|
|
|
Biting Tongue
The swallowed words of a JD.
|
|
| |
Hallow-what?
When exactly did the Brothers Grimm get hooked up with that pimp?
I'm just curious, because I couldn't help but notice that Saturday's night on the town was over populated by little-slut-riding-hoods, snow-fuck-me-whites, cinder-fuck-me-ellas, and there's-no-underwear-butt-home dorothy(s).
Pardon the French, but really? Ladies? Is this necessary?
It's confusing, to say the least...
Posted by bt 10.30.2005 20:25 --
Word of the day
Corporate tax: It's exciting stuff, yo.
(The dark secret, of course, being that I really enjoy it.)
ar·rear·age
Pronunciation Key (-rīrj)
n.
1. The state of being behind in the fulfillment of obligations or of being overdue in payment.
2. A payment owed.
Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 Houghton Mifflin Company.
Posted by bt 10.28.2005 18:24 --
Two Funny Things
Somehow, I managed to be in 16 units instead of 14 this semester without knowing it. You may wonder how I could do this. I do too. I think it had something to do with a plan back in May to drop one of my two unit classes after school started and I decided which one I liked better. Of course, I can't be sure because I didn't remember the plan...In fact, I probably wouldn't have noticed at all had I not done the sanity "Am I'm really going to graduate? Let's add up the units to be sure." check when I registered for next semester's classes. Oh well. No wonder I feel overwhelmed.
Also, Intel has put out a new set of ads that rougly belong in the category "entertainment in your lap." Apparently, you can see them as moving pictures on this gizmo called the television, so perhaps some of you are familiar. It was new to me, though. And I thought it failed pretty spectacularly. See them here.
Posted by bt 08:54 --
And I'm Spent
In the last 7 days, I've accomplished quite a bit. I think the stress-induced inexplicable wedding/lawschool/running/law-job nightmares should calm down a bit. E, no doubt, will be happy with my increased amount of sleep. In particular, I've crossed the following items off my list:
- Accepted a job offer. While I'm honored to have committed to a job for next fall, the process was exhausting. I spoke with and or met with everyone I know who currently works in the legal field to get their input and opinion on how my options could affect my career. I struggled with the reality that I had to limit my career to one of several paths, and in doing so, close the door to things that I wanted to do. Finally, I went with my gut feeling that I just wasn't ready to say that I'd never set foot in a courtroom ever again. So, I'm done. I supposedly know who I'll be working for and what I'll be doing a year from now. As if humans ever successfully plan that far in advance... (Incidentally, I lost the bet with E, and now owe him dinner at french laundry because he claimed to know my decision as of June 10th, 2005. I, of course, disagreed, challenged him to the bet, and the envelope we sealed with his prediction was correct, so I'm the chump with the check.)
- Ordered bridesmaids' dresses. My attendants will be wearing a lovely halter top floor-length number. I ordered about one of every possible size that could be used and plan to take liberal use of AT's very friendly return policy.
- Ran the Nike Half Marathon. It was very different from every race I've ever ran. The announcers kept slipping and using the word "product" in place of "race." That should explain the difference better than any long-winded discourse I could give. Unfortunately, I started with a pace group slower than I planned and was shocked to realize that the course was so crowded that I couldn't move up after I warmed up. Props to the lady who elbowed her way up the hill before fort mason by taking out Team-in-training runners who opted to walk -- the pictures of their inspirations pinned to their jerseys (survivors and deceased) were an excellent contrast to her idiocy. Given the crowds and the funky vibe, I opted to chill out and call it a training run for the US Half. Oddly enough, it's such a fast course that I finished in 2:11, and had a blast running the last two miles at a 7:39 and a 7:34 respectively. I didn't know I could run two miles in succession that fast, and most certainly not at the end of a long run. So that was exciting. Also, B gets props for finishing her first full marathon, as does ALV for finishing the half after waking at dawn.
- Registered for my first marathon. I've been contemplating running this race for a while. But I kept putting off registration in case I had a change of heart, an injury, or a bout of sanity. Today, the site said it was almost sold out, so I'm committed. Wish me luck.
- Caught up in my reading. Okay, technically, I'm already behind again, because I'm blogging right now instead of reading for tomorrow, but as of Thursday, I had done all of my reading for my classes before they occurred. It was a good feeling, if brief.
- Almost finished my editor duties for the article I'm assigned. Yeah, journal is a ridiculous amount of work, but I'm more than halfway done with my major responsibility for the semester.
- Other miscellaneous: viewed and approved the rehearsal dinner location, ordered groomsmen tuxes, had a doctor's appointment, was fingerprinted for the bar character application, scheduled/signed up for review courses for the MPRE, scheduled my final trial in trial ad, etc.
- Found that I could successfully relax for hours at a time on the weekend and even slept in for the first time in weeks. Ahhh....
Posted by bt 10.23.2005 17:51 --
The Giant Artichoke
Yesterday, E, G & I drove down highway 1 to go to a wedding in Carmel. We passed a giant sign advertising "Deep Fried Artichokes." Lunch plans for the next day's drive back were clear.
So, today, we stopped at the roadside shack, only to find that they had frozen deep fried artichoke hearts. Not to be disappointed in our quest, we turned around, and pointed the car to Castroville, home of the artichoke festival, and the self-proclaimed "Artichoke Center of the World."
We figured we could order deep fried artichoke hearts at the restaurant next to the world's largest artichoke. We were correct. They were everything you'd expect them to be:
Deep.
Fried.
Artichoke.
Hearts.
E put it best when he said, "They are good. But, it's not the life-altering experience I was hoping for."
In hindsight, 2 full orders ($7.95, roughly 15 hearts per order) with nothing except water was a bit much for 3 people. Now, I'm slowly moving, if at all, in a fried-food-induced tired state. Too bad I didn't get any studying done yesterday (run 12 miles, drive to Carmel, wedding) because the beer-batter in my belly makes today couch potato day. I have no choice. This stuff is powerful--we should tell the military.
Don't worry. I'll catch up on my school work one of these days...
Posted by bt 10.16.2005 15:21 --
Limping Along
My immune system has come under a stealth attack.
On Tuesday afternoon, I went to the gym, and ran my intervals fairly quickly (did the last four at a 7:30 pace) for a total of about 5 miles. Thirty minutes later, in Spanish class, E asked me, "Are you getting sick?" I answered, "No, I feel fine."
Famous last words.
For the remaining two hours, my snorting, sniffling, and general grossness grew until I left the classroom as a collection of snot and pain. Still, I tried to pretend I was fine.
We went to Mexican food, practiced our Spanish with the waiters and busboys, and I slurped spicy seafood soup to open up my sinuses and distract my throat. The spicy liquid remedy didn't work either. By 11 PM, the words on my textbook were swimming. I gave in for a 15 minute nap and asked E to wake me so that I could finish my reading for the next day. When E woke me, it was clear--I was a goner. My throat and tongue were swollen, it hurt to swallow, me ears were achey and my nose was so stuffed that I had to breath through my mouth. Awesome.
In other news, I believe I've found one of the most ironic Supreme Court sentences ever:
For Example, in Wooley v. Maynard, (cite omitted) we held that a person could not be compelled to display the slogan "Live Free or Die."**
Really? What a country!
**Riley v. National Fed. of the Blind, 487 U.S. 781 (1988).
Posted by bt 10.13.2005 08:37 --
Oregon: It's another country
This weekend, E and I took a mini-vacation to meet up with friends from Manhattan in Portland, Oregon.
I've traveled to many foreign countries. I'm familiar with culture shock. But, I didn't expect to experience it merely one state north from my roots. I suffered from the idea that since I was raised in Northern California, Oregon just couldn't be that different. I was wrong.
At first, we were baffled by the amazing beer and relative lack of public celebration thereof. Then, we were confused by the sub-Italian pace of life. Finally, we all sheepishly agreed that the Willamette Valley made some good Pinot, but with nowhere near the consistency that the acclaim it has received would indicate. While enjoying the Meditrina release party at Sokol Blosser, we were given an explanation. No doubt, the man with the fake leaf wreath hat had no idea that he was explaining our entire Oregon experience. But explain it, he did:
This valley? Well, it's famous for 6 products. All of them agricultural.
#1? That's ornamental nursery plants. (makes sense, I thought, reminiscing on the multiple fields of pretty flowers we'd passed on our drive.)
#2? Well, that's hazelnuts, of course. This valley makes 95% of the hazelnuts consumed in the United States. (Huh. Roasting on an open fire, indeed.)
#3? Christmas trees. (Yup. We'd seen many fields of those in various stages of growth.)
#4? Unofficially. Marijuana. (An unofficial lightbulb went off in each of our heads. The explanation for the culture shock is that the whole state is totally roasting on an open fire, as it were.)
#5? Wine. (Number 5? This explains our underwhelm. When the wine is outranked by the unknown previous 4, well, California wine will spoil you. Seriously, though, we tasted some excellent Willamette Valley Products, and the scenery was gorgeous. But, overall, the hype was a bit too much, when the entire region is taken as a whole. In particular, we recommend avoiding Archery Summit if you're not into driving long distances to be treated like crap for the privilege of paying $10 to taste a $120 Oregon Pinot Noir that is the poster child of inexplicable trendy wine rag fame.)
#6? Huckleberries. (They are crazy about 'em up there. Who knew?)
The short story is this: if you are looking for a great, cheap destination with fabulous regional food options and the opportunity to feel as if you didn't leave anything undone after 3 days of walking and driving around to experience the northern bounty, we *HIGH*ly recommend Portland. (Caveat #1: If you are single and are looking for a night scene, this may not be the best option for you. Caveat #2: Despite what seems to be a slower pace of life, you will not have enough time to do all of your work for the weekend if you are a 3L taking a full load. You will return relaxed, fat, refreshed, full of beer that is better than the wine, and even further behind than when you left on your schoolwork.)
Posted by bt 10.10.2005 21:50 --
Enjoying the Benefits
Today, my school hosted a Supreme Court review. I attended and was treated to a free hour and a half that easily beat out the majority of the class hours that my tuition has purchased thus far.
First, there was free food. Second, there was free wine. Third, there was free diet coke. Did I mention it was free? Oh, and the technical reason why I went?
There were three of the bay area's foremost legal scholars giving squib versions of their takes of last year's most important Supreme Court decisions. Apparently, the broadband case is the only important case from last season related to IP. (In all fairness, despite the furor in the tech world, grokster is a no-brainer: if you're going to rely on substantial non-infringing use, you can't advertise copyright infringement as your main sales ploy. Shocking.)
Outside of IP, if you're me, other than Booker and FanFan and Gonzales, you are woefully underinformed of the Supreme Court cases from last session and completely uninformed of the cases to be heard this session (other than Anna Nicole's case, of course).
So I went to the event and attentively listened. It was entertaining, informative, and I was conscious of just how lucky I was to be so well educated. Two years ago, I might have thought I knew what I was hearing, but I wouldn't have understood the historical meaning of the ordinary English words they used, the legal jargon, the importance of the issues, or the depth of the knowledge that these three legal scholars poured upon us. But today, I was thankful and in awe, plus well enough informed to understand that I was still missing some things. I guess the transformation is almost complete.
And yes, while the scholars offered informed and interesting commentary on Roberts and Meirs, I tend to agree with Buffalo Wings and Vodka on the likely line-up of the Court.
Posted by bt 10.03.2005 20:31 --
A great weekend
Friday night was gourmet dinner with friends at a local greek restaurant. The waitress didn't like us so much, but we didn't like her either, so that was fair.
Saturday, in the theme of public transit and my life, BART made its best efforts to ruin my weekend (final score: bart $16; BT & E: 2 stations, 3 unvalued cards, and barely exiting one bart parking garage with our life). Finally, E and I admitted defeat and drove to the game.
But, the BART debacle must have bought me some karma because the game was a shutout. Sure, the QB made some errors and we looked a little sloppy, but it was fun to meet up with friends and enjoy the win. Given how long I've been a loyal fan of a losing team, I'll enjoy any win I can get, especially if it's followed by Mexican food and margaritas with college friends that I haven't seen in months. Priceless.
In one of the indicators that I'm no longer in college, I opted to leave after the restaurant closed to head home for an early Saturday night and lots of water before bed. Sometimes, it amazes me how my priorities have changed in the last decade. But, they have, and this morning, I experienced one of the reasons why. I willingly woke at 7 AM for a leisurely trip to pick up a friend, get coffee and drive to San Francisco. I was rewarded with one of those fabulous autumn summer days (yeah, you read that right) that almost make living in San Francisco seem like a reasonable option for someone who hates the fog. It was clear, blue, and [gasp] warm from 8 AM on.
CKD, J and I all showed up at the ferry building around 8:30 AM to take part in the Bridge to Bridge run.
In a simultaneously lazy and responsible act, I'd taken Thursday, Friday, and Saturday off of my feet and belatedly replaced the scheduled miles with 2 yoga workouts. It worked wonders. I felt energized, my knee wasn't the least bit sore, and despite starting in the very back and having to weave through the crowds, I managed to finish the 12K at a 9:01 pace. Plus, the route was roughly the same as the first half of the Nike race, so I now have a decent idea of what I'm in for next month: 6 miles of flat and gorgeous. (Before the hill at mile 7, but we won't talk about that right now.)
After the race and the inevitable waiting for transport, parking exits, etc., the boys joined us and we replaced all the burnt calories in a single guiltless brunch. After much laughter, food, and a mojito, I took a shower and a nap. In the interests of the story, I'll stop there and pretend it was the perfect weekend. (Read: I'm definitely not taking a break from necessary schoolwork right now. Perfect weekend. Perfect.)
Posted by bt 10.02.2005 19:45 --
|
|
| |
|
|
|
