Fear & Loathing in Washington DC

As your attorney I advise you to watch Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas at least twice. It makes much more sense the second time. Of course, you can't really watch it sober. It's kinda boring sober, but when you're drunk it's funny as hell. Plus this movie would never make sense if you had no idea who Hunter Thompson was.

As your attorney I also would suggest this movie as a way to deter children from trying drugs. I'm not sure that anyone would want to try acid or LSD after watching this movie. It obviously was not the purpose of this movie since Hunter Thompson enjoyed an abundance of drugs throughout his life. Yet all the same it is a deterrent.

This movie does make me wonder what my mother lived through in the 60s & 70s. How many of my relatives have had psychedelic drug trips? Did everyone in the 70s act like this?

If for any reason this blog suddenly doesn't make any sense it's because I have a bad heart and need my medication right away!!

We're All Going to Hell

Now, I've been saying for years that either I'm going to hell or the people around me are. Finally there is a test to prove it! Dante's Inferno Test will tell you what level of hell you are destined to be sent to. FYI, I am going to end up in Level 6, City of Dis. So are you sinners out there worse off than me? Take the test and find out if we're going to be neighbors in the after-life!

I Knew It Was Going to Come to This One Day...

Law school has officially made me an alcoholic. Today I blasted through 3 hours of a Property exam and what did I want to do when I was done? Get a drink. I also wanted a drink yesterday when I was attempting to fall asleep last night and not worry about school, work, or my crazy family. [which by the way, always finds someway to add stress to my life when I need it the least. Honestly, can't you people screw up your lives in like 2 weeks when finals are over? Then I will be more adept at solving your problems. Just give me two weeks!]

So I resisted yesterday and today during dinner, although it was very tempting to try the "special lebanese wine." And now I am just a weak person, I gave in. I should be reading/outlining/reviewing Constitutional Law but instead I am watching TV and drinking away so I can hopefully fall asleep within the next hour. Apparently I am an alcoholic with self-restraint. We'll see how long that lasts.

At Least Someone Thinks I'm Smart

So, today I was told that "you've got the brains for the job" as a way of bribing me into taking on more responsibility at my lovely retail job. So after some training and approval by someone I've never met, I may just be the next "Sales Supervisor." Isn't that exciting? Of course I only said I'd do it because it comes with a pay raise, which will mean that I may actually make more than a pizza delivery guy, unlike now.

So of course I have to be careful what I say on this blog now, since you can get fired for what you say on your blog about your employer!!

I Am Not Getting Enough for my $50,000 a Year

Why is it that I have to learn about once in a lifetime opportunities that I've missed from MSNBC instead of from the law school that I pay entirely too much tuition for?

Three Supreme Court justices were at the National Archives last night and there was an audience. First, how in the world do I get invited to these things? Second, why isn't the law school doing a better job of getting us invited to these things? Have I mentioned that the Archives is exactly 20 minutes from where I live? Have I also mentioned that not once in almost a year of living here have I seen anyone famous besides Dick Gephardt? I am disappointed, it should be easier to go see a Supreme Court argument, or get to see one of them speak somewhere. I mean c'mon, Scalia & Breyer took a trip to American's law school. GW's campus is much closer! [and I'm paying a lot more money than the kids at American, have I mentioned that lately?]

So now it is my goal to see a Supreme Court justice sometime this summer. I'm going to have some free time, I'm just going to start stalking them. Who should I start with? Kennedy? Breyer? Scalia? I'm definitely not interested in Thomas or Ginsburg, too boring. And Rehnquist isn't much good to anyone these days. I'm not sure Stevens or O'Connor could say anything in less than 1,000 words. I know there's another guy on the bench... what the heck is his name? Guess he's not too important.

Save Phil!

According to CNN, Republicans are out to get the fillibuster. The Democrats are wisely threatening to fillibuster two of the president's conservative choices for federal judge positions. Of course, now the Republicans are threatening to change the rules so that fillibusters can't be used to block judicial nominations, they want the nominations to be approved by a yes or no vote, which would let judicial nominees squeak through with a majority vote.

While I agree that a yes or no vote seems more civilized than reading the phone book for hours on end or standing at the podium attacking a judicial nominee on every little thing they've done, I think we should have some respect for a time honored tradition. The fillibuster is something every high schooler learns about and dreams of one day accomplishing. Just listening to yourself talk for hours on end, not letting anyone interrupt. A person could really get some ideas out there.

Besides, once the Republicans figure out they can change the rules don't you think that would lead to mass chaos? Pretty soon Tom DeLay's face will be stamped on our currency and Bill Frist's picture will be on every waiver you sign saying you can never sue a doctor. Then we'll have Alberto Gonzales personally review every immigration application so he can find the terrorists. Ah, the perfect world is so close, yet so far...

Tom DeLay is an Idiot

Can you believe people like this run our country?

"Absolutely. We've got Justice Kennedy writing decisions based upon international law, not the Constitution of the United States? That's just outrageous," DeLay told Fox News Radio on Tuesday. "And not only that, but he said in session that he does his own research on the Internet? That is just incredibly outrageous."

What the heck is DeLay trying to say? Judges shouldn't do their own research? The internet is evil? Somehow what other countries do isn't relevant to the way our country runs?

It gets better: "The judiciary has become so activist and so isolated from the American people that it's our job to do that" [hold the judiciary responsible for their actions]

So, what you're saying is that Congress isn't isolated from the American people? What's even better is that DeLay wants to start impeaching justices & federal judges based on the "good behavior" clause.

Let's review Tom DeLay's "good behavior":

• Travel with a lobbyist whose clients may have paid for the Texas Republican's foreign travel on several occasions.
• The House ethics committee admonished DeLay last year on three separate issues but did not find that he violated House rules.
• A district attorney in Texas is investigating potentially illegal corporate contributions to a Texas political committee started by DeLay.
• On August 30, 2001, Tom DeLay, his wife, his staff and two Florida Republican House members arrived in Malaysia on what was billed as an educational trip. Problem is, no one can remember who paid for the trip, was it The Heritage Foundation? Or was it a for profit Hong Kong corporation?

Perhaps Tom DeLay should remember the cliche: Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones.

Somehow I don't think that doing your own research and using international law rises to the level of impeachable behavior exhibited by DeLay on a daily basis. Maybe someone (besides the impotent House Ethics Committee) should check into whether DeLay is on "good behavior."

Last Day of School!!!

So it's 4/20 and I'm not spending it celebrating National Pothead Day, but I am celebrating making it through 10 months of hell. Today was officially the last day of classes. So, I essentially made it through the first year of law school without any major scrapes or embarrassing moments. Now as long as I make it through the next two weeks of exams, I should be fine, right? Then I can just happily get on with my life, for 3 months until the torture starts all over again.

So what have I learned in a year? Let's recap:

Civil Procedure is boring, read the rules, you'll figure it out. Read the rules so you don't get sued for malpractice. Read the rules, that's what the exam is on. Read the rules.

Criminal Law was a waste of time. I learned more watching Law & Order.

Torts, what can I say about torts? Making us take that class with Banzhaf was a tort in itself, I think I have a valid claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress, assault and false imprisonment. What would my damages be? What would the COASE Theorem tell you about my claim?

Contracts is about Sponge Bob Square Pants and chicken. All contracts in every situation boil down to two issues, what cartoon character are the parties more like and what kind of chicken are you trying to push on me?

Property was useful, now I can tell my landlord to go screw themselves, I'm claiming constructive eviction, rent abatement and breach of implied warranty of habitability. I'm sure that if my landlord wasn't a faceless corporation, they would be scared of me now.

Constitutional Law, ah the great document that created our country and governs the way we live our lives. Too bad the interpretation of it has been left to a bunch of old white men who don't care about the impact of their selfishness on the rest of the country.

OK so that's what I think I learned in class, what have I learned about life?

Law school is like high school, it's a bunch of cliques, only with beer, therefore it's like high school with fraternities.

Grades don't matter, however sleeping with Skills Board Members will definitely get you a coveted spot on Moot Court or Mock Trial.

The people that you hated in high school and undergrad now go to law school, you will never escape from the jocks, the geeks or the princesses. They will haunt you for the rest of your life.

I guess that isn't so much about life than it is about law school, but you get the point, pathetically, law school is my life now. Help me.

Star Wars Episode III

May 19, 2005 is exactly one month away and it is a very important day!!!

Not only because it is Really Big In Europe's birthday, but because the new Star Wars movie comes out! You can check out the excellent trailer here. I am only disappointed by one thing so far, I can't get Star Wars ring tones on my phone because I don't have Cingular. Other than that I am gearing up to wait in line for midnight showing tickets and to be a complete dork and see it about 10 times the first week it is out.

So all you other dorks out there, let me know when & where we want to go to see this movie. I'm ready! And May the Force be With You!

The Acting on Law & Order Sucks

So here I am, happily outlining and watching Law & Order SVU, until I become so distracted by the bad acting that I have to tell someone. So far, in 30 minutes a cop was shot, accused of shooting a bystander, had surgery, had his name cleared, recovered from surgery, met his estranged son, is accused of being a dirty cop, finds a missing crack whore who turned in her boss, who then had her killed, lets the crack whore's mother know she's dead, mother still mad at him, turns out crack whore had a kid right before she died. Explain to me why so much has to be involved in one episode?? They could have developed each of these plot lines into one episode a piece. There's about 3 good episodes there with an opportunity for character development and real plot points. The amount of stuff that they crammed into one episode so far is absolutely ridiculous. Now they're talking about the history of Potter's Field. Give me a break. Now all the sudden they know that the kid is a boy... I am terribly confused. And if Ice Cube [Ice Tea? what ever the heck his name is] says "Moms" one more time I might puke. Oh and now... the dead girl's mother isn't mad at him anymore... he's going to find her grandson. Also, his acting has gone totally down the tubes, he hasn't said one sentence longer than 5 words.

I think I might have to write a letter to Law & Order and let them know they need to fire their writers. The TV viewing audience doesn't have that short of an attention span that you have to cram 5 episodes into one.

What Does Your T-Shirt Say About You?

I will readily admit that I own a number of not so politically correct shirts and I will wear them in public. But the shirt that I saw today made me wonder what other people think of me when I wear them!

There was a woman on the Metro today wearing a black t-shirt that stated in bold white letters, I may not be Ms. Right, but I'll fuck you until she shows up.

Add to this picture the fact that the woman was about 40, wearing a very large gold cross on her necklace and carrying a single peach rose. I kid you not.

Of course, being the judgmental type of person I am I assumed she was wearing the shirt for shock value. Somehow it is difficult for me to reconcile her large display of faith and the philosophy being espoused by her shirt. She obviously was unaware of the conflict. This of course made me realize that other people must judge me when I wear t-shirts that state something like "I'm just one big fucking ray of sunshine aren't I?" or "We could mate, but then I'd have to kill you" [there's a picture of a black widow spider on that shirt, get it?]. What about "Kiss me, I'm tattooed"? or "I'm not ignoring you, you're just insignificant"?

As you can see from the short list above, I have a couple weeks of "fun" t-shirts, including many concert t-shirts that imply all types of things, as concert t-shirts are prone to do.

So I ask you, would you judge me or have you judged me in the past based on a brazen statement my t-shirt made?

So Much To Catch Up On!

Ok, so I've slacked off and haven't posted in a week, but I have a really good reason or two! I promise!

Excuse #1: Mock Trial: Once again, I put a lot of time and effort into something related to law school and failed miserably. I have now officially learned my lesson, I will be happy just being a B student and I'm going to have a lot of fun in my free time since I won't have an extracurricular activities to worry about!

Excuse #2: Complications: The BF was here this weekend and he doesn't know about this blog! Shhh... it's a secret!

Excuse #3: My OCD: Failed attempts at studying all week just lead to my apartment getting really messy. Which led to me cleaning it, only to trash it again this weekend when I didn't have 30 seconds to think much less clean.

Excuse #4: Spring is here: The weather is beautiful, so I've been spending a lot of time outside, where there isn't any internet!

Excuse #5: Apartment hunting: After seeing the first place with a "little" water in the basement [read standing water, a puddle really] the place we saw today was really nice! I can have my grill, and do a little gardening. Ah the simple things in life.

Excuse #6: End of School: Finals are next week so I have started to buckle down, well really I've just been thinking about it and have decided that it might be a good idea if I got around to outlining and studying.

Excuse #7: Gift for our Dean's Fellow: Why am I always in charge of the group gift? Honestly, it never works out for the person who has to go get it, wrap it, and then present it. [P.S. You still owe me $10, you know who you are]

Excuse #8: Work: So, since I'm staying here for the summer, I need to work a lot to pay rent in the ridiculously overpriced city I live in. I have officially caved in and told my crappy retail job that I would work full time once finals were over. I am sure this will lead to many posts about how much I hate my job.

That's about it, I only have 8 excuses, I was going for 10, but I ran out! I'm sure there are s'more reasons why I can't get anything done, but obviously spending time blogging is one of them!

Summer '05

Oh boy have we got plans!

Summer '05 is coming up and as soon as I find a place to live we are going out to have fun.

Here are some of my goals for Summer '05

• Actually walk through Georgetown
• Eat at Ben's Chili Bowl
• Visit the National Gallery of Art, the Spy Museum and some other Smithsonian museums
• Get to the top of the Washington Monument
• Visit Mt. Vernon
• Visit Monticello
• Walk around Adams Morgan
• Sit and people watch in Crystal City while I eat half priced hamburgers
• Eat seafood on the waterfront
• Go to Ocean City
• Take a trip to Philadephia
• Have a party, with margaritas

I know there's a ton more stuff to do here this summer... so I'm sure I will add to this as I think of it, but I plan on jumping on this list as soon as finals are over... did you hear that the rest of you involved in Summer '05? RIGHT AFTER FINALS ARE OVER!!

Today's Complaint...

May it please the Court... go to hell. Warning! This post may sound very disgruntled and self promoting.

So Moot Court competition Round 2 today. Great fun, I was prepared, I got up early, I remembered to eat something this time. Then I got the judges from Looneyville. Everything went fine during my argument. Then it came to feedback time. Crazy judge #1 said I didn't refer to case law enough, apparently he didn't hear me say "The Supreme Court has held" about every other sentence. Then he didn't understand the point of my rebuttal, apparently "This case is about the constitutional right to a fair trial and the right to confrontation that is inextricably tied to that." wasn't very clear. Nor was I clear when I said" the government focuses on the jury being able to make a discriminating appraisal of the witnesses credibility, however, that simply is not the case. The jury in Ms. Sinclair's case was never able to make an educated decision about the witness' credibility or bias since cross-examination was limited." Even better, crazy judge #2 said I had good poise, and that it was amazing that I was calm, but I was too calm because during my rebuttal I had my hands clasped behind my back. That is too relaxed. Next time I will just talk with my hands and reach out and smack the judges when they ask stupid questions!!! Needless to say that after I waited around 2 1/2 hours I found out I didn't make it to Round #3. Oddly enough, I think getting booted in Round #2 is the worse. At least if you were out after Round #1 you had a free Sunday, getting booted after Round #3 wouldn't be bad either, at least you had a chance to make it to the end, you were in the top 20% of people competiting. Getting booted after Round #2 made me take a day off from work, waste more than half my day at school waiting for results on who moves on, then finding out that a bunch of people who I have no respect for made it to Round #3.

WTF is going on here? I would also like to note that when the list of people that make the Board comes out tomorrow I am going to be pissed. While I realize that making Moot Court is not the most important thing in the world, it is just about the only thing I have right now. I've got crappy grades, no summer job, no chance at getting on journal, and now no Moot Court. So all my hopes are hinging on Mock Trial next weekend, which should be fun, considering that I haven't taken evidence and I just wrote my questions tonight for cross-examination. Just give me something to put on a resume, or I'm going to have to start lying. I really may end up with a major in "Science" if it will help me get a job.

Also, congrats V on making it to Round 3, I know you will make it on the Board!!

Waiting Is So Much Fun....

So here I am, patiently waiting to find out if I've made it to Round 2 of Moot Court Competition. Am I doing anything productive? Absolutely not. I've called and complained to two people about the ridiculous judges I had yesterday. Rationalized to myself that it doesn't really matter if I make it on the Moot Court Board or not. Left a message for a friend or two to call me back because I don't feel like studying. Checked for more available apartments [more about this later... word to the wise, DO NOT rent from Charles E. Smith]. Kinda cleaned my room, but not very well. Read the Washington Post online. Read the NY Times online. Read all the rules and grading sheets for Moot Court Competition. Thought about starting to work on Mock Trial, but I'm not really motivated to do that either.

And so, here I remain waiting.... with so many better things to do, just not enough ambition.

Stupid Moot Court...

So, I argued the first round of Moot Court today. Great fun, let me tell you. The judges had no questions and had no idea about the facts of the cases. WTF is going on here?? They should at least know the basic facts of the case before they ask you the difference between the witness' and the defendant's credibility. {note: defendant did not testify, therefore no determination about her credibility could be made} Stupid judges. So essentially I finished my argument with 5 minutes to spare and my rebuttal with 1 minute to spare (it was only 2 minutes anyways). Stupid Moot Court.... who wants to be on it anyways? (me!!!) Also, the judges thought I was too quiet! Now, when have I ever been accused of being quiet? I am NOT a quiet person. You all know this and I know this. Maybe the judges just have hearing problems.

There Has to be Something Else Going on in the World

OK, this is going to make me sound jaded, and I am definitely going to hell for this but....

There is other news besides the stupid dead pope!

C'mon people, the guy is dead, pay your respects and bury him. Does every newscast and every news website have to be devoted to him?

Don't you realize that other things are going on? For instance:

30 people were killed in a massacre in Rio de Janeiro. The suspects are quite possibly police that are disgruntled some of their own were arrested for dumping two bodies. BTW, Rio de Janeiro has one of the world's highest murder rates... perhaps due to the fact that agents of the government keep killing the citizens....

146 people have died from an Ebola like outbreak in Angola....

A librarian at Harvard lost her law suit that claimed she was passed over for promotions because she was just a pretty girl.... (she's 40, can you still be a pretty girl at that age?)

Kyrgyzstan's leader has resigned, finally.

Canadians are still hunting seals, and instead of humanely killing them, they club them over the head and while many are still alive, skin them. Damn Canadians... what is wrong with these people?

Yitzhak Rabin's grave has been defaced, along with other gravesites of famous Israeli figures.

Last but not least...
The "Royal" Wedding has been postponed to accomodate the pope's funeral. Why do they call Camilla "Mrs. Parker Bowles"? Really, she isn't a "Mrs" but she will be again on Saturday!

So Many Things Happen Over the Weekend...

Murder in Friendship Heights...

I went to a murder mystery dinner Saturday, it was really fun! We each had to dress up like a character from a different decade, lucky me I was Polly Ester Pance (from the 70's obviously). Thank goodness I have a horrible polyester outfit that I have left over from attending the World's Largest Disco! The best part was trying not to laugh when everyone was accusing every one else of either being a whore or a murderer....

The Pope died...

So the Pope died, so did Frank Perdue! We should mourn them both.

[Insert moment of silence here]

Daylight Savings?!?

After getting home from the above mentioned party Saturday night, I noticed my calendar said Daylight Savings was today. But I couldn't remember if that meant change your change your clock Saturday night or Sunday night!!! So I called my wise friend over at Really Big In Europe, unfortunately, she didn't pick up her phone, nor did she call me back!! She must be really busy researching for the next post on her blog.... which should be coming sometime soon, right?? Moral of the story: change your clocks Saturday night, don't rely on your cell phone for the correct time, and always have an outfit you can wear to work that doesn't need to be ironed, so that when you get up an hour late you can get showered and dressed in a half an hour!

I work with some of the stupidest people...
So, being Daylight Savings and all, a bunch of people showed up an hour late today. On top of that, I spent the day explaining to customers why the small Asian girl had no clue what she was talking about or why she was overcharging them. Excellent customer service.

I was offered a job, to work for free...
...and I think I'm going to turn it down. It sounds interesting, researching reporter's privilege, but I really cannot afford to work for free. I am a full time student, with the responsibilities of someone who works full time, car payment, insurance, rent, credit card... Working for free is not going to help my credit report. So now I just have to wait for the official e-mail offering me the job so I can turn it down, and laugh, and hope that I find a job that pays....

That was my weekend, in a nutshell... not terribly interesting... but definitely more interesting than my next two weekends. Moot Court and Mock Trial and potentially baseball, have I mentioned how much I loooove baseball? (not.)

Happy Hour

I just have to say that I miss the days of happy hour. That was one of the best parts about working full time. You could just go out after work, you didn't have to move your car, you could just walk to the bar. Inevitably it was pay day so you had some cash in your pocket and you were ready to drink away the stress from the week before.

Somehow, going to happy hour when you are a student is not the same. You aren't dressing like a whore to go to work because you know you are going out afterwards. No 40-something guys are buying you drinks because of the way you are dressed.

Happy hour was a time to relax and realize that you like the people you work with, no matter how shitty your job was. Happy hour was the perfect way to take advantage of those people who leer at you when you are walking to lunch. Happy hour was the best time to sit back and relax with a martini and still you were home early enough to get a good night's sleep, so you could go to work on Saturday (yes, I worked 7 days a week, I know I'm crazy).

While I enjoy going out with my law school friends (BTW L, V, and J you are all bums for blowing us off tonight) somehow it just isn't the same as going out and getting plastered after work. School is almost relaxing (and obviously no pay days, so not much cash in my pocket right now, also, where the heck are all the old guys I can prey on for free drinks?)

I guess I'll just have to wait 2 years until I get that lucrative firm job and then I can head back to the martini drinking crowd and the old guys buying me drinks...

For now, I lament the loss of the "true" Happy Hour.