Legal Quandary

Update

So E. Spat. did a Milbargesque post the other day. And I have to say I really like the efficiency of it, so here's my own little take on it.

What I've been Doing at Work: Nothing! Took the week off. I finally finished the brief I was writing for my boss last week. Now we're just waiting for the AJ to come back with her decision so we can decide how much of the brief to use. It's a Title VII case, and the hearing was back in September. She didn't hear any evidence on damages, but wanted post-hearing briefs, and then if there was a finding of discrimination, separate briefs on damages. Since there was next to nothing presented in either the initial brief or the hearing on damages, this was a pretty challenging assignment. Also, if I had known so much of Title VII was based on Torts law, I would have paid a lot more attention last year. Not that it would have done me much good. Professor Torts was pretty burned out by that point and not really teaching us much.

What I've been Doing at Home: Lots of cooking. We got invited to Christmas dinner at Mr. Q's aunt's house 2 days before Christmas, meaning after the turkey had been taken out of the freezer to thaw. Since we couldn't really return the bird to the freezer, I cooked a full-on holiday dinner a couple of nights ago. Complete with homemade wheat-walnut rolls, green bean casserole, yams, and the world's most awesome smashed potatoes. (For those who might debate that fact and threaten frivolous lawsuits - and I think you know who you are - the friend we had over for dinner even said (without prompting) that they were the most awesome mashed potatoes). We also had a very nice bottle of pinot noir from the vineyard where Mr. Q and I got married. (The ceremony 3 1/2 years ago - not the one right after Thanksgiving). Other culinary delights in the past week include homemade apple pie, about 6 dozen balls of oatmeal raisin cookie dough - frozen for future consumption, twice that many oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, and decadent chocolate nut bread. Also, turkey rice soup and 7 quarts of spaghetti sauce.



Cookies for Everyone!

What I've been Reading: In a word - fluff. 1) I read a romance novel, for the first time in years. I was wandering Barnes & Noble and noticed they had a novel, written by one of my high school English teachers. Her book is exactly the kind of mindless trash she used to chastise us for reading. But she was an interesting and memorable teacher, so I felt somewhat compelled to read her book. (She's written several, but that B&N only had 1 title in stock). Ms. English Teacher had a prosthetic hand - which is part of what made her memorable and didn't stop her from buying a car with a stick shift (which obviously, she immediately had to sell). Luckily she had a decent sense of humor about the whole thing, so the day one of my classmates showed up and said "Ms. English Teacher, you are single-handedly ruining my life!", she just replied, "Well, it's the only way I could do it." 2) I just finished reading "Blacklist" by Sara Paretsky. I used to love the V.I. Warshawski books, but they've just gotten too liberally preachy for my taste in the last 2-3 years. And I get enough of that at school. Unfortunately, this book was no exception - which didn't prevent me from finishing it. 3) "The Three Martini Playdate" by Christie Mellor. I bought it to give to a friend who is expecting because it is freaking hilarious and echoes my views on parenting. I strongly recommend this book if you have kids, think you might ever have kids, know any small children, or have friends who are expecting. From a review stolen from amazon.com...

The author urges readers to recruit children to pitch in with household chores ("Three years old is not too soon to start learning the fundamentals of decent vacuuming") and thinks excessively childproofing a home is ridiculous, since kids find a way to open complicated locks anyway ("You might as well festoon all your drawers and cabinets with brightly colored flags that say ‘Hey, You! Kid! Fun and Danger in Here!’").

What I've been Watching: Mostly, more fluff. Dodgeball (funny in places, but Ben Stiller is becoming awfully predictable), Anchorman (um, aside from some one-liners, really not that great), The Simpson's Season 3 (still funny - especially "Black Widower" - the one where Sideshow Bob marries Aunt Selma and plots to kill her), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (weird and good, but it took me about a day to decide I liked it). Also, Mean Girls - which I liked a lot. Lindsey Lohan wasn't nearly as obnoxious as I expected. The scenes where the high school students act like wild animal were a little strange and this visual really should have only been used once. The best surprise so far has been Arrested Development. We never saw it on tv, but rented the first season. Freaking hilarious.

What I'm Thinking About: Trying to get a guest speaker to come talk at an event on the 12th of January. We've had one speaker decline and one just never get back to me. Who knew it would be so tough to get someone to come talk to a bunch of law students? We're even paying $1000. If I knew anything about the topic (race and the wealth gap) and were at all articulate, I would do it in a heartbeat. I'm also especially focussed on the fact that my lower back feels like someone kicked me in the spine and I have no idea why.

What I'm Not Thinking About: The fact that classes start in less than 24 hours. And that Mr. Q will be away on business for most of the first week of school, leaving me to coordinate schedules, feed, and transport the other 3 of us. Good thing I cooked ahead.

posted by Legal Quandary at 14:09