Blog

my east coast twin

2008-03-02T23:35:00.002-06:00

i know i haven't been writing and there is SO MUCH to write about. but i'm tired and i start co-op tomorrow so this is it. the past week i have felt like i am two places at once. thinking about my day has literally been, what did i do here, and what did i do in boston. and, no surprises here, this is due to polo. my team had their first tournament this weekend while i flew out to california. it's been hectic. my west coast self has settled in, gone on a crazy bike ride all around the city (so i can be nice and sore tomorrow), and managed to NOT get lost on public transportation. meanwhile my east coast self has been through practice drama and four polo games. at this point in time i've heard six different versions of the weekend, and somehow i must synthesize from this what actually happened and how to proceed. oy. no one tells how time consuming leading a double life is.

a buffy sampler

2008-02-28T17:51:00.003-06:00

the last week has been insane, finishing finals, surprise stay in boston, returning home, and obsessing over polo from a thousand miles away. i'm still "coaching" by writing them practices and getting feedback on how things are going. last night after a somewhat rough practice i ended up on speaker with several of my players. i guess the conversation continued after i went because my goalie emailed me the next day after learning that i am a buffy fan. the subsequent email exchange lead me to spend today watching one episode from each season as i packed. this means nothing to anyone else, but i find it interesting

season 1 - nightmares - what happens when your nightmares become reality
season 2 - innocence - an episode i normally wouldn't watch, i don't know why i never found the buffy/angel melodrama as romantic as other people
season 3 - doppelgangland - haha, willow's evil twin (so to speak)
season 4 - restless - one of my all time favorites, fantastically imagined dream sequences that perfectly capture the main characters
season 5 - weight of the world - another very psychological episode, going into buffy's mind
season 6 - once more with feeling - best episode ever and requested viewing by my goalie, it's the musical episode!
season 7 - conversations with dead people - a very different kind of episode, done in real time, several characters in different locations have encounters that bring about revelations

all great episodes. and going through each season there are at least a dozen other episodes i really want to re-watch again. makes me sad (again) to be gone from boston. i would have had someone to geek out to over buffy.

inspiration

2008-02-21T16:17:00.003-06:00

so you haven't heard from me because i have been losing my mind with finals and such. at this point i am down to one remaining final tomorrow morning. i should be studying now but i just can't get worked up because i'm tired of studying and this is the class i felt the most confident in all term. so instead i'm writing my farewell speech for my water polo girls. tomorrow night will be my last practice and i want to leave them with words of inspiration.

which got me thinking about great inspiring speeches i have heard. two come to mind. the first was the graudate student counsil president at my undergrad graduation. his speech was witty, captured the feel of the experience, perfectly delivered, and left me wanting to change the world. i even printed the speech shortly after graduation just so i could always have it. to be honest, i think it's better every time.

the second truly inspiring speech i've ever heard was the alumni speaker that the americorps graduation in 2007. even though this was two years after my americorps graduation, she was able to perfectly nail the essence of the experience, and again, left me feeling as though i would change the world. i was so taken by this speech that i actually approached her afterwards to request a copy, which she happily gave.

kind of cool when someone can touch you so deeply with words. anyone out there had any experiences of great speeches that really spoke to you?

tragedy from afar

2008-02-11T11:24:00.000-06:00

have you ever learned sad news in a completely random way? it really throws you. this weekend i was taking a studying break and wiki-surfing. on a whim i looked up my hometown and there was an entry regarding a city council shoot-out. turns out on thursday, this guy who had been cited for about a hundred different zoning and other violations walked into a city council meeting, opened fire and killed five people.

i'm from a very mid-america suburb, and in the past ten years there has been one murder in the area. so to have five (six if you include the gunman who was shot as well) is fairly shocking. the mayor is in critical condition after being shot twice in the head.

even though i don't spend all that much time in kirkwood, at this point in my life it is the only place i can call home. so i find the event deeply troubling. it's hard to see the challenges facing the world, face the fact that even your hometown bubble is struggling with the same challenges, and recognize that no matter where you go life is a struggle and people will suffer for no good reason.

speaking with your hands

2008-02-07T10:31:00.000-06:00

the other day i was studying my hands (i REALLY hadn't understood the reading) and began to wonder what someone would think of me based on my hands. i tend to have a lot of bruises and cuts on my hands from boxing, as well as scars on almost every knuckle. yet i have hands on the small side and thin fingers.

there was a time in high school when i got into palmistry somewhat, and one of the the things i found most interesting was knowing it's not about reading lines but about picking up on cues from your hands about how you interact with the world. it's obvious when you think about it - your hands are after all how one physically interacts with most of the world.

all this lead me to do some additional reading on palmistry and a somewhat shocking revelation. most people have 4 main lines on their hand, the heart line, head line, life line, and fate line. but i am missing the fate line. now this is not totally uncommon, but it's an anomaly all the same, and i feel a bit worried by this. supposedly lacking a fate line indicates a tendency to roam and avoid settling into any pattern. so much for that dream of when i can stop searching for something.

i think if someone had to judge me based solely on my hands they would conclude that i'm someone who is rarely satisfied, and probably holds a lot in. what about you? what would your hands tell a stranger?

sports and politics: not for the first date

2008-02-04T15:07:00.000-06:00

there's a funny kind of camraderie created when you realize you share an unpopular belief with someone else. for instance, a week or so ago several people who were early to class were discussing obama. a friend who sits next to me turned and said, "can you tell me why everyone is so into obama?" EXACTLY my thought. i'm not bothered by him, if he won the democratic nomination i'd be ok, but frankly my vote goes to hillary. it's nice having someone i can talk politics with who agrees that hillary probably is the better leader, and doesn't feel the need to interject some unfounded comment about traveling backwards in time. seriously people.

on a completely different note, most of you know i hold very unpopular views on boston sports teams. and being in boston when the patriots are in the superbowl is a special kind of torture. yesterday i was studying, and in one of my many random conversations with my 1L stalker we realized that we both hate the patriots. again, it was nice to be able to say "i hate the patriots and their fans are overly arrogant" and not have someone threaten me. and can i just say? THRILLED i am that the giants won. my 1L stalker gave me the full breakdown of the game today and it sounds great. and before you get upset, note that i am not thrilled so much that the patriots lost (because honestly, who cares?), but that the underdog wins. such is the nature of sport my friends. in the final battle it matters not what was accomplished before, each is given the same shot at glory. and with that bit fo melodrama, i am off!

plan b

2008-02-02T07:30:00.000-06:00

one of my polo girls mentioned "free running" this week and suggested it was my kind of activity. one of them then sent my a video link and it turns out free running is essentially running through urban settings, jumping/flipping over rails, across rooftops, cars, and up walls. it's pretty sweet and i should pick it up. that got me thinking about all my random activities and suddenly i hit upon the perfect way to put them all to use.

i will be a stuntwoman! it's completely perfect and i'm headed to california in 4 weeks as well. so if this whole "law school" thing doesn't work out, i'm going to hollywood to live off my ability to flip and fall gracefully. haha! screw you career services!

treasures in the snow

2008-01-27T12:06:00.000-06:00

sunday always has, and always will be grocery day. normally this means i bundle up and walk half a mile down to the stop-and-shop. but i looked out the window and it was snowing. plus i needed to get milk, and i didn't feel like carrying it half a mile. so i decided to go to the spanish grocer which is literally, right behind my apt. i actually planned to get milk there and THEN head down to stop-and-shop but after a completely ungraceful fall in the alleyway (thanks people who never cleared the ice and now the snow is covering it!) i decided to make this a one shot for everything.

thus began my most thorough exploration of this small grocery store. i was able to find most things but what is just AWESOME is they have guava cheese. no, it's not cheese, it's essentially candied guava. i just HAD to get some, and of course they have all the sweet breads i just adore as well. so i might be stopping by that little grocer a lot more. probably a good thing it closes at 7 so i can't make too many impulse runs over there.

cool things about my home state

2008-01-26T08:02:00.000-06:00

before my patents class there tend to be really random conversations. like this week when i found myself telling the story of passing a sign for "the world's smallest cathedral" in southern georgia and how badly i wanted to see it. this led someone to google "world's smallest cathedral" and... turns out they were lying! the world's smallest cathedral is ACTUALLY located in my home state of missouri! meaning, i am SO going to see it when i return home, which will be in a mere 4 weeks.

but speaking of the world's smallest cathedral i've decided at some point in my life i am going to break a world record. any suggestions? and what record would you break?

dance-off, bitch

2008-01-24T06:52:00.000-06:00

so my current headache (because, let's be honest, it's always something with me) is this turf war i'm engaged in with the men's polo coach. let me lay this out for you. women's team has been around for over a decade. men's team just started last year. for some retarded reason, we agreed to split our pool time with them. bad idea. i have never come to resent a team so much. the men were unfocused, undisciplined and hugely undermined a lot of the women's training. luckily during our season we managed to kick them out most nights. this season then BU gives "water polo" a bit more pool time. the women and men split in the fall. the men stop training after their season and we resume our two hour practices. now, a week into the term the men claim they need their time.

uh, no.

the men's and women's teams are separate entities. they don't share a coach, pool time, balls, season schedule, essentially nothing of consequence. the men's season is over. the women have had this time for years. years and years before the men's team ever formed. i feel bad (actually, no, i don't) that the men's team was not able to get the amount of time they wanted but tough shit. i'm pissed that the women are losing time to a group that won't be utilizing the time well.

what doubly sucks is i wrote a stunningly persuasive email to the aquatics coordinator laying out my arguments. under any reasonable judge i would win hands down. i have precedent, evidence of bad faith on the men's side, seniority, and a highly reasonable request. but this is an administration, and i will be furious if some administrative bullshit means we are losing time because we have been nice enough to help the men out in the past.

the little things

2008-01-20T13:56:00.000-06:00

listening to my ipod and thinking "damn, this music rocks"

my new voice recorder so i can give myself notes walking to/from polo practice. then listening to the notes on replay and thinking "wow, i sound like i really know what i'm talking about"

the meta-tastic camp of the l word this season

new music. though the songs make me think of ice skating, and i really want to go ice skating now

always second best

2008-01-15T16:55:00.000-06:00

well my co-op decision is official! i have mixed feelings about it right now, but only because i just got confirmation that my top choice did reject me. ouch. however, it occurred to me that i have always gotten my second choice on co-ops, and my co-ops have been incredible. so maybe it's just as well? i don't know. going to california will be incredible for a lot of reasons, i'm just moping my apparent ineptitude to conduct a good face-to-face interview. ugh.

the good news for all of you is this will be the last time (well, for a few months anyway) that i bitch about finding a co-op! now that this mess is done i really need to start doing work for my classes. and polo starts up again tomorrow as well, which will be...a challenge. in a way i'm glad i know i'm leaving because i know i will make better use of the time i have with them. it does suck that i will never see them play. if i could fly back for their tournaments i probably would. but it's just not gonna happen.

out of the abyss...walked a cow

2008-01-12T15:07:00.000-06:00

it has been a super-stressful week here at NUSL. luckily, i'm pretty close to my official decision, and i'm basically using the weekend to justify the decision to myself. but the stress. this was the result of participating in more interviews than any other quarter, and hearing nothing but resounding silence in response. it wasn't so much silence even but a fairly direct, "yeah, we don't want you." it sucked. i seriously wonder what i do in my interviews that is such a turn-off. frustration. but finally, FINALLY i got an offer from a firm in san francisco. it was actually my second choice co-op and the work they are doing there sounds incredible. it's a lot of the same stuff as my last co-op and some really groundbreaking prisoner's rights cases.

this co-op is exciting for a couple reasons.
1. the work sounds incredible and it's just the civil rights stuff i know i enjoy.
2. i get to see if i like firm setting better. and i get paid.
3. san francisco! i've been promising people i'd do a co-op in CA since i started law school. plus i get to keep my tradition of traveling to a different state every quarter.

the slightly bumming factors
1. my top choice was a boston IP firm, and after getting an interview there i felt i had a decent chance of an offer. it would have been nice to try out IP work since i really enjoy patents, and probably would help me to broaden my interests. i'm just disappointed that its a virtual guarantee they have passed over me.
2. going to SF means i'm leaving boston right before the start of polo season. even as i question my ability as a head coach, for the time being i am their only coach, and i also feel quite close with several of the girls. it breaks my heart that i will be leaving them at such a critical time and that this is the last of the time i will have with them.

i'm holding out for confirmation that the boston firm doesn't want me, but i'm 99.8% sure i'm heading to CA in march. so yay for new experiences and knowing i have something (and something i'm legitimately interested in). the only wrinkle is my attachment to my polo team, and the feeling that i'm running away from responsibility.

well THAT was obvious

2008-01-06T13:28:00.000-06:00

i had this very involved dream the other night, which i won't get into except to share the following tidbit i learned today:

To dream that you are skiing, suggests that you are pushing yourself and putting your mental and/or physical ability to the test. You are your own fiercest competitor.

as if the two-day tension headache hadn't clued me in to that one.

the big news is that i heard from all my boston co-op positions the day i got back and have since scheduled interviews with them. i interviewed with my top choice on friday, in what proved to be a marathon interview lasting 4 and a half hours, involving questions from 8 attorneys, and including lunch. it was a little intense for my first face to face co-op interview. i gave more or less the "right" answers but i don't know if they liked me enough to make an offer or not. nothing to do but wait. and get through these last three boston interviews, and maybe hope for some interviews out of state.

happy 2008!

2008-01-02T12:22:00.000-06:00

happy new year! the second day of the year finds me back in boston. again. sigh. perhaps next year will be the lucky one in whch i won't be returning to this cold, gray place again. i had a quiet new year's, which in all honesty is something i kind of prefer. it's kind of a letdown to countdown to the big moment and... oh yeah, nothing really happens. at least i can get up, the sun is shining and say "new day! new year!"

thinking about the year ahead, i have never faced a year with so much uncertainty. not that it's a bad thing, just a bit scary. there is spring co-op - go here or elsewhere, summer is my last academic term, and then fall - last co-op someplace completely random i'm sure. and since i'll be finishing up in november, i've got to start thinking about long-term stuff like where i want to live, and what i want to be doing. not bad, just a bit scary.

so my new year's resolutions thus far:
- stop by career services
- accept uncertainty and trust that i will make it
- see more musicals! (this one inspired by my ongoing buzz from wicked)

life's surprises

2007-12-28T09:10:00.001-06:00

it's with something of shock that i realized today my winter break is well over half way and i have yet to do any of the work i meant to. oops. there have been lots of great moments at home. below are some highlights

- my big gift to my father and sister was tickets to wicked, which we all saw yesterday (ok, it was my gift to me as well). it was INCREDIBLE. i want to capture the way that experience felt and smell it when i'm feeling down. amazing.

- my sister and i got my dad some new fish. yesterday the fattest fish gave birth and instead of two new fish, we now have 18 +/- 2.

- playing disc golf and repeatedly overshooting and being forced to climb down the gorge to retrieve my disc. good thing i've been doing so much climbing at the gym, the side is not only steep, but mud, meaning i literally climbed across the side via tree roots to avoid slipping

merry christmas!

2007-12-25T08:00:00.000-06:00

i have some time to kill before the rest of the family gets up, so here's something short. finish this sentence:

it's not christmas until...

for me the the answer is, "until i've watched it's a wonderful life." which i did last night, so all is right in the world. i've probably seen that movie a hundred times and i still cry at the end. embarrassing revelation time over.

if you are my secret santa who sent me a gift card sans note or identifier, thanks! i love a good mystery.

merry christmas (or happy wintery day) all!

ps

2007-12-22T11:56:00.000-06:00

if you're looking for some way to kill time during the holidays or something to replace the scripted television shows which are ending due to the writer's strike, you should check out the web series quarterlife. it's pretty good, with fairly high production value, about a group of young adults, one of whom is a web vlogger and how that affects their relationships. plus the music is pretty good. webisodes are only about 10 minutes. check out the link on the right

the joys of travel

2007-12-22T09:27:00.000-06:00

well folks i've finally made it home for the holidays. i think this year's travels have earned a spot in my top five nightmarish journeys home.

my story actually begins the day before my travels. while running to catch the bus in the morning my cell phone apparently leapt from my pocket. i had classes all day and thus it was 12 hours later when i arrived home and confirmed that my phone was gone. perhaps i should mention it had been snowing all day, and hence there was about 5 inches of fresh snow on the ground. while i did hunt frantically around my block, it was to no avail. i would have to travel during the busiest time of the year without the benefit of a phone. my flight was at 6am the next morning, so i was splitting a cab with one of my roommates.

problem #1: the cab companies won't answer their phone at 4:30am.
problem #2: you reach a company, call them when no cab shows and they say, "yeah no one has answered our dispatch." thanks for the heads up.
problem #3: you manage to flag down a cab on the street, and he's the ONLY cab driver in the boston area who doesn't know how to get to the airport.
problem #4: you get lost on the way to the airport.

i arrive 35 minutes before my flight leaves.

problem #5: your flight has been canceled.

thankfully i was able to get on another set of flights, re-routed through charlotte. both were delayed close to an hour, but i had a long layover. really if you have to be stranded in an airport though, i recommend the charlotte airport. at that point i was just so glad to be physically removed from boston i almost didn't care.

so now i'm home, rested, and with a new phone. send me your phone number because i've lost all that info. safe travels to you and happy holidays!

semantics or impossibility?

2007-12-19T15:43:00.000-06:00

ponder this:

[blank] is unremarkable.

is the statement valid, invalid, or oxymoronic? wouldn't the essence of being unremarkable be that there is nothing to remark? yet you have just made a remark concerning it's unremarkablity. thus is it even possible to say something is unremarkable? or is the very act of declaring an object unremarkable providing it with some level of remarkability?

miles from home

2007-12-15T09:37:00.000-06:00

one of the attorneys from TCRP sent me some links about TYC, and they include interviews with two of the kids for which i wrote complaints. it's pretty heartbreaking, and i wish i could be there to help as this mess goes forward. check them out at:

http://www.dallasnews.com/s/dws/photography/2007/tyc/
http://www.tycmovie.com/kids/

last saturday the habitat house i worked on in austin was dedicated. i wish i could have been there to see that. i'm also missing my boxing gym. the other day at the gym this guy was working on the bag and i kind of wanted to laugh because it was obvious he had never really boxed. his form was all off and had he been sparring he would have gotten completely knocked around.

basically, i'm missing austin, and not just because of the weather. it's strange how i feel lonelier here in boston, where i know more people. i always feel as though my friendships up here come with so many strings attached, and people are much more inclined to prioritize over other people. perhaps i do that as well. i'm not sure. but austin was the one place i've been where people made me feel that i would be missed.

free time = inane shoe questions

2007-12-14T18:26:00.001-06:00

it's an odd thing to not have polo to take up all my time. i suddenly realize how much time i spend on polo, and how i actually have no life beyond that. sadly, i also spend more time with those girls than anyone else, and subsequently, i feel closer to them. so this next month will be lonely... and of course, after that i need to decide whether or not i am staying for the actual season. in the meantime, there is about a foot of snow here in boston, and i'm trying to find something else upon which to fixate my attention.

not to switch gears or anything, but if i were shoes, i think i would be fuzzy combat boots. what shoe would you be reincarnated as?

world's best dinner guest

2007-12-08T11:59:00.000-06:00

everybody always asks what classes you are taking after beginning a new quarter. i recognize that very few people actually care what i'm taking (particularly those of you not in law school), so to save us all some time, here is the list, followed by the normal person's interpretation of what the class actually does

international human rights: a really kick ass class. i'm going to be writing a paper for this class on human rights and balancing individual and collective rights in public health emergencies.

balancing liberty and security: another really cool seminar i am so glad i got into. mostly concerned with terrorism and the legal basis for addressing that issue.

federal courts: while i'm excited about this class, it is going to be my most difficult of this quarter. about a lot of inane procedural stuff, most of it contradictory.

patent law: one of these things is not like the others. yes, this is my sell-out class, the only one which i'm taking solely to improve my appeal to firms or employers that could actually pay me decent money. that being said, i really enjoy the class thus far, and it's public health implications are really interesting (that is the balancing of allowing monopolies on life-saving drugs or technology vs. open access to the public)

so as you can see, i'm training to become a fantastic dinner guest, well versed in current events and the philosophical discussions surrounding them. now if only i could get my co-op situation nailed down i could actually pay attention and enjoy my classes

fair warning

2007-12-06T18:13:00.000-06:00

"Appellate counsel for both sides have done an outstanding job, resulting in briefs that have been more than ordinarily helpful to the court. The fact remains that the issues are far from enthralling; they demand an almost microscopic examination of dry, lengthy contract documents. As we embark on the resolution of these issues, then, we think it only fair to suggest that the reader might want to be sitting in a comfortable chair, with a cup of strong coffee nearby."

American Guarantee and Liability Ins. Co. v. ADP Marshall, Inc. (CA4/2, Dec. 4, 2007) No. E041182 (Richli, J.).

oh the joy of boston

2007-12-06T12:21:00.000-06:00

it snowed a few nights ago in boston, and the cold, the ice, and stress of being in charge of things is getting to me a bit. making it worse is that my austin friends emailed me this week asking if i'm coming back for the spring. i also just got the notice that the habitat home i was working on is being dedicated this saturday. sigh.

i'm so torn about polo right now. i feel ineffective but part of me wonders if this is just a challenge i am running away from because i'm scared to fail. maybe, as with college events where i was forced to be in charge of things, this could actually help me to step up and show more leadership than i previously had. monday's practice was pretty ugly and i yelled at everyone at the end of practice for lousy passing (and prompty felt TERRIBLE). but then, on wednesday, some of the girls came early and rather than lying around actually got out some balls and practiced their passing on deck. so maybe i am more effective than i think? who knows. one week to figure out where to apply on co-op. and then the holidays will be ruined stressing about if anyone will call me back for an interview. have i mentioned this timing sucks? yeah.

long time gone. but back again.

2007-12-01T16:11:00.000-06:00

so i know it's been forever. quick sum up:

austin was awesome. i felt like i belonged, people asked when i was coming back, and i was incredibly depressed to leave. however, i did set a new single day driving record for myself of 815 miles. Thanksgiving was uneventful, and mostly spent in dread of boston.

now i am in boston, or to be precise, jamaica plain. it is cold, and the first week has been rough. while it promises to get colder hopefully other stuff will improve since my class schedule is sorted and promises to be interesting and i've been able to re-connect with some people. for the time being i AM head coaching water polo and yes, this was not something i wanted to do. my primary source of stress right now is figuring out the next co-op, since i both have a high bar to reach because my previous co-ops have been so good and i also need to make some decisions regarding whether i belong in boston for water polo or elsewhere. any thoughts let me know. and my apologies for disappearing so long!

It all depends on your perspective

2007-11-14T14:57:00.000-06:00

Judge: You are charged with habitual drunkenness. Have you anything to say in your defense?

Defendant: Habitual Thirstiness?

Awesome.

i've got sunshine

2007-10-24T15:50:00.001-05:00

i find it stunning how much a gorgeous day can make everything seem awesome. this has been a great week. i feel decently busy at work and good about the arguments i drafted for our response to summary judgment. i'm going to be spending all saturday outdoors volunteering with a habitat for humanity build and i am SO STOKED. the world just has me in a good place right now. i could be doing more but right now i just want to enjoy the fact that i can sit at my desk with a stupid grin and i don't have to stress out.

ok, so i post about something more than unjustified good moods, check this bit of info out. northeastern law was ranked the second most left-leaning law school in the country by princeton review. northeastern also made the top 25 for most interesting faculty. not bad overall. check out more rankings by clicking title

boston day in texas

2007-10-22T18:04:00.000-05:00

brr. today was cold! it's the first day i've worn long sleeves since being in texas. not only did i wear long sleeves, but every time i went outside i thought about how if i had to do more than walk to my car i really should have worn a sweatshirt. the wind and rain only contributed to the odd feeling that i had actually awakened in boston with my car and co-op.

all of which makes me think about the big scary future. the thing about co-op, especially in a place where you are visiting, is that it's a nice vacation, but you can't get too invested in anything. so you leave with generally good memories of the place and work but that lingering wonder of if the experience really moved you forward in life. that's what i've been struggling with lately. i have enjoyed many of the choices i've made in the past couple years, but are they moving me in the right direction? do i have any direction? in a lot of ways i feel like an overgrown freshman, still thinking it's ok to not know what i'm doing and "explore." but i'm graduating in twelve months. and i still have no more an idea what i really want to do, like long-term, with my life than seven years ago. that thought is even more depressing than today's weather.

when was the last time your vote counted?

2007-10-19T15:34:00.000-05:00

you know what's crazy? we all take for granted that the right to vote in elections is the greatest representation of democracy and regularly ostracize those who voluntarily choose not to exercise that right, and yet, how certain are you that your vote means anything?? admittedly this is an issue only in those elections which are close, but that doesn't make it right. close to 80% of the country now votes using paperless computerized voting machines. these allow individuals to vote on a touch screen and which ostensibly records your vote accurately.

i'm not one of the conspiracy theorist who points to all the links between republican candidates and voting machine manufacturers, however, i do have a healthy distrust of leaving this entirely to technology. exit polls are usually incredibly accurate, but when paperless machines are used exit polls show disparities of 5-10%. the solution is actually pretty easy. use the computerized voting machines, but provide a voter-verified paper ballot in the event that a recount is needed. while more and more states are mandating a paper audit for elections, in texas that is at the whim of the secretary of state. just something to think about. if we really do value the right to vote so much, shouldn't every state have procedures in place to ensure every vote is actually counted? click above for more.

worst list ever

2007-10-17T14:44:00.000-05:00

so most of you are aware that i am a tad obsessed with entertainment weekly. so you can imagine how stoked i was when their feature for today was "top 22 butt-kicking babes" because i've always been into shows and movies with strong ass-kicking women. can i just say? worst list EVER. i mean it. i almost feel insulted that a topic with such great potential has been so thoroughly screwed up. why such disgust you say? well, gentle reader, before plowing through the list i mentally thought up about 8 different characters which i expected to see. not only were less than half on the list, but my picks for top two did not even make said list. before you think i'm on a personal rant just know they had already received over 200 comments ALL of which declare my shared outrage that obvious number one Buffy was not even on the list. seriously, EW, do you even watch entertainment?? with my rant done i've decided on my own list of ass-kickers included for your entertainment below. this is a personal list, just to make myself feel better, so yes some choices are a bit obscure.

1. Buffy
2. Xena
3. Sydney Bristow
Faith
Uma Thurman - Kill Bill
Dark Angel (Jessica Alba)
Lara Croft
Agent Scully (Gillan Anderson)
Trinity - The Matrix
Charlie's Angels
Lucy Diamond
Princess Leia

i feel better now. do you have any ass-kicking favorites that were neglected?

...and it's monday

2007-10-15T17:48:00.000-05:00

sometimes i am so glad i decided to take up boxing while in austin. because, let's face it, sometimes you have to hit things. like when you spend half an hour on the phone with a girl who's been sexually molested by her prison officer, you've listened to her break down in tears over the phone, telling horribly personal details of her life to a complete stranger, and all you want to do is reach through the phone line and give her a hug and then throttle the bastard that has found yet another victim for his sickness and you're so angry and thisclose to tears yourself, and the worst, yes the very worst part about this whole experience is that you know the case probably isn't bad enough to take.

like i said, some days you have to hit things.

livin' on a prayer

2007-10-14T08:08:00.000-05:00

hello folks. welcome to the "halfway there" edition. half is a weird place to be. you can't help starting to think about the next step (returning to boston...) but there is still a substantial amount of time left during which to enjoy the things i can do here. in the spirit of remaining in the moment i've decided to list some of the best thing about being in austin. the next few weeks are all about getting as much of the good stuff in as possible.

dancing on 6th street
disc golf
boxing
driving
zilker park
all-vegetarian restaurants
great music
and soooo much texas pride :)

bring it on!

"you will be tomboy no more!"

2007-10-13T12:16:00.000-05:00

have you ever bought something you knew you didn't need and it was unlikely you'd really use but you felt the salesperson earned it?

i was headed out friday night and since i own a limited number of "going out" tops i decided to head to the mall after work. after finding something suitable i emerged from the store and was unable to avoid eye contact with the guy at the kiosk. slight eye contact was all the encouragement this guy needed. for a moment i thought i would escape quickly after receiving several free soaps, but the situation quickly turned dangerous when he asked if i took care of my nails. i am pretty sure i laughed out loud at this point. he then took a look at my nails and visibly started. following this i was treated to probably a twenty minute lesson in how to buff my nails and make them shiny and healthy.

also learned in the exchange: i look like i'm 18 or 19 years old; i can not identify the smell of nail polish remover (and how should i? i've never needed it); israeli men have cute accents; and most importantly, if you're a tomboy and get cornered by a soap kiosk guy you can probably get two sets for the price of one. after looking this up online i'm convinced i actually did get a good deal. now someone will be receiving a nail buffer set from me. as for this other set, i have an hour to kill, maybe i'll see what my hands look like with all ten nails prepped and shiny :)

5 o'clock get thee to happy hour

2007-10-10T16:18:00.001-05:00

today i got to attend a press conference in front of the texas court of criminal appeals. it was a pretty cool experience, click on the title to read about the case. just one example of why doing civil rights in texas is an entirely different deal than civil rights in say, massachusetts, where this would all be a non-issue.

on an unrelated note i treated myself to leaving early today because this week just couldn't drag any slower. plus i'm frustrated since i started thinking about school again instead of just being on co-op. so i'm off to happy hour(s) aka boxing to hit stuff.

million dollar baby

2007-10-08T22:00:00.000-05:00

after i began at my boxing gym every other person mentioned the movie million dollar baby to me. then one of the trainers at the gym began to simply refer to me as "the million dollar baby," so i figured maybe this was something i should see. i watched it this weekend and if you haven't see the film, it is incredible and heartbreaking (and an oscar winner 2004).

the film really got me thinking about how i could live if something ever happened to me. i've often thought that i'd rather die than be unable to move a large portion of my body. ironically, one of the few times i did not think that was after my knee surgery last year. perhaps it's something about realizing in a lot of ways people limit themselves far more than any physical limitation. i've wandered off here, but my point is, great film. though now i think i need to track down the story upon which the film is based to really understand what the "million dollar baby" nickname truly implies.

weekend

2007-10-07T20:18:00.000-05:00

well y'all, another weekend done gone. overall not bad but it's a tad disheartening that the world outside austin seems to be disappearing from me. with few exceptions i can't seem to get responses from people. whatever.

friday though i finally got a taste for the infamous austin music scene. i saw the white ghost shivers, a group i can only describe as bluegrass married to mariachi and sometimes cheating with big band/swing. it was awesome. there was so much energy from both the group and the crowd.

today i finally met up with the local masters polo. they were excited to see me because they don't have a goalie, but i can't say i really proved myself as a goalie. the masters circuit is somewhat frustrating. ironically i long for what i had in college, a real team and the opportunity to train and gain strength, work on speed. with masters groups you find yourself jumping in without any idea what plays they are used to running and no real chance to build your strength and work on movement. but we'll see if i even stick with it for the next few weeks. the best thing about austin though has been how i've been able to stay so active with boxing and now the opportunity for polo. it really balances out my long work days and provides much needed release from everything.

the best show you're not watching

2007-10-03T22:09:00.000-05:00

i've mentioned before that tina fey is awesome. so i felt a bit bad that i'd never seen 30 rock, at least until this past weekend. i caught a mini-marathon on bravo and the show is as fantastic and fun as you would expect from something created by tina fey. you should all watch! the new season premieres tonight but as with most nbc shows, you can catch it online the next day

click on the title to watch and get more

technical knock out

2007-10-03T14:11:00.000-05:00

howdy all. some good news - the case we submitted the summary judgment motion for is settling. i like to think my powerful writing and piercing legal analysis had something to do with it, but more likely not. the head attorney was pretty happy, but i feel just the teeniest bit of disappointment that we don't get to crush them completely. or at least get a really biting order from the court. oh well. it's not like there isn't ten thousand other things for me to do. which begs the question, why are you writing at work?

well gentle readers. i have been upgraded to my own office. nice? well it's nice not to sit in the middle of things. but i kind of miss the sunlight which filtered through the blinds at my old seat and also the knowledge that people could walk up behind me unannounced. knowing i am the only soul who can see what is on my computer monitor i have been taking a lot more email breaks. email breaks then become website checks because i have no email. well back to it. top chef finale tonight! much like with hell's kitchen everyone knows the somewhat asshole guy will win while cheering for the somewhat ditsy girl.

most. unproductive. day. ever.

2007-10-01T17:47:00.000-05:00

happy october y'all! thank goodness today is over! this was one of those days at work which is both too slow and too fast. that is, i had an "emergency" assignment (meaning: due today) which i could not have been more bored with. plus, my direct supervisor is out of the country and this assignment happens to be for someone in the el paso office, so it's not like i was afraid the attorney would show up behind me with questions.

so what DID i do you ask? well i took a "which hero are you" quiz (i'm claire the indestructible cheerleader! check above to see who you are), i wrote a slew of emails to a number of my water polo girls (more on that later), and i fixed my windshield. to be fair the windshield thing was something the head attorney said he would do weeks ago, i just took forever to pick up the sealant. we were attempting to patch up the massive crack in my windshield. was it effective? meh. but it was better than work.

polo is all at once at the front of my thoughts. i learned via email last night that the coach they lined up was "not as available as they thought." this morning i learned that meant they no longer had a coach. they are looking into some other options but i feel a bit stressed about the whole thing. i miss my girls and coaching like crazy but i could also see myself 1. guilted into doing my spring co-op in boston and being miserable and 2. taking on more than i want with coaching and being terrible. i know i shouldn't worry because i'm not there and won't be for another two months but it's hard because i really do want the best for them. in the interim i've started emailing their new goalies drills and training tips. maybe they will take it to heart and i won't have to unlearn any bad habits. sigh. if my girls could relocate to austin this would hands down be the best experience ever. but then again, if they were in austin i wouldn't have had emails to make today bearable.

Baby's First Motion for Summary Judgment

2007-09-29T13:55:00.000-05:00

technically this depends on if you count legal practice as a "real" motion for summary judgment. but yeah! friday was insane, i think we successfully got everything filed. i'm really proud of the work i did, which actually extends beyond simply writing the damn thing to assembling the appendix of supporting documents. who knew that my role as appendix guru in LCD would come in so handy? wow, you non-law school folks are probably very confused by the above. just nod and smile. there is a better-than-average possibility we could win our case on this.

in other news the owner of the boxing gym invited me to go to a UT women's volleyball game friday night. it was incredible, not only the phenomenal athletes (volleyball players = HOTTTT) but the sheer energy of a crowd who comes to watch games to show school pride, not because they know anyone involved. it was a great game and fun to watch UT win. apparently when UT wins they sing "ides of texas" a song which the best i could tell, no one really knows the words after "the ides of texas" and also sounds vaguely like "she'll be coming round the mountain." but what do i know. (btw, i actually took the time just now to make sure it was indeed ides of texas not eyes or something else. really i don't think anyone actually knows the words.)

to top off my insane friday i went out with some of the people my goalie coach had introduced me to last week (thanks!). i really love the club because i don't feel shy dancing and dancing is an easy substitute for having to talk. plus, i tend to leave with lots of great quotes from drunk people. yay weekends!

Heroes, and other mixed feelings

2007-09-26T17:51:00.000-05:00

So I watched the season premiere of Heroes last night, and as usual it left me with mixed feelings. I adore the show, but oftentimes even its best moments leave me wishing there was a show on television anywhere close to the caliber of Buffy. Probably all of you are laughing (all two of you so whatever), but honestly Buffy was an amazing show filled with meaningful metaphors for life, compelling characters, and writing far superior to anything on television in the past five years. There are aspects of Heroes I find compelling, but storylines are often muddled by too many characters, the writing is frequently sluggish, and it lacks an overall grace and subtlety to the larger points it seeks to make. Granted this is only episode one; and the creators have apparently made some substantial changes this season to format. All the same it leaves me a bit dissatisfied.

I'm sure there are lots of reasons I feel this way. Buffy (and Joss Whedon) will always hold a special place in my heart. It's the first show I ever watched religiously and the only show with which I have ever really strongly identified. Have you ever had a TV show or film which you believed helped make you the person you are today? Am I just a loon? Seriously though, Buffy is easily the singular piece of pop culture that has had the greatest impact on me to date. What's yours?

into the ring

2007-09-24T20:48:00.000-05:00

WOOT. i love my boxing. i felt gross this afternoon (such is what happens when you spend your time researching causes of action for mishandled corpses) but i'm starting to think there isn't any bad feeling you can't sweat out. what made tonight super fun is one of the older guys at the gym got me in the ring to hit the pads. it was cool to have a real target as opposed to the big bag but it also highlighted my inability to tell left from right. oops.

my decathlon

2007-09-23T14:47:00.000-05:00

i was able to catch up with my goalie coach on friday and had a blast out dancing until the wee hours of the morning. i'm satisfied i've had at least one night out at the clubs here.

today i am indulging in laziness. i've also been thinking about how i tend to rotate between my many interests. i'm really into boxing right now, but that's had me less interested in starting with water polo in austin and playing less disc golf. my father suggested i invent the "leeann decathlon" and submit it as a new olympic sport. not a bad idea. i mean, the biathlon is essentially two completely unrelated sports called something new. i could totally do that.

who's stoked for heroes returning tomorrow!! a bit premature for me i guess. with my gym schedule i'm not going to be able to watch any shows in real time, so i'll be a day (at least) behind in watching this fall's must tv. but never fear! i remain committed to watching my/your/the world's favorite shows and reporting (occasionally) anything significant. happy weekend all!

fall, but not quite

2007-09-21T19:07:00.000-05:00

happy fall!

today is kind of strange because it's the first day of fall and i'm working in austin rather than being in boston (yes, they rhyme). i realized today that i don't miss boston at all, which is a bit strange. but i am starting to miss my polo girls. i received an email today from one of them who told me about how great all the new girls are, how much fun the team is having, and potential goalies for the team this season. i feel torn because i want to see them and coach yet i don't want to be trapped in boston for the spring. guess we shall see. it's always possible they won't want me there. in related news my former goalie coach is in austin for the weekend!!

An excuse to say "Arg!"

2007-09-19T17:54:00.000-05:00

I have both good and bad news today. First the bad news. I was checking my bank account this morning and saw this fishy transaction with Western Union which I know I did not make. I mean, I don't even know how to make a Western Union transaction (although given the present instance and Vigneau from Evidence I get the impression it can't be too tricky. I mean, clearly Western Union is *the* site for sketchy money dealings.) All these thoughts and more were verified when the woman said the money had been transferred to Romania.

C'mon people.

Romania? Nobody transfers money to Romania so they can raise fluffy bunnies or save the whales. Good grief. But Bank of America is my new favorite corporation for immediately blocking my card and issuing me a new one, and immediately replacing the funds that were withdrawn. I love you Bank of America!

Now the good news is that today is international talk like a pirate day! And my morning fiasco gave me the perfect excuse to scrunch up my face and mutter "Arg!" at random intervals. PLUS, talk like a pirate day allows me to say something I've wanted to say for awhile.

Tina Fey rocks!

Check it out the link above if you're intrigued by my continuity.

new music tuesday

2007-09-18T21:02:00.000-05:00

it's tuesday! which means new music! actually this is the first tuesday in weeks there has been anything i've wanted to download. the one bad thing about being in austin(maybe good depending on your perspective) is i'm not constantly on my ipod. i don't bring it to the gym and i stopped plugging it in my car because it seems to drain the battery a lot. but given how fast i tend to plow through music maybe this break is a good one.

long day today. i FINALLY finished this motion for summary judgment i've been writing. ironically it's the first motion for summary judgment i've written since legal practice two years ago. i'm a bit embarrassed to admit that i pulled that up to remind myself how to write this. hopefully the attorney doesn't kill me for turning in some kind of crap.

boxing is going well, although it's annoying sometimes to come home feeling great and mellow, and then people are being obnoxious here. sigh. least i have new music to mellow me out as well. happy new music tuesday! if you like mellowness check out new james blunt and kt tunstall

setting the stage

2007-09-16T08:47:00.000-05:00

so i realized i should probably explain a bit more where i am now and what i'm doing. i'm in austin, tx working on civil rights cases. i've been here a week and a half thus far and i ike the area. it's definitely true what people say, austin is not like the rest of texas. it is quite liberal, and similar to boston, i've found that most people came to the area and stayed rather than being native texan.

i'm living in a house with 9 other people, mostly male. this gives the feeling of a fraternity house since the common areas are often dirtier than i would typically like. but somehow it all works. the trash will disappear a day after it's been on overflow stage, occasionally i see someone sweeping, and i personally have a thing for clean dishes so i try to keep that under control. i have a huge room though, and managed to set up the cable in my room.

but i'm finding i'm not here all that often, especially during the week. i work 8:30-5:30 and i've recently joined a gym which i absolutely LOVE. it's a boxing gym, and could have stepped out of any number of classic 80s movies. essentially a garage with mirrors and punching bags and rings, the gym has no AC so the huge garage doors are always open. there is something really incredible about working up the kind of sweat that one does in warm weather. the first night after going to the gym i felt better than i had in weeks. surprisingly only my calves were sore, and that was from all the jump rope warm-up. today my quads are also sore from this crazy running and squatting exercise we did yesterday.

the gym owner invited me to come run with some of his competitive boxers this morning but i chose to deliberately oversleep. since my legs are already sore i'm thinking that was a good idea. plus today was my only sleep-in day of the week. i'm going to head up when he opens the gym in an hour or so. otherwise today is all about getting outside. not sure where i'm headed. probably to a park for disc golf, maybe some (recreational) reading.

tonight the emmy's are on! will you watch? do you care? i'll probably watch till a decent hour. i can always look up the winners in the morning before work.

welcome to my world

2007-09-15T18:09:00.000-05:00

hello world. i've finally decided to succumb to temptation and i've started a blog. thanks for joining me. truly blogging is an exercise in self-centeredness. imagine people wanting to read about my typically uninspired random thoughts of the day. hopefully i can keep this interesting and refrain from too much whining here. again thanks for joining me!