say do you remember

OMG.

Just back from the wedding, which was AWESOME, but the awesomest part?

One of the singers in the band came up to me afterward and was like, "Were you in [my law school]'s musical? Because I saw it at admitted students' weekend, and I'm starting there this fall!" And it totally MADE MY NIGHT. I have a fan! Sort of. Yay.

Now, if only he had convinced the band to play Fame...

you were always out

Holy crap. Am I really so jaded that when someone knocks on my door without prior notice, I get a burst of adrenaline as my first instinct is home invasion?

No, it's my across-the-hall neighbor looking for a screwdriver (which I don't have). And really, self, would a home invader knock first? Only if they're quite polite, I'm sure.

It's finals. That's what I'm blaming everything on. Final finals. Finally.

hardly underway

Tipsy on house wine from our end-of-year Journal dinner, listening to a mix cd playlist to make sure it flows ok (still room for 2-3 more songs if I'm so inclined--no, it's not exam recovery; that's gonna have to be bar exam recovery, I fear), skimming emails about a post-bar trip someplace sunny and warm...

...exams? What exams? Oh, those exams. Yeah, I'm on it.

Tomorrow.

so cold in this house

Sorry about the long time, no blog. I think I lead a dull life right now. Like, I'm reading journal student comments to figure out which ones we'll publish. Interesting to me, not so much to you. Or, like, I need a haircut, desperately. Or I need to register for PMBR before the end of the week, because my former prof recommended it as very useful and I trust her. You know, edge-of-your-seat, fascinating stuff like that.

But hey, this might be of interest: I think I ate some glass tonight at the Rock Bottom brewery! Awesome! I blame this on the Boy, because I was torn between the crème brulée and the pint glass sundae for dessert, and he wanted to share the sundae. I bet we wouldn't have mistaken the glass for ice in the crème brulée. So, anyhow, if you don't hear from me again, I'm probably suffering from massive internal hemmoraging, or whatever. Bonus: we got a free meal! Guess I should have had a second beer.

Anyway, I saw this video on SOMC today and LOVED it, so I'm sharing it with all of you. Enjoyable even for non-cat people, I promise.

flipped, turned upside down

Three years ago, I said to myself, "I want to do that."

And I did, three times. And this last time was magic, every minute, and I want so badly to do it again.

But now I don't know what to do with myself.

you cried and you cried and you cried and you cried

So, I have the flu. Again.

I have the flu again, and I leave for Thailand tomorrow.

If I don't die, you'll hear from me next when I get back in 2 weeks... though the law school musical is right when I get back, so who knows when you'll hear from me?

Anyway, on my way back from the doctor, I walked by the Hershey store, and realized that I'd seen those dresses they had in the window before. Yes, dresses. PROJECT RUNWAY dresses:



So cool! If you're in Chicago (and a fan of the show), you should definitely check them out. I don't recommend getting the flu, though. That part sucks. And it sucks doubly when you get it twice in two weeks.

Sigh.

when you're not home

I'm sorry I'm not writing here much these days. I'm kind of insanely busy right now. Like, if I've ever said that before, I didn't mean it. There is literally more that I have to do immediately, right now, due yesterday, etc than there are hours in which to do it. It's going to require some major triage on my part over the next several days to get over this hump--a lot of it is fallout from getting really sick last week and not having the wherewithal to do much of anything mentally, let alone physically. I think I might be feeling a little better now, as I've gotten kind of a second wind, but a second wind at 12:20 isn't much good at all when I need to go to bed so I can actually and for seriously get better.

So, yeah. I'm sorry. I'm also sorry that there hasn't been an exam recovery... yet. I mean it--I have songs, I just need to organize them, and maybe I'll be able to get to that while I travel to Thailand? It breaks my heart not to have sent this out, but it's a luxury compared to everything else that needs doing. This also applies to phone calls--if you're an out-of-town friend and you've called recently, I love you and I'm sorry I suck, and I will do my best to get in touch as soon as I can.

Anyway, the other thing I wanted to mention is that the TV show Breaking Bad is really amazing, and if you haven't been watching it, you should have. Unfortunately the season finale is next week (it only ran for, what, eight weeks?), so you've pretty much missed it if you haven't been watching AMC since January. But it's a very realistic depiction of what living with cancer must be like, and watching tonight's episode, it struck me that I haven't ever had anyone close to me go through chemo or anything like that. I knew what it entailed, vaguely, but I have a much better understanding of the harsh, difficult realities of it all. Also, I loved Bryan Cranston as Malcolm's dad back in the day, but he's even better here. So awesome.

Oh, and don't think because I've been watching one TV show that I don't know what I'm talking about re: my lack of time. It's a disaster, folks. Here's to hoping I can get through this week.

he's alive, he's alive

So, today in Evidence, my professor said that the first sentence of FRE 608(b) "throws you a hooker."

Um.

always doing damage control

SNOW DAY!

Well, Snow Couple-of-Hours--no evening classes tonight after 6pm. And it doesn't affect me at all, because I don't have Weds night classes (and our Very Special Wednesday Rehearsal continues apace), but it's still pretty great. I don't think I've had any classes canceled for weather since senior year of college.

I know there hasn't been much of note here recently, and I apologize. I'm a bit overcommitted this semester and things are just getting crazier and crazier. So, anyway, listen to the new R.E.M. single and check back later. Maybe I'll have more to add.

workers are going home

I am a hero of guitars. *metal sign*

Well, ok--I'm fairly awesome at Guitar Hero III (the Boy's birfday present)... on Easy. I'm still learning to handle Medium with any real grace/accuracy. It's SO MUCH FUN, though. Makes me want to get back to playing my real guitar. That way, maybe I'll stop co-opting the Boy's gift...

Otherwise, I survived the first week of classes (if anyone cares, those classes are Federal Jurisdiction ("Fed Jur"), Evidence, ITP Thailand ("trip to Thailand class"), and Mediation Practicum). Was not as productive overall as I'd hoped I'd be, but I'm not beating myself up over it. Yet, anyway. Went to court on Tuesday to do what I'd hoped would be my first mediation with real, live parties... only to find that no one needed us. Oh, well. Better luck next week?

I spent a good part of the day today socializing with kitties at PAWS Chicago--I did not adopt any kitties, but it was sorely tempting, I assure you. There were some very sweet, affectionate little boy and girl kitties available. Not to mention some really, really cute puppies and some good dogs that the Boy got to interact with. I've had to bail on one of my volunteer opportunities this semester because of a class conflict (er, a conflict with one of my classes, not an upstairs/downstairs thing), so I'm hoping to volunteer with PAWS at least once a week instead.

Also, this writers' strike is really bumming me out. Now the word on the street is that Scrubs might just... stop? Since this is the last season? Sad! Not a very dignified ending for that little show. I don't know what I'm going to do when I run out of Gossip Girl, Ugly Betty or Project Runway episodes. Cry, I guess. Then watch a lot of DVDs.

my hat looks good on me

Ok, so maybe the last post wasn't so compelling. How about this one:

I am officially certified to mediate in Illinois through the Center for Conflict Resolution!

*raises roof*

This means I can take the Mediation Practicum next semester and actually help people with real disputes. Apparently the CCR model gets results about 50% of the time, which is still pretty impressive for half-hour short form mediations.

This also means I don't have to go to class next week. *raises roof some more*

So if you need someone to facilitate discussion of a disagreement, I'm your girl. (That having been said, I do not advocate picking fights just to give me something to do.)

tell me that you love me more

I have at least 10 things I could be doing right now, so I'll keep this short. I feel bad about my posts of late because there's a lot going on, but either a) it's really not interesting enough to blog about (we got the galley proofs back for journal issue 97-3! I'm reading them RIGHT NOW! I think I might have found an error in a footnote! OMG!!!), or b) it would be great blog fodder, but it's not something I can talk about--like clerkship interviewing. The clerkship stuff will all be over in a week, and I will either a) have a job with a judge or b) not. No stress, you know, whatever. Sigh.

edited to add: inspired by rj3, there is one Judge I CAN talk about...



Seriously, though. How is it nearly halfway through September? Wasn't it just July (July, Julyyyyy)?

Anyway, here's a plug for PAWS Chicago's Run For Their Lives 8K run / 4K walk on Sept. 30. The Boy is doing the run; I'm doing the walk, which makes me feel lame, but lately my left knee has been protesting after about 20 min of running, so I don't think 8K of running will make it any happier. If you have a free afternoon, check out their new facility at 1997 N. Clybourn--it's beautiful, and full of cute, loving animals who need a good home. And if you want to donate to the cause, you can do so here.

I told the Boy that if I got a clerkship, I would reward myself with a cat. And I mean it. Maybe not immediately, maybe not till I move to said clerkship locale, but I really, really want a cat. And seeing the cute little kitty faces at the facility last weekend only strengthened that desire. I just emailed about volunteering at the shelter; I'm sure if I'm around animals every week, then I'll be desensitized and will feel less like having a pet. I mean, that's totally the way it works, right?

give me a minute and i'll tell you the setup

I am so damn tired.

Back from South Carolina. Lovely wedding. Not so lovely weather for most of it. Lovely delays, first by plane, then by ferry. My bag got inspected by the TSA on the way home. Delta's check-in staff at Midway is horrible, but they still serve free food in flight (peanut butter crackers! hooray).

Tomorrow (er, later today) is the first day of 3L, and I feel woefully unprepared. Not for class, necessarily, but for the onslaught of stuff. I need more vacation. Sigh.

something worth holding on to

oh, MAN. What a great, great concert.

I told you that you wouldn't hear from me till Monday, but I lied. I'm stuffing my apps bright and early tomorrow (er, later today), so everything had to be done, copied and collated by 8pm this evening so I could make my way over to the Dumbledore Double Door to see Fountains of Wayne.

And I am SO GLAD I did. Fun, poppy Chicago-based band Office opened, and they've become a lot tighter in the year since I last saw them. They've got a new album out now, or soon-to-be-out, so I should look into that. Not that I've had time to listen to any of the other seven albums I've gotten in the last six weeks, including the "new" FoW CD I picked up from the merch table this evening. Anyway. Apparently Adam Schlesinger is their label boss, or their mentor, or their harmony god or whatever, and I don't doubt that, because there is NOTHING that man can't do. He is grrrreat. No one sings "shoo-bap shoo-bap" or "sha-na-na-na-na yeah" with as much conviction as he does, and rightly so. Those earnest little pop backup moments are what kill me in FoW's music.

So there was a lot of rocking out to be had, for sure (they ended with a rather ripping rendition of "Go, Hippie," which isn't a song I was expecting to hear), but more importantly, there was some soft rocking-out, in the form of my favorite "Troubled Times," which, oh, my. After the anticlimax of the WTTW taping two years ago and the rather humdrum set from last year's Taste of Chicago, I honestly never expected to hear a deeper album cut like that at their live shows. But they played it, and it was amazing, and I could've died right there--possibly from the sheer loveliness of it all, or possibly because it was 120 degrees inside the venue and I'm back to the land where people SMOKE INDOORS making it even hotter and stuffier and ick. Still, it was absolutely worth it, for me and for the rest of the sold-out crowd--including a lot of older concert-goers, which was surprising and heartening. I mean, I drag my mom to concerts all the time, but it's nice to see other people's moms and dads at shows, even without children in tow.

It's going to be a crrrrazy concert-going autumn--we already have tickets to Wilco and the Decemberists (again! end of October! I love them and cannot possibly get enough), and need to get tix for Of Montreal, the New Pornographers, Nada Surf, Girlyman, possibly Voxtrot if I can swing it, and others I'm very reluctantly passing up for financial and/or scheduling reasons (Kaiser Chiefs, Interpol, Rilo Kiley, Flaming Lips). But this concert set a high bar for the next two months of live shows, no question.

FoW FTW, people. FT freaking W.

for the fun and the fashion

man, it is HARD to keep up with blogging and Work Club.

In fact, I started this entry an hour ago and got sidetracked. And now it's once more time for Sleep Club.

Suffice it to say that things are good. Grades came out this week--bunnies galore, for which I'm grateful. Nary a squirrel in the bunch. (As Erica already knows, I prefer to think of my grades in terms of Maeby's report card. And I just spent 15 min on youtube trying to find that Arrested Development clip, but... no dice.) Had a bunch of fun law firm events this week as well, which means even less time around my tawny gypsy mac and its simple pleasures (music blogs... facebook... email).

And now I literally cannot keep my eyes open. Sorry I'm so boring lately. As a peace offering, I give you this:

time to put these combat boots away

done.

And I feel... okay.

I never know how well I've fared till the grades arrive, anyway. I feel better about some tests than others, and better about some parts of tests than other parts. I saw Mr. Doyle of giant-cat fame as I was turning in my tax exam and I hoped that was an ausipicious sign. (An actual giant cat might've been more auspicious, but I'll take what I can get.)

Anyway, we're doing sushi tonight, which we haven't done in a long while, so I'm happy about that. I'm happy that I can snooze for 90 minutes tomorrow and not feel guilty about it. I'm happy that on Saturday I go home to see the cutest kitty in the world (oh, and my parents too, I guess). And in 12 days? I start earning MONEY, real money, for the first time in nearly two years.

And I'm VERY happy about that.

cycle on your bicycle

Studying's not all fun and games, but it helps when your professor has a sense of humor. I just came across one of my favorite tax powerpoint slides of the semester, which I will attempt to recreate here:


§ 453: Mr. Doyle buys your giant cat for 10% downpayment and installments over the next five years. How are you taxed?

Income each year = payment (*) (gross profit / total contract price)

the photograph on the dashboard

why it pays to use Lexis:

I just bought this with my accumulated Lexis research points. My point total went from over 26,000 to a whopping 31--but man, am I excited.

(I suppose it probably helps that I'm a Lexis Rep. However, I've still got another year of point accumulation ahead of me--and now that Kate Spade is being added to the Lexis store next week... *rubs hands in eager anticipation*)

Anyway, expect more posts with photos in them once it arrives. (Also, expect fewer derisive comments from my friends about my continued use of a *scoff* film camera.)

dreams they complicate my life

Random observation: I have gone through more cans of diet soda in the last two days than I have in the last two weeks.

It's not all caffeinated (*tweak!*), in fact, most of it isn't. I think I get a little bit of an oral fixation when I'm stressed, so I need to be eating something, drinking something, or chewing something at all times (I've also gone through more gum in the last two days than I have in the last month, and I'd prefer to keep confidential my cracker and dry cereal intake).

Exams start tomorrow (the source of all this stress), and I'm getting things kicked off with a bang by taking Trusts & Estates bright and early tomorrow morning. The plan is to take Employment Law next Weds and Tax the Weds after (the last day). I've never taken a self-scheduled exam on the last day before; I hope the school doesn't turn into a zoo. If I feel ready (ha!) I might take Tax early, but I'm doubting that will happen.

I'm not as scared about exams as I was last year. I'm also not as overwhelmingly prepared for exams as I was last semester (for my, uh, one single exam). I'm feeling this sense of inevitability--the exams will happen, and I will be a passive recipient of them. I think I need to feel more like I can kick some ass, because, well, I can. (I think.)

I also think I need to finish working through these Trusts & Estates drills. I am a WHIZ at intestacy, though. Just try and die with out a will! I'll get your estate sorted out faster than you can say "English per stirpes," you betcha.

box your ears and leave you here stripped bare

Did I say I was done with the trip-to-Egypt paper?

That's not true. Woefully, hearbreakingly, exhaustingly not true.

I thought group work was supposed to be better in law school. That's what I told all my interviewers last fall--we're going to be collegial laywers someday, so the group work now is so much better because everyone cares more than in high school/college/whatever.

I now realize that the extent of my "group work" was working on legal writing projects with a like-minded study partner, who, yes, DID care. That is most assuredly not always the case, and it fucking sucks.

I'm going to bed. I'm pissed, I'm tired, and I'm sad that it's coloring my appreciation of the Decemberists (because they were wonderful tonight, and I'm sure they'll be wonderful again tomorrow). But maybe sleep will help.