I predict the wedding we're going to this weekend with be one of those that inspired this song:
Remember the wedding I'm supposed to go to that I'm now dreading? Well, I thought I'd take some time to express my gut feeling about it. It's not good. In fact I think there are a handful of us who are questioning this wedding, yet we'll all be there with bells on and mouths shut. It wouldn't be appropriate to speak up then and there. But when do you? Or should you?
I've known the groom for almost three years now. J of course has known him for easily fifteen years. We're as tight as Chuck Norris' abs, or at least I thought we were until she came along. Everything changed when he started dating her and in some ways by dating her he has flip-flopped in terms of the qualities he seeks in a mate. She has a child, he isn't interested in being a parent. She has a personalized license plate, he is the biggest opponent of them. She doesn't drink, he drinks beer like it's water. So suddenly he's a different person.
And she, well she just confuses me. For one they met when she was finalizing her divorce. He was the first guy she dated in ten years. TEN YEARS PEOPLE! If she was my friend I would have told her to "play the field" for awhile, not jump into a serious relationship and marry the first guy who comes along. But I don't know her well enough to say it. Nor do I have the guts to bring it into conversation. It's not that I don't like her because honestly I don't know her. I've joked that she doesn't have a personality and that it would be nice to know more about her but they've become very family orientated. And long-term friendships don't count, only family. There is nothing wrong with this it's just that he was NEVER really family orientated before. So it's also new.
I could go on about a dozen other things that just don't feel right but I won't because I need to stop thinking about them and suck it up. It's not my wedding, it's not my place to say anything, but at least I get some cake. But back to my question, will there ever be a good time to tell the groom our anxiety about this marriage? If your friendship spans a decade, in good times and bad, does that qualify you to interject and release your jitters? We've known about the wedding for a month and they started dating a year ago. And a conversation like this is one that takes some timing, which of course we don't have.
It's strange that our group of friends will be sitting at a table off to the side and he won't be with us. Granted he does have a responsibility to his guests but we've really missed him lately. And we're worried. Especially when he's confided to one of us about how they wanted to call the wedding off oh about two weeks ago. It seems like she won't grant permission to see some of us and that his curfew (when he's allowed out) is getting earlier and earlier. Last week it was 9:30. We want our friend back. You know, HIM--the guy deep down that you really, truly know. We want his personality to shine again and drink cheap beer in the back yard with him.
I just see myself crying tears of loss at the ceremony and feeling like a stranger crashing someone else's wedding reception. And no amount of vodka is going to make this gut feeling disappear...
The other day I read a post over at Law Ingenue linking to advice from Slate. It suggests writing yourself a letter to be opened upon graduating from law school. The letter should focus on the reasons why you're choosing law school and what you hope to do with your degree. It's a great idea but for me it's one of those ideas that I rarely follow through on.
This week while my computer is somewhat occupied I am going to try, REALLY try to write myself this letter. In it I plan on including my fears about law school, moving to a new place, and hopes for myself. It will be a good writing experience for me. Now I just have to figure out where to hide it for three years.
In Our Defense: The Bill of Rights in Action by Ellen Alderman and Caroline Kennedy (1992)
This book found its way onto my summer reading list late in the game. I picked it up at a library sale where I also found The Brethren.
I wasn't a poli sci major and the Bill of Rights rarely, probably never, came up in conversation for my degree. What's great about this book is that it breaks down each amendment (should that be capitalized?) and uses simple cases to frame their importance. I found the cases interesting and engaging. The writing style is very easy to follow and the pages flew by quickly.
Even though I don't have con law my first semester I'm still happy I read this. It has helped me frame ideas that have come up frequently in the Supreme Court history I'm currently reading. I'm sure similar ideas will thread my textbooks too.
My number 2 school has a Yahoo Group of which I'm still a member. So each time someone posts something I still get to see it. This has been strange because many people have used the group to get to know each other and even plan house parties. There is a huge get-together this weekend and I'm slightly jealous. I think it would relieve some of my nerves if I was given the chance to meet some students prior to orientation. Looking at my orientation schedule there doesn't seem to be much time for getting to know each other. Hopefully I'm wrong about this.
So I know more about these people and their school than I do about my own class and in some ways it feels strange. It makes me wish my school did something similar. I wonder when or if I'll even be rejected from this list...
Remember J's "pre-bar challenging moments"? Let's add earthquake to that list! Could it get ANY worse?
Two very dear people to me are taking the bar exam this week. In fact my brand new laptop will be used to take the exam. I haven't even started law school but my laptop will take the bar...interesting...
My boyfriend J, or the Janitor as I've previously referred to him as, is taking the bar and flew there four days ago. He has had to endure no electricity in 90+ degree weather (long story there), dropping his phone and having it die, and learning there is a local Guitar Hero competition in the next conference room from where he is taking his exam. Nice. Let's hope these misfortunes come with bar success.
I will be SOOOOO happy when it's over since I've spent very little time with J. Watching him study has really made me question whether I could be that disciplined when it's my turn. We'll see..hopefully I won't get cold feet like this person.
My books cost me $625 this semester. I was able to get the majority of them used with minimal notes/highlighting. I only had to resort to Amazon once and it was still $20 less than the new price the university bookstore listed.
The market in textbooks and how universities interact with it is interesting. As an undergraduate I was fortunate to get several of my books from the library or on loan from professors. I frequently used older editions and made sure to take good notes. Most of my professors admitted that the older editions weren't any different than the newer ones. Some would even give those of us using older editions a heads up on new sections. Many professors don't have control over what editions are ordered since the bookstore does it for them. The profs just provide a list of books to the bookstore and the books magically appear. I had several profs who had no clue their textbooks cost so much. I would be curious if a professor can actually request a required older edition of a textbook.
I remember a classmate looking so surprised when she saw how many textbooks/books I could check out from the library. She started doing it as well and we often competed for the same books. Lucky for us there was usually more than one copy. It saved me plenty of dough, however law school will be different. So in many ways this is the first time I've had to purchase books and IT SUCKED! I did save about $200 though, which will probably go toward some other unforeseen law school expense...
Textbook posts:
Students Get Ripped...
The Complex World of the Textbook
Will Kindle Help Students?
I have received my orientation and class schedule! Whoo-hoo! It's about time! Tomorrow my books will be purchased with care as I want to find used copies to save some dough. The used prices for my bookstore were better than Amazon prices. If I can't find it used I plan on checking whether Amazon can beat the new price. The thing about textbooks via Amazon is that you can't wait very long. Those used copies go FAST!
I checked out my professors too. One of them has a blog I thought I'd start reading for possible insight into their character.
My bus schedule can be planned out and all that's left is figuring out what to wear for school pictures. Ugh!
Speaking of school pictures and remembering my horrible high school photos, let me tell you how pissed I am at JC Penney. Yeah, I'm infuriated at a department store for ruining, DESTROYING the pristine imagine of The Breakfast Club with a copy-cat commercial. Just say no for remaking 80s films people. John Hughes doesn't need a makeover.
After reading The Legal Optimist's 100 Day Challenge I thought I'd join in. I'm just a tad late in announcing it. I decided to add books and minor school supplies to the clothes and cosmetics. I ruled out some staples though since I'll need my bulk soap and conditioner soon. And I also ruled out thrift stores since I usually get lucky in my finds. A school library card should help me with my book fix and over the years I've collected more pens, pencils and highlighters than I'll ever use. So my end date is Halloween! I figure if I can make it to Halloween I'll reevaluate and try to make it until Christmas.
This is an excellent challenge for me for at least three reasons. First, I'll save money-money that I'm borrowing. I'm not making money and technically I should only borrow what I need.
Second, it will encourage me to lose a little weight so that I can comfortably fit into everything I own. I haven't been very active lately and my jeans are letting me know. Instead of buying new clothes I'll have to work out. I've already lost about 2 pounds and have been keeping track of my calorie intake via FitDay. (I love this site since it counts the calories for me AND keeps track of my exercise. Plus, it's FREE!) With walking around campus and to the bus stop I should reach my easy goal of seven pounds.
Finally, I already have a lot of clothes. They may not be the latest styles but they'll function for class. I have several suits and business attire just from previous jobs. I have tons of casual everyday clothes and more than enough pairs of shoes. If I freak out and tell myself I need something it will most likely signal an urge to conform or a sign of insecurity--both of which I'd like to avoid in law school. (yeah, good luck with that!)
This challenge already sucks because I too would love to shop the anniversary sale at Nordstrom for these. I've also been on an Etsy kick. I love looking through the jewelry pages. At least I'm not doing this...although it wouldn't hurt.
My first thoughts were, "Oh, this must be a new fad in Hong Kong." But I was wrong since this service is apparently available in Maryland and Virginia. While I generally believe pedicures are overrated (most likely because I can't justify the cost when I can do it myself), I can't imagine myself having fish nibble my feet. Weird...
Photos courtesy of AP and Yahoo! News.
I love, love, LOVE Rachel Ray's recipes. I just can't stand listening or watching her. She has way too much energy for me. For the most part her 30 minute meals are easy and done just under the timer alarm. She just forgets to tell you that it takes another 30 minutes for clean up. The extra trip to the store for ingredients not normally used is also not mentioned.
Tonight I used three burners and the oven for dessert. Ugh! We tried the Devilish Sesame Chicken over scallion toasted rice (wait, why am I capitalizing this?) and for dessert peach paddy cakes. Both recipes can be found in her August magazine. I needed parchment paper for the baking to which J asked why the resume paper? I had to explain that no, resume paper is not used, and that it is in fact baking paper. Don't ask me why it's used, as I have no clue. J has an excuse though, a little exam known as the bar, which is less than a week away. After which my life should be normal for at least two weeks. In the meantime dinner was well worth the effort! Yum-O!
I can't believe I just used one of her lines...
I love this movie. It was also mentioned here. Strange since I worked on this post prior to reading hers. Maybe we're on the same wavelength or something. I love Watts and her snippy lines. What happened to movies these days? Why do I find myself watching so many 80s flicks?
Watts: It must be a drag to be a slave to the male sex drive.
Keith: It's not just sex.
Watts: Oh, you want to start a book club with her?
Watts: You break his heart, I break your face.
Laura: (Keith's sister) This is not true. It can't be. This has got to be the most hilarious rumor ever floated. Right?
Cindy: (Keith's other sister) What are you talking about?
Laura: Last night, I hear everybody talking about how Keith has asked this girl out.
Cindy: No way.
Laura: Check it out. This girl is popular, she's beautiful... and obviously in the middle of some emotional shootout to consent to date the human tater tot. What did you do to her, Keith? Threaten her life?
Keith: I just asked her out.
Laura: Well, her boyfriend's a man, for Christ's sake.
Carol: (Keith's mom) Hey, hey, hey.
Laura: He's extensively easy on the eyes, he's a total buck, and you're-- you're... Keith.
Carol: Is she nice?
Laura: Mother, the girl *is* sex.
Cindy: For God's sake, I'm eating!
Cliff:(Keith's dad) Glad you got time to think about the girls. Between the girls and your art kick, you have no time for anything important. You'll be dead and buried before you get off your butt and apply to a college.
Laura: Ease up, Dad. Any fool can get into a college. Only a precious few may say the same about Amanda Jones. Am I wrong?
Amanda Jones: I'd rather be with someone for the wrong reasons then alone for the right.
Duncan: [walking into Hardy's party] It must be a hen house, because all I see is chicken shit.
I'm still trudging along in my "summer before law school reading" and let me tell you, it sucks! I just finished A Civil Action by Jonathan Harr. It was a used copy and it stunk...literally. Whoever owned this book either lived in a bar or chose to use it to elevate their ashtray. There were times when I had to put the book down because it stunk so much.
The story? Eh...it reminded me of Erin Brockovich. I did find the financial aspects of the case interesting, but not enough to keep my nose in the book as the cover claimed I would. It's a deceiving book in that it's over 400 pages. I would've tried to knock it down to 250, there just seemed a lot of something that I could've done without. Anyone interested in reading it just send an e-mail. I will gladly mail it to you as I don't want it stinking up my house any longer!
Just so you know I won't have any books published prior to the start of law school. Nor will I work as an interpreter for Guantanamo detainees while a law student. Just think about that. By day she was a law student and by night an interpreter for Guantanamo detainees! WOW! As I listened to this fascinating interview I couldn't help but be a teeny bit depressed. Oh well. I'll get over it. I'll just have to remind myself of my awesome ability to mesmerize three year olds. I also have a pool with a slide to get to people!
Yesterday I had a bad day. Everything happened in the morning and when I got off work all I wanted to do was curl up in the fetal position and sleep. However B called and off we went to a baseball game where we drank dollar beers, laughed and watched a decent match up for the minors. It was exactly what I needed!
Although, my father called today to tell me he would be here tomorrow. WHAT?! So now I have less than 24 hours to clean house and alter weekend plans. I feel like I'm living in a bad 80's music video. Please Jeebus, please bring me happier news tomorrow.
Guy buying stolen stuff: I tell you what, I'll give you 1,500 for everything.
Don: 1,500? Come on, man. This stuff holds a lot of sentimental value.
Guy buying stolen stuff: To who?
Don: To the poeple I stole it from.
Guy buying stolen stuff: I don't care about them. 1,500.
Drillbit Taylor: I'm Drillbit Taylor... US Army ranger, black-ops operative, decorated marksman, improvised weapons expert.
Wade: Are you still in the military?
Drillbit Taylor: I was discharged - unauthorized heroism.
"What, you to much of a man to give another man an asspat?"
Dude...where was this guy when I took H.S. history?
Ever since I discovered the ease of Google Reader my life has been wonderful. However I subscribe to more feeds than I can keep up with. Then I discovered Google Gears which allows me to read Reader offline. This doesn't exactly help me since I am rarely offline but it means that I don't have to worry about connectivity.
So last week I was able to catch up on my feeds. These are some of the things I starred for one reason or another. Some are old, some are new so you may have seen these elsewhere.
Laughs:
Don't you put it in your mouth
Friday Funny: Making fun of feminist stereotypes
Yogurt: What else could a woman need?
Law and Academics:
What if IX applied to math and science courses?
Gender and the Elite Law Reviews
The Ivory Ceiling: How Academia Keeps Women Out
WTF:
Ruining a Law Student's Life for Fun and Profit
Is the key to reducing your carbon footprint in your ass?
Supply or Demand?
The Naked Truth: Security vs. Privacy
I have a wedding to go to soon. My boyfriend's best friend is getting married. My reaction to this wedding? Eh. Marriage is a topic you don't want to discuss with me. Especially if you believe there is nothing wrong with marrying someone after a month. I also hate weddings with a passion.
Now we are stuck having to get a gift even though we were nicely asked to refrain from giving gifts. WTF! Gift or no gift, either way we're screwed. Makes me wonder what Larry David would do?
So, I came across this on Boing Boing. I love Boing Boing! We are 95% positive we're getting it and 60% positive we should put it on the gift table to be opened in front of many. We're 100% positive she'll hate us even more than she already does. I should mention that this is the woman who leaves the table when the word porn is used in any way. Porn is one of my favorite words, so basically she and I have never talked. She also doesn't understand sarcasm...so we're totally screwed.
On the other hand we completely feel that testicle talc is a must for the modern groom. What man wouldn't use it for their honeymoon?
Yesterday I was having my brakes worked on, which meant I sat in the waiting room for an hour and a half. I came prepared with some reading so I was good. I did not realize that other people also come prepared to sit. In fact one guy brought his knife sharpening kit. Yeah. And sat there sharpening his knives. I'll admit I was a little freaked out, but the noise killed me! It sounded like nails on a chalkboard. Give me a break dude! I suppose I should just be glad they were knives and that he wasn't cleaning his gun, which I'm sure he could've gotten away with as well. Oh the joys of living in a red state!
While keeping up on blawgs I was happy to see that I'm not the only one cleaning out my social networking sites. Yesterday I chose to delete people I haven't talked to or who I was just lingering in their general "collection" of friends. I have been thinking a lot about social networking sites in general. I came to the conclusion that I want to use them as they're meant to be used--for keeping in touch and networking. Not networking as in, "Hey we met last night, we had some laughs so I thought I would add you." No, that just doesn't cut it anymore. Especially with the internet's ability to quickly turn the private into the public.
I've learned that I want to network the old fashioned way. You know, where you actually stay in touch and up-to-date with the people you know because you 1) want to, and 2) never know when that relationship can come in handy (need a good plumber? need a reference?). So I took a look at my friends and for the most part deleted anyone that I wouldn't or couldn't pick the phone up and call. I edited my schools to list only those I've graduated from and so that current students can't search other current students for my law school. This way they will basically have to type in my name to find my private page.
From now on I will try my best to only "friend" those that fall into the above description and remind myself that law school is not void of immaturity and competition.
I suppose this is just one of many small steps I'll be making toward becoming a more professional individual. Which kinda sucks because...
I watch movies. In fact, it's all I watch since we don't have cable or get digital reception due to proximity to the mountains. And now, once a week dear readers, you'll be getting a sample of movie quotes from films I've recently watched. Let's call them Movie Moments, or MoMo for short. So go grab some popcorn, or tomatoes, or whatever.
This week's pic is High Fidelity.
Barry: [performing at the record release party] Rob, thank you for that kind introduction. We're no longer called Sonic Death Monkey. We're on the verge of becoming Kathleen Turner Overdrive, but just for tonight, we are Barry Jive and his Uptown Five.
Rob: I get by because of the people who make a special effort to shop here - mostly young men - who spend all their time looking for deleted Smith singles and original, not rereleased - underlined - Frank Zappa albums. Fetish properties are not unlike porn. I'd feel guilty taking their money, if I wasn't... well... kinda one of them.
Rob: The making of a great compilation tape, like breaking up, is hard to do and takes ages longer than it might seem. You gotta kick off with a killer, to grab attention. Then you got to take it up a notch, but you don't wanna blow your wad, so then you got to cool it off a notch. There are a lot of rules. Anyway... I've started to make a tape... in my head... for Laura. Full of stuff she likes. Full of stuff that make her happy. For the first time I can sort of see how that is done.
Barry: Rob, I'm telling you this for your own good, that's the worst fuckin' sweater I've ever seen, that's a Cosby sweater.
[Imitating Cosby]
Barry: A Cosssssssby sweater. Did Laura let you leave the house like that?
And this beauty of a conversation:
Craigslist amazes me. A-MAZES ME! I posted some crap two hours ago and POOF! It's NOW GONE! I think tomorrow I'll post some more crap and see how long it takes for it to magically sell. The weird thing is I posted random crap. Like crap people don't normally use this time of year and yet it's gone! HOORAY! Less shit to move next month!
The last time I tried to become a new resident of a state it took FOREVER! My application was actually denied twice. They were confused as to why I didn't own a vehicle. Certainly you must drive!--they said. No, that's what the bus is for. Then they wanted to know all this parent crap that did not pertain to me, nor my age. The whole process still does not sit well with me.
Now that I'm officially moving from this shit-hole of a state I have to start the residency process all over again. So here is what I did today, I went and renewed my driver's license for the state I live in today. It had been expired for about six months. The clerk at the grocery store was always keen to remind me when I bought beer. I played dumb every time and it became our little game. He knew what was up and I still got my beer. Now I don't know about where you live but here you've pretty much have to get to the DMV at 8am to have a chance of getting anything in under an hour or possibly that day. At 7:55 I was about the 30th person there but having mad line skillz I quickly jumped in when the announcement for "numbers" came. BOOYAH! Number 10!!
So the clerk asked me why it took so long for me to renew my license and I told her I was moving to a new state. She asked why I was getting it renewed and I told her that if I had a valid license, the new state wouldn't make me take a driving test. Yep, I was paying to avoid parallel parking. You'd consider it too if you saw my lack of skillz. She asked when I was going to get my new state license and I said tomorrow. Yep, today I got a driver's license and tomorrow I'm going to get another one! So, tomorrow after a long day of driving I will officially be one step closer to new state residency! Take that out-of-state tuition!
I just finished reading The Brethren: Inside the Supreme Court by Bob Woodward and Scott Armstrong. I would recommend it to anyone wanting a better understanding of the Supreme Court. The book covers 1968-1975 which saw the death of Justice Black, retired Chief Justice Warren, and the resignations of Fortas, Harlan, and Douglas. Woodward is an excellent writer who made the cases seem alive even though they're almost forty years old.
It's also a fun read. At one point I was reading how Justice Douglas left the hospital (he had a stroke) and went shopping at Abercrombie and Fitch. All I could picture was an old man in the store as we know it today. I can't possibly imagine what the store was like back then.
The following conversation occurred while shopping in a crowded Deseret Industries thrift store.
Kel's sister: Hey, you want a Magic Bullet?
Kel: Only if it's a vibrator.
Kel's ma: Yeah, like YOU need one.
Kel: What's that supposed to mean?
*Deseret Industries is a Mormon-run enterprise.
