I Have a (Good) Problem

My problem is too much free time. Not right now; actually, I'm ridiculously busy these days.

But in October, HLS has a week known as "fly-out week." There are no classes for 2Ls and 3Ls because we are all expected to fly off to interviews for firms during the time. But I don't think I'll have any need to go fly to interviews (I'm only interviewing with one firm).

So the question is: what do I do with myself? All of my school friends will be gone, so sticking around here doesn't sound too fun. But I don't want to spend a lot of money travelling off somewhere. I could take a trip to somewhere nearby, but I don't really like the idea of doing that by myself either; I prefer travelling companions. I'm sure I'll come up with something (or, more likely, I'll end up spending the week holed up in bed watching dvds all day).

What would you do if you had one free week?

I could tell you all about all the gunk I have to do in the next few days, but I don't feel like thinking about it, let alone writing about it.

Not Much Going On

Let's see....After getting my voice back, I developed a cough that is *finally* going away. So I'm happy about that. Other than that, life pretty much just keeps chugging along. I'm pretty happy with my classes overall.

My Cyberlaw class is particularly unusual. I'm in the midst of an assignment in which we have to use this new program to create a simple computer game. Mine is basically PacMan with a mouth and some gummy bears. But it's actually fairly challenging to figure out how to do anything cuz there are very few instructions.

Today, I had lunch with a friend of a friend. He recently transferred here from UC Davis. I always like meeting new people, and he was especially cool, so I had a great time. We stopped by the stationary store after lunch, and he convinced me to order some personalized notecards. This is "notable" (sorry, pun intended) because that happens to be #23 on my list of goals. So it was both an enjoyable AND a productive lunch today.

I start my Spanish class next week. I'm really looking forward to getting back in practice. But I'm a little worried cuz I'm starting to feel somewhat busy. Ah, well, such is life...

Improving (?)

Well, the voice is pretty much normal now. But as the voice improved, the slight cough I had became worse. It's still around, though I keep hoping it'll disappear soon. I'm going in for allergy shots later this month, which might solve such problems. We'll see.

I've crossed a couple more things off that list of goals. This week, I met with Professor Minow to discuss the paper I'll be writing. She gave me some exciting ideas. I am really looking forward to working with her on this. So we can mark #33 accomplished. I also straight ironed my hair this week, but it was so rainy and humid that it barely lasted half the day. Whatever; mission accomplished. I'm officially done with #17, although I might try it again sometime just for kicks.

Basically, life continues on without much excitement. I've gone out a little, met some cool new people. Been feeling kinda lonely lately. My closest friends at the law school have time to hang out much these days. I just wish there was one person I could call up anytime....Oh well, it's probably good for my academic situation.

Hmm, bedtime methinks. Either that or time for another Veronica Mars episode.

Good News

After over 3 days of whispering, my voice is now merely a rasp--quite an improvement. I'm hoping maybe it will be normal by tomorrow (fingers crossed!). I can't describe how depressing it is not to be able to talk to anyone, especially with all the stress of job gunk I'm experiencing. So I'm very happy to (apparently) be on the mend.

The other good news is that I have completed #16 on my list: be one week ahead on the reading for at least one class. Well, it was mostly just good luck. I completed all the reading for my seminar today only to go to class and have the instructor say that we wouldn't deal with the readings til next week. Hurray! But I want to give myself the credit I believe I deserve. For once, I've actually done a good job of staying on top of my readings in every class. Sure it's only the first week, and I don't expect my diligence to last. But at least I'm a little bit ahead in every single course right now. Pat on the back for me.

And as my reward, I'm gonna go make some hot chocolate, pop in my Veronica Mars dvd (I love that show, so I just bought Season 1) and then go to bed.

Is it Quiet in Here, or Is it Just Me?

I think it's just me. I lost my voice last night. And it's not like I even just have a hoarse rasp. Nope; I can barely manage even a whisper. If my voice doesn't return soon, it should make my small, discussion-focused Monday morning class pretty interesting. I had to email the prof for that class today anyways, so I gave him a little advanced warning.

Um, other noteworthy aspects of my life? I saw Shakira in concert on Tuesday. It was AWESOME! (I think yelling is okay on here right now cuz it makes up for my absence of actual noise). And in other coolness, Professor Martha Minow (in my view possibly the awesomest prof on this campus) agreed to supervise the paper I'm writing this year for the writing requirement. I'm meeting with her on Thursday, when I absolutely MUST (yelling again) be able to speak.

I feel like Silent Bob.

Churning Through

My room no longer looks like the inside of a U-Haul or the contents of a shopping cart. I'm fully unpacked, and I finally got around to both grocery shopping AND putting away the groceries. With the basics accomplished, I've turned my attention to the luxuries like room decor. This area poses problems for me because I am: 1) lazy, 2) cheap, 3) tired of dorm-style posters or tacked-up pictures, and 4) living in an ugly room that has walls that are almost impossible to stick anything on without a drill.

But I'm proud to say that I've accomplished #34 on my list of things to do this year: I created some "art" for my walls. The "art," and I use the term loosely, consists of old shirts I was going to toss out taped over 3 cardboard rectangles. The fabric from the shirts was nice (velour, silk), and I actually really like the results. I stuck them on the wall with double-sided, heavy duty mounting tape. I still have one empty wall. Don't know what I'll do there.

Future plans for the room include buying and hanging curtains to cover the disgusting blinds. This is a challenge because I can't install a rod. I considered a spring-loaded rod, but the window is so wide it would be really expensive. So I'm gonna try hanging some wire. I'll keep you updated on my attempts.

Also in the category of "you can cross it off my list" is lucky #13: buying a jewelry organizer. Actually, it's just an earring organizer, but I think it will be very helpful. It may also prove to be a temptation because it holds up to 120 pairs of earrings. I must remind myself that I don't have to fill it up.

And I'm in progress on #20: skipping soda for a month. I was a little tempted to cheat this afternoon cuz there was a bbq outside with only soda for options. But the truth is, I don't really like soda; I think I just drink it out of habit. So I'm gonna do my best to break the habit.

No Vegas Wedding This Year

My favorite question from the HLS financial aid department's summer employment form: "Will you be getting married anytime during the 2006-2007 academic year?" Um, not planning on it, but I like having my options open. I guess there's no elopement for me now: I checked "no." Do we think that's legally binding?

Why am I awake at 6:30 am? It would only be 3:30 in California. Isn't jet lag supposed to kick in sometime here?

Yesterday, in addition to unpacking all the stuff I brought with me and all the stuff in storage, I decided to take the plunge and go buy my textbooks. I went to the bookstore ready to spend the usual $400 or so. Turns out I have 1 book this semester. And it's not even a big casebook. It's the size of a medium-length novel. Don't worry Mom; I am taking real classes. They just have lots of printed out readings. So my total cost for textbooks this semester: $10.34.

Speaking of my classes, I'm somewhat excited about them: Legal History-Race Relations Law pre-Civil War; Human Rights & the Environment seminar; Cyberlaw; and Advanced Criminal Procedure. And I don't care what anyone says, I think my seminar will be enjoyable (there are a few killjoys out there who want me to believe that I will get tired of hearing my classmates' opinions all semester, but I remain optimistic).

I'm also hoping to write my required paper this year, which will be 2 more units. This semester, I believe that I will only have papers; no finals. Again, some folks keep insisting that this is a bad thing, but I think it will be fun. I've just got to work early on the papers to avoid an end of the semester crunch.

I'm meeting all the new 1Ls on my floor and in my building. Ah, it takes me back... My floor also has a large number of L.L.M.s (people getting advanced degrees in law, at HLS they are almost always from other countries), so my floor is like the United Nations. I love it. There are folks from England, Ireland, Taiwan, China, Sweden... Awesome. It's like traveling the world just walking towards the bathroom.