you would not write me again

It's done.

No more journal-writing competition. An insane number of students participated--or, at least, picked up the packets. When I turned mine in, I saw that a #215 (!) had already been turned in. This is out of, like, 260 students. Yeesh. The Boy reminded me that just because someone picked up a numbered packet doesn't mean that they actually participated... but it's finally hitting home that all those rumors about the class of '08 being a little, well, intense? Might be true. Soooo... yeah. Won't know till August, but here's hoping for good news.

And tonight? Sushi, of course. Tomorrow, going home. And what does THAT mean?

turn out the lights and I'll glow

I am the product of my upbringing.

More specifically: when my family moved to our "new" home in December '93, we got a fridge with an icemaker and one of those magic in-door widgets that gave you all the tools you needed for a fresh glass of ice water (that would be ice and water, for those of you not so privileged). I lived with the Icemaker until I left for college, at which point the family Icemaker was replaced with a communal Icemaker in the dining hall. Post-college, I moved back home, which meant the family Icemaker and I could renew our acquaintance. My present apartment, however, has no such amenity. Why am I telling you all this?

Because I cannot properly use an ice tray to save my life.

Every freaking time: water all over the floor as I'm trying to open the freezer, or worse, water IN the freezer from jostling the tray too much when I'm trying to set it down. Don't even get me started on how challenging it is to fill *two* ice trays. Maybe I'm just an inherently nervous person and my hand starts shaking en route to the freezer, thereby ensuring that the inevitable spill occurs. Maybe I'm just out of practice. It just got me thinking, though, as I was swapping my wet socks for dry ones and mopping up my spill for the umpteenth time, that I'm more dependent on technology than I even realize, sometimes.

Anyhow. Back to your regularly-scheduled rant about the journal-writing competition (24 more hours)...

now she's taking me to court

Quickie update, for those of you who might have thought that the journal competition vanquished me once and for all--not so! Not so. I'm pluggin' away--have a decent draft, but the citations are all... well, they're not nonexistent, because I made sure to indicate where I got the cite from, but the Bluebook won't be pleased. Not at all. Guess what I'll be spending the rest of my day doing? And since I have to revisit the editing exercise again (nooooo), I suppose I ought to stock up on the headache meds en avance.

In other news, I met with my judge for the summer and got my first assignment--woo! Very exciting. Too bad I can't think about it at ALL until this dastardly competition is through. I've seen more fellow former-1Ls in the block between my apartment and Starbucks in the last two days than I think I've seen in my neighborhood all semester. It's kind of amusing. Of course, the only time I've left my apartment in the last two days is to go to Starbucks, so maybe it's not all that remarkable.

And finally, in all my free time I profess not to have, I made a jim-dandy mix cd for a trade with friend Cella of Turin Brakes-owning fame--I'm eager to listen to it all the way through to make sure my segues (not to be confused with Segways) are in order, but since music + anything school-related = distracted!kat, I suppose it will have to wait a bit longer to fine-tune. Alas.

sky blue, bells ringing

Weird. My iPod, on total, 4500-song random shuffle, has just played 3 of my favorite R.E.M. songs back to back. Not complaining, mind you (and I do have a crapload of R.E.M., so I suppose it's not THAT unusual a phenomenon).

Anyway, knee-deep in the competition-that-must-not-be-named: spent all yesterday muddling through the editing exercise, which started out as "fun! I like grammar!" and ended in "omg, my head hurts SO BADLY and I can't even tell IF there's a problem with this source, let alone how to FIX it." So, I'm going to go through it once more tomorrow evening and then call it completed. It's more important at the moment that I make serious inroads on my case note.

In other news, I've discovered the joy that is the bike/jog path along the lake, and I'm actually--*gasp*--jogging. It kind of sucks WHILE I'm doing it, but I feel [teen girl squad] SOOOO GOOD!!!11 [/teen girl squad] afterward that I think I'll see how long I can keep this up. The problem is that my favorite time to exercise is, like, 10am, which is fine now--but come full summer, it'll be 85 degrees, humid and AWFUL out there that late in the morning, so I dunno what I'll do. Hopefully I'll have my bike here by then, so that might be a way to switch it up...

Huh. Another R.E.M. song. My iPod has a crush, I think. Perhaps an Orange Crush, or a Crush with Eyeliner...? *snarf*

but you left a trace on a data back-road

from an ancient edition of my little Time Magazine (or whatever it's called):

Patricia Wallace, a techno-psychologist who directs the Johns Hopkins Center for Kids Who Can't Read Good [I mean, Center for Talented Youth program], believes part of the allure of e-mail--for adults as well as teens--is similar to that of a slot machine. "You have intermittent, variable reinforcement," she explains. "You are not sure you are going to get a reward every time or how often you will, so you keep pulling that handle. Why else do people get up in the middle of the night to check their e-mail?"

...I suppose it's for the best that I've never developed a taste for casinos.

In other news, I can't get the Brokeback Mountain theme song out of my head. gaaaah. But those ubiquitous parodies? Even funnier once you've seen the original film...

it's not today anymore

I'm done! done done done done done!

Actually, I was done as of 8:47 pm last night, but I immediately went and watched Capote--which, let me tell you, is not exactly the kind of feel-good film you want to see after finishing your exams. Oh, well. Rang in my one (!) day of freedom pre-journal competition with chocolate chip pancakes; picking up my competition packet in a little less than 4 hours, and it's on again. *sigh* But I'm definitely going to Bar Review tonight (woo! first/last one all semester!), so today is just going to be a Day Off. I'll start in on the competition stuffs tomorrow.

Oh, and it's gorgeous outside, again--and I'm actually going out there. Hold me back!

...on second thought, don't.

don't let it slip away

Yeah, so, it's gorgeous outside. 70 degrees, says my weather widget. Sunny, say the light receptors in my pupils. Humid? dunno. Possibly, since it's rained the last couple days, and it's supposed to thunderstorm tomorrow...

...but I WOULDN'T know, because I HAVEN'T BEEN OUTSIDE ALL DAY. aaaaarrrgh.

I love my apartment, really, I do. But 525 square feet just doesn't cut it when you've scarcely left the darn place for the past two weeks.

This is why I'm planning on taking my last exam tomorrow, rather than wait till Thursday/last minute, because I don't think I can take another two days of this. I just hope I'm ready.

24 more hours. I can DO this. Then, just a measely ol' journal-writing competition, and I'm free (!) for the summer.

*resumes nose-to-grindstoning*

are you fine with your surroundings?

Aw, man. "River Valley" just came up on my iPod's shuffle. I can't tell you the last time I actually listened to a Fruvous song.

Damn it, I miss those guys. All good things, as they say...

something in me almost breaks

Quizno's plays good music.

A year ago (or more? I can't remember) I posted on my ol' webpage (which hasn't been updated in forEVer, my apologies) about hearing Semisonic's "One True Love" on my lunch hour and how it totally made my day. Well, last night I heard Tracy Bonham's "Something Beautiful," which just filled my little heart with joy. GREAT song, and not exactly what you hear on the radio all the time (or is it? I don't really listen to the radio, save for the snippets that wake me up in the morning. Today I got "I Am the Walrus," but Sundays are WXRT's Breakfast with the Beatles, so it wasn't entirely surprising).

Huh. I think more of this post is parenthetical than not. (oh, well.)

leave all this misery behind

omg! Turin Brakes have been added to iTunes!

"Big deal," you say. "Who are they?" you say.

Well, truthfully, I don't really know. All I know is that two and a half years ago, I had the idea to do a 4-cd massive theme mix of seasonal songs, and even though summer songs are by far the easiest to come across, my anchor song, one that I'd been hearing constantly on 97X and kind of gave me the idea in the first place, was Turin Brakes's "Painkiller," whose chorus is "Summer rain, dripping down your face again, summer rain, praying someone feels the same..."

...anyhow. Suffice to say, I searched the legal channels (and one decidedly non-legal channel)--couldn't locate it and wasn't prepared to fork over the cash for a CD that might suck, save for that one song. But now? Now I can sample the entire album (and I'll probably buy the whole damn thing--18 tracks for the price of 10? why not?), buy their latest album and even an iTunes exclusive live session, if I want. It's glorious. And most importantly, I can finally finish this mix, which I'll do as soon as my school obligations are through for the year. This is so exciting. I literally got chills listening to the iTunes sample.

I'm such a dork when it comes to music.

*giddy*

we fuse like a family

quickie post, because I have lots to do and not much time in which to do it:

First exam tomorrow. I actually feel... ready? I could be more ready, which is what the rest of the afternoon/evening is for, but on the whole, I'm dealing with exams in a MUCH healthier manner than I did 4 months ago.

Of course, check in with me a week from now--I may be singing a far different tune. But Con Law is first, and it promises to be my most, er, rigorous, so hopefully it's smooth(er) sailing from here on out.

Oh, and the Franz Ferdinand/Death Cab show last Wednesday? *awesome.* Worth taking a night off from studying, believe me. I still want to see a longer Death Cab set, because they picked some odd song selections given that they could only play an hour (and, I'm sorry, Ben, but a gratuitous drum solo BY YOU is not necessary. None of us came to see Death Cab "jam"--well, except for that toked-up kid in back, but he can deal). Oh, well. They're coming back for Lollapalooza in August (with another gratuitous drum solo for what promises to be another hour-long set? only time will tell), so I'll try again then.

Right. Back to work. Oh, and I've got a team blog going on with some college pals o'mine. Click on my profile and check it out--we're all reasonably witty folk, so it promises to be a good time for all. (Though possibly not for icky Helena Bonham Carter.)

hold me, wrap me up

Man, it was beautiful out there today. Like summer! Which is grand, but I'd enjoy a little more "spring" in my April, please. 80 degrees will be lovely in late May; right now, it feels like I blinked and missed something. Fortunately, my desktop weather widget assures me that mid-60 degree days will be back in vogue next week... not that it matters, because I'll be indoors studying for exams. Blah.

You know, studying for my last set of exams was a challenge in and of itself, for many reasons, not the least of which was the whole factor-of-the-unknown thing. I at least have some idea of what I'm up against now... but the weather is SO pretty. I don't want to be inside! I don't wanna! *throws tantrum*

Anyhow. Saw Girlyman and Richard Shindell earlier this week; both great shows. Tomorrow is Peter Mulvey *and* John Vanderslice, then Elbow on Sunday. We had our Habeas Chorus spring concert yesterday and I think it went pretty well--we definitely *sounded* better than ever. FINALLY sang "Both Sides Now" for the first time since October (*sigh*), but got some positive responses from folks afterward, so it's only folks in Habeas that hate the song, I guess. Blargh.

Right. Enough of a study break--back to Con Law.

*bangs head on desk*

you don't know what you do to me

*yawn*

*stretch*

Oh. Hello there, reader. Me again, you know, blogging, or whatever the kiddies call it these days.

Not much to report... we had our Wigmore Part Deux party last night, and it was fun, for sure... but already I could feel the closure. I mean, six members of our cast are graduating in a month and they've all got jobs elsewhere pulling them away. (Or, if they're staying in Chicago, they'll be crazy-busy with work and "real life," whatever that is.) What sucks is that just when I feel like I've gotten to know these folks, I've got to say goodbye. I suppose that crappy-ass "reason, season, lifetime" cliche about friendships is more apropos in situations like these than I'd like to give it credit for... but I'm also a highly sentimental person, so a little grieving over the passage of time and related losses is par for the course.

Sigh.

And what's worse? What am I filling the void with? F*cking outlining and exam prep, that's what. Talk about pouring salt on the wound. Pardon me, I must self-flagellate a bit more. Those of you who prefer my whining woe-is-me posts to the cheery life-is-super! entries, you're in luck. Exams start Apr 24, so I'll be bemoaning life any minute now. Just you wait.

we're leaving together, but still it's farewell

oh, man. What a week it's been.

Wigmore Follies '06, aka Back to the Follies, are naught but a memory, but what a wonderful memory. SO MUCH FUN. I have no idea how we'll top it next year. I won't miss the hideous turquoise parachute pants I had to wear for much of the show (nor the pink lace confection I wore the rest of it, and don't get me started on how indestructible Wet 'n Wild lipstick is), but I will miss singing, dancing and laughing with one hell of a group of talented people. I'm currently listening to the mix of songs from the show that our producer made us and feeling pretty darn nostalgic... we're partying again this Friday, but I already know that it won't be the same. The cast party last Saturday night was inSANE, and coupled with daylight savings time, I didn't get home till 6:30am... and had to be up at 9:15 for my Segway tour of Chicago with the 'rents. Lemme tell you: Segways are awesome. I bet they're even more awesome when you're not exhausted, dehydrated, and shivering because you failed to plan accordingly for the 35-degree drizzly weather. *sigh* It was great to see the fam again, though, and friend Dara, who came to Chicago for meeee--well, ok, she came for Chris Martin and his boys on Friday night, but she did see Wigmore on Saturday.

Anyway. Time to dig myself out of the academic hole into which I fell last week. Except I can't concentrate, because songs keep running through my head, and I want nothing more than to tire myself out by hopping, kicking, and over-enunciating "Hook Me Up With Notes from Civ Pro"... but I won't, ever again.

It's been four years since I've been in a play of any kind. Four years! I can't believe that. Gee whiz, how I've missed being onstage. Here's to hoping we can recreate the magic with Wigmore '07...

all our crying voices, they can't turn it around

Back and broken from spring! I mean, returned from spring break. Ireland was grand, simply grand--though a bit on the cold and rainy side. Locals said that the weather was the coldest it's been there all winter. Yep. That's to be expected, I suppose, whenever I travel someplace. Torrential rains in LA, snow in Las Vegas and Alabama, 50-degree days in Hawaii, nor'easters in New Haven... I've learned to pack sweaters. Lots of sweaters.

Also, I've been catching up on my many sundry Internet reads from the past week (it's AMAZING how much reading material accumulates when you're not vigilantly scouring the 'net on a daily basis), and saw the blurb on Reuters about the shooting/suicide at a party in Seattle wherein the gunman killed six people before taking his own life. It's a sad, confusing story, particularly after hearing of two suicides of acquaintances in the last three weeks. What it it about March and suicide? In March of my senior year of high school there were two suicides within a week of each other, a sophomore and a senior. Is it that the beauty of spring re-emerging from the bleakness of winter is simply too much for an aching heart to take? Or is it purely coincidence? I'm not sure, and I haven't dwelled long enough on this connection to really make anything of it, but I did find the final line of the Reuters article startling and inappropriate:

"Neighbors said the house was a party spot for young people with dyed hair, body piercings and elaborate makeup."

...and? And this makes them more likely to get shot by their friends? More likely to lead a sordid lifestyle that ends in tragic death? More deserving of their fate, somehow? Ridiculous. Equating the behavior of a severely disturbed individual with his physical appearance (or that of his late friends) is grievously unacceptable stereotyping that does not enlighten the substance of the story in any way, and I certainly expect better reporting from a world-wide news source.

On a lighter note, I really did have a great spring break. Relaxing and lovely. I'm just realizing that it's coming to an end, and I'm feeling vaguely crabby and unsettled. Not to mention, I'm sure, the nascent tree pollen that will fire up my allergies any day now. grrr arrrgh.

Back to the reading for class I should've done a week ago. AWESOME Saturday night. *throws metal sign and bangs head*

all the air we breathe is clean

Spring break sure is flying by. I had the grandest of plans to get reeeeeally caught up on my studies... but instead, I seem to have gotten reeeeeally caught up on my sleep and my tv shows. Oh, well. I'll pay for all this later, I'm sure, but for now, I can't seem to muster enough concern to do anything about it. I foresee an intensely stressful exam period spent feverishly outlining... but that's a good month from now, so ehhhh.

Ireland tomorrow! Should be wonderful. I'm very, very excited--it's been so long since I've traveled to a foreign country! Well, at least, a foreign country that's not Canada. (Not that Canada doesn't count--it just feels like, er, a second home! Oh, dear. Now I've alienated my Canadian readership...) The Boy and I agree that we probably should have booked an additional day abroad, since our schedule will likely be fairly tight and involve a lot of driving, but I'm well-versed in living out of a suitcase. Besides, this just means I'll have to return to Ireland someday to catch what I missed this time around.

Back to memorizing lines for Wigmore (since it's less than two weeks till opening night!)... did I mention that it can get darn expensive financing an 80's costume? Did I also mention that our Robert Palmer video spoof has provided the perfect excuse for me to buy a pair of black Fluevog heels I've had my eye on for awhile? Ahh, to be *making* money, rather than just spending it... someday.

cities in circles drawn perfect, complete

one. more. day.

Spring break is so near I can taste it. mmmm.

...but I have 30 pages of property to read, a (final!!!!11) CLR memo to edit, and two more classes till it's officially here.

Oh, and pancakes. Pancakes for breakfast tomorrow. but that's a treat, not a burden. And I'm having sushi for dinner tomorrow at my favorite sushi spot in the city pre-Belle & Sebastian/New Pornographers... and THAT combination is the BEST SPRING BREAK GIFT EVAR.

so excited.

almost.

yes.

just tape the numbers to the bed

Well, I emerged from the cave of my CLR brief, still alive.

So this is hedging on a "yay almost-spring-break" post, which may disappoint those of you who seem to delight in my sorrow. (Well, perhaps that's phrasing it incorrectly. But you get my point.) Unfortunately, the beast that is CLR is not yet tamed--there's one more assignment due friday, but it's a short one, and hopefully I can knock it out tonight and wash my hands of the class... till it's time for moot court oral arguments, anyway. But that won't be till April.

In other news, I have some shockingly 80s costume-wear for Wigmore, I have tickets to see the New Pornographers/Belle & Sebastian on Friday, and friend Erica is coming to visit on Saturday! We're road-tripping up to Milwaukee to see Ben Folds on Sunday, and then after she leaves Tuesday I'll be seeing Jenny Lewis's solo gig here in Chicago. yaaaay concerts! Makes up for missing BOTH Aqualung AND Nada Surf this past weekend. Yet another reason I harbor such vitriol for CLR.

And finally, one more development: I've been appointed president of Habeas Chorus for the coming year! I just found out yesterday, so it's still sinking in. I'm very excited, though. My main institutional goal is to get us a website ASAP after exams, because as an admitted student last summer, I was bummed not to be able to find out more about the Habeas audition process online. I'll keep you posted as this project progresses.

you're the funny little frog in my throat

ARRGH I HATE CLR ACK ACK ACK

*bangs head on desk*

No, not talking about this. I'm referring to my legal writing class. My brief is due bright and early tomorrow morning and it's making me sad.

I'm even sad about going to Wigmore rehearsal tonight, and it's been nothing but joy so far--it's just the fact that I'm losing 3 hours of CLR working time.

I really, really, really hope I'm not on call in Con Law tomorrow... but with my luck, I will be.

anyhow. that's what's up. more soon when I don't feel so much like whining. 'cause who wants to read more of that? nobody, that's who.

start... please start... please start

Ooof. This is going to be a LONG week. It's already been a long week and it's only Wednesday. On the flip side, hellooooo March! I'm counting on winter to be on the long, slow slide outta here. I'm tired of cold weather.

More importantly, I'm tired of legal writing assignments that seem to provide me more stress than benefit, and I dread the hell that will be this weekend in trying to finish my brief. *sigh* Wigmore rehearsals are fun, but they leave me exhausted (even when we're *not* practicing choreography) and eat up my evenings. I loved watching the Olympics, but they cut WAY back on productivity because it's really impossible to "just have them on in the background"--at least, *I* find it impossible. Lindsey Jacobellis was a fool, Bode Miller was a tool, and Sasha Cohen choked like we all feared she might--but it still made for quality programming.

Ho hum. I swear my life feels more exciting than this on most days, but I'll be damned if I can think of anything more remarkable to share with y'all. And I feel bad for just coming on here and complaining--but it's how I feel right now, and BLOGGING is all about FEELINGS, right? And since I'm not in an emo band, all these hard emotions have to go SOMEwhere, right?

Right. *sigh* back to work...