The Plight of the Visiting 3L
Everyday my inbox is inundated with messages from TVPNU. Some are the fairly generic summaries of what group is meeting when (and more importantly, what kind of food they're serving.) Others are the frantic requests from Career Services for us to update our resumes, update our post-graduation job information, etc. These usually get deleted out-of-hand.
Lately though, there's been a flurry of graduation-related emails.
3L's!!!!! We're having a graduation party! Plan to be there. We don't know when. We don't know where. We don't know how much it'll be. We'll get back to you with the details!!!
or
3Ls!!!! We have a super fun graduation party planned! Stop by at lunch to buy your tickets for $$$. Oh - and we're having KARAOKE!!!!!!
Which is great. Except I'm not there to buy the tickets. So I email them to let them know I'd like to go, and should I mail them a check or just drop off cash when I get to town?
3L's!!!!! Don't forget to check your student mailboxes. There's IMPORTANT graduation stuff in there and you CANNOT WALK AT GRADUATION WITHOUT IT!
*Sigh* I thought we covered this.
3L's!!!!! If you need extra tickets to graduation, you need to stop by Surly Administrator's office by noon today!!!!
See above. Finally,
3L's!!!!! Congrats on your last day of law school classes ever!!!! There's free coffee and doughnuts in the student lounge! Come and get it!
SOOO unfair.
But I guess I can console myself with the fact that I had
my last class of law school over a month ago. And they've still got finals. AND I'll be more than 2 weeks ahead of them on Bar Review.
Speaking of which...
LQ's Question of the Day
If you could surgically enhance the appearance of any one feature of your body, what would it be?When I was on active duty, this topic actually made for a lengthy discussion during Group Battle Staff one day. (For those unfamiliar with Battle Staff, you tend to work 12 hour shifts and are stuck in one room with about a dozen others of similar rank with very little to do unless the exercise is heating up for some reason. Everyone brings work with them, but there are definitely times when all that's going on is chit-chat.)
Anyway, my answer at the time was that I'd have my nose done. It's always been a little larger than I'd like and had a small bump on the bridge. People used to ask me if I'd broken it because of the bump. (I hadn't.) Less than a year later, I did end up breaking my nose and later had surgery to correct it. I'm not sure it's really much different than it was - except it's probably worse now that it actually has been broken - but I guess I've just come to terms with it.
These days, I want to do something to reduce the amount of crinkling that's going on around my eyes.
LQ's Question of the Day
After giving myself an entire day off yesterday, it's back to the Bar/Bri grindstone today. It's Day 1 of Con Law today, so you'll be doing a public service by playing along.
You've got a roll of SweeTARTS. Do you just eat them in the order they come out of the roll, or do you have some sort of color hierarchy?In my world, it's pre-2001 before Nestle
arbitrarily switched out the very yummy lime green for the vastly inferior and frankly just yucky green apple. In order: purple, green, orange/yellow (tie), pink, blue. These days, I pick out the offending green ones right away and toss them. I hang onto the pinks and blues in case I need to mainline sugar in an emergency, but usually end up giving or throwing them away in the end.
So...what's it gonna be? Are you a random SweeTART eater? Or do you have some sort of order? Does the order in which one eats SweeTARTs mean anything? Do any SweeTARTS go uneaten? And most importantly - is there anyone who'd be willing to trade their purples, oranges, and yellows for my pinks and blues? I'll even throw in the green ones for nothing.
Discuss.
Don't Forget...
...to remember.
Remembering my father. Along with all the husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, and friends who know what "duty" means.
The Gospel According to Bar/Bri
Bar review is starting to mess with my brain. To the point where I'm beginning to see every written passage as a possible exam question. For example, yesterday at Mass, the first reading was:
From Acts 1:1-11
He presented himself alive to them
by many proofs after he had suffered,
appearing to them during forty days
and speaking about the kingdom of God.
While meeting with them,
he enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem,
but to wait for “the promise of the Father
about which you have heard me speak;
for John baptized with water,
but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
When they had gathered together they asked him,
“Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
He answered them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons
that the Father has established by his own authority.
Except that I misread that first italicized word as "profit" instead of proof and immediately began to think of
profit a prendre, which everyone knows is a nonpossessory interest in land entitling the holder to enter a servient tenement to take soil or a product of the soil.
Furthermore, a party may only be enjoined when they can show there is no adequate remedy at law and that money damages would not be adequate or that the party would be irreparably harmed if the injunction is not granted.
The Father's "authority' appears to be a jurisdiction issue.
Yeah, it's a sickness. Only 60 days til the Bar Exam is over.
This Is A Bit Frightening
I don't know which is worse - the fact that this quiz even exists or my results.
| Your Personality Is Like Cocaine |
You're dynamic, brilliant, and alluring to those who don't know you.
Hyper and full of energy, you're usually the last one to leave a party.
Sometimes your sharp mind gets the better of you... you're a bit paranoid! |
Quiz: The Day Late/Dollar Short Edition
| American Cities That Best Fit You:: |
| 75% San Diego |
| 70% Honolulu |
| 70% Miami |
| 65% Austin |
| 60% Portland |
Interestingly, I've never been to Honolulu, Miami, or Austin.
I'm not sure about San Diego, although I sure did enjoy my one visit there. I've even got a souvenir to prove it.
As nice as Portland is, I'm not sure that would be a good fit for me either. And what's with Oregon's strange rules about pumping your own gas?
LQ's Question of the Day
Name your favorite TV series in recent history.We're a bit behind the times here at
chez Quandary. We don't have cable and we don't have a DVR. Consequently, our TV viewing is a little limited. Compound that with the fact that we're on the
cheap thrifty side. This means we typically don't catch on to most series until Season 1 has made it to the public library.
Hands down - favorite series was
Arrested Development. Ok, yeah, so it's been cancelled and they're even holding a
Bluth Family Estate sale, but it doesn't mean the show wasn't damned funny.
Mr. Q and I were also pretty hooked on
Alias, but the library only has Season 1. Maybe it went downhill after that. I did NOT watch the series finale the other night, since I thought it would ruin things if I missed out on the other 4 seasons. I'm hoping to catch up on the other seasons once the stupid bar exam is over.
Finally, the library recently got in Season 1 of
Veronica Mars. Thanks to Brian's praise over at
Frazzled Mind, I decided to check it out. Aside from the fact that these kids are all supposedly in high school but act like twenty-somethings, we're pretty hooked. "C'mon now sugar. Bring it on, bring it on" has become a new little catchphrase around our house.
But alas, speaking of frazzled minds, it's essay practice day here. I should get on it. You all should get on the task of talking about tv shows in the comments.
Go to it!
A Little Tribute
To my
hometown.
C'mon...click on it. It's a Colbert clip.
H/t
Mrs. Gorilla.
"C" Is For Cookie! That's Good Enough For Me.
| You Are Cookie Monster |
Misunderstood as a primal monster, you're a true hedonist with a huge sweet tooth.
You are usually feeling: Hungry. Cookies are preferred, but you'll eat anything if cookies aren't around.
You are famous for: Your slightly crazy eyes and usual way of speaking
How you life your life: In the moment. "Me want COOKIE!" |
LQ's Question of the Day
Question Courtesy of Mr. Q -
Quick - you have to move away. Name any city in the world that you've never visited where you'd establish your new home.
This might be cheating because Mr. Q has visited, but I'm going to say
Adelaide, Australia. They speak English, it is in the middle of wine growing country, and it just looks beautiful and clean. Australia in general doesn't seem nearly as crowded as the U.S - and for an anti-social person like me, that's a good thing.
Also - mmmm...Australia accents. I'd hate being called a "Yank" at first, but would likely get used to it.
Your turn.
LQ's Question of the Day
Name a movie everyone else you know liked, but just didn't really impress you.
Ok, at the risk of losing all "cool" points, I really sort of hated "
Rudy." I know everyone else in America loved it, but I just couldn't get into it. Maybe it's because I don't really care about football. It might have been the company - sometimes that influences how much I like a movie. Perhaps I was just in a bad mood that day. (Though I remember the pizza being ok, so I don't think that's it.)
I met the "real" Rudy several years ago (long after I'd seen the movie) and he seemed like a decent guy. It's not like I've got something against him personally.
But throughout the entire film I was just thinking, "well, this is 2 hours of my life I'll never get back."
Property Day 2 today. You'll be doing a public service by leaving entertaining comments for me to read later. And you'll be earning valuable "saint" points.
Just leave a comment, ok?
Back in 4 hours. Or so.
Study Induced Oblivion
I finally took the headphones off a few minutes ago and looked out the window. My street is blocked off and there's a Sheriff's vehicle with it's lights flashing out in front of my house.
I couldn't see anything immediately wrong, so I walked out and asked why things were blocked off.
Deputy: You just noticed?
LQ: Well, um, just that the street is blocked off.
Deputy: (looking at me like I'm some kind of idiot) The church down the street caught fire. There's been emergency vehicles in and out of here for the last hour.
Sure enough - when I looked down the street there were about 6 fire and EMT vehicles in front of the church.
We're pretty close to the fire department, so for us to hear sirens at all hours isn't really all that unusual. But seriously, you'd think I'd pick up on something major going on less than 2 blocks away.
You'd be wrong.
Ugh!
Is there anything worse that pouring cream for your coffee and then getting a whiff of it and discovering it's gone bad?
A: No, not really. I mean, I eat double cream brie - I just don't want the homemade version in my coffee.
And 1% milk just isn't the same.
Dead People Can't Sell Liquor
...and other things I learned from day 1 of Bar/Bri Property.
I'd totally forgotten the fun of trying to decide whether an executory interest violates the Rule Against Perpetuities. So much fun it makes my eyes bleed.
I'm rediscovering the
joy of distinguishing between a Joint Tenancy with Right of Survivorship and Tenancy in Common.
And who knew that restraints on alienation could be boiled down to 2 paragraphs? I think we spent 2
weeks on it during 1L.
I don't think we even learned landlord/tenant law.
LQ's Question of the Day
What's your
least favorite household chore?
Me, I hate emptying the dishwasher and folding laundry. I think that can be boiled down to "putting things away."
Property today. Back in 4ish hours. Feel free to comment so I'll have some amusement when I return.
2 Questions
First,
Denise has mentioned on more than one occasion that she's had problems reading LQ because the sidebar overlaps the text. (Sorry Denise - this is the first chance I've had to address it!) It shows up fine on my computer in both Firefox and IE. The one other person I've had view it for me didn't have any problems either. Does anyone else have problems reading LQ? If so, please let me know. Also, does anyone know how to fix the issues?
Second question for you ladies out there. What did you/are you wearing to graduation? I'm toying with the idea of buying a new dress for the occasion, but don't want to do it if everyone else will be in suits. OTOH, I don't really want to wear one of the suits I already have, nor do I really want to buy a new one right now.
Thoughts? Post 'em if you've got 'em.
Bar/Bri - Day 1
So far, so good.
I think the iPod method is going to work out really well for me. After a few initial minutes of confusion/panic because the leased iPod nano is different from my normal 20 GB one, I was able to listen to the lecture from the comfort of my living room.
I'd walked Lil Q to school this morning, only to get there and find I'd forgotten to put
shoes on her. That's a new one for me. I've forgotten diaper bags, contents of diaper bags (like changes of clothes - very important in the early stages of potty training), blankets, breakfast, etc, but never shoes. Until now. She'd climbed into the stroller on her own, so I just didn't notice she wasn't wearing shoes.
A great start to the day - then on the walk home, I discovered (so I thought) that there was something wrong with the iPod. But after dropping shoes off at daycare, I stopped at Starbucks, got myself a mocha, and magically figured out how to make the iPod work. (I read the instructions.)
Of course, this was just the Introductory day, so it could get a lot worse. If it does, I'm sure you'll hear about it.
In the meantime, I'm off to buy some notecards. I've got 21 subjects to master in the next 9 weeks.
It's Official
I'm done with law school.
All my grades are in. 2 were better than expected, one was worse (but still within the range of respectability), and one right where I thought it would be.
I'll start (self-paced) bar review on Monday and actually graduate in 3 weeks.
Weird.
2 Down, 2 To Go
Grades, that is.
The strange thing is that it's the grades for the
last 2 finals I took that are already posted.
No word yet on Tax or the paper.
But let's just say I was relieved by one of the grades so far b/c I left my last final feeling underwhelmed by my performance. There's nothing worse than sweating whether you'll graduate over a 2 credit class.
The Jurisprudence...
...of the
F-bomb.
Read the abstract.
If I didn't know for a fact that
Legally Intoxicated was a newly minted Wisconsin JD (congrats LI!), I'd suspect it was his work.
H/T
Tom Smith
Sir, Step Away From The Uniform
Dear Air Force Uniform Board -
As a former and future airman, I would like to give you a bit of semi-solicited advice.
Leave the Uniform Alone!
First of all, both of the
proposed styles are terrible. You *do* already know that members of the other services already make fun of the Air Force, right? These aren't going to help.
Second,
see McPeak, Merrill A. He messed with the uniform, and it's the only thing he's remembered for. And I believe the uniform changes are the first thing General Fogelman
undid when he took command. Because the original changes were DUMB and McPeak's uniform made us all look like Delta pilots. As a special note to the DNC, the next time you want to show that "yuh huh, we have
SO got the support of the military," you might try running commercials with people whose name does not inspire eye rolling among the military members in question.
Finally, and probably most importantly. Uniform changes are something you undertake during
peacetime. When you might feel the need to justify a couple of Chief Master Sergeants' existence on the Air Staff. While I don't necessarily expect the general public to notice, as members of one of the joint services, perhaps you've picked up on the fact that we've got a little thing called a WAR going on. Unless the design changes will somehow enhance fighting capabilities, leave it alone. You're screwing around with the Service Dress. On a day-to-day basis, this is probably the uniform combination worn LEAST by the people actually doing any fighting.
What's the mission of the Air Force? To kill people and break things, you say? Unless you're killing people and breaking up the conference rooms of the Pentagon, these uniform changes do NOTHING to help you achieve your mission.
Put it away and revisit the issue when you come to your senses.
You said you wanted input.
I'm Free!
Now for a little Soup Dragons to celebrate! (I'd post the video or a clip, but couldn't find one.
Don't be afraid of your freedom!
Freedom
I'm free to do what I want any old time
I said I'm free to do what I want any old time
I say love me, hold me
Love me, hold me
'Cause I'm free to do what I want any old time
And I'm free to be who I choose any old time
I say love me, hold me
Love me, hold me
'Cause I'm free to do what I want
To be what I want any old time
And I'm free to be who I choose
To get my booze any old time
I say love me (love me forever)
Hold me (and love will never die)
Love me, hold me
'Cause I'm free
A question for Mr. Q - Why is this song not loaded on my iPod, hmmmm? I looked for it under "artists" in the space between Soul Asylum and Space Monkeys, but nothing! Please work on that, ok?
Final Final
I have my last exam of law school in just over 3 hours. I've read most of the assignments, listened to the lectures I missed, made my outline, condensed my outline, blah, blah, blah, EtCETera, EtCETera.
What I haven't been able to bring myself to do is
care.I'm not nervous. I feel like I've got a decent grip on the information, yet I've invested less time in this class than in any of the others. I feel like this should make me nervous, and yet, I just can't make myself read through the outline yet again.
Maybe I'll read through things one more time on the train. Speaking of which, I should get my ass in gear and head toward the Metro.
Wish me luck. Or at least wish me the ability to not fall asleep during my final. Because I really don't think I could take another semester of law school.
A Special Brand of Crazy
I joke fairly often that sanity isn't exactly the Quandary's strong suit. And I
am mostly joking.
But I have a cousin who I am honestly starting to believe has lost it, and it weighs heavily on me. Perhaps that's not entirely correct…it weighs heavily on my mother, her Godmother, who is also geographically near her and sees the daily effects of Renee's ride on the Crazy Train.
I didn't meet my cousins until I was in Kindergarten. I knew of them, of course, but my uncle had taken a job in Argentina, so they were never in Germany at the same time as we were. (I have no idea why we never visited them in Argentina - it seems like something we would have done.) The first time I met them was when they stayed at our house for a month on their way back to Germany when my uncle transferred back. What a blast! I remember them teaching me songs in Spanish and a couple of nights before they left, we put on a show for our neighbors in the backyard. Singing, dancing, costumes - everything. As the oldest, Renee was the ringleader of that show, and the dozens of others we performed for family & neighbors through the years. (Yes, I cringe at the thought now. But at the time, everyone gave us money, so it was a quick way to make a few D-Marks.)
Renee was lots of fun. She always had wacky ideas of fun stuff to do. Her sister, Stef, was and still is, a lot more rational. Renee picked up languages quickly. She was a talented artist. She always knew which clubs were the cool ones, and which restaurants had the best food. People always wanted to hang around with her because she was fun.
I can't actually put my finger on when things started to change. Maybe I should have seen signs in high school and college, when she always seemed to be drinking. Or when she became bulimic. Maybe things didn't start going downhill until she broke up with her long-time boyfriend after he supposedly raped her and she supposedly had a miscarriage. (I say supposedly because it's not totally clear what happened. I'd known the boyfriend for years and he seemed like a decent guy. I also know Renee is somewhat prone to
exaggerating making things up out of whole cloth.) Or maybe it was after she decided to start a clothing boutique, which my uncle ended up bailing out. The point is, eventually I started to notice that something. Just. Wasn't. Right. With Her. The endless cycle of men who never seemed to hang around. The inability to find a job where people "appreciated her talents." The drinking. The smoking.
Mr. Q and I made the mistake of going out with her one night. She and her boss picked us up at my parents' house. This was weird because 1) she'd been dating someone else for awhile, and 2) she'd only been working for this boss for a couple of months. From the get-go, things didn't seem right with the situation. We drove 100 km to get to this cool new bar that had just opened. I have to admit that it *did* seem pretty cool, but Mr. Q and I had been expecting something small, local, quiet, and with food. We were totally underdressed and starving. It was awkward. And then…they ditched us. Luckily, another cousin picked us up, so we were able to get home, but I have to admit I sort of wrote her off from that point on.
I saw her a couple of years ago for my Oma's 95th birthday dinner. She showed up 2 hours late, boyfriend in tow, and looking much older than I remembered. She drank too much, smoked too much, and eventually Mr. Q and I took the kids outside to get away. When my Oma died, she sat in my mom's living room and flipped through catalogs, pointing out outfits she wanted.
But what really disturbs me lately is the violence. My mom tells me that Renee just
screams at my aunt. This almost 40 year old woman has moved back in with her mother and is constantly yelling at her. She's thrown knives at her mother. Last week, she threw full bottles of mineral water at her. 2 of them broke, leaving shards of glass embedded in the living room carpet. She's threatened her other Oma and called her names. She physically assaulted her mom's brother, hitting him, tearing his shirt off and then kneeing him in the groin.
Renee checked herself into the hospital 2 months ago. It was at least her third in patient visit. But she never gets any better. I suspect that it's because the staff knows that Renee is an alcoholic, and until she addresses that issue, nothing ever will change. So, they keep her for a couple of weeks, fill her head with all kinds of new psychobabble that she can project onto everyone around her, and then turn her loose again. Now she's back at home, sleeping til noon when she stumbles downstairs for a new bottle of wine.
The thing is, I
wish I could feel compassion for her. I don't
want to write her off. On the other hand, I don't enjoy being around her, and I'm less than thrilled about my kids spending time with her. She's just not the same person whose company I used to enjoy. And I don't think my mom is safe spending time with her.
Any thoughts?
Happy Mother's Day!
To all you moms and moms-to-be!
I already called my mom - have you called yours?
A Quiz I Don't Totally Disagree With
| Your Political Profile: |
| Overall: 80% Conservative, 20% Liberal |
| Social Issues: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal |
| Personal Responsibility: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal |
| Fiscal Issues: 100% Conservative, 0% Liberal |
| Ethics: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal |
| Defense and Crime: 100% Conservative, 0% Liberal |
Although I might suggest that some of my answers which yielded "Liberal" results are really more due to a fairly strong Libertarian streak.
Of course, I don't truly believe that a 20 question T/F quiz can deliver any sort of accuracy, especially since about half the time I wound up picking whatever answer I disagreed with less.
What's a Friday Night Without a Little Trip to the ER?
Mr. Q got a call from Lil Q's school this afternoon that she wasn't feeling well. He picked her up and sure enough, she was running a temperature. Then she started complaining that her tummy hurt. And then that her head hurt. And her breathing got really fast and all she wanted to do was sleep. Her fever was up to 103 by now - after a dose of children's Tylenol. Plus her little heart was just galloping.
After calling 2 friends (one pediatrician, one nurse) and leaving a message for one parent (an ER doc), we decided to take her in. It being Friday night, the only option was the urgent care clinic. I hate doing that because I'm sort of of the mindset that unless you're bleeding or having a heart attack, you should just wait until Monday for a regular appointment. Mr. Q does not share that mindset when it comes to Lil Q.
At any rate, she's fine. A little sinus infection and possibly a UTI. Nothing some Septra, some children's Motrin in the proper dosage, and a couple of popsicles can't cure, right?
2 Down, 1 to Go.
Brain dead now.
Must eat pizza, watch a mindless movie, and sleep.
Then study for Agency.
Happy Mother's Day to me, I guess.
*blah*
Look Here, Happy Little Quiz...
| Your Stress Level is: 67% |
You are prone to stress, and you're probably even pretty stressed right now.
Life's problems seem to pile up on you, and this often makes you feel depressed and burned out.
Learn to take time to relax and enjoy life, even if things are stressful. It's the only way you'll get through the bad times. |
First of all, let me just say that this quiz is wrongly named. To say that I am 67% stressed and "probably stressed right now" during finals is *quite* an understatement. I suspect what's holding me back are that I 1) don't get sick often - even when I'm stressed, and 2) that I rarely drink more than 1-2 drinks.
Also, I'd like to say that telling me to "learn to take time to relax" during the stressful times doesn't help me at all. In my experience, the only way to get throught the "bad" times is to plow through them.
That and steamroll right over anyone who has the bad luck to get in my way. That usually cheers me right up.
Oompa Loompa DoompaDee Do
Here's another question for you.
How many email addresses do you have?
I think I might have as many as 7.
2 personal (one forwards to the other)
2 LQ - I used Yahoo before I used gmail, so my Bloglines account is still set up for the Yahoo address
2 for school. 2 law schools = 2 email addresses
1 that I keep strictly for junk mail
C'mon...play along & leave your answer in the comments. Every once in awhile it's nice to pretend I'm not just talking to myself. Though I don't blame anyone for not commenting on my little anti-law school finals screeds.
Reading Rainbow
Who has summer reading ideas for me?
All through law school I've kept at least one "light" book going at a time. I learned early on in 1L that if I let Civ Pro be the last thing I read at night, I was going to have freaky, nightmarish dreams. So, I've always had something to help me purge the memory banks before bed.
Lately I've been tearing through the
Jack Reacher books by Lee Child at the rate of about 1 every 2-3 days. I like them, but they're pure brain candy and starting to get a little predictable.
Last year, E. Spat turned me onto the Butch Karp/Marlene Ciampi books by
Robert Tanenbaum.
I re-read
The Three Daughters of Madame Liang last month for the umpteenth time, and I'm a about 20 pages into my fourth or fifth re-read of
Atlas Shrugged. (And I've been meaning to ask how
Dagny feels about being played by Angelina Jolie in the movie.)
I'm looking for something fun. And light. And non political.
Thoughts?
American Idol Blogging
No, just kidding.
But I have noticed that a lot of people seem to be blogging about AI. I've never seen it, and I have to be honest here - I skip any posts that talk about it. If anyone can give me compelling reasons to watch, I'll consider watching...next season.
Studying for Final # 2 (Remedies) is progressing well. It's closed book, but I'm outlining the material anyway in the hope that it will make more sense that way. So far, it appears to be working.
The paper is mostly finished. I know there are citations I need to fix, and I'm having Mr. Q read it to make sure it makes some sense, but at this point, I'm almost willing to say "good enough." It ended up being around 17 pages with close to 100 footnotes. For a 2 credit class.
I am also strangely excited that I got an email from Bar/Bri today to let me know that my bar review materials will be here Thursday. I am sure that this excitement will wear off quickly. I decided to go with the home study program, so I can study in my PJ's! (Yeah, realistically this never happens, because Lil Q has to make it to school before any studying occurs in my house.) Bar/Bri is sending me all the books AND an iPod with all the lectures pre-loaded. (No, I don't get to keep the iPod.)
See, wasn't that more interesting than some boring summary of what happened on a TV show? Don't answer that.
Today's Meal Selections Brought to You By the Letter "P"
Pineapple
Potato Chips and Pepsi (yes, this counts as a meal if that's all you eat)
Pork Roast w/ Parsnips and Potatoes (ok, there's carrots too, but it messes with the pattern)
We'll probably have Peach Pie for dessert.
Did You Know?
That actor
Gary Sinise has a band called the
Lt Dan Band?
I think that's awesome.
I also think it's awesome that they perform around the world for the USO, as well as raise money for a variety of Veteran groups and disaster relief organizations.
Why? Why Do I Do This To Myself?
Now that I've had a couple of hours to think about my Tax exam, all of a sudden I'm totally paranoid because I did not check to see if the file saved on the disk. I know the A drive was working. I know I heard it whirring at the appropriate time. I assume that it saved because it always has before. But I didn't double check before shutting things down.
I have it saved on my hard drive. And SOP from "real" school is that you never open the file from a final until after you get verification that you actually turned everything in. (That is, you either wait til grades come out or someone from the administration calls you to say "your test is missing.")
I felt ok about how I did on the test itself. It seems that if there's nothing to really stress about, I'll just make something up.
So nice to know that I can think outside of the box.
Fun To Be Had By All
It's almost time for my test o' doom. Yes, Federal Income Tax starts in mere minutes.
Our prof decided to be extra special magnanimous and allow us to take the test anywhere in the building. But unlike my "real" school, you don't get 5 minutes "walking time" for the time it takes to get from "anywhere" to the "test room," so there's nothing quite like a bonus that actually turns into a penalty. Of course, that's pretty much what Tax is all about.
I was going to avoid the penalty by just sitting in the exam room anyway, but it turns out that Prof Tax only reserved the room for 4 hours. For a 5 hour exam. So people sitting in the exam room will have to move at the 4 hour point.
Awesome!
The Post Mortem Report:By the time I picked up my test, they'd figured out some kind of solution to the whole room switching/walking time thing. The test itself was O.K. I don't really have any feelings about it other than I'm pretty sure I passed.
One down. 2 and a paper to go.
No Wonder It Sounded Familiar
I'm within 48 hours of my first exam. A five hour final for tax. Five H-O-U-R-S. Who does that? I mean, at that point, why don't you just make it a take home final and be done with it? Seriously, any exam where you have to pack a meal is just too damned long.
As I'm printing out all the notes I've ever taken in that class AND all the notes anyone else took for me while I was gone being all funereal, I thought one of the funeral batch looked really familiar. So familiar that I could recall the professor talking about the stuff. As if I had been there. It even "sounded" like notes I would take.
And then I realized that they were, in fact, my own notes, which I had copied into Word and sent to a friend on a day
she missed.
If you need me in the next 36 hours - I'll probably be at Starbucks. Where they make you pay for internet. And although I'll cheerfully fork over $4 for coffee, I am way too cheap to pay for wireless.
Optical Elusions
I am a questioner. When I go to the doctor, I tend to ask them why they're doing whatever test they're doing, how medications work, etc. Yeah, so basically, I'm a problem patient because I like to understand what's being done to me and why.
I'm starting to believe that optometry might be a bunch of smoke & mirrors though - mainly because it's really hard to get them to actually answer my questions.
To be fair, when I asked about dilation, OD (that's Doctor of Optometry), assured me that this helped him judge the overall health of my eye, check for nerve damage, diabetes, etc. Ok, fair enough, but I guess I knew that much. He became totally evasive when I asked about the
Glaucoma "puff of air" test. When I asked what it measured, he dutifully responded "intraocular pressure," which doesn't really tell me anything. He became even more wishy-washy when I asked how it measured it, and whether higher numbers are better or worse. He told me "there is no better or worse," which makes me wonder why measure it then? (The likely answer?
Helling v. Carey. See the worthless things law school teaches you?) I'm not sure if he didn't know how it worked, didn't think I'd understand, or just sort of wished I'd go away. I'm sure there are good answers to my questions, he just wasn't giving them up.
It reminds me of a similar experience an old co-worker of mine, Rob, had. Rob is also a questioner and I remember him telling us about how he'd asked the optometrist about how something (I forget what) worked.
OD: Well, what was your major in college?
Rob: Why is that relevant?
OD: It just helps me figure out how detailed of an answer to give you. If you were an engineering major, I can give you a more in depth answer than if you were, say, a history major.
Rob: Well, I was actually a history major, but I'm a pretty smart guy - why don't you try me?
Know What's Better Than Studying?
Having your eyes dilated and then trying to do your grocery shopping.
Because nothing makes you look saner than picking things up off the grocery shelf, squinting, and then moving said item closer...and then further away...no, a little closer...trying to read the label.
Driving home in bright sunlight was a special treat too. Even with sunglasses.
I Give Up
I've been beating my head against the wall on this one for the past couple of hours. Who has a good (read: easy) explanation of I.R.C. section 280A? Specifically dealing with vacation homes and deductibility.
Also - Dear Professor Bankman -
You suck. If I read your casebook and the concepts aren't clear, that's a bad thing. Sadly, this happens pretty often with your casebook. Thus necessitating the purchase of an E&E. The fact that you
also write the E&E suggests that you're just out to make more money off of law students. But your E&E explanation of Billie and her effing beachfront condo only makes matters more confusing. I want to punch you right in the throat.
Update:Thanks to one of my readers who sent me not only an answer to the question I asked, but also what appears to be a very thorough outline. You, sir,
ROCK!
Bankman, you're still on my shit list though. Just so you know.
Enquiring Minds Want to Know
I remember Taco Bell burritos as being tortillas filled with stuff that's bad for me and then rolled into a cigar-like shape.
When exactly did they become these sad, folded, sort of triangular flat things?
So There I Was...
Engrossed - yes, completely
enthralled by Section 165 and its allowances and denials of casualty loss deductions when I checked my Bloglines.
And what, to my delight, did I find?
A new
post by THL.
In itself, that's not so remarkable. (Except that she used to post a lot more frequently, but then, so did I. I blame school.)
But her post led me to check *my* fate via
the Fantod. My card, the
Waltzing Mouse, actually gives me quite a bit of insight into my life of late. Particularly the parts about "involuntary seclusion" (again, I blame school), "a hazardous project" (what else can you call outlining for Federal Income Tax?), and "a betise" (I'll admit, had to
look that one up, and whaddya know - the story of my life!)
BUT MOST insightful was "morbid cravings." No - it doesn't mean cravings for things that are morbid - rather, it refers to the emergence of an addiction. We all know I'm already addicted to coffee, but studying sort of makes me addicted to food. It's like I can't shovel it in fast enough. Even after I've been chowing down more or less all day, I feel like I'm starving. I thought I had a tapeworm or something. Instead, I find out it's just fate.
Speaking of tapeworms, my cat Lance had to go to the kitty dentist the other day. Whilst there, the vet discovered he (Lance, not the vet) had tapeworms. When I asked how one goes about diagnosing such a condition, the vet told me that when they took Lance's temperature prior to sedation (and we all know where they do that), the tapeworm winked at him. I know he was joking, but there's an image I just didn't need. I've got to learn to stop asking questions.
Study Mode
Ok...I'm set to study for the last batch of finals. I've had some breakfast (croissant with homemade strawberry jam). I've got coffee. I've done my Bloglines reading for the
day morning.
Only motivation is missing. *sigh*
The plan is for me to work on my Fair Employment paper for an hour, and then move on to Tax.
One unrelated question - why is it that no matter how hard I try, I can't seem to get my mother-in-law to understand that no, I really
can't just take a week off in the middle of bar review and go to Disneyworld? I've tried the whole explaining that law school was just sort of an opening act to the bar exam, but damn! she's persistent. Last night she tried to convince me that no one would even be there - they'd take the kids to the parks and I could stay back at the condo and study. The offer is very kind - truly - but I've been part of this family long enough to know better.
