Ex - Iowa Law Girl

I need a life...

2007-09-17T15:46:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: Only one kind... Whoever this person is, he has played World of Warcraft nearly ever hour, of every day, for the past year and a half. Gentlemen, we are dealing with someone here who has absolutely no life.

Sigh. I feel that way! Since I'm taking a break from working for now, I thought I would finally get around to leveling my hunter and pally. It's funny because my hunter was once my main, and I even played her to rank 13. Now, I just find the hunter class too boring for words.

I also had a problem leveling my pally. After leveling my feral druid, the pally seems to kill 10 times more slowly. It seemed intolerable.

My solution? I transferred my pally to a separate account and dual-boxed the hunter and pally together. I thought it was kind of neat to level two toons at once. I'm actually curious how other people do it with three or five toons.

Now, I have three 70s, and I just realized what a pain in the ass it's going to be to gear up all three. I think I am giving up on the hunter and will just focus on the pally.

Arena or Kara weapon?

2007-07-17T12:26:00.000-07:00

The day has finally arrived. I have enough arena points to buy the Merciless Gladiator's Maul, but I'm not that excited. Why, do you ask? Well, it's because I'm not sure what to do.

Here are my choices: 1) I can choose to spend all my arena points on this one fabulous weapon; or 2) I can spend all my arena points to purchase a season 2 helm and chestpiece, and wait/pray that the Stranglestaff from Karazhan drops.

I've done some calculations and comparisons of what boosts/upgrades I would receive. Basically, if I equip the helm and chest, I'll receive tons of more stam (55 more), intellect, +healing bonuses, and some more resilience. However, I will lose some agility (and therefore a little crit), and attack power. All in all, these boosts are all of a defensive quality--they won't help me kill any better.

Stats wise, the Stranglestaff is slightly inferior to the Merciless Gladiator's Maul. It has about 100 less attack power, less crit, and less stam. However, the Stranglestaff is free if it drops, which would allow me to use my points to buy the arena gear. My guildie thinks that it's an acceptable trade for all the bonus in stats I would gain if I waited for the staff and equipped the arena chest and helm in the meanwhile.

My only beef with this is that our guild is somewhat noobish. In fact, they've only downed Terestian once, and the staff didn't drop. The following week we tried him again, but we were gimped with an undergeared druid...giving us an outcome in which we wiped when Terestian was at 1% health. Needless to say, that was terrible. Therefore, my fears are that we may not down Terestian in the near future; even if we do, there's no guarantee that the staff will drop.

If I equip the arena mace, I'll gain 393 more attack power, about 3% crit, and a smidgen of stam (13). This is pretty much the best feral druid weapon I can obtain outside of Black Temple and what-not. Although the mace won't really help me survive any better, I'm hoping that an extra 400ish attack power will help me kill my opponents faster.

The people I've asked have given varying opinions as to what I should do. Two people have said to pick the mace because my main objective in arena matches and raids is usually to dps quickly. This is especially pertinent in arena matches, because my burst damage when killing someone might be good enough that the enemy dies before receiving a heal. There have been plenty of times when an opponent has escaped my grasp around 1-10% hp, and they would then receive a huge heal. Having more attack power could help me avoid those irritating situations better.

It all comes back to the fact that the Karazhan staff is free...if it drops. What on earth do I do?

Transformers, more than meets the eye

2007-07-05T10:16:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: It's a robot. You know, like a super advanced robot. It's probably Japanese.

I didn't do much this July 4th. I just pretty much stayed home and relaxed. The only thing I did do was go see Transformers. I wasn't expecting much, so it was a nice surprise. The graphics of the Transformers looked so cool that the movie is just fine without being "more than meets the eye." A very cool feature is the fact that the voice actor for Optimus Prime is the original from the cartoon.

It was pretty funny, although some of the jokes were a bit corny. Still, Shia LeBeouf was a great main character. I didn't really think much of his female costar, other than the fact that she was obviously very pretty. Keep in mind that this movie is obviously meant for the general population, so it's not going to win any awards for the screenplay etc. Overall, expect the cartoon coming to life with very nice graphics and some humorous dialogue sprinkled throughout.

Totally grossed out

2007-06-25T13:00:00.000-07:00

Ok. I've been having a few disputes with my landlords over various minor details. I finally thought everything was settled, until I came home Sunday evening and went to my bathroom. I opened the toilet lid, and found the toilet full of urine and poop. Who the heck uses a toilet without flushing?

The first thing that crossed my mind was whether I could have possibly done such a thing myself. However, there was no toilet paper in the mess, which automatically rules myself out. I'm extremely upset and disturbed.

Mini flash drives!

2007-06-25T10:08:00.000-07:00

I just bought this super cute USB flash drive for $22 on sale. Whenever I think back to the days when I had my old 486, I'm totally amazed. Someone once told me that eventually the constraints of size and space would limit how small technology can get, but I'm still waiting to see that ceiling reached.

The last laugh...

2007-06-11T09:14:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: You look down, they know you're lying, and up, they know you don't know the truth. Don't use seven words when four will do. Don't shift your weight, look always at your mark but don't stare, be specific but not memorable, be funny but don't make him laugh. He's got to like you then forget you the moment you've left his side. And for God's sake, whatever you do, don't, under any circumstances...

Ok. I have an awful feeling that I may have left my digital camera at that witch's place. You know, the condo I moved out of after three days of living there? I've just moved again, and after unpacking I can't find my 6.0mp digital camera or my library book. I've spent the whole weekend fretting about them, and now I've gone and fretted myself into a big headache.

Sigh, it would have been bad enough if I'd lost the camera. But to have left it behind in the possession of that irresponsible girl! Agh!!!! That would explain why her new ad the day after I left suddenly had pictures, when the first one didn't have any. I bet she was thinking, who's laughing now?

And now I can't find my library book either. I hate when I lose things. It makes me feel like I'm not in control and that I'm too stupid to live. Gah. I don't lose things very often, but everytime I do the item always seems expensive.

Happy pills

2007-06-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: Come back and make up a goodbye at least, let's pretend we had one...

I had a conversation with my sister yesterday that left me feeling mildly disturbed.

[10:40] Sis: i would never date ppl with antidepressant or any mood pills
[10:40] Sis: if you can't handle everyday life, get the fuck away from me
[10:40] Me: it's not just everyday life that causes some people to take these things
[10:40] Sis: it's gonna get harder
[10:40] Me: they suffer trauma from deaths and stuff too
[10:41] Sis: i understand that extreme cases for short period of time
[10:41] Sis: yes, but habitually depressed ppl
[10:41] Sis: i'm referring to
[10:41] Me: well
[10:41] Me: if they're habitually depressed they should also be seeing a counselor
[10:42] Sis: yes, that's where they get their "happy" pills
[10:42] Me: it's said that the pills + counseling is the best method to help make a permanent change
[10:42] Me: you don't need counseling to get the happy pills
[10:42] Me: you can just ask for them
[10:42] Sis: i just don't want to do anything with ppl who have to take Pills to be happy

It sort of hit me then that a lot of people think the same as my sister does. In general, it seems that many people believe that depression is a sort of "all in your head" type of thing that doesn't really warrant going to the doctor. I understand that it can be difficult to prove that someone does or does not suffer from a mental or emotional problem. Perhaps that's why so many people write depression off as a "fake" or a not "real" medical condition.

However, people go to the doctor for other physical ailments and get prescribed medicine--why not for depression? The funny thing is, depression is all in the head: chronic depression is often caused by certain chemical imbalances in the brain. A person might tend towards a particular type of mood because of something like this.

In fact, many women deal with pms every month, which is caused by the hormonal changes a woman goes through because of menstruation. It's well known that a woman with pms can be prone to mood swings, crying, and outbursts. When that point in the cycle is over, hormone levels go back to normal and the woman stops pmsing. Other than that, how is pms all that different from something like depression? Yet, society treats a woman suffering from pms as a joke, or something to be tolerated (somewhat uneasily), whereas someone with depression becomes a liability.

Obviously, having a relationship with someone who needs to take medication to remain emotionally stable may not be the best situation one could hope for. No one really wants to take on more problems than what they already have. That's why a lot of people would prefer staying away from "drama queens" and such. There is a difference between a drama queen and someone who suffers from an emotional/mental problem, however. Arguably, a drama queen chooses to create their problems, by blowing things out of proportion from whatever misguided self-perceptions they live under. On the other hand, much of what a person with a mental illness thinks or feels comes from their physical chemical/genetic makeup, which they have no control over.

I realized that many people who should seek help may not do so, for fear of how that would look to their peers. It's a shame that societal pressure would keep someone from making a significantly positive life change. For me, I think that if a person can seek help that would help them function better and carry on their lives and relationships more normally, then why not? If anything, shouldn't we applaud those that are actively trying to help themselves to live a "normal" life?

At the same time, I'm not saying that I advocate popping pills everytime a problem comes up. Medication often solves only a symptom, and not the overall problem. In this case, I believe that medication + therapy/counseling is vital to make a permanent change in thought patterns and behavior. In general, I think this sort of response is better than turning to drinking or drugs, or whatever other destructive coping mechanisms people turn to.

I suppose my point in this rambling passage is that I don't think depression really deserves the social stigma that it currently bears. It's not like the number of people affected by depression is low; some studies even say that at least 1 in 4 women will experience depression at some point in their lifetime. That's hardly a small percentage. As for men, who knows what the real percentage is, since most men can't even admit that they ever cry. I also know that certain settings tend to have a higher proportion of people on antidepressants--take law students, for example.

I guess I know one thing for sure: if I ever end up on happy pills for depression or something, my own sister will probably think I'm too weak and/or mentally unstable to deal with "everyday life."

Grow up

2007-05-25T08:48:00.000-07:00

You would think as people grow older that they would outgrow some childish habits, such as throwing a tantrum.

I've been rather busy over the last couple of weeks, with looking for a new place, moving in, moving out 5 days later, etc. Hell, I even spent one weekend in a motel because my apartment complex had been out of water for 5 days. All in all, I've been pretty stressed out.

My so-called best friend called me a couple of times during that period, and I didn't return his calls for about a week. We were used to talking quite regularly, with varying frequency; sometimes we'd talk every day, sometimes once or twice a week. Occasionally we would go for more than a week without talking.

Anyway, during my ultra-stressed-out-ready-to-have-nervous-breakdown period, I didn't take any calls. I didn't want to deal with anyone else at that time. I had enough on my plate trying to cancel my rent check to that bitch of a roommate and do a sneak moveout without her knowledge.

Apparently, J decided that not picking up the phone was to be the end of our 6 year friendship. He left a voicemail which said, "If you don't call me by the end of Tuesday, we're through." The funny thing was, I didn't get the message, but I ended up calling him on Tuesday anyway, after things had settled down a bit. He answered the phone like a bitch.

J: Oh, did I finally get your attention?
Me: What do you mean?
J: I left you a message.
Me: What did it say?
J: If you didn't call me by the end of today, then we were through.
Me: What?!

Am I just weird? Because I thought that friends were supposed to understand that you go through some crazy shit sometimes, and you may not always be there to talk. I also thought that maybe he'd grown up a bit since our college days; once he got mad at me for not wanting to hug him, as if he was entitled to receive hugs from me! Apparently, he hadn't grown beyond his childish ways if he's still capable of issuing stupid ultimatums without regard to what circumstances the other person is in.

I was so mad that I hung up on him. I didn't even see the point of explaining things. If he'd asked reasonably why I hadn't been answering his calls, then sure, I would have explained myself. But what did I do to deserve a stupid ultimatum? We haven't spoken since, and I don't think we ever will again. I'm not being melodramatic, I'm just tired of how he's been over the last couple of years. Here are some examples.

Two years ago,we briefly considered the idea of dating. We'd both just broken up with our significant others; I think that we were just on the rebound. However, I soon realized that I wasn't really attracted to him, so I told him bluntly that I couldn't see us together. He couldn't accept that, and kept pursuing the subject until I got really angry with him. We didn't talk for a couple of weeks, and then he called to apologize, and said that he wouldn't bring it up again.

A year after that, he called one day, and said he wanted to talk about "us." He proceeded to tell me that he and his friend decided that I was jerking him around, and basically keeping him around as a backup. I asked how this was so, when he lived in California and I lived in Washington. I got really angry that he was bringing up the subject of "us" again, when he'd told me repeatedly that it was a closed subject. However, I valued him as a friend, and figured that eventually he would see the truth. I did not make any threats of ending our friendship, because I loved and treasured him as a best friend.

Every now and then, he would hint or threaten that perhaps we weren't meant to be friends. He always implied that he might be better off not knowing me. All I can say is, if he really thought that, then he should have grown some fucking balls and cut me off, once and for all. After a while, the constant drama got to be irritating.

And now I get this--threats of ending our friendship over the silly fact that I was unavailable to talk for a little while? I stuck by him when he was being unreasonable, and even when he was accusing me of certain behavior that I wasn't guilty of. How is that fair? I think I've had enough of his ridiculous PMS and irrational behavior.

Phone clinger

2007-05-08T15:15:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: You mean to say that you are a daughter of Eve?

I've seen a variety of things while working at the new job. The one thing that I'm amazed at is how much people talk on their cell phones here. They talk anywhere and everywhere throughout the building, without regard to privacy or propriety.

Today, I went into the restroom. Another woman entered soon after, and proceeded to start peeing while talking on the phone. Am I the only person who thinks that's a little weird? Talking while in the restroom is one thing, but talking while you're actually doing your business... I dunno. It doesn't seem like the best place to me. Plus, I wonder what the person on the other end is thinking when he hears the toilet flush. Eh.

The other thing that gets me is the sheer number of people here who spew their private matters in public. Do they think that just because they are on the phone that you can't hear them? Uh, it's rather hard not to hear them when they're talking rather loudly in heated tones, if not downright yelling. Seriously, no stranger wants to hear all the sordid details of your intimate life.

Stealth move out

2007-05-04T09:21:00.000-07:00

Ok. After I emailed my roommate saying that the installation of the blinds had woken me up, she replied saying that she and her bf and finished the whole process well before 10. The fact that she just denied everything made me snap. I'd had enough.

I rushed out from work and went to the bank. She hadn't cashed my rent check yet, so I put a stop payment on it. I called a couple friends for an emergency favor--to help me move out. After I got home from work yesterday I proceeded to move out. I wanted to do this without a nasty confrontation from her or her bf, so my friend and I rushed back and forth taking all my stuff down to our cars.

It took us about 2 hours, but we managed to finish and leave before she even got home. I left her keys inside her condo. I also emailed her a long letter listing all the broken promises as grounds for voiding the lease. All in all, I've been pretty stressed out because of her.

Now all my stuff is jumbled up everywhere. Plus, I left a pair of shoes there. At least I won't have to see the witch or her H3 bf anymore.

Roommates suck

2007-05-02T07:37:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: We sell our skills, not our bodies. We create another secret world, a place only of beauty.

Well, I've moved into the condo on the Eastside. I originally found the listing from Craigslist, among 8 others. This Indian girl SG was the only one who got back to me. After meeting with her and surveying the condo, we sat down and chatted for about an hour. I asked her questions about what kind of person she was, etc. I also made a point to ask her about whether I could have a wired internet connection in my room, to which she replied that it would be no problem.

After going home and thinking about it, I decided to try out the roommate situation with her. I figured, the lease is only for three months, so if it turned out badly I could move again. Well, it almost appears that my worst scenario is coming true. Let me list the things so far that have been irritating.

The day I came to sign the lease, SG didn't have it ready. What was funny was that she was the one who asked me to come earlier than the time I'd suggested, except that when I arrived she was still sleeping (at 11am!). Then, she didn't have any copies of the lease printed out, so she had to drive to work and come back. All in all, I was kept waiting for about 40 minutes.
She didn't allow my cat to come, so I had to leave Tabitha with someone else and buy the Litter Robot so that they wouldn't have to scoop the litter box. Ok, I know that it's her right to say no pets, but I still feel like it wouldn't be that much of a problem if I kept the cat in my room only.
The day she knew I was moving in (she even knew what time I was coming) her boyfriend was parked in my spot.
Her boyfriend is over all the freaking time. I contracted to live with her, not her boyfriend too. I don't feel comfortable going outside of my room because I know that some guy is out there. If I'd wanted to live with a guy, I would have looked for a male roommate.
During our first meeting, I also made a point of telling her that I have trouble sleeping and that a quiet night when it gets late is very important to me. She said she wasn't that loud and that it would not be a problem. So far, one night she has watched tv till past 11pm, and the sound level of the tv makes me think that she's either 1) going deaf, or 2) extremely inconsiderate and unaware of what time it is. Maybe both.
Remember when I told her that I had to have a wired connection because I hate how wireless drops frequently? Well, she hasn't taken care of that at all. She hadn't called the cable company to have the port in my room activated for the modem. I tried out her wireless, and it was exactly as I had feared: last night the connection dropped 7 times in one hour. I got so mad that I finally stomped out there and demanded to talk to her. I made sure that she understood how important the internet is to me, so she finally called the cable company. She should have done this BEFORE I moved in!
She hasn't made any space for me in the kitchen or the hall closet. When I asked her if I could put a shoe rack out by the closet because it was full of her stuff, she said no. Meanwhile, not only is the closet full, but her shoes are strewn about the hallway despite having the whole closet! It's as if she thinks that I'm only living in my room and using the bathroom, without any rights to the rest of the place.
She's dirty. Her kitchen is disgusting. There have been dishes in the sink for 3 days. I opened the microwave and the turntable had a huge brown stain across most of it. It looked as if she had spilled something at one point and then never cleaned it, so that it hardened into this massive stain.

Now it seems like three months can't come fast enough. Of course, if I do move out it will be my 12th move in 8 years. I am so sick of moving. After this, I think that I might have to just suck it up and live alone, despite paying almost $400 more a month.

Men are worse than evil

2007-04-05T07:50:00.000-07:00

Tech envy

2007-03-29T08:31:00.000-07:00

Ok, I've just seen my friend's new computer. His processor puts mine to shame, along with his monitor! Actually, I don't really care too much about his computer, my drooling is pretty much over his monitor. The dude got a 24" widescreen Ultrasharp lcd. It literally looks almost as if it would be twice the size of my paltry 17" lcd.

Sigh. I refuse to buy anymore computers from Dell, but I guess I wouldn't mind getting one of their lcds. I don't know if I necessarily need something that big, but I wouldn't mind getting a 22" at least. I see those going on sale sometimes, so that would be better justified.

The only way I would upgrade to a new computer so soon is if I see that the new video card replacement I get won't work in my current system.

Blundering worker bee

2007-03-29T08:01:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: Hardly, my Lord. It's just an eye. The gods saw fit to grace me with a spare.

Well, I'm off to a blazing start at my new workplace. In my two weeks here I've managed to 1) forget the password to my computer (after just changing it thinking I needed something less predictable) and 2) set off the building alarm.

In my defense, I had emailed for a personal alarm code 2 days earlier, but the person didn't get back to me until I'd already left work the afternoon before I set it off. So that was more a case of bad luck and timing, since the guy who normally shuts off the alarm by 6:45 is on jury duty.

But nothing really excuses my noobness is the computer password matter. I'm not one of those people who uses the same password for everything. I pretty much have a different password for most things. So, I guess the noggin was a little full when I decided to add another one to the list. The third day I got here I drew a blank as to what it was, so I had to ask my boss for my password to be reset. Of course, I felt like an idiot.

I wonder what they'll think of me when I have one of my hiccuping fits.

Girls + video games

2007-03-27T07:24:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: 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.

I've been at the new job for two weeks now. It's really great to be a part of the gainfully employed working force. Hell, it's just nice to have somewhere to go everyday. It was starting to get embarrassing telling people what I did all day when they asked. "Um, I wake up whenever I want, and then start playing WoW. It's how I got my rank 13 title."

I always get mixed reactions when people hear that from me. Some people, like my sister, think that I've been hit with the "loser" bat and don't want to have anything to do with me. Others, mostly guys, think that it's pretty cool. I was at the UPS store a couple of days ago to return a defective video card that I'd purchased for the BC expansion. The box wasn't packaged yet, so the guy saw what I was returning.

UPS Guy: Is that your video card?
Me: Yep.
UPS Guy: Is it for any game in particular?
Me: Yeah, I play WoW. (trying to not blush embarrassedly)
UPS Guy: Wow. You have officially beaten the stereotype.

I do remember one instance of talking to a gaming store employee. We got into a rather heated debate over the virtues of WoW vs. Guild Wars. I've tried both, and I found Guild Wars lacking. Granted, I'll admit that I didn't try it beyond a couple of weeks, but overall it was not as multi-faceted as WoW is.

Anyway, the guy was a total advocate for Guild Wars. We were arguing for about 20 minutes, with my friend as an amused witness. So far, I see that WoW has surpassed 8M subscribers, whereas Guild Wars has posted over 2M games sold. I'm just going to point out the fact that the number of people playing Guild Wars is not likely to be the same as the games sold, since it's not based on a subscription service like WoW is. I know of plenty of people like myself who bought Guild Wars, only to discard it a little later in disgust. Too bad I can't go back to that gaming store and visit the guy.

American Idol, a popularity contest?!

2007-03-23T08:12:00.000-07:00

I've been back to watching American Idol again. I'd missed the last season due to some upheavals in my life, but since everything has settled down I get to start this year's season with no qualms.

So far, I've been pretty disappointed with who has been kicked off the show. Antonella has lasted far longer than she should have, and everyone pretty much agrees that she probably got this far mostly on her looks. (She has been offered a contract from the creator of Girls Gone Wild to host the show.) Personally, I really hated to see her get one of the coveted spots over another girl who had been praised on her final audition as "the best we've seen today." Those final auditions are the ones right before they make the last round of cuts before voters start getting a say in who gets to stay.

Now, we are confronted with yet another anomaly who still exists in the remaining contestants. Not just that, but he has made the top ten, which means he will be part of the official American Idol tour. You've guessed it, I'm talking about Sanjaya Malakar.

I'll admit, the kid seems really cute and nice. He does have a nice voice, but he just isn't in the same league as a performer compared to most of the other contestants. Unlike the rest of Washington, I don't feel obligated to root for him just because he's from Federal Way. I have no problems backing Blake, since he's a fairly polished performer. Since he's from Washington as well, I'll be putting my money on him instead of Sanjaya.

Yesterday I was listening to the radio going over the results show, where the hosts were discussing the fact that Stephanie was kicked off. She has proven herself to be a fairly solid performer, definitely possessing a good all-around quality. The radio host said, "This proves it, American Idol is based not on talent, but on popularity."

Well, no freaking duh! The very first season of American Idol has already proved that -- Justin Guarini made it all the way to #2 probably on the merits of his bouncy curls and winsome smile. The guy was nowhere in the same league as Kelly and some of the other singers, but he made it all the way to the runner-up position.

I'm not really sure what it is about Sanjaya that has gotten him this far. Perhaps, it is as someone on the radio said: he's like a cute puppy that you keep encouraging with "you can do it!" Maybe he is also getting some support from Indians, since he's pretty much the only non-white/black to be on the show ever. We don't count Paul Kim, who was the first to get voted off this season. My brother thinks it was due to his bad idea of performing without shoes. Who knows.

I think A has it right, that they should change the voting system from voting for your favorite, to voting for who should get kicked off. This way, the contestants who figure as second or third choices for a lot of voters won't get the boot simply because they didn't get enough voting preference. Of course, they probably wouldn't want to condone that sort of attitude, since that would have a fairly negative association. It's more acceptable for a show like Survivor, where the whole premise is that the people are pitted against each other in a literally cutthroat competition.

What website would you like to see?

2007-03-23T08:07:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: Valentine's Day is a holiday invented by greeting card companies to make people feel like crap.

I'm trying to come up with an idea for a website with some other people, but we're a bit stumped as to what the subject matter should be. So far, some of our tentative suggestions have involved WoW, and celebrity gossip.

Of course, the problem with both of those is that there is already a slew of websites out there devoted to either of those topics, and probably provide more in-depth coverage than we'd be able to offer.

We need to find a niche. Any suggestions?

Britney, Britney

2007-03-22T13:29:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.

It's sad to see the smoking ruins of Britney's career. I remember when she was on top of the world, being one of the first to spawn the teen pop queen scene.

Where did it all go? Today, she is saddled with a number of atrocities: a hideously unattractive bald head, two kids, possible bankruptcy, an imminent divorce, and a recent stay in a rehab facility. Actually, what am I saying? The divorce is probably the best thing that has happened to her since breaking up with Justin.

I was listening to the radio, and the show's question of the day was "If you could pick one celebrity to have neutered or spayed, who would it be?" Most of the flood of callers picked our lil miss here. What I find funny is that people don't consider the fact that Kfed himself has any number of children out there by different women. If anyone should be neutered, it should be Kfed, since he obviously doesn't know the meaning of birth control.

Something about this whole chronicle of events reminds me somewhat of Whitney Houston's downfall via her ex-husband. One can only imagine how either of these women would have fared without the evil influence of their men.

The lengths I've gone to...

2007-03-16T10:05:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: From the moment we enter this life we are in the flow of it. We measure it and we mock it, but we cannot defy it. We cannot even speed it up or slow it down. Or can we? Have we not each experienced the sensation that a beautiful moment seemed to pass to quickly, and wished that we could make it linger? Or felt time slow on a dull day, and wished that we could speed things up a bit?

You have all noticed the recent spate of garbage posts on here. Sad to say, I succumbed to the advertising devil in hopes of earning a little money to pay off a bill or two a month. I have not held a true job in over a year now, barring instances of working for a couple of weeks here and there on temp assignments. I thought the most inconvenience it would pose would be trying to find enough to fulfill the word requirement. The initial description assured people that they wouldn't find themselves writing something bad, like text advertising porn or something.

It may have not been that bad, but I started to experience doubts when I received an assignment on diet pills. Ok, most people know that you should be extremely careful with them, and that you have to be really strict in order to have a chance at maintaining any results that did come about. I tried not to be overly positive about it. But then I received an assignment for another diet pill that was a clear rip-off from Red Bull (Red Bullet). I decided then that I did not want to be a part of anything endorsing this sort of possible health hazard. I'm probably paranoid, but its nature is too dubious for me to continue.

Well, I finally got a job! Ironically, despite my decision to leave law school, I find myself writing for a company that publishes textbooks on real estate law. I get to help write the text and do all the other fun stuff. So far, the initial work I've been exposed to has reminded me of Property with Kurtz. Who knew I'd have to see "fee simple absolute" again?

Why Me?!!!

2007-01-17T22:53:00.000-08:00

Last Friday I decided that I would reformat my hard drive. My friend told me that it would be good to start with a clean slate again, since I was seeing lag during certain instances where I shouldn't have been.

Today, I have reinstalled Windows XP for the fourth time now. I'm ready to bang my head against a wall, from the offchance that it might be less painful. I've had to re-patch Windows four times, update a virus scanner, install WoW with all the awful patches, etc. Each time the process took anywhere from 4-6 hours.

The first time I installed Windows, everything seemed fine. That is, everything was fine until I restarted Windows, and it asked which XP Home Edition I wanted to use. For some reason, it had two on the list. The second one was a ghost that didn't really exist. My friend's suggestion was that I reinstall Windows.

After the second time I installed Windows, everything seemed fine. However, I noticed that WoW was missing some sound effects, but I figured it didn't really matter. Then WoW started freezing up on me for five minutes at a time, and then the computer would finally restart on its own. It got so bad that I couldn't even log in...the game would freeze immediately and then the whole computer would be frozen. My friend's suggestion was that it could be a bad video driver. This led to reformatting my hard drive for the third time.

After the third time, I paid especial attention to my drivers. I made sure that they were all up-to-date and that they were the correct ones for each manufacturer. There were no more problems with WoW, and everything was golden for 3 days. Then came today.

I received an email from Monster.com saying that I needed to download a "job seeker tool" in order to continue receiving their job search results. Since I am still unemployed, this was actually important to me. So I clicked on the little link that seemed so innocuous. It downloaded something to my desktop, which I double-clicked. Nothing happened, so I became suspicious right off the bat and scanned the file for viruses. It registered as clean, so I brushed it off as a badly functioning tool from Monster. Little did I know there was already something sweeping through my computer. A few hours later I turned my computer on to check my bank account balance online. It went to the desktop, but then it restarted. And then it restarted again. And again. You get the picture. It was locked in a loop of restarting. The bad thing? I hit F8 which is the typical command to make Windows enter Safe Mode. However, for some reason I did not see a Safe Mode at all. I was stuck.

I called another friend in a panic, and he suggested that I reformat my hard drive again. This was what I had been so afraid of hearing. I felt the most incredible combination of anger, frustration, despair, and incredulity. It was hard to say which emotion was winning.

All of this is funny, since what prompted me to reformat my hard drive in the first place was the fact that Burning Crusade released January 16, and I wanted to fix any problems I had with WoW before I subjected myself to another involved installation in addition to the 1gb+ patches and the original four-disc installation.

Do I possess the Burning Crusade? Nope. After three attempts to secure myself a copy of the Collector's Edition beginning at 10:20pm on January 15, I was forced to call J in California and beg him to get me a copy. Fortunately, his office is located five minutes away from a Fry's, and he had no problems snagging one for me.

This bloody expansion had better be worth its weight in gold!!

Time is Ticking...

2006-10-17T11:24:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: Is your vagina listed in the New York City guide books? Because it should be - hottest spot in town. Always open!

So my parents are wondering what the hell I am doing with my life. Honestly, I don't know. I've been playing WoW a lot lately, but how do I tell my old-fashioned Asian parents that? Um, hi Mom and Dad. The reason I haven't called you as much lately is because I've been immersed in this addictive MMORPG and I have no time to do anything else because I've been obsessed with ranking up.

Now they've decided that I'm behind on the career path and also my life path. My brother decided to have a talk with me to let me know that they want me to get my ass in gear. I guess since I'm pushing 26 they think the clock is ticking. Great!

Bye-Bye, Boring Laundry

2006-08-15T11:46:00.000-07:00

I've recently written an article on new hi-tech machines out there that help make the laundry easier. I know, I know, it's not like the laundry is all that hard. What trips me up about it is the fact that it's a two-stage process. Since most washers I've seen don't come with buzzers, I often forget to come back and put the load in the dryer. The machines I discussed in the article either combined the process into one step, or have notifications sent out to your cell phone or TV to let you know to come back. A lot of people have commented that the notification system is lame, but I have seen everyone I know forget a load in the wash at least once.

http://www.americaninventorspot.com/bye_bye_boring_laundry

The article is up on digg.com and shoutwire.com, so feel free to give it props...

Here are some of the comments I've gotten on my article:

"Really, text massages to your cell? That seams real dumb, and its not like doing laundry is hard. And i kinda like doing laundry, you can watch and its real relaxing. "

"What I want to know is why do most dryers buzz but not washers? That seems totally backwards to me.

Ideally, I want to be notified when the washer is done - not just to save time, but also to remind me my job isn't over yet. So many times I've left wash sit there for days because I forgot to flip it. I'd also like to disable my dryer buzzer as there's no need for the bastard to go off in the middle of the night after I've set it and went to bed.

Also, laundry sucks because of the *folding* - not the washing/drying phases, or even the sorting."

"Author of this story:
"I've often wished for a laundry machine that either let me know when a load is done"...
* * * * * BUUZZZZZZ * * * * *
..."Holy Sh@t! WTF was that??!" [Smartass...to hear the buzzer requires that you actually be in the vicinity. For those of us who don't own homes and don't like to stay glued to the laundromat, it may not be so easy to hear the buzzer if we're elsewhere.]

Here was the most illuminating comment about why Americans don't really have the already washer/dryer in one combo:

"TMCDIGG wrote:

"But seriously, why do we need "TWO BIG BOXES" to wash and dry clothes? You'd think by now someone would make a product that could do BOTH functions in ONE machine, no?...why can't there be just ONE BOX to wash, and dry.. then you just take it out when done.. do we really need to crowd floor space with two machines? Sure, its inefficient for wet cold clothes to then be heated and dried in the same machine but where there is a WILL (AND MARKET DEMAND) there is a way."

I work for an appliance manufacturer, and many years ago we did offer washer/dryer combos for reasons of space-saving (and still do, in Europe). Trust me when I tell you, they are remarkably inefficient, because of the need to drain out all of the water from the washer before drying and the extra energy required to dry wet, cold clothes. People say they want these washer/dryer combos until they hear it will take them upwards of four hours to wash and dry _one load_ of clothes.

If there's one piece of feedback we consistently get from consumers about laundry, it's that they want to reduce the amount of time needed to wash/dryer clothes, not increase it. That's why washer/dryer pairs continue to dominate the market in the US. We've got the space to accomodate them, and we don't want to spend the entire weekend washing clothes. In places where space is an issue (urban areas of Europe or Japan) they have the washer/dryer combos because they have no choice--they can't spare the space, so they have to put up with long wash/dry times.

There won't be a market demand for washer/dryer combos in the US unless (a) we suddenly become hyper-crowded, or (b) the laws of physics undergo some pretty significant changes and it's possible to wash/dry a load in the same amount of time that a washer/dryer pair will."

Happiness..too much to ask for?

2006-08-07T13:03:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: Janice, I apologize to you if I don't seem real eager to jump into a forced awkward intimate situation that people like to call dating. I don't like the feeling. You're sitting there, you're wondering do I have food on my face, am I eating, am I talking too much, are they talking enough, am I interested I'm not really interested, should I play like I'm interested but I'm not that interested but I think she might be interested but do I want to be interested but now she's not interested?

So I haven't really been working for a couple of months now. Let's review the past year. I've quit law school, moved to Seattle, looked for jobs, been offered 4 jobs, turned down 4 jobs, and have turned to writing. I've read of how so many other people have gotten book deals from their blogs. I wonder how I could get the same deal. I'm the person who not only dropped out of law school, but also chronicled along the way to that decision. What I'm wondering is, would anyone even be interested? You hear stories of these burnouts all the time. People drop out of college, law school, and med school plenty. Is there anything special about me?

Dehumanizing Science

2006-07-20T08:50:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: The point is that he is an insecure fuck, like all beautiful-but-handed-everything-on-a-silver-platter people. He doesn't trust anyone in this world but you. You've been born into royalty baby. You know it. Now you just gotta be thankful, and wear the crown.

I've come across an interesting question. Today, when you ask most people to name one living scientist, they usually draw a blank. Or, if they name one it's usually Stephen Hawking. One guy theorizes that the only reason people know Hawking's name is because he's in a wheelchair. That could very well be true. What else would explain why there are more brilliant scientists toiling away in obscurity?

In general, we just don't know very much about the people working behind the scenes anymore. Why is this?

On a different note, I've just written a new article that is published here http://www.americaninventorspot.com/gadget_dos_and_gadget_donts

If you want to help me out, you can visit www.shoutwire.com and register as a user. Then, do a search for my article and give it a Shout, if you want to.

Living Virtually

2006-07-15T19:25:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: That you can lose yourself. Everything. All boundaries. All time. That two bodies can become so mixed up, that you don't know who's who or what's what. And just when the sweet confusion is so intense you think you're gonna die... you kind of do. Leaving you alone in your separate body, but the one you love is still there. That's a miracle. You can go to heaven and come back alive. You can go back anytime you want with the one you love.

I have had a most awful love-hate relationship with a few games. Mostly, it's been World of Warcraft, but in small part it has also been with the Sims. It's a love-hate kind of thing because the concept in both games is to improve your character so that it becomes more powerful-- hopefully something near the top of the food chain. I guess I can't stand the irony of it...here you are playing a game designed upon the idea of improving yourself and gaining skills, and yet in real life you sit there pouring your energy into something virtual while the rest of the world passes you by.

What is it about these types of games? At times I hate World of Warcraft with every part of my soul. I despise how much time it takes from improving the real me, not the character I play on a screen. I hate how people I know try to plan things around holidays going on in the game, or other special events. I keep telling myself that a person plays a game for fun, and that's really the only objective. However, I guess I find myself wishing that WoW was not quite so immersive...that it didn't draw you in with its siren song. I have fun playing Warcraft also, and sometimes I'm relieved that it's a game that only plays in rounds, it's not something based on a cumulative improvement/leveling goal. You only play the game at that time, and when that round is over, the next time you play you start over from scratch, as does everyone else in the game. It's what I have tried to play to escape playing WoW so much. But then, I resent the fact that I'm playing another computer game to keep myself from playing WoW. It's like falling back on a lesser narcotic in the attempt of trying to wean myself off an addiction to heroin.

By contrast, WoW is one of the most multi-faceted role-playing games out there because the game offers you any number of things that you can do in game. One of the primary goals is to level your character so that it becomes more powerful, but there are other things you can choose to do also. You have professions you can choose to gain skill in; hell, you can even choose to become an expert fisher by spending all your time fishing in the rivers and lakes in that world. At times, I feel overwhelmed with all the things that I perceive my character should become able at. This is when the irony starts to strike me as cruel, because I then begin to muse over how much effort or time I spend trying to gain skills for something, that in the end, doesn't really matter. What does matter?

All for Naught

2006-07-14T23:22:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: I hope it feels so good to be right. There's nothing more exhilarating than pointing out the shortcomings of others, is there?

So...I was led on quite the merry little goose chase today. I left 45 minutes before my interview with a marketing company today. The drive normally takes about 20 minutes from where I live. Guess how long it took me? 1 HOUR. The next stupid thing was that their door with the suite number was conveniently blocked, so I couldn't see the suite number. Actually, all the suites around it were in similar fashion, so I was driving around the building trying to ascertain if I was even on the right side of the building. I finally decided to park somewhere and walk around to get a closer look.

I finally made it to the proper place, only to be amazed at how small it was. The place was about 2 rooms. While I was waiting there, I saw another woman come in and start filling out the same typical employee information sheet I had just filled out. To my amusement, she seemed rather distraught over the questions it was asking. She pulled out several pieces of folded up paper, only to stare at the form in a perplexed fashion and scratch her head. This made me wonder about her chances of getting hired.

Finally, I was led back to the "conference room" to speak with the manager. My interview with him lasted 5 minutes. You know why? Because people like them take bullshitting to unprecedented heights. The positions they had open were for sales people to canvas neighborhoods hawking merchandise. In other words, I would have been one of the people my father was forever chasing off the premises with threats. The ad for the position labeled it as "advertising and marketing representative." Duties included "preparing and providing marketing materials for the internal sales team and prospective clients; developing excellent written and verbal skills." Wow, what a way to say that you're basically going to be hoofing it door-t0-door being a huge pain in the ass by trying to sell something. And where would the "excellent written skills" be coming from? Surely they don't mean having the customer fill out purchase orders??

As soon as I got it out of him what the job was really about, the interview was over. Driving 20+ miles at over an hour away, and this is what I got. I had tried asking the woman on the phone yesterday what kind of duties would be involved, and she'd refused to give me a straight answer. All of this for a 5 minute interview. I guess you win some, you lose some.

Ahoy!

2006-07-07T00:15:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: Sea turtles, mate. A pair of them strapped to my feet.

I saw Pirates today. I was totally taken aback by how long the line was to get in for the movie, even though I'd arrived an hour early for the showing. By a sheer stroke of luck I was able to obtain seating in the stadium seat section, even though I was almost at the back of the line. While waiting in line, I saw various people dressed up as pirates walking around. When did these two movies develop this type of following? It only had one prior film made, and it was nothing like the Harry Potter series.

***Spoiler Alert***

The movie was more entertaining than I thought it would be, given what I'd heard from the radio interviews from the morning. Of course, the one scene with the rolling giant wheel and the three dueling men was rather ridiculous. I also had issue with the witch who had the most atrocious Jamaican accent ever and black lipstick smeared haphazardly on her. Lastly, Elizabeth coldly chaining Sparrow to the doomed ship to die made me like her just a little less. You sort of think of her as an honorable sort of person, but I guess she's not above having a bit of original sin herself.

There are some moments that are just too ridiculous for words, other moments full of tension and drama. I suppose it was a decent mix, and at least it didn't keep me from being too bored or feeling like it had a stagnant plot. All in all, it was ok. Did I think it deserved its record-breaking box office sales? Not really.

It's a Bird...

2006-06-30T11:55:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: You wrote that the world doesn't need a saviour, but every day I hear people crying for one.

Like countless other fans, I went to see Superman. Despite the two leading men being extremely easy on the eyes, and an ok plot with very decent acting, I was actually disappointed. Why? I'm all for the modern-day superhero being all sensitive and everything, but it's a little different if you're chipping away at the actual identity or perception people have of the superhero. Of course, this is just my opinion. Perhaps I'm disappointed from having seen Superman as a little girl and forming an image of his invincibility, and then being confronted with something a little different here. It's always been Superman, Man of Steel with the love of his life, Lois Lane.

***Superman Spoiler Alert***

But this movie portrays him differently. He's still as hot as ever, but what's this? Lois Lane has shacked up with someone else?! And she has a kid?!!!! Granted, you find out that it's Superman's kid. You sort of always think of Lois Lane as a feisty Ms. Uber-Reporter. You don't really think of her as having settled for someone else because Superman is gone, and then going on to write a Pulitzer Prize-winning article titled "Why the World Doesn't Need Superman." She appears to have very deep issues as to feeling abandoned by Superman. At least the movie didn't muck it up with adultery. The characters are all very noble and have their shining sterling-silver integrity intact. My main point? The movie was good, yes. However, it left me feeling frustrated because things didn't seem the way they should be. For one, where was the chemistry between Superman and Lois? Where was the depth? The characters seemed somewhat flat and two-dimensional. Yes, I know it's partly about character reinvention so that we, the audience, can see a new side of them and love them more for it. I'm just not sure that I'm lovin' it, and I'm not so sure that it's working.

Don't Look Back

2006-06-28T11:52:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: I don't think you understand. Me - gonads! You- ovaries!

Do you ever wonder why companies have made the packaging on some things so difficult to open? For example, I bought a crappy optical usb mouse today at Target. Actual time spent buying mouse: 3 minutes. Time spent opening package of said mouse: 20 minutes. In the process, I have given myself two cuts from the plastic, and ruined one pair of scissors. I could not believe my eyes when the plastic repelled the scissors and then broke them. I finally had to get out the trusty Leatherman that I received from an ex-boyfriend as a birthday present (yes, it's useful, but what woman wants a bloody Leatherman for a birthday present?!) and stab at the package until I got a manageable hole to finally get the mouse out. The last time I had this much trouble was with the Sandisk Micro-Cruzer. I wonder if anyone has ever sued a company for injuries sustained while navigating the perilous process of trying to open crazy packaging?

By the way, I've quit my newest job. I couldn't see myself staying there for more than a year, so I felt that perhaps things were better if I just quit now and saved myself the misery of a year of work that I didn't like or have any interest in, and also saved the company the time and energy of training me in the work. Plus, it needs some moderate amount of people skills since construction seems to be one of those things that's very buddy buddy-ish.

So far, I seem to have experienced opposite ends of the spectrum. At the last job, I always had something to do and the day went by fast. The duties would have been enough to engage someone and keep them occupied. The atmosphere is very comfortable, and employees are allowed to wear pretty much whatever they want. All in all, it was a very comfortable place to work. The drawback was that it barely paid better than minimum wage. So much for their policy of trying to "attract the best and the brightest at above-market-average wages." The new job paid more than $15,000 a year than the other job, but at the same time the work did not engage me in the least. I hated the work. The only thing I could foresee happening was that the work would get easier, but that I would not like it any better as time went on. It's funny, last week I thought that I could do any job as long as it paid decently, but this week I found out that I actually think otherwise. I almost feel like I've been betrayed by myself. So what am I doing now? I'm considering my options of how I might actually get to write to pay some bills, since it's pretty much the only thing right now that makes me happy. I need some ideas.

Time to go back to eating ramen.

Suddenly Me

2006-06-27T13:05:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: We're adults. When did that happen? And how do we make it stop?

Alright. After enduring the little trial period in the a/p department, I was extended an offer of permanent employment as an account analyst. But guess how much it was for! A stinking, miserly, bloody $12/hr. I tried negotiating for something more reasonable, but the hiring manager wasn't having any of it. She refused to budge. I even tried to appeal to common sense: how can anyone living in Seattle be expected to survive on less than $25,000 a year before taxes?! Nope, zip, zilch, nada.

In utter despair, after having felt like I'd wasted almost a month of my life to no avail, I decided to call one of the people who'd asked if I was still interested in a job as an office engineer. They scheduled me for an interview for Friday morning, and voila! They offered me the job. The whole thing happened so quickly that it took my breath away.

The only thing is...I know nothing about construction. I don't care about gravel and silt and pipes and rocks. I am amazed that I am here trying to figure out state codes approving or defining what exactly is meant by a "large rock." Do I really need to know what the specifications are for "large woody debris"?

In the last job, I had friendly people I could talk to, a comfortable atmosphere, and free tea and water and hot cocoa. The breakroom has a pinball machine, ping pong table, foozball, and an air hockey table downstairs. The things it lacked: decent hourly pay, and no excuses for being late. In general, the time policy is rather anal-retentive there.

In my job now, I'm salaried at a very decent rate. They don't count every minute (although conversely I don't get paid overtime if I work late), I get free water, tea and pop. I'm higher on the totem pole than I've ever been before. Despite all this, I'm still not happy. What's wrong with me?

Is it better to be a big fish in a small ill-fitting pond, or a small fish in a huge non-caring lake?

Perfect Spoof

2006-06-13T09:17:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: That's a tough one. I would have to say April 25th [is my perfect date]. Because it's not too hot, not too cold, all you need is a light jacket.

On my way driving to work every morning, I listen to a particular radio station for the celebrity sleaze gossip and other tabloidish news. Well, this morning I heard one of the best stories I've come across in a long time.

The Mrs. World beauty pageant suffered a terrible fiasco. Why? Because they crowned the wrong winner! Mrs. Russia was announced as the winner, but person placed the crown on Mrs. Costa Rica's head instead. Not only that, but Mrs. Costa Rica was also given the sash, and took the walk of fame complete with that little wave they do. All the losing contestants also did the thing where they swarm the stage and hug the winner. Of course, this time they actually did it to the wrong person. Meanwhile, Mrs. Russia was sitting there off to the side just watching everything going on. It took them quite a while to catch on to the fact that they had made such a mistake of monumental proportions. It's funny because you can see a man screaming backstage at the woman who gave the crown to Mrs. Costa Rica. The first thing they did was take the crown and sash back from Mrs. Costa Rica and then did a retake of the winner's scene. Then everyone went backstage and started screaming at each other.

I feel sorry for both contestants, but this is too funny! I can totally see a Simpson's spoof made from this. The fake winner is crying joyfully and waving, when the music abruptly stops and they say "oops" and run up to the girl to snatch the crown and sash and dump them on the real winner. I honestly don't know who to feel sorrier for. Mrs. Costa Rica, who got to wear the stuff before they were taken so coldly back, or Mrs. Russia, whose glorious moment is forever ruined and becomes the tawdry stuff of laughable tabloid news. However, I wonder why Mrs. Costa Rica fell for it. Was she not listening to the winner being announced? You would think that if you were one of the finalists waiting with bated breath to maybe hear your name being announced that you would very surely realize that you WEREN'T the winner. Of course, I guess there is something to be said for the whole sequence of events confusing any sane and rational person. Afterwards, Mrs. Costa Rica said she'd gotten caught up in the whole moment. Oh, how I'm having flashbacks to when Zoolander gives the acceptance speech when he didn't win.

Barely Above Water

2006-06-11T21:05:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: Dad, I'm prairie dogging it!

Ok, so I've been working at this company for about 2 weeks now as one of their bottom-feeding data entry bots. My vision is deteriorating from staring at the computer screen for so long every day, my back and shoulders hurt constantly, and I'm developing carpal tunnel, I kid you not. Oh, and at night I see invoices and computer screens floating in my vision. The only thing I can say is that I have some flexibility at my craptastic barely-better-than-minimum-wage job, which is more than I can say for the last f/t job I had. Of course, the last f/t job I had paid more than twice as much, and had the most awesome kick-ass benefits.

Just two more weeks to stick it out, and then we'll see if it pays off. In the meanwhile, I think this is the most unhappy I have ever been in my entire life. At least my coworkers seem fun. Sorta. Their personalities are pretty unique, as you'll see down below.

The brain: there is not yet a subject that I have heard this guy say he doesn't know at least something about. He has an opinion on everything, including whether your opinion is misguided or not. At least he can hold intelligent conversations on almost anything. Interesting tidbit of info: he thinks that basketball is the most stupid and non-strategy-involved major sport.

The Russian chick: so far I have little to really see from her, other than the fact that it's kinda cool that she speaks Russian. I think she was born in Uzbekistan, not totally sure. She also seems to be the buffer b/t the two guys.

The red-head: has extremely red hair, and the typical pale skin that accompanies such hair. He also seems to have his fair share of the stereotypical temper attributed to those of that particular pigmentation. Has been in the army for an unknown length of time, and is somewhat of a goofball. Likes to debate frequently with the brain, even on subjects he doesn't really know much about.

Listening to their frequent debates keeps me amused for part of the time, as does their occasional odd antics. So far I've seen the brain throw a paperclip at the Russian chick, to which she responded by throwing a tissue box. For some reason, this made me think of my torts professor saying "disproportionate retaliation!"

Seeds of Discontent

2006-05-20T01:40:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: Rain Mountnier!

I've been feeling more restless lately. I'm not sure why. I've kinda lost my appetite, and nothing seems to taste good anymore. Here I am, on a Friday night (or Saturday morning at 1:39am) unable to sleep, as usual. In fact, I can't remember the last time I had a really good night's sleep. I almost always have a nightmare or two every night, and when I wake up I usually feel exhausted, cranky and have a budding headache to boot.

Well, I sort of have a job. Maybe. Despite me not having any sort of background in a/p, they are willing to try me out, maybe. They've referred me to one of their temp agencies, and I get to start out as a data entry bot where I have to work 50 hrs/wk for truly heinous crap pay. I'm supposed to work in this position at least one month, at maximum 6 months. I'll be working in the data entry position until they deem I'm capable of handling the duties of the real position I interviewed for.

My friend thinks that it sounds like they don't trust me and that they're trying to back me into a position that I don't want or need. I think it's more likely that they're afraid I won't like the job and will just quit on them. Why do I think this? Because they told me straight out that that was one of their fears. I'm just afraid now. I'm afraid that I will find myself in a job that I hate so much that I will be just like Kevin Spacey in American Beauty. That's the funny thing, though. I didn't really have any doubts until they kept expressing doubts as to whether I would like a/p. After being bombarded with so many veiled references to such doubt, I have come to wonder if there is just cause as to why I wouldn't like the job or profession.

Somehow, I thought there would be more to things than this? Why am I left feeling like there should be something better? I almost feel like a kid who opens up a shiny present under the Christmas tree only to find some socks. Yeah, the socks are useful, but where is the fun present?

Goldijobs

2006-05-15T09:44:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: You think I'm not quick enough. Guy thinks I'm not quick enough. Well I got news for you. I am quick enough!... Cockboy!

OK. It's been weird. After not hearing from anyone in months, no one asking for a single interview, no one caring that I exist or even concerned with the slight possibility that I could come work for them, I've suddenly been inundated with calls. The problem is, they were all for jobs that I don't really want now. I've finally settled on a direction I want to go in. Unfortunately, the job I got an offer at was for a project manager position for a marketing firm. It wasn't really what I would call my cup of tea. Plus, I had to take a drug test for them, and when I got the offer letter they demanded I reply in one day. How unreal is that? I thought most places gave you a few days at least, if not a week!

The thing that's holding me up now is that I'm interviewing for an accounting position with an internet company based here. Yes, I'm not naming it b/c I'm paranoid that I would be breaking some confidentiality rule or something, whatever. Plus, on the off chance that someone from there stumbles across this page, there just aren't that many ppl who have recently moved here from Iowa Law. Uh huh. This job wasn't really what I had decided I wanted to do, but the thing that makes it hard is that it is in a field I have previously considered, then discarded b/c I didn't really know enough about the profession. And it sounds boring. But I got a call from the company out of the blue asking me if I would be interested in the position, so I thought to myself, why not? It's not like it's totally a random choice, since I have considered it before. Plus, if I try it out I might like it better than I think...right? I was trying to keep my options open. Well, apparently after surviving a 2 hr 45 min interview, now they're concerned that I seem over-qualified and are worried about my commitment to the field.

Do people not realize the only thing that really sets me apart is the fact that I'm making my choice later than other people? I basically have the same 4-year degree, and about 1 year of solid full-time work experience. I'm so tired of hearing this "over-qualified" excuse. Everyone has to start out at the bottom somewhere, and I am sure in the perfect world everyone would find an entry-level position that perfectly matched their capabilities. However, as we all know, this is a far from perfect world. I'm not just tired of going through all the interview loops, of getting offers from jobs I don't really want anymore, or trying to convince people to just give me a chance before they start worrying that I'm going to jump ship. I'm tired, period. Everything seems like a maybe, but not quite.

Parent Trap

2006-04-26T09:48:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: I knew you couldn't resist my shit! I got the shakes that'll make you quake. I got the fries that'll cross your eyes. I got that burgers that'll... I just got burgers.

My parents are in town visiting me. Right now, I've been pushed out of my bedroom and am sleeping on the floor in the extra bedroom. Why am I sleeping on the floor instead of on the couch in the living room? Perhaps b/c I woke up the first morning after they got here to have them both peering down at me. Not the most pleasant awakening.

It's always a strange thing when they visit me. Of course I love my parents, really I do. It's just that I've gotten used to having my own life without their interference, so I always feel somewhat panicky and resentful when they decide to come visit and throw everything into upheaval. My poor brother and his wife, they had to clean up their house and get everything ready for our parents.

My brother and I were busy hiding things that we would otherwise have to explain to our parents. For me, it was basically hiding some clothes and accessories, since they don't approve of the fact that I spend money on anything. For him it was any and all traces of poker. His wife thinks we're crazy and wonders why we can't be ourselves. That's b/c that's just not how it works.

Any Takers?

2006-03-30T13:04:00.000-08:00

Today's quote: There is no such thing as coincidence, just the illusion of coincidence.

I've hit the beginning stages of desperation. Therefore, I visited the bookstore and perused the career aisle looking for tips. I skimmed What Color is Your Parachute, 250 Interview Questions, Finding the Career For Your Personality, and a few others. More information shouldn't hurt, right? The only problem is, now I feel overwhelmed, especially when some of the sources contradict each other as to what to do or how to do something.

One thing I read was that the average time it takes to find a new job is 19 weeks. Eeeeek!!!! In the meanwhile, I've hit rock bottom, and do not have any money after having paid rent for April to that evil, godforsaken complex called Seville. I hope that place burns down.

I wish I could be a writer for a living.

Priceless

2006-03-20T14:45:00.000-08:00

Today's quote: You mean to say that you are a daughter of Eve?

I visited Business Careers last week...only to have them tell me that my skills, education, and overall background are only worth 27k-30k/yr. There you have it folks, my pricetag comes at 27-30k. And from the interview I went to on Friday, more towards the low end of that spectrum apparently.

I've been here in WA for almost two months now, and I still haven't found a job that I will be happy with. What with school loans and rent back in IA still riding my ass, I think I need to making a little more than 27k/yr. During this entire time, it has been difficult not to let my sense of self-worth diminish every day. But that's a rather difficult order when you get no calls for interviews, and then when you visit staffing agencies they tell you that you're not qualified for anything (despite an undergrad degree in math from Berkeley).

So what exactly is the problem? Of course, nothing is ever really black and white and that simple. I'm sure that it's a combination of factors. But a lot of times, there is usually just one or two major factors that everything else is sort of tied into or overridden by. So what can I be doing better? I have a not too bad gpa from undergrad, and also not too bad from the first year at law school either. I'm prepared to make the argument that my degree in math shows that I'm tenacious and disciplined, and that I'm not exactly the run-of-the-mill ditz. But I can only really make that argument if I get an interview so that there is someone to spout off all my prepared reasonings to. So, is it a question of not what I know, but who I know? Or, is it because I don't have a typical degree in cs or business that's just so cookie-cutter for certain industries? Curses on the math department advisor at Berkeley! She told me that I would never have a problem getting a job with my degree. However, a few months after graduation I went to the website for the Bureau of Labor & Statistics and it reported that the average annual income for those with my degree was $19k/yr. I am not sure how it's changed since, but that wasn't the news I'd exactly been jumping for joy to hear.

Everyday I wake up and apply to as many jobs as I am even remotely qualified for on monster.com, seattlepi.com, and then I start browsing the websites for each company specifically that I would like to work for. Some of the biggest companies at the top of my list are Amazon, Microsoft, Weyerhaueser, Nintendo and T-Mobile. Is it a pipe-dream to want to work at one of these companies?

I Hate Coffee (cont)

2006-03-07T08:44:00.000-08:00

What have I learned from my stint at Barnes & Noble?

I hate coffee. I truly do. It smells great, but I really don't want to drink it.
Everything at the B&N cafe is way exorbitant. I thought it was still expensive even for me, and I got 50% off all the drinks and food.
The B&N Membership is so not worth getting. You pay $25.00 a year for the membership, but you only save 10% off all future purchases. This means that unless you spend more than $250 a year at B&N, you will not even recoup the amount of the membership.
Don't let the people at the cafe upsell you to a bigger size coffee or talk you into getting some crazily overpriced food to go with your already overpriced drink.
There are so many ways to hurt yourself working in the cafe. I have splattered milk at 160 degrees all over myself, knocked over drinks I was making, splattered dishwater in my eye, burned myself on the coffee shotglasses, burned myself with the hot water coming out of the San Marcos, burned myself on the drip coffee, and cut my finger while trying to slice open a sandwich for a customer.
B&N cafe has a policy of getting the customer's order in their hand within two minutes from their entry into the line. How realistic is that when there are like 10 people lined up?
Coffee is a whole different language. When I first started I couldn't even understand what people were saying. How many different variations could there be? Let's see: decaf or regular; whole, nonfat, 1%, 2%, or soy milk; how many shots can you get; what flavored syrup and how many pumps can you get; how much foam do you want; whipped cream or not; layered or mixed; etc. I think I'll be happy to stick to tea.

It's funny how right after I was hired several other applications came in, and they all had like 5 years experience at Starbucks and/or B&N. Looks like I had barely beat the rush.

It was kind of cool seeing the regulars who always came in. There was the one woman who came in twice a day every day, and has been doing so for 7 years. Each time she spends about $3, which means she spends almost $6 a day on coffee. The amount it comes out to per year is mindboggling. Then there were all these old people who came in as couples and hung out together reading and just being cute together. I hope I can be like that if I get to that age.

I Hate Coffee

2006-03-02T19:40:00.000-08:00

Today's quote: It's the devil.

Ok, so I've been out of action on here for a long time. Let's see, where to start. I'm going to need a job while I stay here for a while to establish residency because there is no way I'm going to suffer yet another year of non-resident tuition for law school. It's not that worth it. So I'd been sending out resumes like mad for quite a while now... basically for about a month. No word. So I decided that it would be good to have a part-time job in the meanwhile to help allay some of my living expenses. I had always wanted to try working in Barnes & Noble, so I put in an application there. Lo and behold, I was hired in less than a week from submitting my application. But did I get to work in the bookside so that I could browse all the lovely new books and magazines? No, alas, it was not meant to be. I was hired on as a cafe server. This means basically making all the same coffee that the people in Starbucks do.

I couldn't believe that I was living out Jin's nightmare. She used to joke that she would be working in Starbucks making coffee after graduation. Well apparently, I'm one up, since I'm doing it even before I've graduated.

Sleeping in Seattle

2006-01-30T22:17:00.000-08:00

Today's quote: Verbal ability is a highly overrated thing in a guy, and it's our pathetic need for it that gets us into so much trouble.

Ok, maybe not really Seattle. More like a suburb of it. After having left on Friday, I am now here! It was funny how right when I had to hold my pee and also needed to refuel the gas simultaneously I hit hardcore traffic. You know that dance you do when you really have to go, but for some reason or another you can't? That was me. To top it off, my dad called for the fifth time today right when I was trying to maneuver past a bitch driving her SUV honking at me when she was the one trying to merge into traffic. I was ready to just throw my cell out the window by then because my dad has had the amazing luck to keep calling at all the worst moments. Yesterday I almost drove off an exit ramp in Wyoming while it was snowing because the cell rang right then.

After the days of driving, not drinking in the car because I didn't want to have to pull off somewhere just to pee, lugging all my stuff to and from the car every night, trying to mash down the mounds of stuff in my car and hope that I wasn't cracking my lcd tv screen, I've finally arrived. In a way, it was anticlimactic. Right when I drove into my brother's neighborhood the sky became overcast and started to drizzle. What a wonderful omen. At least I am reunited with my Hello Kitty slippers. How I've missed them!

Sidenote

2006-01-28T22:15:00.000-08:00

By the way, for anyone thinking of getting a car: forget about getting a VW. Maybe it was just my bad luck with getting a VW model b/t 2000-02, but things on my car keep going wrong. First, the car goes through oil unnaturally fast. Upon reading the manual, I'm told to check my oil levels every time I get gas. Apparently this type of oil consumption is normal for VW cars. Next, my abs module is buggy and drains my battery completely dead. Then, the window on the driver's side rolls down one day and decides it doesn't feel like being rolled back up. The emergency light stops working. Then battery dies again for mysterious reasons. Now, the emission malfunction light is on in my car.

I am starting to think the battery dying and the malfunction light were small ways to stop me from leaving IA. I was supposed to have left on the 20th. I pushed that a little back because I needed time to finish packing. That night I get in the car to go have dinner with a friend, but the car doesn't start. I stare at it in dismay, and then call my dad. My dad said to open the hood and see if the cables connecting to the battery had come loose. I said, you want me to do wha??? Where's the battery?? Note to self: must at least learn the basics. The only thing I do know how to do is change a tire by myself. The next day I had to have the car towed to the shop and diagnosed.

So I had pushed the move out date to the 27th. The morning of, I went through the apartment inspection with the person, and turned in my keys. I get in my car, and now there's a new light on the dash. I swear like a mofo, because now I'm homeless, and it's Friday, and I called the only VW dealership in town but they couldn't get me in at all for that day, the soonest being Monday. But the guy told me that as long as the light wasn't flashing I should be fine to drive to WA. Famous last words.

Another extremely bad turn of events: Seville wouldn't sever my lease, so I'm still responsible for paying rent unless they find someone to sublease the damn apt. They wouldn't even consider a $2k cash settlement. I called a lawyer to ask him what my options were, and the guy basically told me to keep paying the rent. I asked what would happen if I didn't, and he said they would wait till the lease was over and then sue me in small claims court for all of the rent owed + attorneys' fees. If they don't find me, then it's good old published notice (ah Civ Pro showed me what that was) and eventually judgment entered. The lawyer told me that if I didn't plan on being a deadbeat for the next 10 years then I better take care of it, a.k.a. pay the fucking greedy leeches on society. This is just another reason why I don't want to remain in Iowa any longer. The place is way too pro-landlords.

On the Road Again...

2006-01-28T21:36:00.000-08:00

Today's quote: Oh, turban now! Do you see any fucking turban here? Do I talk like a turban guy? Do I say 'Hey Jay, you want a slippy? You wanna slippy?' Fuck you, okay? I was born in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, okay? My accent is a fucking Brooklyn accent, okay? Okay?!

Ok, so it's now Day 2 of my drive out to Washington. So far, it's been terribly boring driving through Nebraska and now Wyoming.

Day 1:
Yesterday I really only made it to Omaha because I hadn't slept much the night before. I found a room, and asked the people at the inn where was the closest place to eat. The woman told me the Chinese place next door was really good. So I go there, and had the misfortune to come across the nastiest Chinese food in my life. It wasn't even Chinese. It was about as Chinese as Chuck Norris is. Now I know why Iowans make fun of Nebraskans. Well, there is probably more than one reason: 1) Nebraska has nothing, and 2) Iowans make fun of Nebraskans the way Alabamians make fun of Missippians-- because they can. Anyway, the Chinese restaurant was totally packed, which was completely confusing to me. The food sucked balls. And I thought the food in Iowa City was lacking! By comparison, it was like eating dog food after having eaten gourmet entrees. The only bright side to this terrible adventure was the fact that dinner only cost me $5.34 with tax. Sometimes you only get what you pay for.

Day 2:
Today I suffered through the most boring part of the drive: Nebraska. It was miles and miles of a perfectly straight I-80, with no interesting landscape to alleviate the visual drought. Even when I glanced at my gps monitor, the interstate showed as a perfectly straight and exactly horizontal line. Then the freeway crossed over into Wyoming, which was at least punctuated by some mountains here and there. I got a room, and skipped dinner because I'm tired of eating by myself in public, especially in places out in the middle of nowhere.

Zero or a one?

2005-11-02T02:14:00.000-08:00

Today's quote: A writer? What do you have to write about? You're not oppressed. You're not gay.

I've often wondered whether I am a leader or a follower. All my life my father has pushed me to be a leader, and I usually ended up in those roles in school. President of Honor Society, member of student government, etc. I'd always felt that I didn't really like being in that sort of role, because it seemed to me that people expected so much of you. I've always had a fear of being overestimated and disappointing people. I'd rather be the underdog who pleasantly surprises others with my unknown and astonishing abilities.

So the start of my transformation began in college. I swore to myself that I would not let myself be known as that geek, that do-all annoying overachiever. I set out to be the best slacker I could be. That's when I found out that it wasn't really my parents who pushed me to do all those things. Maybe to some extent, but they weren't the determinative factor. I realized that I have a nasty little streak of competitiveness. However, choosing a difficult major soon beat that out of me. No longer could I compete with those alphas at the front of the pack, it was all I could do to survive.

Now, here I am at a crossroads, wondering if I really want to be a lawyer. This really leads me back to a bigger question, however. One of the main problems I have with being a lawyer is the whole scenario where I would have to join a big firm at the bottom rung as junior associate, grind my way up the ladder relentlessly trying to get that bigger paycheck and better hours, so that I can go from working 100+ hours a week to just 80+ hours a week. All of this while taking all that bullshit from the senior partners who slough off their drudgery and unwanted crapwork onto those unfortunate junior associates. I think this is the part where I have the biggest problem. If I have to be doing crapwork, I want to be the one making myself do it, not because some asshole higher-up tells me to.

I've always known that I had problems with authority. It's the real reason why I can't go to church. Especially since visiting Parkview, I feel that the sermons and the show put on are not-so-subtle attempts at brainwashing the masses. I'm not saying that I know any better than others in how to worship, but I think perhaps I am most comfortable in my own way, and not by following the orders of others.

So am I leader, or a follower? I'm not sure. I don't want the responsibilities of a leader, nor do I like being in the spotlight and having controversy and gossip surround my existence. But I also dislike following the often stupid orders of other people. I don't always believe in doing something just because it works, I like to see that it's the best way, or sometimes I like to see if there are other ways. Daddy always said I was stubborn, and maybe it's the real root of my problem with authority. I often think that I could do whatever it is better.

Maybe I can end up as the person right next to the leader? Someone who has input, but doesn't have to deal with all of the responsibilities and publicity.

The Unattainable

2005-10-24T18:32:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: The truth is I gave my heart away a long time ago, my whole heart, and I never really got it back.

I was speaking to my sister on the phone today. She told me that she saw this movie that totally depressed her and made her cry, but that it was really good. She wouldn't tell me what it was, because she didn't want me to go watch it and get the same way. As soon as she said "good, but depressing" the first movie that came to mind was The Notebook. I asked her if that was it, and I was right.

Then we got into this whole discussion about how movies like that are so depressing and yet so good because they portray something that we all wish we could find for ourselves. We of today, so cynical and so jaded, nevertheless hope in the deepest of our hearts that sometimes the movies could be true, that some of us could be that lucky and get that happy ending after all. The truth is, we want to think that we could come to mean so much to someone else, that we could be that special. Of course we scoff at those brave enough to admit that in public, but isn't the real reason why these chick flicks make so much money is because we want to get away from the daily humdrum of our boring and unromantic lives?

Obviously, the take from the male sentiment is different. Many think that these ideas of love and relationships plant notions in our heads that make us yearn for the unattainable. Is it really unattainable? Or is it often used as an excuse for being lazy? I don't think it takes too much work to try to infuse a little romance into a relationship to make the girl feel special. And if the guy feels that the girl isn't that special to begin with, then perhaps he shouldn't be with her.

Most Influential Person?

2005-10-17T17:39:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: Life is not the amount of breaths you take, it's the moments that take your breath away.

I was filling out a personality profile with my sister on the internet, and she came across this question: Other than your parents, who is the most influential person in your life, and why? This question only drew blank stares from both me and my sis. Neither of us knew what to put for it.

It's one of those irritating questions that keeps popping up over and over again. I am pretty sure I encountered it as a personal statement question when applying to college, and then again to law school, and I know L ran across it also when applying to grad school. Who comes up with these stupid questions? This question was even worse because it ruled out the most common option of choosing either your mom or your dad.

I know people think that adding these types of questions to applications help to round out their image of the applicant, and also gives the applicant a chance to distinguish themselves from all the others. However, why can't they come up with better questions? You see these dumb questions when applying to jobs, schools, hell, you even see them in the Miss America beauty pageant.

Just Another Statistic

2005-10-14T19:47:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: Dismiss your vows, your feigned tears, your flattery;
For where a heart is hard they make no battery.

I was reading a novel during one of my "on" times. You know how it is, you squeeze in some other types of reading when you can, just to be able to say that you do read stuff outside of school. At least, I do. Anyway, the novel was fiction, but it quoted some statistics that made me wonder. It said that the US has about 4% of the world population (back around 1990), about 18% of the global wealth, but produces 50% of the lawyers in the world. That made my jaw drop. I always knew that the number of people graduating from law school every year was high, but I had no idea. I have no way of verifying that figure, but I can only guess that it's probably true, especially given the recent turn of the economy in the last few years. I remember picking up a Business Week two years ago, and it showed the percentage of applications to law school had increased by 36% from the previous year. The year before that, applications had risen by about 27%.

My father never wanted me to be a lawyer. I don't know if I really feel like joining an already glutted market and fighting over my own scraps to eke out a salary.

Rude awakening..

2005-10-11T15:22:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: Well, how long is your program? Well, it was a million tiny little things that, when you added them all up, they meant we were supposed to be together... and I knew it. I knew it the very first time I touched her. It was like coming home, only to no home I'd ever known. I was just taking her hand to help her out of a car and I knew. It was like... magic.

I had the worst time waking up this morning. I woke up for a few minutes, and kind of drifted back to sleep. About 10 minutes later my mother calls and wakes me up. I was semi-concious, so I answered the phone pretty quickly since I hadn't fallen into a deep sleep. The thing is, every morning when I first start talking I sound like I'm croaking. Whoever gets to talk to me first has the benefit of hearing my lovely voice.

So this morning it was good ole mom. She wanted me to call Social Security and see about an application for dad, since he just turned 65. In mid-conversation the call dropped, so I called her back. Now, logical people would realize that if I didn't want to talk to her, I wouldn't have called back, right? However, the normal things like logic and reason just don't seem to apply to my parents, particularly not my mother. I called her back, and she starts going, whose phone dropped that call??? Did you hang up? I was like, I don't know, mom. Thing was, I happened to be yawning while I said that, since I had just kinda woken up. She knew I just woke up. For some crazy reason she starts flipping out and suddenly starts shrieking at me "What, you don't even want to do this for us, you worthless good-for-nothing daughter?!!!!!" And a bunch of other crap that a normal profanity filter would leave out. Then she hung up on me. I was left staring at my phone in utter bewilderment, going WTF.

I called dad back instead, and asked him if she'd lost all her marbles. The crazy thing was, she was still shrieking in the background. Finally my dad roars at her "WOMAN SHUT UP!!!!"

After all that it was great finding out that the government keeps raising the age for social security benefits, so my father doesn't actually qualify until he's 65.5 years old. And it was even better that they used up so many of my anytime minutes putting me on hold only to tell me that their computer systems are down and to call back tomorrow. They suck.

The Devil Drink

2005-10-08T04:22:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: I am a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar.

Oh man. Ohhhh man. Remind me next time to keep my big mouth shut. I came up with the bright idea to play spades with four people, but not on teams. The premise was that every two hands we would tally up the score, and the biggest loser would have to take a shot. So before the game we went out to the liquor store and N decided that we should buy a drink called 99 Blackberries. I have never heard of this drink before, but I guess that's just me, because there is a whole line of this 99 stuff including 99 Bananas, 99 Apples, 99 Hot Damn, etc. The Hot Damn (cinnamon) was all out, so that's how we settled on 99 Blackberries. All of these are called 99 because that's what proof they are. So I foolishly agreed to this drink, thinking to myself, oh of course blackberries should taste great, right?

N decided that we should at least have some dinner before we got all f*cked up playing spades, so we all had some thai curry, which was fairly spicy. My brother decided we should take a test run of the 99 Blackberries, so he cracked the bottle and we all took a shot. OH MY GOD. That stuff was soooo nasty. It was like drinking super concentrated cherry cough syrup. It brought the proverbial tears to my eyes and hair on my chest and all that good stuff. As if that wasn't bad enough, my brother thought that it was so gross that he should mix it with Crown Royal. Then we tasted that, and that was even worse. It was a really nasty concoction of cough syrupy whiskeyish devil's brew. It was literally the nastiest alcohol I have ever had the bad luck to come across in my life.

By that point, we'd had curry for dinner, and also snacked on some beef jerky and guacamole Doritos. I totally ended up regretting eating all that stuff. Although I ultimately ended up with the highest score for the spades game, I did end up having to take one full shot of that nasty Crown Royal/99 Blackberries crap because one hand I had the lowest score. Altogether, I'd only had two shots, but my body decided it did not like it. I threw up 3 times that night. I can tell you that the green Doritos and the curry were not pretty coming back up. Everyone was making fun of me saying I was a cheap date, but really I'm not! Last year at the Halloween party I'd had several beers, about 4 shots, and then more beers, and I still didn't end up as messed up as last night. I blame it all on the 99 Blackberries devil drink.

To top it all off, I had the most vicious hangover I've ever had in my life. Actually, this is the only hangover I've ever had. I swore that I would never drink again. J doesn't believe me. He said that a law student saying that they're never drinking again is like a hooker saying she'll never have sex again.

Why certain memories?

2005-10-05T00:45:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: I think she's the saddest girl to ever to hold a martini.

I often wonder why some memories linger with us longer than others. I have recollections of how certain people looked at particular moments, of being terrified during some events, of being advised of what to do or not do in certain cases. Do people really believe that you have to have the sour with the sweet in order to enjoy the sweet that much more? I don't think so. I believe that imagination could adequately supply what is needed in order to appreciate what you are lucky enough to have. Of course, I do believe that misfortune and suffering could build character, if the individual is so inclined to believe. Too bad we can't choose what we can remember.

My brother likes to recount to others often of an encounter that we had back when I was about 2 or 3. He was about 17, and I was being put to bed by my parents. I'd kissed everyone goodnight except for him. My mother asked me, "Aren't you going to kiss your oldest brother goodnight?" Apparently I replied, "NO." Then I turned around and flounced out of the room. Isn't it odd that my brother would hold on to such an weird memory? He likes to tell me often, "You were soooo cute back then! What happened?" Ugh. Brothers.

Enough...!

2005-10-04T15:29:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: Do you remember what you told me once? That every passing minute is a another chance to turn it all around.

I had a really late night. I ended up going to see my brother at work, and watching some of the players. Then N and I went to a bar, and afterwards to a friend's house. It's funny how these dealers talk shop all the time. As if it's not enough that they work these crazy hours dealing poker all the time, on their off time they get together and talk more about poker, and if they're not talking about it with each other they're watching it on tv! And I thought law students were bad.

I'm wondering how far this poker fad will go. I've seen all these guys playing online at the law school, and almost all the guys I know play it now. All I can say is, it's not meant for everyone, and someone has to be the fish. Those people should keep their day jobs.

Lucid dreaming?

2005-09-29T14:15:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: It has been said something as small as the flutter of a butterfly's wing can ultimately cause a typhoon halfway around the world.

Ever since I can remember, I have had vivid dreams every night. I usually have about 4-5 dreams a night. When I was young I used to sleepwalk. This frightened my parents no end, especially since my habit was to sleepwalk into their room and just stand by their bedside. They thought I would have to have an exorcism done on me. As I got older the sleepwalking stopped, but I know I still talk in my sleep. I have still been known to occasionally do or say things asleep that I have no recollection of.

The dream world is altogether too vivid and real to me. Does anyone else dream in color? I do. Most mornings I wake up feeling tired, as if I'd been working all night. That's because at least one of the 4-5 dreams is usually a nightmare of some sorts, anywhere from something stupid as having a giant pimple on my nose and discovering it at school to being trapped in a burning water tower and being burned alive to death. Has anyone else ever died in a dream? I've been told that no person should ever dream that, and that there is a strong chance that heart failure can occur from dreaming such a thing. I have actually died in my dreams twice now. I have to admit, it's a very eerie thing.

I would like to be able to control my dreams better. Sleep time should be something pleasant and restful, not something to be dreaded. Does lucid dreaming work? I've never been able to master it yet.

My middle name is Grace

2005-09-28T10:48:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: It won't last. Brothers and sisters are natural enemies. Like Englishmen and Scots! Or Welshmen and Scots! Or Japanese and Scots! Or Scots and other Scots! Damn Scots! They ruined Scotland!

I usually loathe getting out of bed in the mornings, but this is really a bit ridiculous. I electrocuted myself this morning. Talk about a jump start to the day. Ironically, it happened while I was trying to unplug this damn laptop from the wall. My bed has an ornate headboard that prevents me from getting to the outlet right behind the bed, so I have to crawl under the bed to get to it. The charger came halfway out, and I wasn't thinking and grabbed around it and touched the prongs, which were apparently still connected to the current. I got this shock to my hand which caused me to jump, and of course, hit my head on the underside of the bed. Needless to say, the words coming out of my mouth were not pretty.

I've always wondered what it would be like to get electrocuted. Now I know. My hand has gone from numbness to hurting and now a weird tingling throbbing.

Why slot machines?

2005-09-27T19:53:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: Don't worry, Miss Bahmra. Our designs will make even these little mosquito bites look like juicy, juicy mangos!

I went to a casino with my brother today. He dragged me kicking and screaming to play some slot machines. Why do people like playing them? I can't believe he gave this machine $20 so that I could have the dubious privilege of pressing the "Spin Reels" button over and over. I looked at my brother, and said "You do know there are jobs where YOU get paid to push a button over and over?" I looked around, and saw all these old people sitting at the slots mindlessly pushing their buttons repeatedly, all the while smoking like chimneys. I guess they're lonely, and like seeing the busy life of a casino, but damn, doesn't it seem like there could be better (and less expensive) ways to spend their time?

And I can't believe my brother would play slot machines when he knows that they are a casino's biggest money maker.

To meddle, or not to meddle?

2005-09-19T09:45:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: If there's anything worse than a woman living alone, it's a woman saying she likes it.

What do you do if a dear friend might not be making the right decision about something? Do you wait for them to ask for your opinion, or do you offer it anyway, or even if you know that they don't want your opinion do you force it upon them regardless because you think that they are turning a willfully blind eye to the truth?

And what about the other side? How much of your friend's advice do you take? Sometimes I wonder if their interference only makes things worse. Perhaps I am more easily influenced by the opinions of others than I thought. I went from willfully ignoring everyone's opinions before, and then when that turned out disastrously, I swung to the other extreme, of maybe giving too much merit to what they thought. Sometimes things are just better off left alone to simmer, without actively thinking about things all the time, without trying to always do something about them.

I saw this on Arbusto's site...thought it was mostly true for myself as well. Maybe it's time to be a little more about me now.

Your Birthdate: November 9

Your birth on the 9th day of the month adds a tone of idealism and humanitarianism to your nature.
You become one who can work easily with people because you are broadminded, tolerant and generous.
You are ever sensitive to others' needs and feelings, and you are very sympathetic and compassionate.

Your feeling run deep and you often find yourself in dramatically charged situations.
This 9 energy always tends to give more that it gets.

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Bad wedding luck

2005-09-15T08:57:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: Come back and make up a good-bye at least. Pretend we had one.

I got an email from a dear friend DZ, and it was a link to her wedding and honeymoon photos. They were so beautiful. She was one of the first roommates I'd ever had, and definitely one of the most pleasant. It's great to know that some friendships do endure the test of time and moving away and all that.

Anyway, I got to thinking how I've never been to a wedding. I've been invited to at least 4. The first two I got sick the day of the weddings. The third one my friend here invited me to go with him this summer, but I didn't go. Now I wish I had. And then I missed DZ's wedding because it was the weekend after school started. I also wish I had been able to go to hers.

Weddings...I have no idea how I would feel watching the ceremony. Would I cry? Would I feel joy at watching such a special union take place? Hopefully I won't continue this disturbing pattern of always missing weddings, especially not at my own.

Wakey wakey

2005-09-13T18:14:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: Sometimes the things that may or may not be true are the things a man needs to believe in the most. That people are basically good; that honor, courage, and virtue mean everything; that power and money, money and power mean nothing; that good always triumphs over evil; and I want you to remember this, that love... true love never dies. You remember that, boy. You remember that. Doesn't matter if it's true or not. You see, a man should believe in those things, because those are the things worth believing in.

Ok, so what does it mean when I've been having blackouts? Apparently I have talked to some people on the phone and not remembered I called or talked to them at all. I've also been calling people and forgetting that I've called them one second after I've hit the send button. My dad got really mad at me for doing that to him a couple of times, and demanded to know why I called him without saying anything. I'm too young for Alzheimers...

Also, if I've got insomnia, are there any good otc sleeping aids I can take?

Some people...

2005-09-12T10:02:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: A man would rather be trampled by elephants that are on fire than tell you that he's just not that into you.

Your Inner Child Is Happy

You see life as simple, and simple is a very good thing.
You're cheerful and upbeat, taking everything as it comes.
And you decide not to worry, even when things look bad.
You figure there's just so many great things to look forward to.

How Is Your Inner Child?

Sometimes I reflect on some of the friends I have made, and I just shake my head. For instance, there was that bitchy roommate K who used to call me Big Bird all the time. Then there was my other friend Z who constantly put me down too.

Today I called Z because I had yet another dream in a series for the last couple of weeks. I just wanted to hear someone talking. Her advice to me was to keep myself too busy to even think. I replied, well yesterday was the last day at one of my jobs... To which she said maybe I'd made the wrong decision.

Why on earth would a friend plant doubts in your mind about a decision you've already made? Is not the role of a friend sometimes to be supportive? Why the wishy-washy attitude when I've done something that cannot be taken back?

Perhaps it is time for some new friends.

It's been awhile

2005-09-11T16:48:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: I know this is wrong, but do you ever wonder if she just made the whole thing up? I mean, it's a pretty good one. It's not like anyone can ever use virgin birth as an excuse again.

So I went to church for the first time in years yesterday. I think the last time I listened to a sermon I was around the tender age of 10. Yeah, so it's really been awhile. It's not like I'd expected the same exact type of church I used to go to, but I certainly wasn't expecting anything like Parkview. That place is overwhelming. I went into the auditorium, where they have two ginormous flat screens mounted up high, and there was a live band performing. I was totally taken aback when confronted with the sight. The old church I used to go to had old fashioned wooden pews, a place in the back for the choir to sit, and the minister most certainly did not have a microphone headset. And we actually sang hymns, not "praise songs." The songs made me think of Saved! starring Mandy Moore. I felt like such an old geezer.

I'm not sure, but it seemed to me that the good old stuff like faith and the gospel should appeal to the person for themselves, not because they've been given new and shiny packaging in the form of live entertainment and huge flat screens depicting pictures etc. Maybe I'm just old fashioned.

Also, have preachers always chosen to expound on such a tiny section of text? Maybe I just have a bad attention span. But the way the minister was parsing the text and explaining almost every word was enough to make me want to scream. I'm a slow reader by nature, but even I can read more than 9 lines of verse in an hour.

I guess I shall choose to conduct my own studies of the Bible by myself at home, law school style.

Is this a sign?

2005-09-10T09:41:00.000-07:00

Your IQ Is 130

Your Logical Intelligence is Below Average

Your Verbal Intelligence is Exceptional

Your Mathematical Intelligence is Genius

Your General Knowledge is Exceptional

A Quick and Dirty IQ Test

Your Career Type: Investigative

You are precise, scientific, and intellectual.
Your talents lie in understanding and solving math and science problems.

You would make an excellent:

Architect - Biologist - Chemist
Dentist - Electrical Technician - Mathematician
Medical Technician - Meteorologist - Pharmacist
Physician - Surveyor - Veterinarian

The worst career options for your are enterprising careers, like lawyer or real estate agent.

What's Your Ideal Career?

Cyclers

2005-09-10T09:08:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: I guess I could be pretty pissed off about what happened to me... but it's hard to stay mad, when there's so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing it all at once, and it's too much, my heart fills up like a balloon that's about to burst... And then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it, and then it flows through me like rain and I can't feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life... You have no idea what I'm talking about, I'm sure. But don't worry... you will someday.

I was at dinner last night with some friends, when the subject of cyclers came up. Silly me, I asked, what do you mean? Apparently cyclers are those who will pick one friend to spend all their time with to the exclusion of all others. So much so, that it's almost as if they one day get tired of them and just suddenly drop them. So it kind of looks like they went through a "phase." It's just that instead of going through a phase like a mid-life crisis or liking to wear pink, it's with a person. When I heard that, I just knew that J would have been jumping up and down, screaming and pointing at me.

It's not like I ever meant to do such a thing...it's always been more like eventually there would be a falling out with my favorite friend. As J put it baldly, then I'm screwed because by that time I had let all my other friendships fall through and have no one to turn to anymore. Even if I do eventually make up with that person, things are just never the same again. I guess now is the time to break my cycle.

Inspector Gadget

2005-09-09T20:47:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: So, you have your cousins, and then you have your first cousins, and then you have your second cousins...

How You Life Your Life

You seem to be straight forward, but you keep a lot inside.
You tend to avoid confrontation and stay away from sticky situations.
Your friends tend to be a as quirky as you are - which is saying a lot!
You have one big dream in your life, and you never lose sight of it.

How Do You Live Your Life?

I read Arbusto's entry about whether he needed a Palm. I used to have one several years back because I thought it would be really cool to have one, and not even like I really needed one. After about a year or so I sold it to my friend because I realized that like most gadgets, I really didn't need it.

It's amazing how many things we feel we need to have with us at all times. It's starting to feel like too much stuff to carry in my purse. Sometimes I even get resentful over having to carry a purse. I wish that I could just have a wallet in my back pocket like most guys. There just seem to be more and more things being marketed as essential, things that people can't live without. In reality, people can do without most things. But then again, I'm one to talk, I have dual lcds.

I stand back, look at my purses, and I see a trend towards larger and larger purses. Maybe I should treat them like clothes. You know what they say, don't buy clothes in bigger sizes because you'll just grow bigger to fit them.

Why now?

2005-09-08T17:27:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: Perhaps luck exsists somewhere between the world of planning, the world of chance, and the peace that comes from knowing that you just can't know it all.

Sometimes I wonder what motivates people to take the actions that they do. One of my ex-boyfriends asked me for my address a few weeks ago, saying that he was going to mail me a frame. I assumed it was something I'd left behind last year when I moved out. When I got the package today, I opened it and found a bunch of my photos with a frame. If all he wanted to do was do a little purging and get rid of stuff, why not just throw them away? It's not like I would know. Nor did I expect us to get back together. Why take this extra little step to take the effort to mail me something from so far away? It almost feels as if this is one last parting shot to get at me.

My brother suggested that perhaps it was his way of showing me that he was moving on. Sure, moving on is good. It's one thing to decide for yourself that you're going to move on, because I would expect nothing less. But it's another thing to rub it in someone else's face. We'd told each other that we wouldn't give anything back. None of my girlfriends gave pictures back.

Girls may be crazy, but boys are just stupid.

Stereotypes

2005-09-07T07:33:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: The key to French waiters: If you're nice to them, they treat you like shit. Treat them like shit, they love you.

I came across these photos on the internet the other day. Supposedly they are genuine photos of an Alabama wedding. Sorry, if any of you are from there, don't get mad!

WTF....

2005-09-05T18:59:00.000-07:00

Ok, I just came to glance at my other blog to see what points I'd made so far. I am all surprised because I see four comments on something I just posted today. I'm like, what....I haven't even told anyone about this blog yet, how do I have four comments?? Lo and behold, I got spammed by advertisers in the form of comments on my freaking blog! Society has now reached an all-time low in learning how to shove unwanted ads in peoples' faces. I can't believe my other blog got junk-mailed.

Options?

2005-09-05T12:57:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

I'm 24, and it's taken me this long to learn what faith is. As my daddy always said, I always did have to learn the hard way.

Your Mood Ring is Yellow

Imaginative
Wondering
Thoughts
Peaceful

Mood Ring Generator

Alright, so if I don't want to practice law, what will I do with my j.d.? My dad is desperate for me not to abandon the whole thing since I've already invested a year and all the money into it. For me, it's not really a matter of what I've invested, that kind of thing doesn't really matter to me. Looking back on the year I've already spent here, I treasure what I've experienced. The friendships, the people I've cared about, the discipline of the education, there is nothing that I regret having lived through.

So I've been discussing possible professions that are somehow peripherally related to law. Here's the way I see it. If I do graduate from law school with no intention of practicing, it'll be like having a Ferrari. It looks really nice, it's cool knowing you own one, but is totally unncessary. Even if I do end up in a profession that somehow utilizes the degree, it'll be like me taking the Ferrari out for an occasional spin to impress others, but mostly keeping it in the garage.

My brother is concerned with my choices and my ability to think clearly right now. He also doesn't want me to make the same mistake that he did. He ended up getting a degree in computer science just because he told our dad that he would. It was the classic doing-it-for-the-parents type of thing. Now he's doing something totally unrelated. I suppose he and LowlyLawAssociate are right about doing something that makes me happy. My brother thinks I should just take a break from everything and come visit him for a while and chill out, get away from the pressure everyone is putting on me and think for myself for once, and not about what others want/expect of me. Sounds totally good to me.

Business v. Busyness

2005-09-04T17:31:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: I'm not bitter anymore, because I know that what we had was real. And if in some distant place in the future we see each other in our new lives, I'll smile at you with joy and remember how we spent the summer beneath the trees, learning from each other and growing in love. The best love is the kind that awakens the soul and makes us reach for more, that plants a fire in our hearts and brings peace to our minds, and that's what you've given me.

I read an interesting short story called Bumping Into Mr. Ravioli. This man relates a story about his three-year-old daughter who has an imaginary playmate, Charlie Ravioli. The weird part is, Charlie is too busy to play with her. Doesn't that seem like it's defeating the purpose of having an imaginary playmate? So that they can be there to play with you when you want them to? Apparently not. The daughter often talks on her toy cell phone to Charlie, usually leaving a message for him. She remarks how she usually just gets his machine, and asks him to call her back. As if this isn't odd enough, over time she creates an assistant for Charlie, because apparently now he's too busy to tell her himself that he's busy. The parents ask around what they should do, and most people tell them that they should move out of New York because the lifestyle is getting to her, how everyone is so busy all the time. Too busy to keep up their real friendships, always on the run, always bumping into people and snatching bits of living here and there.

I was comparing the life of a second-year law student to this description, and I didn't like what I saw.

New times

2005-09-03T20:08:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: Justice is balance. You burned down my house and left me for dead. Consider us even.

Well, apparently breaking news on CNN is that Chief Justice Rehnquist died today at the age of 80 from thyroid cancer. He served on the Court for 33 years, and there are only 4 men who served longer. Rehnquist came on the Court back when it was much more liberal, and earned the title of the Lone Ranger for his frequent dissenting opinions. Rehnquist's death makes for the seond time when there has been two vacancies on the Court at once. Interesting fact: he did not intend to go into law originally, but then discovered his aptitude for it. He graduated first in his class at Stanford, which was also where he dated O'Connor briefly. I like how even in one of the highest political circles of the country there is evidence that they are normal people after all.

Things I remember

2005-09-01T09:20:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: Well that's what we do, we fight... You tell me when I am being an arrogant son of a bitch and I tell you when you are a pain in the ass. Which you are, 99% of the time. I'm not afraid to hurt your feelings. You have like a 2 second rebound rate, then you're back doing the next pain-in-the-ass thing.

I really liked the exercises we were given in class to work on. Of course, it was difficult opening the door to all my memories. But as I say, you face life head on and accept the good with the bad. The first exercise we were given was to write a personal ad for someone we knew. I chose my sister.

Almost 36 year old female looking for someone to grow old with. Am somewhat introverted, but do enjoy the presence and company of close friends. May be hard to get to know initially. Don't be surprised if I glare at you at first, because usually the meaner I am shows the more I like you. Intensely loyal, have learned to recognize that being happy alone is the first step to being happy with someone else. Enjoy blues, jazz, and shopping.

The next exercise we were given was to write down a list of "I remembers."
I remember:

how scared I felt when I realized that I was really moving to Iowa City for school.
getting up at 6 a.m. to get to work early and putting pink, purple and green post-its all over M's office my last day there.
saying goodbye and hugging Lisa at the airport and crying. Goodbyes are always hard. Sometimes it seems that the goodbyes are all I can remember.
thinking now was a time for a fresh beginning in every sense.
how happy I felt everytime I saw him again.

Crazy moms

2005-08-31T16:16:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: I don't believe in physical contact with the opposite sex. At all. Ever. Nothing.

Are all moms certifiably insane just by virtue of being moms? Or is it just my mother? I called my mom just to chat and see how she and my dad were doing. She told me my black sheep brother called them.

On the subject of my black sheep brother, it's impossible to ever say anything right. My parents have always had the attitude that I'd better be on their side, not his. Needless to say, my brother isn't the only one that needs to grow up.

Whenever they tell me anything he did or said, it's practically entrapment. Like I said, nothing I ever say is right. They basically just wait for me to say something and then pounce on it and rant bitterly about him.

This time, when my mom told me he called, I thought I'd just go with a noncommital "mmm." Apparently even this expression is fraught with danger. My mother immediately seized on it and said, " 'mmm' ?? What, did you know he was going to call us? Did he call you first?"

I've been forbidden to talk to him, and every now and then they ask me if I've talked to him. Yeah, right, like I'm going to be stupid enough to admit it if I had. Sometimes though, I think they actually sound disappointed when I say that I haven't talked to him, because I guess they missed out on an opportunity to go off on yet another crazy long-winded sermon about how black-sheepy he is.

Here is another story to illustrate. My mother used to own a small grocery/convenience store. I often worked or just hung out there. I remember one day particularly vividly. I was around the tender adolescent age of 12 or 13, and a boy was in the shop buying stuff. He looked at me, and asked if I had a boyfriend. My mother, upon hearing this, flew into a rage and chased him out the door with a broom and threatened to kill him if he ever came back.

....yeah.

Just not my day

2005-08-27T09:04:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: The Valkyrie at my side is shouting and laughing with the pure, hateful, bloodthirsty joy of the slaughter... and so am I.

Ok, I haven't been the happiest person lately, what with the things going on in my life. One of them is me starting to seriously doubt if law school is right for me. Alright, so what else would I be doing then? I"m not sure. Anyway, I've been having my moods of self-doubt and uncertainty, which makes reading for class fairly difficult. My mentality is, why read for class if I'm not sure I'm going to be here? Of course, at the same time if I am going to stick it out the last thing I want to do is shoot myself in the foot by not reading for class. The whole thing has had me coming home at nights and laying around like a pool of silly putty on my bed staring out my window wondering what's going to happen.

Well, today I decided to ignore my problems temporarily at least, and get going on some stuff. I started out with some laundry. Went out to lunch, came back and popped the laundry into one dryer. Came back later to pick it up, and almost cried at what I saw. There were hot pink splotches randomly on all my clothes, especially the whites. I always check my pockets, but somehow a tube of lipgloss got through, became uncapped in the dryer, and them proceeded to melt itself all over my favorite white clothes. It's funny how the little things are the ones likely to push you over the edge when you're already hovering near it. I swear, at that moment I felt like God was either testing me or laughing at me. Maybe both. I took the clothes, put a full serving of bleach into the washer, ran them through, nuh uh. Nada. Still bright pink splotches. I shook my fist at the ceiling. Sure, mess with my career choices in life, turn me into someone homeless because I have no money. But NOT the clothes!!!

Veterans

2005-08-23T20:32:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: Mo cuishle.

It was rather weird going to the first day of classes today and seeing all the 1Ls swarming about. They looked like shiny new pennies. Seeing them made me feel like a tried-and-true veteran. Well...not really. Actually I felt like a 1L pretending to be a 2L. Anyhoo, it was just weird going to classes that weren't core classes, just subjects I picked all for fun. It makes for a busy schedule, but right now fresh starts and keeping busy are very important. I just hope that I settle into the schedule of things quickly so that I stop feeling crazily out of place.

At least I have a favorable impression of all of my teachers this semester, and the subjects are very promising as far as interest goes. Hopefully I'll be able to stay in school to enjoy the classes this semester, because I don't have any financial aid right now. I'm waiting to see what I can do with private loans or if there will be some kind of financial aid award last minute after all. If I don't get the money I'll be forced to withdraw, because no mula = no school. It's a little freakish considering what I will do if I end up being forced to take a semester off. I just told my parents yesterday about my problem, and understandably they weren't happy. I guess they're afraid that if I do take a semester off I'll end up never going back. They just don't understand. I'll be damned if I let my first year of law school go to waste, not to mention all the debt I have incurred so far. Nuh uh, back to school I will be going later to get the stupid degree to at least hang on my wall, even if I don't end up practicing law. They really needn't worry about that.

Welcome back

2005-08-20T09:16:00.000-07:00

It was strange entering the law school to find it once again crawling with students after getting used to the emptiness over the summer. Got my books, and swore like a mofo when it came out to $477. I've always wondered about law school and all the expenses. Are they really that necessary?? There are so many satellite expenses that the total sum ends up being astronomical. Books, parking permits, computer fees, etc. It doesn't end. Whoever came up with the idea of charging law students for practically breathing was a genius. Yeah, wring every last penny from us before sending us out to try to make some money for a change, instead of being an incredibly huge money drain on ourselves and all the people around us. Bah.

So it's really weird coming back and seeing all the 1Ls studying their intro to law books soooo intently. I wonder to myself, did I look that serious last year? I don't think so. I've never really been that concerned about grades, and never thought that they were the end-all to everything. Sure, I cared. Somewhere way back I learned that you gotta loosen up and let things happen naturally. If a 1L came up to me and asked me for advice, I'd say that you give it your all, but don't let it destroy you. Relax and have some fun once in a while.

MTV at 4:30am

2005-07-24T03:01:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: Oh, please, last night it was like trying to sleep next to a paint-shaker.

Sudden insomnia...I don't know why. I haven't slept all night, and I'm still wide awake. Is it stress? I have no idea. Seems a bit early for the stress insomnia to hit when the semester hasn't even started :D

I must be getting old, most of the music videos I saw on MTV seemed awfully stupid. Maudlin alternative videos, the typical hoochy/rich car-infested rap videos, etc. One thing: props to Missy for losing so much weight, I'm sure she feels healthier now. And Bow Wow is so buff for such a skinny little guy! I feel really old now that I realize he's dropped the "lil."

So I was discussing Dakota Fanning with a friend who was also up at this ungodly hour. What's the general take on her? I think she's been very good in the roles she's been cast in, but I also think she can only do serious roles. Whenever she laughs it looks a bit freakish to me. Maybe it's because she appears to be a 45 year old peeking out of a child's body?

And what is this stupid Kept show on VH1? I have to admit it's somewhat entertaining to watch sometimes, especially when the guys were forced to play polo against a bunch of little girls (most of them were bouncing around on their horses like sacks of limp potatoes :D), but the show got really stupid when there was a hypnosis episode. Puh-leeeeze. Like we're going to believe that bullshit really happens and that these guys are honestly hypnotized? The entire premise of the show just seems retarded to begin with. In fact, I didn't know what the premise was and had to look it up. It's not as easily apparent just from watching the show like it would be on Apprentice or American Idol what they're competing for. Apparently the guys are competing to share in Jerry's life of luxury and attend all the glitzy functions with her as her date. Uh huh. I think they get some money too, $100k?

A new tide of HP-crazed fanatics

2005-07-16T11:13:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: These are my sleeping socks. My feet like a little air at night.

Alright. I admit it. I was at Barnes & Nobles with the rest of the crazies last night, waiting to buy the newest Harry Potter book, because I wanted to read it too. After having a mild sense of loneliness and feeling that Iowa City was somewhat deserted over the summer, it was quite a shock to enter B&N at 11:20pm and see the masses of people crowded around, dressed in various HP dress. Literally, there was hardly any room to maneuver anywhere. So I picked up my wristband (the one for those who had reserved a copy in advance) and gaped in dismay at my number: 358. Apparently people had come as early as 6pm to get their wristbands. I cursed myself, wondering why I hadn't treated this like an opening night at the movies (where I go the day before to buy tickets, and then show up 45 minutes before the movie is due to let in to stand in line to make sure I get good seats). Whatever. I wandered around for about 20 minutes trying to find a spot on the floor somewhere in the store where I could sit. I found a corner of the store, conveniently in front of the copies of Digital Fortress, and proceeded to camp out and glare at anyone who tried to encroach on my territory.

The unveiling happened at midnight sharp, whereupon the staff told us we'd be called in groups of 50 according to the numbers on our wristbands to buy. Stupid me, I fell for it again. I am always the one who follows the rules. I stop for stoplights at 3am, even when there are no other cars on the street. I'm the one who will wait to have my seat numbers called on the airplane even if there's no one else waiting to board. It's not like I want to always abide by the rules, but it seems that the one time I try to slip by, I get reprimanded sharply at the least, or publicly yelled at and humiliated at the worst. Case in point: I got a ticket from a cop because I crossed against the Don't Walk sign, when someone else had done it about 6 feet in front of me. And the ticket was $91!!! So I actually waited an hour, and finally started to get impatient. That's when I asked a staff member how long it would be until they called the 300's, only to have her stare at me as if I was daft. She couldn't believe that I'd actually waited my turn, and told me to go get a copy. Apparently even people who hadn't reserved a copy had gotten theirs before me. It made me think of every moment I had stood in line to get waited on at a cashier's, only to have them dash away to answer a phone for another 15 minutes for a customer who hadn't even bothered to make the trip to the actual place like I did. I had a moment of feeling angry, and then shrugged. So what if I'm not totally cutthroat and ready to get what's "mine"? I finally got my copy and left. However, what came to mind was one question: why should I bother following the rules if even the people who made them don't follow them?

Why, gunner, why?

2005-07-09T13:52:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: It's strange how pulling a trigger is easier than playing the guitar. Easier to destroy, than to create.

Do you ever wonder what possesses some people to do or say the things they do in class? Right now, I am confronted with a very irritating example of a gunner in summer school.
Day 1: I was overwhelmed with the most shockingly violent urge to smack the person as they prattled on about the "genius of the American constitution" or the "great Iowan so-and-so."
Day 2: Someone else in class did the classic cough/stage whisper "Who cares" when the person tried to do the same thing again.
Day 3: The person sat silently throughout the lecture.

Now, it's a shame when someone feels restricted by others from freely expressing themselves, but it's also another matter when they speak of subjects that really bear no relevance to the course. It's also quite disrespectful when the student in question takes on an aggressive stance towards the professor, almost of the attitude that the student knows better. I think I could put up with almost any amount of rambling or going off on tangents, but it's that last part that really pissed me off. I've always been taught that once you enter the classroom you set aside any notions of your own superiority, because it is here where you are a student to that teacher. Sure, teachers are wrong sometimes and maybe some corrections are needed. But the kind of blatant aggression displayed towards the professor seemed very out-of-line to me. I don't know if someone else spoke their mind to that person, but they seem to have temporarily become quiet. At least the professor seemed to bear it all in good humor, even if most of us students most certainly did not.

To a large degree, I've noticed a fair amount of cockiness in law students, but really no more than to be expected. But there is a line that is crossed when that cockiness is displayed to a professor, coupled with an attitude of condescension. What is going on here?

Pulling the plug

2005-07-05T13:10:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: Dude...where're your ears?

Ok, so I finally managed to convince myself to stop playing warcrack, and get back to some semblance of normal life. Of course, things are going to be hectic very soon, what with working, finals, and moving to a new apartment all at once. Not looking forward to any of it, especially not the moving thing. Let's see...in undergrad I rarely stayed in any place for even one year, and usually moved out around the 6-8 month mark. Reasons? Either hated my roommates or wanted to be closer to campus. Reason for moving this time? Hated the neighbors. It was funny hearing that the landlords were reducing my rent after all if I decided to stay since they were having such trouble finding people to sign on. Instead of raising the rent to $600, it is now $550. Still, no deal! I found myself a nice apartment in Seville, and hopefully life will be more pleasant and less filled with angry plots to make their lives as miserable as they made mine. I guess I can take the Iowa PD off my speed dial too, ha.

One thing...what is going on with the annoying move-in/out dates? These places have all the flexibility of a steel rod. Almost every place I've heard of makes you move out July 30, whereas almost every place also will not let you move in till August 1. Where is the justice??? What the hell am I supposed to do with my stuff and my pets for the two days? As if moving all my stuff around wasn't annoying enough, but add to that fact the problem that it's very likely I'll have to move my stuff twice puts me in a foul mood. So....anyone up for a moving party?

Feed me

2005-06-25T10:09:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: Did you drink and dial?

I desperately need to get away from Iowa City. I can live without the shopping since I already owe so much on credit cards, but I need to eat decent food sometime. I heard a summer entrant complain bitterly aboout Iowa the other day, and I just looked at her. She just got here. I've been here for a year now. One year with no shopping, no internet of my own, no food. And my parents wonder why I've lost 10 pounds since I've been here? Bridget Jones needs to try this diet.

Since some of the summer entrants have been wondering about places to eat, I thought I'd share what I think. Here are some of the restaurants that I have tried:

Peking Buffet: Fair-sized buffet, pretty cheap too since I usually pay about $6-7 a meal there. Don't hope for any real selection of desserts there though, the best part of the buffet is the mongolian grill. Cheaper than HuHott, and basically (HuHott is a little fancier with their special sauces, but also more expensive) the same thing without the heinous wait during peak mealtimes.

Thai Flavors: Not so great on Thai food...but great customer service with a very friendly attitude. Apparently friendly to helping student orgs with raising money too. The tom yum soup is pretty good, and the duck isn't so bad either.

Thai Spice: Decent Thai food, not so great on service. If you go there, plan to wait at least 20 minutes for food to arrive. A little shorter if you go at odd times, like 3pm, and maybe a little longer if you go during peak mealtimes. So far in the all the times I've gone there, I've had to wait 5 minutes before anyone even appeared to seat me, once had to wait 2 hours for food to arrive because I was in a large group, had the waiter bang down water and slosh it onto me, had to wait 15 minutes after I asked for the check for it to actually arrive. So why do I keep going back? Maybe b/c of their pineapple fried rice and tom yum soup. Overall, it's way better to order food to go at this place.

Hamburger Inn: Not so bad of a diner type place, but not fabulous either. The quality of the food is not worth the prices and indifferent service.

Yen Ching: Ok Chinese food. Since I love Chinese food so much, it's pretty hard for a Chinese restaurant to mess up for me. Service is neutral, food is ok. Certain dishes are better than others, and I really like the yu-shiang shrimp/chicken dish there, along with the fish they specially cook. Pretty much same comments for Hunan.

Devotay: Food seemed good, but a bit pricey for a starving law student like myself. Service was pretty good too, and it has a cozy atmosphere. Just can't afford to eat there everyday.

Aoshe: the only Korean restaurant around since that other one closed down, so it wins by default. They also have a sushi menu there, but I don't think that's the place to go for sushi. The food here is ok, be careful if you're not into spicy foods. Service is not that great.

Sushi Popo: ok...so far the best roll I've liked is the LA roll. I tried some of the non-sushi dishes, and wished I hadn't. It's ok, but for better maybe try Three Samurai or the one downtown (I forget one it's called, near Dublin bar).

Zio's: pasta and other Italian type foods. Served very quickly. The people are really nice, and food is pretty cheap.

The Rack: pretty good food, try to order in advance or you might end up waiting a bit. They could do with better ventilation in there.

Overall, I'm pretty sick of all the places to eat around here, so I should cook more. I'm just not motivated to very much, and have been eating ramen for the past couple days. I spose I should venture out to Cedar Rapids and try some restaurants there...maybe I'll hit it up and go shopping at the malls there at the same time.

Return to the land of the living

2005-06-21T16:08:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: Shady's back.

After spending my time immersed in that devil game for the last month and a half, I have finally hit level 60 and am now just about ready to quit. So what if Otsu isn't dressed in all epics (actually she doesn't even have all her Wildheart), I don't care. I have awakened to find myself surrounded by dust everywhere, a further diminishing eyesight, and bills that are 2 months late on everything. Not to mention my family and friends who were ignored for this long. All I can say is that I'm really sorry.

Anyway, I'm also surrounded by a pile of magazines that date as far back as 3 months ago. So today I tried to get my crap together and paid off all my bills (except for the summer school bill cuz I forgot to file for summer financial aid), and tried to bring back some semblance of order into my life. I almost feel like everything is in a shambles around me...and I'm almost tempted to just re-sign my lease to apartment even thought I really hate it, the realty managing company, and the thin walls.

I hope people are doing fun stuff for the summer-- I plan to make a trip to Chicago sometime and maybe also Minneapolis. Any suggestions on what to do in Chicago?

Long time no talk

2005-06-08T06:12:00.000-07:00

I'd totally forgotten my blog existed...until a friend reminded me (not so gently either) that it's been a while since I've updated my blog. Maybe I will more often to take me away from WoW. Speaking of, I have reached the conclusion that druids suck. People just think of us as a second-rate priest, or "a priest with durability." Whatever.

Went home to visit parents, and lo and behold, right when I'd thought I could kick back and relax and let my mind vegetate, my dad busts out a marine vessel manual and tells me to study it because he's making me take the freaking test. Why??? I have no freaking idea. So after falling asleep several times trying to memorize the stupid colors and names of the sides of the boat (why can't they just say left, right instead of this port, starboard crap) I woke up the day of the test realizing I'd read about half of it. I remember muttering to myself that this was absolutely ridiculous that someone who'd succesfully passed the first year of law school was afraid of a dinky vessel operating test. I reminded myself that I could take the test the next day if I failed, so I sailed forth merrily on my way, leaving dad at home (in case I failed). Luckily, I passed the first time. So now I have yet one more useless license. And get this, I got issued another hard copy of a driver's license, and they didn't destroy my old one, so now I have two. Tsk, tsk I say, they're just leaving the door wide open for someone to use my id to get into 21+ areas.

Summer sun, something's begun

2005-05-10T09:42:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: That won't work. I'm already a woman.

Summer is here! I don't really care what my grades are as long as I pass. I'm just glad to get these core classes over with so that I can really learn something interesting. I'm determined to have my fun this summer before I have to start my summer classes. I honestly wish that I didn't have to take the summer classes, but I'd heard from several people that it would be good to get PR out of the way to try to lighten my next semester, and also other classes to boost my gpa.

Otherwise, this will be the perfect opportunity to catch up on movies, play some WoW, maybe try out Guild Wars and Ragnarok, and just kick back and relax. Next week I'm visiting my parents and I know my dad is going to take me fishing. Ha.

Oh yeah, I guess I should look for another place to live too.

Is it really finals?

2005-04-28T07:34:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: It's always the more gifted of the three.

I don't know, but it just doesn't feel like finals to me. It feels more like I'm walking through a haze where I happen to take tests sometimes. Of course, the property final was not fun, and helped reality come back a little more. I still can't believe how long the essay on the test was. Thankfully I took the test on my laptop, but even then I felt like I could type fast enough. I tried to spend the suggested allotted time on the two portions, but now I wish I had spent less time on the MC and a little more time on the essay. I can't imagine what the score distribution is going to be like for the class, because I heard a lot of people who chose to hand-write the essay didn't finish.

Eh, I'd heard that Hovey's finals would be somewhat hard, but goodness. And the MC were evil, with the typical d) Both A & C, or e) At least two of the above are true, or f) None of the above. YUCK.

Maid for You

2005-04-24T13:20:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: The difference is if you screw up, then my ass is grass and she's the lawnmower!

Well, it's back to the feeling of trying to bandage too many wounds at once again. Too many outlines to try to finish, and memorize all those flashcards at the same time..agh.

At least I've discovered this website for Iowa City, MaidPerfect. Sounds like I'll be calling them when I move out of my crappy apartment at the end of July. I'll be so glad to get the hell away from my stupid neighbors, they're constantly fighting, doing drugs, and making everyone around them miserable. I just had them evicted for the third time this past Friday. That's what they get for being bigots.

This just in: apparently I got a few visits by people who did Yahoo! searches for little girl porn & sm. That is freaking disturbing.

Crybaby

2005-04-21T18:58:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: Welcome the rich man, he's hard for you to miss. His butt keeps getting bigger, so there's plenty there to kiss!

Omg, just spend the last 20 minutes crying. I had an early dinner, which started with an appetizer of a small cup of chili with a hot pepper on the side. I picked up the pepper with my fingers and ate some of it, and after dinner I went home and took a nap. I'd forgotten to take my contacts out, so when I woke up they were all gummy. This is what led me to the fatal step: I took out the contacts and rinsed them with solution and put one of them back in. It hurt like a MOFO. Then I tried to take it back out which only aggravated it more. I guess I didn't wash my fingertips thoroughly enough, because my eye has never felt such extreme burning pain before. So after shedding a copious amount of tears, and much rinsing of the offending contact and hands, I finally put the contact back in and gritted my teeth. It was impossible to completely get all of it off because it still hurt, but eventually subsided. Maybe my bitchy roommate was right, I need to live in a bubble b/c I hurt myself in the most ridiculous ways.

But on the plus side, I had the cheapeast dinner ever, at Lone Star on 2nd Ave. Is it ave or st? You know, the street Peking Buffet and Applebee's is on, the hwy. Anyway, they have the most fantastic hot links, 2 for $3.49. I asked them to make hot dogs out of them, which they did at no extra charge. I am such a sucker for a good hot dog, and I loooove hot links. So far, this is the only place I've found in the entire city with a decent wiener on the menu. Just remind me not to handle their peppers with my bare fingers again.

Moooooo..

2005-04-19T17:48:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: "How many people are having an orgasm right now?" Fifteen.

Props to MN 3L guy, who said,
>>Half the problem with finals is the wankers who run around babbling about it (i.e. "OMG my outline is like so like not done like OMG." OR "I spend my life studying 24-7")

Here's what you do: take it easy. Don't care what others do. I think it's best to not talk to others during finals. (This may be easier for me since I hardly ever talk to them anyway--I can have a better conversation with the retarded guy at Fuddrucker's.)

If you want to really fuck with people, carry around a stack of paper the last week of classes and call it your "outline."<<
Puhahaha. You're awesome.

Yeah, seriously. As soon as I walk into school it's like getting rammed in the gut with stress. I see people running around talking about their outlines, and how much they have done, or what's even worse is seeing some people who have their finished outlines in class flipping through them as the professors are giving their closing speeches. It's all well and good for them, but it makes me feel sick to my stomach. Of course, then you have to deal with your friends. Some of them don't seem to care, and you wonder what planet they're on, and some of them are running like chickens with their heads cut off babbling about some inconsequential crap, and you wonder what planet they're on. As someone's desktop background says, "Shut the fuck up." One of my friends has gone back to smoking like a chimney, and every time I see him I wonder if he's going to have a nervous breakdown. One day I'm just gonna have to slap him silly to get him to shut up about goddamn outlines. I can only expend so much of my own energy trying to calm people down, but after a while it's too much and I just want to run away and hide myself from this mess.

Well I was actually sad that civ pro is over, and I thought that his personally made evals were hilarious. He's such a nice guy that I'm sure I'll take some other class with him in the future. Last year when he taught civ pro he only gave out 9 C's, which is doing quite well in a class of our size. Hopefully I won't be one of those 9 this year.

So many distractions!

2005-04-18T18:32:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: In Sicily, women are more dangerous than shotguns.

Aghhh...finals, yuck. What's weird is that I'm not even overly concerned about them, or about outlining. I suppose I'll eventually outline or something, but I don't think that's my most effective way of reviewing, more talking is better for me I think. What kills me is that everyone has always said, "Don't worry, you'll find what works for you..." blah blah yadda yadda. What I demand to know is, how'm I supposed to find out what works after only one semester under my belt? As we all know, one instance does not establish a pattern. I am still trying on different hats, seeking the one that fits best. Of course what sucks the most is that these 1L grades are gonna be the only things recruiters see when we do our crazy OCI stuff next fall, so I am feeling the pressure. Not to mention that I absolutely HATE these subjects this semester. Greeeeat.

The other thing is, everyone I know is also obsessed with applying to journals too (does anyone else hate how uber-competitive everything is?), so some of the people I know aren't even concentrating on finals right now, since they want to turn in their Transnational Law Journal App. I have to say that journal is the one I'm not going to apply for. I have no interest in the area, period. My top picks are Journal of Gender, Race and Justice, and Journal of Corporation Law, and then Iowa Law Review coming in a distant third. I don't even want to apply to ILR, except that I feel that I have to maximize my chances of getting onto a journal, especially if I'm not applying to Trans. Chances are, I won't make in onto any of them because I absolutely stink as a legal writer.

Sidebar: Here are some cute links to watch if you were ever a fan of Nintendo, especially Super Mario Bros., and Zelda. Make sure you have your sound turned on!
Acappella Nintendo
Crazy Video Game Pianist

Zzzzz....

2005-04-16T13:30:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: You were banished because you were clumsy?

That sounds like it could have been me.

Anyway, I didn't look at my blog for a few days, and when I came back I found a deluge of comments to read. I think it's very entertaining to read what people have had to say, although the subject is assuredly not funny. I was talking about it with one of my friends, who unfortunately was a victim of a sex offender and she thinks that such people never fully recover. I look at her, and then I look at my dad, who lost two fingers in a boating accident, and I tend to agree. She described the main problem as being that you never fully shake off the feeling of being forever tainted, or dirty. My father on the other hand, just expresses wistfully that sometimes he wishes he had his fingers back, but their absence doesn't impair his living too badly. Since I always grew up with him like that, it just seemed normal to me, and since they're from his left hand, his writing abilities haven't even been diminished.
Maybe it's like trying to compare apples with oranges, but to me it seems that my father has coped as well as possible, whereas the same could not be said of my friend.

I think part of the whole red-hot controversy is that sex is so taboo as a subject in the US, and this makes it seem all the more shocking when children are the ones who have been violated in such a manner. We all seem to buy into the idea that children should be innocent for as long as possible, and we really go after those who dare to take away such a precious privilege of childhood. And then again, it's always going to be those who have experienced such a terrible thing, and those of us who have not. The view that such unfortunates have will always be different because their lives have been altered forever.

Um, it's going to be finals soon...I really hate school.

Shady's Back

2005-04-12T18:17:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: Once you go black; you'll need a wheelchair.

Yes, yes, I know it's been a while. First, I was just taking a break and doing other things. Then, I fell off a swing and sprained two fingers, so it's been a bit of a bitch trying to type. With two swollen fingers, it's interesting trying to keep up with lectures. Half the time I'm not able to, so my notes seem like a bunch of incoherent ramblings. (Ha, not so different from this blog?)

Looking through the comments, I found one notable: http://www.criminalcheck.com/.

It seems a bit shocking to me that this exists, isn't this some sort of invasion of privacy? I have very conflicted feelings about the whole notifying the authorities every time a sex offender moves and all that. The fair side of me feels that even criminals have rights which should not be violated. But my more honest reaction is that criminals should burn in hell for what they did. Basically, if you don't act like a decent human being, why should you expect to be treated like one? Sure, it all depends on the level of their transgression, and some people do deserve a second chance. But you know the saying, "Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice shame on me." To me it seems that the more serious the offense, the less probable it should be to get a second chance for fear of a repeat. If there was a repeat murder it would be with very grave consequences, whereas letting someone convicted of larceny have a second chance isn't quite so bad. Not quite so life-threateningly serious if they have a chance at a repeat. Of course, things are so rarely black and white, and it's a very murky area to work with.

Um...yeah...

2005-04-06T09:41:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: Moisture is the essence of wetness, and wetness is the essence of beauty.

This is what I came across, so then of course I had to look up its matching accessory, below..

If anyone is interested in actually buying it, you can find them here, at I Want One of Those.

What I want to know is, won't those pieces of candy just come rolling off if you break a string somewhere? Very interesting.

I'm happy to say that we have the last piece of our puzzle. A = Saturn.

Who's going to get the last one?

2005-04-05T20:13:00.000-07:00

Ok, we now have three more answers:

E = Zales
K = Burger King
W = Mountain Dew

So what is the A??

Go figure, no wonder I didn't get Burger King or Mountain Dew. I don't eat fast food, and I don't drink Mountain Dew, especially b/c of LD-40 (is it LD? Not sure. Anyway, it's something supposed to marginally affect impotency in men or some such bs. I just always thought it was weird drinking something that looked like highlighter fluid.)

So far, so good...

2005-04-05T18:31:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: Revenge may be wicked, but it's perfectly natural.

Alright, here's the comprehensive list of the logos and brands matched up so far. There are only a few left that have not been solved. I have so many people asking me what letters are which brands that I've decided to post the results gathered till now.

A=?
B= ABC
C=Canon
D=Glad
E=?
F=Ruffles
G=Lego's
H=Yahoo!
I=Bic
J=Jif
K=?
L=Google
M= Samuel Adams Brewing
N= NASA
O=Kinko's
P=UPS
Q=Dairy Queen
R=Walgreen's
S=Sony
T=Citibank
U=Blockbuster
V=Volvo
W=?
X=Twixx
Y=Lay's
Z=Zenith

We still don't have A, E, K, and W. Wow, overall this group effort thing is working out pretty well. The only hard one I got was the "R", don't ask me how I guessed that. I'm ashamed to say that I didn't get Blockbuster, and I used to work for that devil. Ugh. Mostly all of the ones I'd gotten on my own are food brands. You can tell what I'm staring at most of the time.

Remaining stumpers

2005-04-05T11:00:00.000-07:00

Ok, so far the letters still to be matched with their brands are

A
E
I
K
M
N
U
W

Any more guesses?

So long winter, hello spring

2005-04-04T19:18:00.000-07:00

Today's quote: Well, some teachers are trying to low-ball me, Daddy. And I know how you say, "Never accept a first offer", so I figure these grades are just a jumping off point to start negotiations.

It's hoooot. Although the break from the bitter cold is quite welcome, it's a bit of a double-edged sword for me. I've always been sensitive to smells, and when it gets hot is when BO runs the most rampant. Also, it's freaking hot, but I'm a little self-conscious of wearing shorts or skirts. That's because I was cursed with the roommate from hell about 3 years ago. She was constantly making fun of how I looked. She called me Big Bird (saying that I have skinny extremities and a bigger body), said I had a flat butt, told me I needed to work out, and said I should live in a padded room (because I'm a bit clumsy and tend to bump into things and frequently suffer minor bruises and scrapes). So, I'm afraid of showing my Big Bird legs. I hate that bitch.

It's my mom's birthday this Friday. What should I get her? Shopping for Mom's birthday is always heinously difficult. If I don't spend enough, she'll say something like "What, you don't love your mother? I only carried you for nine months, and almost died in C-section giving birth to you. I didn't have to listen to that Catholic nun who persuaded me not to have an abortion." But then if I try to get her something nice, it's "Honey, you're a student. Why are you trying to act like you're rich when you're not? Are you dealing drugs? Is there something you want to tell me? You could have just gotten me a card and that would have been enough." BULLSHIT! BULLSHIT!! The only thing that came to mind was going home to surprise her. Or send flowers. No, scratch the flowers, because she always asks why I get them, when they're going to die.

On another note, I've been playing the Alphabet Game again. See below.

Right now I'm stuck on about half of these. These are snippets of famous logos, and you have to guess the right brand with the letter shown. I need help with these. Let's start with A. Any ideas on it? So far, I've got C, G, H, J, L, Q, R, S, T, V, X, Y, and Z. All the rest I am stumped on right now.

Crap...it's DST

2005-04-02T19:12:00.000-08:00

I really think that I should move to Arizona, Hawaii, or the part of Indiana that's in the eastern time zone. These are some of the places that don't observe DST. Well, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands also don't, but I'd rather put my money on Hawaii or Indiana.

I must really not be a morning person. It is incredibly difficult getting up before 10am for me, and I can bet that I'm going to be a super grumpy person come Monday morning. Yuck. I have no idea how I ever got up in time to go to high school. Our school started at 7:15 every day, and when DST kicked in I had always had a really hard time adjusting.

Oh, one of the questions in FHM asked who was the president during WWI, and I only got it right because I'd read the Anne of Green Gables series. The very last book was set during WWI, and the characters mentioned the politicians of the day quite frequently. Isn't it weird how we glean knowledge in the most unexpected places?

How Dumb Are YOU?

2005-04-02T14:12:00.000-08:00

Today's quote: You know, I have this awful paranoid thought that feminism was mostly invented by men so that they could like, fool around a little more.

The Pope has passed away. Strange, I had held on to the belief that it wouldn't actually happen. Somehow, I always think that bad stuff can never happen to famous people. Maybe that's why I was so shocked when Princess Di, Aaliyah, and all the others died. I always feel a bit gobsmacked, like no way, that can't really be happening.

On a flippant note, I was taking the "How Dumb Are You" quiz in FHM magazine, and the answer is, apparently I'm quite dumb. I missed half of the questions. Here are some of the questions I missed:

2) Name either of the official languages of Afghanistan.
6) What were the Wright brothers' first names? (I only got one of these.)
8) Match the planets with the pictures (they're all in order, and I mixed up the last three).
11) Name just one of Charlie Chaplin's movies.
12) Name two of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. (I only got one)
14) Mt. Everest straddles two countries. Name one.
18) Who's the dude on the dime?
19) Mexico is directly south of the U.S. Two countries touch the southern border of Mexico. Can you name one?
20) Who wrote War and Peace?

How many of you know the answers to these (without looking them up on the internet, obviously)? Right now, I feel as bright as Bridget Jones in the Edge of Reason when she was caught not knowing where Germany was.

Are You Kidding Me?

2005-03-30T18:51:00.000-08:00

Today's quote: Wait a minute... nice boys don't kiss like that.

Johnnie Cochran? Hm...the only thing that comes to mind is that a certain town in a Southern state is probably assembling to dance on his grave. You know how in our civ pro text it says that in class action lawsuits the fees are more about the attorney's fees? Yeaaah. This town was a typical one, except one of those industrial factories came in and dumped straight into the water supply. The result? More than 25% of the children were born with missing limbs, and even older people who were just exposed to the water developed cancer. I read one particularly horrifying account of a small family that walked to school every morning, and one of the little boys had a fascination with lingering in the polluted stream right outside of the factory. The boy died before he was 30, with massive complications from several illnesses. Anyway, good ole Johnny somehow got wind of this, and swooped down upon them. Everyone thought he was their savior. After the lawsuit was settled, the shocking truth came out. After attorney's fees, the average plaintiff received approximately $300. I'm surprised they didn't try to tar and feather Johnnie. Needless to say, his name is mud in that town.

Quickest way to a Man's Heart

2005-03-28T23:30:00.000-08:00

Today's quote: SixWingAngel (1:28:10 AM): "the quickest way to a man's heart is between the third and fourth rib. Pierce there with your rapier."

Parents suck

2005-03-27T19:25:00.000-08:00

Today's quote: I have to tell the maid to buy diapers and get the pool boy to walk the dog? Can't I just make out with Kevin all the time? Being married sucks.

How am I supposed to deal with the most freaking insane parents in the world? They think that when they call me I'll just automatically drop everything to talk to them. Today, for instance, they called right when I was in the middle of cooking dinner. Three pots going on the stove, and the bloody phone rings. I go to pick it up, like an idiot, and it's my parents! I'm the idiot, because the phone I answered with is corded, so I'm a prisoner to the wall, while my stove is on, cooking merrily away without yours truly. My dad always calls me to ask how to do things, like what does this red blinking light on the fax machine mean, or how do you change the print options in the menu, etc. I don't mind helping anyone, but he always asks me how to do things that obviously require someone being there to know 1) what the hell he's talking about, and 2) what the hell he's talking about. Ugh. So I finally came to my senses and switched phones. By the time I got back to the stove, stuff was burning, or splattering away. I started swearing like a banshee because I got burned by two splatters, and my dad kept asking me why something looked like it didn't fit into the cd changer. Finally I lost my temper, and repeated for the third time that I wasn't there, I don't know why it didn't fit. Dad got really mad and said my attitude was shitty, and hung up on me. I really don't think my parents know the meaning of "reasonable."

Cyberbullying?

2005-03-24T18:46:00.000-08:00

I came across this article, which made my jaw drop.

**********
You've got hate mail
Cyberbullying, in which school kids anonymously spread gossip online, is an epidemic authorities find hard to stop
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
KATE TAYLOR
(excerpted)

The rise of cyberbullying -- the use of new communication technology to hurt others -- is affecting more and more middle and high school students, experts say. It's an insidious new form of bullying because those who do it can harass their victims anonymously, and away from adults' notice.

Parry Aftab, director of the national WiredSafety.org, an online safety group, said 55 to 60 percent of the 1,000 students ages 9-14 she polls each month have been involved in a cyberbullying incident.

"The problem is bad and it's getting worse. It's getting worse because it's so easy, and kids are bored or angry," Aftab said from her New Jersey office. "It's growing because parents are putting powerful technology into their kids' hands and they are clueless about what that technology is. Parents don't know half the time what text messages are or that kids take pictures of other kids in locker rooms with their cell phones."

"It's like an electronic Dodge City," said Tim Drilling, principal of Lake Oswego's Lakeridge High School, referring to the brawling town in the long-running "Gunsmoke" television series. "Nobody seems to respect the behavioral norms -- it's wide open, people seem to be able to say whatever they want. You can be anonymous, and that seems to make people feel very free."

Attacks are vicious because the senders can be anonymous, said Nancy Willard, director of the Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use in Eugene. "The social norms online seem to encourage disinhibition. Also, students often don't have any tangible feedback about how they're affecting someone."

Devin -- the school newspaper's page design editor -- taps a few keys, and up pops a Web log that depicts him as jealous, small-minded and incompetent. The same Web log also aims insults at other classmates and teachers.

Stevie Viaene, a web design teacher at Tigard High School, says "Kids have been driven to tears by some very nasty e-mails. Lots of kids spend a lot of time blogging, and putting scathing things about other students on them."

While parents have struggled to understand how cyberbullying happens, schools are only beginning to look for ways to fight it. Cyberbullying often happens off school premises and after hours, and experts say much of it is protected by free speech. If schools can identify the students who are doing it, they take measures to stop the cyberbullying, but tracking messages and Web log entries requires serious detective work.

At least one lawmaker has taken steps to help schools. Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D-Seattle, has proposed legislation that would require school harassment policies to prohibit cyberbullying.

In the meantime, Aftab said, schools can do a few things to help stop the abuse. They can establish an anonymous tip phone line for those who witness cyberbullying, and organize student-run awareness campaigns about cyberbullying. She also advocates awareness workshops for educators, parents and community leaders.

"They have to do something about this now. I couldn't stand it if this happened to one other child," said the mother of the Lake Oswego girl who moved to another school after cyberbullying demolished her social life, as well as her ability to focus in class. "That's the only reason we came forward. Others have to know how much it hurts."

Kate Taylor: 503-294-5116; katetaylor@news.oregonian.com
**********

Well, well. How interesting. Dear Iowa Law community, this "cyberbullying" thing seems to hit a little too close to home. One thing I disagreed with was how the article seemed to imply that kids are the most hurt by blogs. Although she did not state such a thing, the article seems slanted that way. Maybe she could have included how widespread these kinds of things are in the real world, like how people have lost their jobs because of blogs.

I'm just a 1L...

2005-03-24T15:33:00.000-08:00

Today's quote: You know, there's like a butt-load of gangs at this school. This one gang kept wanting me to join because I'm pretty good with a bo staff.

Does anyone else get bombarded with friends calling you demanding advice on what to do in their problems? My family and friends keep calling me every now and then giving me some problem and asking me if it's in their best interests to sue, or how else to deal with it. Everyone knows that the best thing to do is resolve the situation without resorting to going to court, but what do I know? I'm just a 1L.

Note: I DO NOT give anyone legal advice. I always tell them I don't know anything, and to go seek professional counsel. I only think about these situations in the context as if a hypo given in class, and how I would address these hypos if given on an exam.

For instance, my friend, an administrative assistant, called me a few months back, absolutely hysterical. She'd made a mistake of some kind on obtaining information that resulted in costing her boss a whole day in fruitless activity. Anyway, while he was spending the day finding out that what she'd told him was a huge mistake, my friend had taken the afternoon off for her dental appointment. Therefore, she was not in the position to answer her phone. When she left the office, she saw that she had a voice mail from him. She checked it, and listened to the most crazily obscene and profane message, calling her "a stupid bitch who was going to be in big trouble, and why wasn't she picking up the fucking phone" etc. Apparently, every other word was profanity. In her panic, she deleted the voicemail because she didn't want to hear anymore of it. I told her that was a big mistake to begin with, you never delete evidence, just common sense.

Then, the next day she went to work, he demanded to see her. The co-president had forewarned her to be as subdued as possible, because the man had been ranting about wanting to fire my friend. So she goes in, and sits down. He begins with, "How much do you make here?" Basically, everyone there knew that my friend had just purchased a new home. She was struggling to meet the mortgage payments on her measly salary, and everyone at the company knew this. So it was especially heinous that he played that card. He went on to disparage her past work, saying she just wasn't up to par, and made her feel like life wasn't even worth living. This was the first mistake she'd ever made.

A few days later she called me, and asked me if there was anything that she could do. I told her she'd have to go see an attorney for this kind of thing, since I didn't know much about it. The only thing that I could think of was that it sounded a lot like IIED, so I went through the prima facie case for it, and I'd thought she might be able to have a decent case, except for the fact that she'd deleted that voicemail. If she'd been able to obtain testimony from other workers at the company about his frequent rages and how he just fired people at a whim (this was a frequent pattern), maybe it would have made up for it. But everyone was so terrified of the man that she was sure that no one would help her for fear of retaliatory consequences at work. I told her that she should go find counsel (maybe at a clinic since it might be cheaper), who might tell her to go see a shrink and obtain medical documentation to establish expert evidence. Plus, I'm sure the fact that the company is a private corporation will have some impact on this. I called my old workplace to ask an attorney what she thought, and she said that employees have a very difficult time winning lawsuits against private employers for this kind of thing.

It really sucks knowing that my friends and family are out there having these problems, and there's nothing that I can do about it. This was exactly the kind of thing that I'd hoped to remedy by entering the legal profession. At times like this, I feel like I'm not learning fast enough.

Clever ruse, or huge mistake?

2005-03-23T20:01:00.000-08:00

Today's quote: I smoke, I snort, I've killed and robbed, I'm a man.

Just thought it was funny. I heard on the radio this morning how they'd somehow messed up the numbers for calling in and voting last night, so they're having to redo the voting tonight, and then hold the result show tomorrow night. It's all very fishy to me. Either someone was really stupid and lost their job over this, or this was a cleverly engineered ploy to gain more airspace for the hottest show on television. Hm, I wonder which?

I have to agree with Professor Yin on his assessment of the Idols. My favorite pick, Mario, is gone and I'm very sad. He was hot and could sing! The total package. I bet he can dance too, which would make him an ultimate triple threat. I just hope that Mikalah gets voted off. She seems like a sweet gal, but I just can't stand hearing that girl speak. Otherwise, I was not very impressed with anyone. I liked Vonzell's song pretty well, and Anwar's (wow Chaka Khan), but for the first time I didn't like Nadia's pick. The song was the wrong range for her, and it was just blah for me. I'm waiting for someone to put on the performance of the season. Last season it was Fantasia's rendition of Summertime, and the first season it was Kelly Clarkson's rendition of Walk On By (IMO even though the judges didn't like it).

I wish they would bring back Fame, the new show, which ran about 1-2 years ago sometime in the summer (?), did anyone see it? It was singing, dancing, and performing. I'd say that the suckiest singer on that show could kick some serious ass on American Idol. I'm still of the opinion they should put real singers into a show like American Idol. How quick do you think Britney Spears would get voted off?

This reminds me, I'm debating whether to sign up for Lawlawpalooza. I still think there should be an acappella group from the school.