germany, with Berlin in particular. I saw it first in 2000, and then was absent from it for a year. But during that year, it was continually on my mind, the grayness, the cold wetness, the stately marble buildilngs of Ku'damm, those walls with bullet holes... the fog that curled around the Fersehturm, the bored-looking urbanites on Alexanderplatz, the leather-clad hipsters walking around the Frier Uni. I think it was in being away from Berlin that I really fell in love with it.
And here, it is the being away from Jerusalem that makes me want to go back, that hilly city, white city, the city where, from an aerial view, it is as if all the houses and streets were built haphazardly and in danger of falling down any minute (see photo above); the city where every rock, every stick could be (and probably is) an artifact; that utterly chaotic, self-contradicotry city with five-thousand-year-old walls and ramshackle buildings and noisy Arabic markets and that hot, dry smell of the desert. And yet in the evening, when the sun sets, the city suddenly settles into a softness and almost sorrowful silence.
And the people! I had never seen so many people walking around with vehement, determined expressions. The language you overhear always sounded urgent, and everyone smoked as if there was no tomorrow. And then the women have such lovely olive skins...
Imagine spending August in Jerusalem! Even the hotness and driness sound appealing right now.
I wrote to a few professors whom I thought might have connections in the Middle East. Some have written back. Some have not. We'll see.
Off to grocery shopping!
1/26/2007
Brrrrrrrrr
My face hurt from walking outside today. In about 45 minutes I will have to go out again to meet J and her husband for dinner. We picked a restaurant that's relatively close by, but I'm still dreading the prospect of having to walk there, and then back. Tonight it will be 3 degrees. THREE! And with windchills it will be -13. NEGATIVE THIRTEEN!!
Have been working all day today, and plan to work most of the day tomorrow. Tomorrow evening, AB is driving me to Whole Foods. We are going to load up on yummy organic veggies and meats, and then cook a delicious meal together. You can bet I'm very much looking forward to this. ;)
Have been working all day today, and plan to work most of the day tomorrow. Tomorrow evening, AB is driving me to Whole Foods. We are going to load up on yummy organic veggies and meats, and then cook a delicious meal together. You can bet I'm very much looking forward to this. ;)
1/25/2007
RAing, Procrastinating, Friends
I would be lying if I said that I have been crazy busy with RA work. I have certainly been doing a lot of that, but I have frankly been doing more procrastinating. :)
I did finish editing Professor B's urgent stuff, so now I'm left with the less urgent and a lot more boring stuff like editing down cases so his future family law class could get the benefit of not having to read a gazillion pages of useless analysis (kind of like what we did with this case Wendt v. Wendt... The original case opinion was over 300 pages. Prof B. -- or some poor assistant -- edited it down to 50, and it was still way too long. ABS never bothered reading it because of the length.) So I have about 20 cases for which to do this, including Wendt (hee hee).
Then I am editing this essay by Prof. S, which is in a rough shape (the essay, not the prof), and I think some aspects of the argument needs work. But overall it's interesting to see how people work, and reassuring too b/c it seems totally doable.
I had excellent sushi with RH, LC, AC, and AC's boyfriend J last night. Afterwards, RH and LC came by my apartment for some wine (my favorite: carmenere) and chocolate (truffles from Whole Foods), and we talked about everything from gossip re professors to our dating lives to legal history to critiques of law and literature. I don't hang out with RH and LC much, but last night I was reminded of how much I like them, and especially RH, because he is always so witty and funny and smart.
LC had a funny story about two of the professors at the law school. They are married now, but apparently before they were married, the male professor was married to someone else. Then the male professor and the female professor began having an affair. At a faculty meeting, the male professor's then-wife walked up to the female professor and said to her: "Stop fucking my husband." The female professor very calmly replied: "I can't."
I have no idea whether this story is true, but we certainly had a good laugh over it.
LC is brave and NOT doing a firm this summer. She worked for a firm last summer and absolutely hated it, so she is looking for non-profit opportunities and thinking more specifically about West Africa. She is also thinking about getting a PhD in anthropology after law school. RH already has a PhD in literature, and is therefore in no hurry to return to endless grad student life. I think after long years of poverty he is finally to make some money, though of course academia is such a prize that I doubt anyone would turn it down if given the option.
We also talked for quite a bit about my pessimism re law and literature, but strangely, from the conversation, I actually got some idea for a paper that I am quite excited about, and I began thinking that I perhaps would write it next semester under Professor M. Today I thought about this some more, and talked it over with my dad, who knows nothing about law, and not that much about literary theory (I mean beyond what a reasonably well-educated person usually knows), but who understood what I was talking about and seemed to like my approach.
So I have been thinking about THIS all day (in lieu of working, hehe), and keep on turning the idea over in my head and trying to make sure that it still is a viable and appropriately interesting and original idea, which is also substantial enough to turn into a solid paper. I probably need to do some secondary literature research before I start, just to make sure I am not writing on some obvious and cliched points that people have already written about. But from the way Professor M talked about it last semester, it sounds like no one is writing on this stuff anymore. Perhaps it's time to... um, revive the field. :)
In a bout of virtuousness this morning, I went to the gym for 1.5 hours, did quite a few situps, and then ran/walked for 5.5 miles. I still am not close to reaching my new year's resolution of running for 5 miles nonstop. The maximum I have done ever is 3 miles. I think my problem is that I get bored before I get tired, so next time I go to the gym, perhaps I should make sure to go at night when prime time TV is on, with a good show that I like, such as Lost. Then I bet I could run throughout the whole episode.
Hmmm... that actually is not a bad idea... Of course the weather needs to cooperate and not drop down to single digits at night so I can actually not be deterred to walk to the gym in the first place. :)
I did finish editing Professor B's urgent stuff, so now I'm left with the less urgent and a lot more boring stuff like editing down cases so his future family law class could get the benefit of not having to read a gazillion pages of useless analysis (kind of like what we did with this case Wendt v. Wendt... The original case opinion was over 300 pages. Prof B. -- or some poor assistant -- edited it down to 50, and it was still way too long. ABS never bothered reading it because of the length.) So I have about 20 cases for which to do this, including Wendt (hee hee).
Then I am editing this essay by Prof. S, which is in a rough shape (the essay, not the prof), and I think some aspects of the argument needs work. But overall it's interesting to see how people work, and reassuring too b/c it seems totally doable.
I had excellent sushi with RH, LC, AC, and AC's boyfriend J last night. Afterwards, RH and LC came by my apartment for some wine (my favorite: carmenere) and chocolate (truffles from Whole Foods), and we talked about everything from gossip re professors to our dating lives to legal history to critiques of law and literature. I don't hang out with RH and LC much, but last night I was reminded of how much I like them, and especially RH, because he is always so witty and funny and smart.
LC had a funny story about two of the professors at the law school. They are married now, but apparently before they were married, the male professor was married to someone else. Then the male professor and the female professor began having an affair. At a faculty meeting, the male professor's then-wife walked up to the female professor and said to her: "Stop fucking my husband." The female professor very calmly replied: "I can't."
I have no idea whether this story is true, but we certainly had a good laugh over it.
LC is brave and NOT doing a firm this summer. She worked for a firm last summer and absolutely hated it, so she is looking for non-profit opportunities and thinking more specifically about West Africa. She is also thinking about getting a PhD in anthropology after law school. RH already has a PhD in literature, and is therefore in no hurry to return to endless grad student life. I think after long years of poverty he is finally to make some money, though of course academia is such a prize that I doubt anyone would turn it down if given the option.
We also talked for quite a bit about my pessimism re law and literature, but strangely, from the conversation, I actually got some idea for a paper that I am quite excited about, and I began thinking that I perhaps would write it next semester under Professor M. Today I thought about this some more, and talked it over with my dad, who knows nothing about law, and not that much about literary theory (I mean beyond what a reasonably well-educated person usually knows), but who understood what I was talking about and seemed to like my approach.
So I have been thinking about THIS all day (in lieu of working, hehe), and keep on turning the idea over in my head and trying to make sure that it still is a viable and appropriately interesting and original idea, which is also substantial enough to turn into a solid paper. I probably need to do some secondary literature research before I start, just to make sure I am not writing on some obvious and cliched points that people have already written about. But from the way Professor M talked about it last semester, it sounds like no one is writing on this stuff anymore. Perhaps it's time to... um, revive the field. :)
In a bout of virtuousness this morning, I went to the gym for 1.5 hours, did quite a few situps, and then ran/walked for 5.5 miles. I still am not close to reaching my new year's resolution of running for 5 miles nonstop. The maximum I have done ever is 3 miles. I think my problem is that I get bored before I get tired, so next time I go to the gym, perhaps I should make sure to go at night when prime time TV is on, with a good show that I like, such as Lost. Then I bet I could run throughout the whole episode.
Hmmm... that actually is not a bad idea... Of course the weather needs to cooperate and not drop down to single digits at night so I can actually not be deterred to walk to the gym in the first place. :)
1/22/2007
Done with Winter Semester
Family law final exam was okay... very conventional and long hypos, but interesting. Though the prof promised that there was no time pressure, I still wrote until 10 minutes before the deadline, and handed the exam in right before 4:30. ABS was already in the exam room, waiting for me, as expected.
After the exam, we hung out for a bit at the LR building, chatting about the exam that neither of us stressed too much about, stealing their bagels and potato chips, and watching TV listlessly. Also ran into AG there and chatted.
Then walked home in the light snow - it was beautiful and made me nostalgic. My apartment is very warm these days because of the wonderful space heater purchase. Oh and I forgot to mention last night: on the way back to the apartment after getting the heater, I discovered I left my keys in the apartment, and had wait in the cold for nearly an hour for security to come and unlock the door for me... don't tell my parents... :)
ABS and I sat in the absolutely toasty apartment, talking, reading (ABS) and cooking (me). I have been feeling very domestic lately, and bought a ton of cookbooks and groceries. Made soup noodles and romaine salad for dinner, and had some mochi ice cream for dessert.
Hmmm, speaking of which... Have been having way too much dessert in general lately... Should hit the gym soon.
After the exam, we hung out for a bit at the LR building, chatting about the exam that neither of us stressed too much about, stealing their bagels and potato chips, and watching TV listlessly. Also ran into AG there and chatted.
Then walked home in the light snow - it was beautiful and made me nostalgic. My apartment is very warm these days because of the wonderful space heater purchase. Oh and I forgot to mention last night: on the way back to the apartment after getting the heater, I discovered I left my keys in the apartment, and had wait in the cold for nearly an hour for security to come and unlock the door for me... don't tell my parents... :)
ABS and I sat in the absolutely toasty apartment, talking, reading (ABS) and cooking (me). I have been feeling very domestic lately, and bought a ton of cookbooks and groceries. Made soup noodles and romaine salad for dinner, and had some mochi ice cream for dessert.
Hmmm, speaking of which... Have been having way too much dessert in general lately... Should hit the gym soon.
1/21/2007
Can't Wait for 2008
A woman, an African-American, and a Hispanic vying for the presidency!
Just thinking about it gives me the goosebumps!
Just thinking about it gives me the goosebumps!
NOT Stressed
My TOTAL lack of stress about tomorrow's exam worries me a little, but just a little. I wonder vaguely whether I should be studying a bit more, but then the other, unstressed part of my brain dismisses that thought quickly. :)
I did finish outlining, mostly from my notes, but it's a very crappy outline. What do you expect from a class where I only took 30 (29.5, to be exact) pages of class notes? To be fair, it's a hard class to outline for. Much of the class was spent on discussions and debates and group projects and video clips and moot courts. It's the reason why I like the class so much. Also, much of the course material involves policy arguments for or against a position ("is polygamy desirable?" "Are incest laws justifiable on the bases of arguments that also justify same-sex marriage?" etc.) and that kind of stuf is really hard to outline for. Let's just hope Prof B. doesn't do an aboutface and give a really doctrinal exam!
Speaking of Prof B, I'm doing a bit of RA work for him, which is perhaps not the wisest decision given all my other work, but it sure will be fun. Met with him this morning and he already gave me a ton of work. But really looking forward to actually doing this because this stuff is just so INTERESTING. In fact, we started talking in his office about some of the issues and before we knew it, began arguing about them again. Since family law is so close to everyone's lives, it's just not possible to hear about one of these cases without having an opinion, and in most cases, a strong opinion. I love it!
Well, I suppose I should go and read the half a dozen cases that I didn't get around to reading today. It will be an early night for me, and hopefully tomorrow night I will still feel calm and relaxed (and not kicking myself for not studying more.)
In other news, I'm so fed up with the cold weather, and it looks like it's going to continue for the foreseeable future. So... I finally broke down and purchased a space heater this afternoon, because my bedroom is just too cold at night and I'm tired of bundling up in bed. So my room should be warm and toasty tonight, though fraught with fire hazard... If I don't post in the next few days... :-)
I did finish outlining, mostly from my notes, but it's a very crappy outline. What do you expect from a class where I only took 30 (29.5, to be exact) pages of class notes? To be fair, it's a hard class to outline for. Much of the class was spent on discussions and debates and group projects and video clips and moot courts. It's the reason why I like the class so much. Also, much of the course material involves policy arguments for or against a position ("is polygamy desirable?" "Are incest laws justifiable on the bases of arguments that also justify same-sex marriage?" etc.) and that kind of stuf is really hard to outline for. Let's just hope Prof B. doesn't do an aboutface and give a really doctrinal exam!
Speaking of Prof B, I'm doing a bit of RA work for him, which is perhaps not the wisest decision given all my other work, but it sure will be fun. Met with him this morning and he already gave me a ton of work. But really looking forward to actually doing this because this stuff is just so INTERESTING. In fact, we started talking in his office about some of the issues and before we knew it, began arguing about them again. Since family law is so close to everyone's lives, it's just not possible to hear about one of these cases without having an opinion, and in most cases, a strong opinion. I love it!
Well, I suppose I should go and read the half a dozen cases that I didn't get around to reading today. It will be an early night for me, and hopefully tomorrow night I will still feel calm and relaxed (and not kicking myself for not studying more.)
In other news, I'm so fed up with the cold weather, and it looks like it's going to continue for the foreseeable future. So... I finally broke down and purchased a space heater this afternoon, because my bedroom is just too cold at night and I'm tired of bundling up in bed. So my room should be warm and toasty tonight, though fraught with fire hazard... If I don't post in the next few days... :-)
1/19/2007
Last Class
Professor B said some moving things in his last speech in class today, before he left amidst our applause.
One of the point he made is "don't just go where the money is. They may be using the money to pay you for the opportunity cost of not pursuing something else that could also be of great value to you, but the value of which is more diffuse and difficult to measure. Money is easily quantifiable and concrete, which is why many people tend to overvalue money and undervalue those 'other things' that are harder to quantify. You should make sure that when you go for the money, the extra money really does adequately pay for all those other values that you may be giving up."
This is of course common sense, but very nicely put. It got me thinking about this all day.
Wow now law school is REALLY half over. I am a little sad.
One of the point he made is "don't just go where the money is. They may be using the money to pay you for the opportunity cost of not pursuing something else that could also be of great value to you, but the value of which is more diffuse and difficult to measure. Money is easily quantifiable and concrete, which is why many people tend to overvalue money and undervalue those 'other things' that are harder to quantify. You should make sure that when you go for the money, the extra money really does adequately pay for all those other values that you may be giving up."
This is of course common sense, but very nicely put. It got me thinking about this all day.
Wow now law school is REALLY half over. I am a little sad.
1/18/2007
Frozen
I can't believe how cold it's been. For both last night and the previous night the temperature dropped down to the single digits. Ah the good old days of global warming seem to be gone forever.
My bedroom has really bad insulation and is especially cold at night. Wednesday night I woke up several times at night, shivering and curling myself into a little ball. Last night, I wore long pajamas and added an extra blanket to my bed, which made it slightly cozier. Really looking forward to double-digit days (and nights) again.
In other news, tomorrow is the last class on family law! How time flies. (And on Monday it's the final exam already! I wonder how much I'm actually going to study for that. :) ) I'm going to miss Prof B.
My bedroom has really bad insulation and is especially cold at night. Wednesday night I woke up several times at night, shivering and curling myself into a little ball. Last night, I wore long pajamas and added an extra blanket to my bed, which made it slightly cozier. Really looking forward to double-digit days (and nights) again.
In other news, tomorrow is the last class on family law! How time flies. (And on Monday it's the final exam already! I wonder how much I'm actually going to study for that. :) ) I'm going to miss Prof B.
1/16/2007
Maiden Voyage
So I decided to try out my new bread machine tonight. So, while ABS took a nap chez moi (he didn't sleep well last night and was delirious the whole day today, then came to my apartment and just crashed), I mixed the ingredients according to the recipe in my manual for "whole wheat bread", put everything in the bread pan, selected the cycles (whole wheat), color of the crust (dark), and weight (1.5 lbs), and pressed start.
3.5 hours later, I returned from dinner with ABS to an apartment smelling wonderfully of bread and a golden loaf sitting in my bread machine.
A picture of my baby, with the bread machine in the back.
A close-up view.
First taste test. The texture is very satisfatory. The crust is crispy and perfect. The inside is soft, moist but "structured", and well-mixed. Taste-wise, it has the characteristic dense and rich flavor of whole wheat, though it seems a bit saltier and not as sweet as I would have liked. I think a bit more molasses would make it tastier, and possibly using whole milk rather than non-fat milk.
Eaten with butter and jam, it was very delicious. Overall, this seems to be a success.
Now the only probelm is, how am I going to eat 1.5 lbs of bread all by myself?
3.5 hours later, I returned from dinner with ABS to an apartment smelling wonderfully of bread and a golden loaf sitting in my bread machine.
A picture of my baby, with the bread machine in the back.
A close-up view.
First taste test. The texture is very satisfatory. The crust is crispy and perfect. The inside is soft, moist but "structured", and well-mixed. Taste-wise, it has the characteristic dense and rich flavor of whole wheat, though it seems a bit saltier and not as sweet as I would have liked. I think a bit more molasses would make it tastier, and possibly using whole milk rather than non-fat milk.
Eaten with butter and jam, it was very delicious. Overall, this seems to be a success.
Now the only probelm is, how am I going to eat 1.5 lbs of bread all by myself?
1/13/2007
Bookworms
Just came back from AB's apartment where I played this fun computer game called Bookworms with AB and ABS for over 4 hours!
Before that, we had excellent sushi in the Square, then to my apartment for chocolate truffles, then to a nearby bar to have a drink with LC for her birthday (I had a glass of the most awful cabernet I have ever drunk), then went to AB's apartment, had good wine this time, and played said game.
I am in a good mood tonight, but should go to sleep now because must get up at 11:00am for that dim sum trip that I organized. Good thing we have a 3-day long weekend so I have a whole extra day to procrastinate!
Before that, we had excellent sushi in the Square, then to my apartment for chocolate truffles, then to a nearby bar to have a drink with LC for her birthday (I had a glass of the most awful cabernet I have ever drunk), then went to AB's apartment, had good wine this time, and played said game.
I am in a good mood tonight, but should go to sleep now because must get up at 11:00am for that dim sum trip that I organized. Good thing we have a 3-day long weekend so I have a whole extra day to procrastinate!
1/12/2007
Weekend Agenda
- Dim sum trip into B-Town tomorrow! I felt like hanging out with my friends who are in town for winter semester, and can you believe some of them have lived for OVER TEN YEARS in this city without having ever had dim sum at the wildly popular place downtown? Clearly time to rectify this situation.
- Watch Pan's Labyrinth, finally. I have wanted to see this movie since I first saw the preview over a month ago. It looks amazing, and I will let you what I think. Sometimes I find overhyped movies disappointing, but then again, my taste usually gibes very well with Roger Ebert's, who loved this movie. However, if you are thinking about watching Curse of the Golden Flower, don't. I found it kind of stupid.
- The long-overdue memo for Prof H about political conservatism. Let's hope he's not mad at me (or have secretly fired me by now for being so delinquent).
- Outlining for family law?!? I can't believe I have another final exam a little over a week from now. Ick.
- Watch Pan's Labyrinth, finally. I have wanted to see this movie since I first saw the preview over a month ago. It looks amazing, and I will let you what I think. Sometimes I find overhyped movies disappointing, but then again, my taste usually gibes very well with Roger Ebert's, who loved this movie. However, if you are thinking about watching Curse of the Golden Flower, don't. I found it kind of stupid.
- The long-overdue memo for Prof H about political conservatism. Let's hope he's not mad at me (or have secretly fired me by now for being so delinquent).
- Outlining for family law?!? I can't believe I have another final exam a little over a week from now. Ick.
1/11/2007
Too Late
Hmmm... just saw the advice about the bread machine (see comment for the post 2 days ago). Damn, because I already bought it, and being an Amazon Prime member, it's arriving tomorrow.
Here it is:
Well, um, I will keep you posted on how the bread is, and how many times I actually end up using it. :) (ABS predicted, quite pessmistically today, that it will not exceed the number of fingers on one hand. We'll see!)
Here it is:
Well, um, I will keep you posted on how the bread is, and how many times I actually end up using it. :) (ABS predicted, quite pessmistically today, that it will not exceed the number of fingers on one hand. We'll see!)
Happy Family
I really really like my family law class. It may very well be my favorite class in law school so far.
Part of it has to do with family law itself. The law itself is not very doctrinal, and much more goal-oriented, so we spend a lot of time talking about intuitions and policies rather than cases. We do read some cases, but most of the time we debate about the consequences of one rule or one policy over another, and you really feel like the law is designed to further some societal good rather than just being dead text on a page that turn a blind eye to reality.
Part of it is the prof, who is really affable and nice and caring. He took some of us to dinner last night (at my favorite pizza place! Although I wonder whether he liked it) and asked a lot of questions and seemed genuinely interested in us. Sometimes he stays after class for an hour or more talking with us about the issues we raised in class, and really seemed to enjoy the conversations.
Today we had moot court in class about polygamy. More specifically, about whether it makes sense to not sanction polygamous marriages when we approve of same sex marriage. I am on the team that says yes, and we first watched a movie about polygamous relationships, then debated. My intuition is pretty strong that polygamous relationships in practice tend to disadvantage women, but the opposite side disputed whether this is the effect of the polygamous relationships themselves or whether it is a result of the legal rules that stigmatize such relationships. The discussion was fascinating and really brought out our implicit attitude and assumptions about relationships and marriage (at least mine - I also had a very visceral and emotional reaction to the movie about polygamy - as in, I would rather kill self than to be in one of those relationships! He he).
Anyway, after class, the prof talked to my team for a long time about polygamy, and then we started talking about divorce, which we are going to talk about tomorrow. As a child of divorce, I can't wait. :)
Anyway, I wonder if Prof B is thinking about coming to my law school. I hope he is, because he is great.
Part of it has to do with family law itself. The law itself is not very doctrinal, and much more goal-oriented, so we spend a lot of time talking about intuitions and policies rather than cases. We do read some cases, but most of the time we debate about the consequences of one rule or one policy over another, and you really feel like the law is designed to further some societal good rather than just being dead text on a page that turn a blind eye to reality.
Part of it is the prof, who is really affable and nice and caring. He took some of us to dinner last night (at my favorite pizza place! Although I wonder whether he liked it) and asked a lot of questions and seemed genuinely interested in us. Sometimes he stays after class for an hour or more talking with us about the issues we raised in class, and really seemed to enjoy the conversations.
Today we had moot court in class about polygamy. More specifically, about whether it makes sense to not sanction polygamous marriages when we approve of same sex marriage. I am on the team that says yes, and we first watched a movie about polygamous relationships, then debated. My intuition is pretty strong that polygamous relationships in practice tend to disadvantage women, but the opposite side disputed whether this is the effect of the polygamous relationships themselves or whether it is a result of the legal rules that stigmatize such relationships. The discussion was fascinating and really brought out our implicit attitude and assumptions about relationships and marriage (at least mine - I also had a very visceral and emotional reaction to the movie about polygamy - as in, I would rather kill self than to be in one of those relationships! He he).
Anyway, after class, the prof talked to my team for a long time about polygamy, and then we started talking about divorce, which we are going to talk about tomorrow. As a child of divorce, I can't wait. :)
Anyway, I wonder if Prof B is thinking about coming to my law school. I hope he is, because he is great.
1/09/2007
What I'm Thinking About
- I went to a yoga class at the gym last night, after going to City Sports and getting a mint green mat and cute yoga pants. :) Yes having cute gym gear definitely motivates me. :) Anyway the class was great. I don't buy all the "may you find enlightenment" stuff, but the meditation was nice, and the differnet poses were straining but definitely felt like they were stretching my muscles. I like it so far and will probably go back.
- I love my clean, neat, unclutterd apartment now, and spend much more time at home reading. For the first time in months my desk is now useable.
- I joined Netflix two days ago, and have already built a queue of 132 movies, and rated 258 movies. I'm on the 2 DVDs at a time, unlimited monthly DVDs version. I got my first two movies today: Supersize Me, and Nowhere in Africa. I put a lot of documentaries and classics on my list, because that's what I feel like these days. I think it might be fun to systematically watch all Humprey Bogart movies, for instance, or Gregory Peck, or Cary Grant.
- I suddenly really want to go to the MIddle East this summer and work for a few weeks (after I finish my summer associateship at the NY firm). Exactly in what, I'm not sure yet, but I'm sure somewhere in Tel Aviv or the West Bank or Cairo they would need a law student's (free) services, no? Of course, my parents will probably freak out, and it will depend on what the political situation is. But it's just a thought. I miss Israel.
- I had cajun shrimp tonight. It was yummy.
- I am enjoying my family law class. The reading is super light, the prof nice and incisive, and the topics extremely provocative and relevant. Today we talked abotu same-sex marriage, and surprisingly I heard some arguments that I haven't heard before. Tomorrow we will talk about whether the prohibition on incest is rational. On Thursday, we go over the same questions with polygamy. The only problem with the class is that, after two room changes, the room we ended up with is way too small for 18 people. Today the dean walked by, came in, and said: "this room looks way too small for you." Mmm-hmmm.
- I am contemplating getting a bread machine. Just spent 25 minutes reading customer reviews of all the different kinds of Amazon. Ironic, since I rarely eat bread these days, but the idea of having one in my kitchen just appeals to me. And perhaps once I can make whole grain bread I would eat bread much more often, and I looooove the smell of bread in my apartment. I'm very tempted.
- I love my clean, neat, unclutterd apartment now, and spend much more time at home reading. For the first time in months my desk is now useable.
- I joined Netflix two days ago, and have already built a queue of 132 movies, and rated 258 movies. I'm on the 2 DVDs at a time, unlimited monthly DVDs version. I got my first two movies today: Supersize Me, and Nowhere in Africa. I put a lot of documentaries and classics on my list, because that's what I feel like these days. I think it might be fun to systematically watch all Humprey Bogart movies, for instance, or Gregory Peck, or Cary Grant.
- I suddenly really want to go to the MIddle East this summer and work for a few weeks (after I finish my summer associateship at the NY firm). Exactly in what, I'm not sure yet, but I'm sure somewhere in Tel Aviv or the West Bank or Cairo they would need a law student's (free) services, no? Of course, my parents will probably freak out, and it will depend on what the political situation is. But it's just a thought. I miss Israel.
- I had cajun shrimp tonight. It was yummy.
- I am enjoying my family law class. The reading is super light, the prof nice and incisive, and the topics extremely provocative and relevant. Today we talked abotu same-sex marriage, and surprisingly I heard some arguments that I haven't heard before. Tomorrow we will talk about whether the prohibition on incest is rational. On Thursday, we go over the same questions with polygamy. The only problem with the class is that, after two room changes, the room we ended up with is way too small for 18 people. Today the dean walked by, came in, and said: "this room looks way too small for you." Mmm-hmmm.
- I am contemplating getting a bread machine. Just spent 25 minutes reading customer reviews of all the different kinds of Amazon. Ironic, since I rarely eat bread these days, but the idea of having one in my kitchen just appeals to me. And perhaps once I can make whole grain bread I would eat bread much more often, and I looooove the smell of bread in my apartment. I'm very tempted.
1/07/2007
Decluttering
I am not sick anymore. Everything returned to normalcy, more or less, on Friday, and it's a joy to have real food and to be able to sleep on a normal schedule again. After all this, I am very, very, very thankful for my health, and the somewhat rocky start to 2007 has made me, strangely, calmer and happier.
And, riding on the wave of the positive energy, I have decided to start reorganizing other areas of my life, and to attempt to simplify things. After the very stressful exam period (and the vacation period spent sick and somewhat depressed), many areas of my life feel like they are growing out of control. For one thing, my apartment has been uber-messy and also increasingly dirty. The stuff that I retrieved from ex-boyfriend's condo is piled in boxes against my livingroom wall, making it cluttered and unpleasant to be in. There are papers and books and knickknacks covering every available surface, making my apartment an unpleasant place to study (which is probably why I was over at Starbucks so much).
In any event, starting Friday night, I spent many, many hours organizing everything, sorting through my papers, throwing things away, and putting away the boxes. Then I mopped, washed, wiped, dusted, and vacuumed my entire apartment. The whole thing probably took more than 10 hours to complete. I went to bed at 5:30 am on Friday night (well, Saturday morning really) and 3:00 am on Saturday night (Sunday morning). I threw away more than 4 large bags of trash, mostly paper. I sorted out 3 extremely large shopping bags of clothing that I will not need and plan to donate to Salvation Army or something. I moved my furniture around so my desk is now by the window where there is more natural light, and I have my painting equipment against one wall so that I can start painting again relatively easily.
I also found some nice old photos of Eastern Europe from 2002. Oh memories. I framed some of them and hung them on my wall. I miss Prague. I miss Slovenia. I miss the Mediterranean Sea.
There is still a lot more paper to go through, but at least they are all piled neatly and in a box rather than all over my desks, tables, chairs, and floors. I also need to get rid of some of my old furniture, replacing it with furniture more suited to my apartment. But for now, this is good. I'm now sitting in my leather recliner, eating tomato soup and reading family law, feeling at ease in my surroundings.
Even sleeping is a lot better now, because I feel like my environment is cleaner, neater, and more to my liking. Yay.
And, riding on the wave of the positive energy, I have decided to start reorganizing other areas of my life, and to attempt to simplify things. After the very stressful exam period (and the vacation period spent sick and somewhat depressed), many areas of my life feel like they are growing out of control. For one thing, my apartment has been uber-messy and also increasingly dirty. The stuff that I retrieved from ex-boyfriend's condo is piled in boxes against my livingroom wall, making it cluttered and unpleasant to be in. There are papers and books and knickknacks covering every available surface, making my apartment an unpleasant place to study (which is probably why I was over at Starbucks so much).
In any event, starting Friday night, I spent many, many hours organizing everything, sorting through my papers, throwing things away, and putting away the boxes. Then I mopped, washed, wiped, dusted, and vacuumed my entire apartment. The whole thing probably took more than 10 hours to complete. I went to bed at 5:30 am on Friday night (well, Saturday morning really) and 3:00 am on Saturday night (Sunday morning). I threw away more than 4 large bags of trash, mostly paper. I sorted out 3 extremely large shopping bags of clothing that I will not need and plan to donate to Salvation Army or something. I moved my furniture around so my desk is now by the window where there is more natural light, and I have my painting equipment against one wall so that I can start painting again relatively easily.
I also found some nice old photos of Eastern Europe from 2002. Oh memories. I framed some of them and hung them on my wall. I miss Prague. I miss Slovenia. I miss the Mediterranean Sea.
There is still a lot more paper to go through, but at least they are all piled neatly and in a box rather than all over my desks, tables, chairs, and floors. I also need to get rid of some of my old furniture, replacing it with furniture more suited to my apartment. But for now, this is good. I'm now sitting in my leather recliner, eating tomato soup and reading family law, feeling at ease in my surroundings.
Even sleeping is a lot better now, because I feel like my environment is cleaner, neater, and more to my liking. Yay.
1/04/2007
Sick
I have been deathly sick for the past few days. First there was a nasty cold and laryngitis, probably caught in Puerto Rico. Then, the day before yesterday, when I was barely better from that, a horrible stomach-virus hit. I will spare you the details. Suffice it to say that i got nearly no sleep on Tuesday night, skipped my class on Wednesday, ran a fever of 101, couldn't hold down any solid food for about 24 hours, and had to resort to drinking sugar/salt solutions.
Today I thought I was getting better, but after class I started feeling weak and queasy again. Looks like it's rice and water for another 2 days. :(
In another news, I've decided to ditch con law theory and go with family law instead. I really like the prof, and I thought that it was time to learn some substantive law. :)
Today I thought I was getting better, but after class I started feeling weak and queasy again. Looks like it's rice and water for another 2 days. :(
In another news, I've decided to ditch con law theory and go with family law instead. I really like the prof, and I thought that it was time to learn some substantive law. :)
1/01/2007
Hello, 2007
Here are my new year's resolutions:
- Sleep at least 7 hours a night; try to stop my reliance on sleeping pills.
- Healthy lifestyle: at least one large green salad per day; Go to the gym at least 3 times a week, or the equivalent; Have a day every week when I eat nothing but fresh vegetables, fruits, nuts, grains, and no processed foods or meat.
- Lose 5 lbs by April
- Being able to run 5 miles without stopping
- Learn to play tennis
- Write my paper for the summer academic fellowship
- Be kinder to my parents
- Make 3 new, good friends.
- Attend more cultural events outside of the law school. I have really missed the arts in the past year.
- Meditate
- Start painting again.
- Try to be less anxious about my career, my life, and just enjoy things.
- Sleep at least 7 hours a night; try to stop my reliance on sleeping pills.
- Healthy lifestyle: at least one large green salad per day; Go to the gym at least 3 times a week, or the equivalent; Have a day every week when I eat nothing but fresh vegetables, fruits, nuts, grains, and no processed foods or meat.
- Lose 5 lbs by April
- Being able to run 5 miles without stopping
- Learn to play tennis
- Write my paper for the summer academic fellowship
- Be kinder to my parents
- Make 3 new, good friends.
- Attend more cultural events outside of the law school. I have really missed the arts in the past year.
- Meditate
- Start painting again.
- Try to be less anxious about my career, my life, and just enjoy things.
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