Coming Home

This week has been exciting, unexpected, and a bit nostalgic.   On Wednesday, I began a three-month staff lawyer contract position with  HomeBase!  I am extraordinarily fond of HomeBase, as it was the location of my first legal internship.  I interviewed for a position with them back in March (in fact, on the day after the bar exam ended), but they weren't able to hire me at that time.  Then, on Monday, I got an email from my old supervisor asking me if I'd be interested in some contract work.  I said "Absolutely!" and got a call from the executive director on Tuesday night, asking me to come in Wednesday.  So whirlwind!  For now it is a full-time contract position, but there is serious potential for it to turn into a permanent position.

It all happened so quickly, I didn't even have time to let it sink in and become really excited about it.  It's strange, because it doesn't feel like a "new" job; having already worked there for a summer, I mostly just feel nostalgic.  Indeed, reading over my posts from the summer of 2009, I realized that the last time I did Bay to Breakers (which I'm doing next weekend), I was working for HomeBase!  It's all coming full circle.

This changes everything.  I have an income (and can buy stuff).  I have a plausible path to a permanent position, which would enable me to get my own place and reassert my independence.  I can start repaying my student loans.  Most of all, this gives me a huge psychological boost on my bar exam results coming out next week.  Even if I don't pass, knowing I am employed makes me feel a lot better about it.  (And, because HomeBase mostly does policy work, bar admission isn't a requirement to work there.)  My heart is full of joy and thanksgiving.


Sing a new song to the LORD,
for he has done marvelous deeds.
His right hand and holy arm
have won the victory.
The LORD has made his victory known;
has revealed his triumph in the sight of the nations,
He has remembered his mercy and faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the victory of our God.


Shout with joy to the LORD, all the earth;
break into song; sing praise.
Sing praise to the LORD with the lyre,
with the lyre and melodious song.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
shout with joy to the King, the LORD.


Let the sea and what fills it resound,
the world and those who dwell there.
Let the rivers clap their hands,
the mountains shout with them for joy,
Before the LORD who comes,
who comes to govern the earth,
To govern the world with justice
and the peoples with fairness.

- Psalm 98

A Smattering of July

Hello, gang.  It's been a while.  July was a pretty awesome month!

Robert and I took a spontaneous trip up to San Francisco to see Wicked a few weeks ago.  It was great!  I had never seen (or heard) the musical before, so every plot twist was a surprise for me.  I've got to say, Glinda was my favorite character.  Alli Mauzey was so wonderful!  Especially in Popular, she was a delightfully high-energy mix of Valley Girl and Elle Woods.  It was also interesting to think about Wicked in the context of the war in Iraq, with anti-animalism as a metaphor for Bush's desire for an enemy; as the Wizard puts it, "Where I'm from, the best way to bring people together [. . .] is to give them a common enemy."  That line gave me chills.

My uncle was kind enough to treat my dad, brother and me to tickets to Paul McCartney's Up and Coming tour!  He--Sir Paul, not my uncle--played to a sold-out AT&T Park.  We were in the nosebleed section, but that was fine with the big screens on stage.  The Chronicle wrote a great review of the concert, observing that Paul hadn't played in San Francisco since 1966, so the whole concert had a "welcome back" vibe.

Paul impressed me with how adorable and down-to-earth he was, which especially came out during his little stories, like the one he told about Hendrix playing a tribute to him and getting his guitar out of tune.  Some of my favorite songs of the night were Paperback Writer, Eleanor Rigby, Jet, Day Tripper, and Helter Skelter.  I also loved seeing Paul at the piano; everyone sang along when he played Hey Jude.  My absolute favorite song of the night was Blackbird.  Paul talked about writing it in response to the civil rights tensions of the late 1960s in America.  When he came back out for his first of two encores, Paul ran out waving a huge California State flag.  (Go Bears!)

I took a weekend trip to Portland, Oregon, with my dear friend Alissa to see our dear friend Morgan get married.  Portland is a great city; it reminds me of Berkeley, but bigger and more urban.  Morgan's wedding was awesome: a five-minute ceremony, followed by three hours of samba dancing, complete with backup dancers!  It was lovely to see friends from middle and high school whom I had not seen in a while.

The last day of my internship was Friday.  I absolutely loved working at the Law Foundation this summer, and was sad to see it end.  I actually did substantive work, including memos, mediation statements, and motion practice.  I attended a lot of interesting proceedings, such as depositions, mediations, and a settlement conference.  I now know a ton about housing discrimination and predatory lending.  And, my colleagues were friendly and fun-loving, leading to many coffee outings and urban food adventures, not to mention an afternoon in Santa Cruz and a San Jose Giants game.

It was great to know San Jose this summer.  If you're in the area, you have to check out Broken Door Espresso (try their Vietnamese iced coffee), Falafel's Drive In (try their baba ganoush), and Día de Pesca (try their breaded halibut burrito).  Also, I have fallen in love with the Farmers' Market in downtown San Jose at San Pedro Square.  They have the sweetest strawberries and nectarines I have ever tasted, along with fresh hummus, samosas, kettle corn, and spring rolls!  Simply delightful.

Yesterday, my dad, brother and I went to the Brit for the premier of At the Beach, an awesome skateboarding video featuring my very own brother!  Dan is an avid skateboarder, and it was great to see him in action in the film.  Watching the premier at the Brit in a huge crowd was especially meaningful, because everyone cheered when Dan landed tricks.  It's cool how there is a skateboarding community, and everyone supports one another.  The photo (at left) is from the Thrasher (skateboarding magazine) website.  Dan got their Stoke of the Day a couple of months ago, which is ridiculously cool.

Up next: the removal of all four of my wisdom teeth, to take place Tuesday morning.  What a joy!  I have stocked up on soft foods such as pudding, applesauce, and rainbow sherbet, and my mommy is going to take care of me.  I'm a little nervous about the procedure, as I have never done anything like this, but it'll be fine.  Besides, I'll be sedated.  Hopefully the recovery will be easy... Keep me in your prayers, please!

Mid-Summer Evaluation

I am already over halfway through my summer internship. Madness! I have learned so much these past five weeks. My legal research and writing has improved, I know a ton more about litigation, and I am familiar with two whole new areas of law--housing discrimination and predatory lending! I've interacted with some clients, sat in on court, mediations, and depositions, and gotten a ton of training. FHLP was the perfect choice for this summer, and I feel very blessed.

I thought that this would be a good time to check in on how my summer goals are going.

Read for pleasure. I am pleased to say that I have indeed been reading, and not just court cases. I am currently reading several books on my own: Reading the OED by Ammon Shea, Traveling with Pomegranates by Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Kidd Taylor, and The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything by Fr. James Martin. I am also participating in Still Thinking, the legendary virtual book club founded by CC this summer. We recently finished Machiavelli's The Prince, and are now starting Zadie Smith's On Beauty. (There is still time to join us for On Beauty!)

Begin to learn Spanish. I haven't been following the pace that I set for myself at the beginning of the summer, but I have completed six lessons, including greetings, restaurant basics, going places, and phone conversations. I want to go faster, but the lessons are several hours long each, and I am often not inclined to start one at the end of the day. I am also concerned about retention, so I don't want to go too fast. I will try harder to sit down and do lessons regularly.

Research and apply for fellowships and clerkships for after graduation. Working on it! There have been a few interesting opportunities so far... We'll see what happens.

Write On journal competition grading. I just finished judging my 20 case comments this evening, as the grades are due tomorrow. It was more work than I anticipated, but an interesting (and confidential) topic. Reading things written by 1Ls reminds me of how far I've come in my own legal writing this past year.

Spend quality time with friends, preferably on short Bay Area adventures. My most recent adventure was to Lovejoy's Tea Room in San Francisco for Alissa's birthday tea party! I'm not a big tea drinker--coffee is my love--but this was delicious and delightful. I drank an entire pot of Earl Grey tea with cream and sugar, which I enjoyed with a cucumber and cream cheese sandwich, an asparagus hummus sandwich, coleslaw, organic spring greens, a scone with preserves and double Devon cream, and a shortbread cookie. Also this weekend, I went with my family to see the SF Orchestra play at the Shoreline with fireworks for the Fourth of July, which was lovely. There have been other adventures already chronicled in this blog this summer, and there are more to come, including seeing Paul McCartney play at AT&T park this coming weekend, and flying to Portland to see my dearest Morgan get married!

Visit my grandmother as often as possible. I've seen my Nana at least once a week this summer, which is great. She is always so encouraging and sweet to me.

So, overall, I'm doing pretty well on my summer goals, though I could pick up the pace on a couple of my endeavors. I'm already getting excited about the fall, because we got back our results from course registration for next year! I'm still sorting out what to add and drop, but here are some of the classes in my probable future for the fall: International Labor & Employment, the Law of War, the Practicing Lawyer & the Poor, and Public Interest Advocacy. I will also be receiving credit for my externship with the Arlington Immigration Court, and for the Georgetown Law Human Rights Institute Fact-Finding Mission. Actually, I'm already doing work for the fact-finding mission this summer, soliciting information from knowledgeable folks about the safe repatriation of persons with mental disabilities. Busy busy busy, but that's how I like it. I'm very excited about being done with law school in a year, but I'm also trying to slow down and enjoy this final year of school before I take the bar and enter the "real world" on a full-time basis.

Two Rules

1. Avoid food poisoning.
2. If you get food poisoning, let your mommy take care of you.

I managed to follow Rule No. 1 for the first 23 years, 9 months, and 20 days of my life (i.e., until very early Monday morning).  Since then, I've been following Rule No. 2, which has made the violation of Rule No. 1 far more bearable.  I have had to miss three days of my internship--and, life in general, for that matter--but now I am feeling well enough to return to work, and to the active practice of Rule No. 1, tomorrow.

Where's the Soup?

My internship with the Fair Housing Law Project (hereinafter FHLP, pronounced "flip") is going very well. There are 13 of us law clerks, so they have a formal training program for us, which is awesome. So far, I've learned about housing discrimination, predatory mortgage lending, reasonable accommodations of persons with disabilities, legal ethics, interviewing clients, landlord-tenant law, and working with clients with mental disabilities. Also, I have had opportunities to sit in on a client interview, a deposition, a mediation, staff meetings, conference calls, and a meeting of the Northern California Fair Housing Coalition (NCFHC). As much as I've loved my past internships, it's nice to be at a much larger organization (~50 attorneys) with more resources. I am very impressed with the work that the Law Foundation does, and am so glad to be a part of it this summer.

The nice thing about the summertime is that I don't have homework, so there is more free time for reading, studying Spanish, and--wait, that sounds a lot like homework. Whoops. Well, I've also done a ton of fun things in the past couple of weeks, including attending the Sunnyvale Art & Wine Festival, battling Alan in Scrabble, seeing Alissa before the NCFHC meeting in SF, checking out the San Jose Music in the Park with Robert, and enjoying happy hour with my fellow law clerks at a pizza place across the street from San Jose City Hall.

On Saturday, Robert, Tiffany and I took a trip to San Francisco. We had planned this out ages in advance, to take advantage of San Francisco's Dine About Town, by making reservations at Campton Place. Before dinner, we went to the Legion of Honor. We didn't spent too much time there, because we were trapped in traffic on 19th for ages, but I enjoyed the exhibition on Impressionist Paris. I also liked that we were there during an organ concert, which could be heard throughout the museum. I always enjoy the architecture of the building, a three-quarters scale imitation of the Palais de la Légion d'Honneur in Paris. (Photo courtesy of Tiffany.)

After the museum, we walked around Lincoln Park for a little while, and then made our way downtown. We were early for our reservation, so we had a drink in the bar area of the restaurant. I had a lovely riesling, Kabinett Von Hovel Oberemmeler Hutte Mosel 2002, which tasted like green apples. The restaurant itself has a lovely ambiance, with low lighting, high ceilings, and a beautiful modern chandelier. They had delightful, warm bread to start the meal, followed by a foam palate cleanser that tasted of peas and limes.

For my first course, I had roasted carrot soup with fine herbs and hazelnuts. Robert and I were rather bewildered when the waiters brought out very large bowls containing only a small pile of peas and nuts. We eyed each other nervously, silently asking, "Where's the soup?!" Then, more waiters bustled out, carrying little pitchers, with which they proceeded to pour the soup around our little piles of peas. I suppose it was so as to prevent our peas from getting soggy?

All three of us ordered the same main course: slow cooked flat iron steak with truffled Yukon, savoy spinach and veal jus. I ordered my steak medium well, while Robert and Tiffany went with the chef-recommended medium rare. They may have made the better choice; while my steak was delicious (especially the seasonings in the rub), it could have been juicier. The potatoes and spinach complemented the flavors of the steak nicely.

For dessert, we all had chocolate parfait with vanilla cream and almond praline. The rectangular chocolate parfait was in the center of the plate, while the cream was presented in little, cloud-like dollops placed asymmetrically around the plate. The almond praline was crushed up and sprinkled throughout. The heaviness of the chocolate parfait was offset by the lightness of the cream. While I appreciated the presentation, I will confess that I was a bit concerned about my ability to maintain a proper parfait-to-cream ratio as I ate it; indeed, my fears were confirmed when there was not quite enough cream for the concluding bites of my parfait.

Overall, I rather enjoyed the dinner. What most appealed to me about it was the idea of dinner as an event, carefully choreographed by a large waitstaff with an eye for finesse. There were little touches throughout, such as providing me and Tiffany with little cushions upon which to place our purses (in lieu of the floor or back of our chairs). The waiters were all attentive and courteous.

One thing I can say with confidence: I'm pretty sure, among all of the middle-aged patrons at the restaurant, we were the only diners who went out clubbing afterward. I had never officially been to a dance club, so Robert and Tiffany took me to Bootie (as in pirate booty). I wasn't sure that I'd enjoy clubbing, as I don't like "clubbing music," but Bootie plays music to which I would actually be willing to listen. Specifically, they are known for their mashup bootlegs, which is where "the vocal track of one song is mixed over the instrumentation of another." (E.g., Come See About Down - Jay Sean vs. The Supremes.)

In addition to a DJ playing mashups, they also had a fantastic house band, Smash-Up Derby. The band was my favorite part of the night, and I want to go back and see them play again. The other thing I liked about Bootie was the unassuming nature of the crowd; as Robert observed, our fellow dancers just wanted to have fun. I was glad they weren't really "cool" people taking themselves too seriously, because that's no fun, and kind of intimidating. All told, it was a lovely afternoon and evening in the company of good friends.

P.S. - How are we already halfway through June? I'm completely flummoxed.

The Good Eleven

I've been back in the Bay Area for eleven days, and all is well. Here are the good eleven things that happened, in chronological order:

1. I hugged my mommy.
2. I purchased a new desk and chair from IKEA to create a productive space for the summer.
3. I began to learn Spanish.
4. I ate Thai in downtown Sunnyvale with a bunch of good friends from middle school.
5. I was impressed by Phillip's mad mountain dulcimer skills at Barefoot's open mic night.
6. I learned about Genghis Khan with my brother at the Tech Museum.
7. I enjoyed the most amazing café au lait I've ever tasted with Robert at the Nile Cafe.
8. I visited Fresno for the first time to attend a beautiful wedding (read: ADX reunion).
9. I attended the 10 pm Mass at Newman, with Fr. Charlie presiding.
10. I helped my dad pick out a new grill, and we had delicious ribeye steaks.
11. I started my internship with the Law Foundation, working on housing discrimination and predatory mortgage lending.

I'll share more on my internship as the week progresses, but suffice it to say that I am very excited about this summer.

Summer Preview

Whilst I am in the middle of final exams, I cannot help but to daydream about this summer. My internship with the Fair Housing Law Project (a part of the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley) begins on June 1st. I'm so glad it's only in San Jose, as opposed to my insane commute to San Francisco last summer.

Speaking of commuting, I'm still figuring out the best way to get from Sunnyvale to San Jose by public transit. I think the fastest method--I'm guessing 45 minutes or so--will be to bike to the Lawrence Caltrain Station, take Caltrain to the San Jose Station, and then bike to my office. I suppose I could attempt to take a combination of buses (probably the 32 to the 522) but VTA is so much less reliable than the train. Plus, biking is more fun and healthful.

I have some goals and projects lined up for this summer:

• Read for pleasure
• Begin to learn Spanish
• Research and apply for fellowships and clerkships for after graduation
• Write On journal competition grading (~25 10-page case comments)
• Spend quality time with friends, preferably on short Bay Area adventures
• Visit my grandmother as often as possible

I have some other ideas to which I have not yet committed... For instance, I am considering taking a martial arts class, maybe Judo or Taekwondo. I also am brainstorming some sort of spiritual devotion for the summer (ideas?). I really want to make the most of this summer. What with studying for the bar exam next summer, this is my last truly free summer as a student. Sheer madness.

Any suggestions for my summer reading list? So far, I know I want to read:

• Traveling with Pomegranates, by Sue Monk Kidd & Ann Kidd Taylor
• The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything: A Spirituality for Real Life, by Fr. James Martin
• Reading the OED: One Man, One Year, 21,730 Pages, by Ammon Shea

Lovely as this summer daydreaming is, I must come back to the present. Final exams tomorrow, Friday, Monday, then one more exam the following Saturday and paper due the following Tuesday, whew! I am not flying back to CA until May 22nd, so I'll have a few days to hang out as a tourist in DC and tidy up my apartment for my lovely sublessee. I hope I'll be able to check off a few more things from my DC To-Do List (see column, at right), as my pace has stagnated considerably this semester.

Ben's Chili Bowl

I completely forgot to mention that I checked off Ben's Chili Bowl from my To-Do List! My internship is literally across the street from Ben's, so it wasn't exactly out of the way. I opted for their "famous" chili dog with french fries. (So, technically, I still need to try a half-smoke and cheese fries.) It was delicious, of course. I love chili that errs on the side of sweet as opposed to spicy.

Adding to the experience was the fact that I ate lunch at the counter. I went by myself since I was just stopping by before my internship. It was my first time ever eating alone at a lunch counter. Honestly, it was a little awkward to stare at all of the cooks running around behind the counter as they prepared orders. What do people do when they're eating alone at a counter? Should I have struck up a conversation with the cooks? Well, it was only my first time there... I guess I was just getting a feel for the place. Next time, I'll try to handle my visit like this guy:

Just Keep Swimming

This has been quite a week. My first and second weeks of school blurred into one behemoth of a week due to the first weekend of my Negotiations seminar, which met from 9 to 4:30 Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I am really enjoying the seminar, but, gosh, ten days without a day off is kind of harsh for a student accustomed to a four-day week. Plus, I had to go in to campus yesterday to table for the Catholic Student Association at an admitted students reception, and to take care of some business for the Poverty Law Journal. At least I didn't have to leave my apartment today, especially in light of the weather:


Seriously, when I went to bed last night, there was no snow, and now we have half a foot. Though, it was gorgeous to watch all day while sitting on my couch, studying constitutional law and sipping hot apple cider.

I mentioned a couple of my classes last week, so I'll take a moment to fill you in on the rest of my schedule. My Constitutional Law II class is fantastic. I am delighted to be taking it with the same professor as I had for Contracts last year. Apparently, his premise for the course is to attempt to convince us that judicial review was a bad idea, though he admits that he will probably fail. I just love his lecture style--methodical, passionate and witty.

I am also enjoying my Refugee Law and Policy seminar. The past year has really opened my eyes to my personal interest in the intersection of international law and poverty law, and I feel that refugee law is a fascinating example. I would really like to do the CALS clinic at Georgetown next year, so this seminar serves as a good introduction.

My Negotiations seminar is awesome. It meets a total of two weekends over the course of the semester, with some assignments outside of class, and counts for three credits! Incredible. The class sessions are a lot of fun, because we mainly break out into role playing exercises with classmates. So far, I've represented a diverse array of clients: an opera company trying to hire a soprano, a radio station trying to hire a host , a single mother accused of neglect, an investor seeking an easement on a neighbor's property, a high tech start-up disputing a contract with an investment bank, and a British jockey trying to break into the Kentucky Derby. I am excited about this class because negotiating is not just a lawyering skill, but a life skill.

I also started my internship with the Legal Clinic. Everyone there is very nice, and excited to have my help. So far, I've been doing some document review. Next week will be interesting because I get to meet with each attorney to discuss their fields of work.

The Poverty Law Journal has been keeping me very busy this past week. I turned in a team assignment, submitted a paper I wrote last semester on the 2007 Hague Child Support Convention for potential publication as a note, and applied for Editor-in-Chief! Elections aren't until next week, but we had a Q&A session Thursday night where anyone on staff could ask questions of the three of us who are running. I focused on my leadership experience (CSA, ADX), editing skills (English major, high school newspaper Ed-in-Chief, general nerdiness), and desire to foster a greater sense of community. We'll see what happens!

I've also managed to do a few fun things, in spite of my busyness. Jess and I went to a D.C. Cal Alumni happy hour, I went to a party with a bunch of friends from 1L year, I rocked out to Deaf Dog and the Indictments (a band comprised mainly of judges), and I attended a Poverty Law Journal party. Oh, and watched the State of the Union, of course.

Sigh, I also watched the final episode of the Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. I really appreciated his farewell message. In particular: "Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you’re kind, amazing things will happen."

I was so impressed by how Conan handled the whole ordeal. I hope that we see him doing something amazing on September 1 (my birthday!) when he is allowed back on the air. Also, I was excited to read that his production company, Conaco, is working on a new drama that "focuses on a Supreme Court justice who leaves the bench to start his own practice." I would watch that!

Aaron Burr was a Scoundrel

I flew back to D.C. on Saturday. The best part of the trip was getting a free upgrade to first class for my ATL-DCA flight! Wow, first class is pretty nice. Delta offered me free wine, gave me real candy bars instead of those weird cookies, and the flight attendant was hilarious. Plus, I sat next to a similarly upgraded passenger, Javier, who is also a D.C. grad student. We toasted our good fortune and had a great flight.

Jess was kind enough to pick me up at the airport. When we got home, the first thing I unpacked was the Christmas present for her from my mom--a Zhu Zhu pet hamster! Jess got one that is yellow with stars on the back. We didn't exactly feel like 23-year-olds as we sat on the floor of my room and played with our hamsters, but it seemed a fitting way to celebrate being back in town.

On Sunday, I jumped right back into things. I went to Mass at 11 am (which felt, of course, like 8 am), followed by a Catholic Student Association co-chair lunch meeting. Then, I went to the bookstore to pick up $770 of books. Ouch. They gave me a cardboard box to carry them all to my locker, which is fortunately only a couple hundred yards from the bookstore. I grabbed a couple of the books, and headed to the library. Impressive... I made it a whole 21 hours without setting foot in the library.

That night, Jess and I took advantage of Restaurant Week by having dinner at Morton's, a steakhouse in downtown D.C. It was delicious! I had a Caesar salad, filet mignon with béarnaise sauce, garlic mashed potatoes, and double chocolate mousse. When the maître d' took us to our table, he informed us that we were sitting in Larry King's booth! Indeed, there was a painting of Larry on the wall above us, with the inscription "Larry's Corner." According to the maître d', when Larry eats at Morton's, he just walks in and sits himself down at that booth. "If Larry comes tonight, I guess he'll be eating dinner with you!" he told us, in a slightly rehearsed manner that was nonetheless delightful.

I spent MLK Jr. Day mainly at home studying and doing work for the Poverty Law Journal. Jess and I did venture outside for a trip to Trader Joe's, where I purchased many delicious items, including edamame, chocolate mochi ice cream, clementines, and sourdough bread. I have been amazed by the weather in D.C. the past couple of days--arguably nicer than the Bay Area was over break, at least during the day.

Today was the first day of school. On Tuesdays, I have two classes back-to-back in the same classroom, which is nice (because I don't have to set up my laptop and books twice) but a bit monotonous, atmospherically. At least it's one of the nicer classrooms (200).

My first class, International Environmental Law, looks like it will be awesome! The professor seems enthusiastic and knowledgeable, and I even answered one of her questions correctly. I was a little nervous about my lack of experience with environmental law, but my international law background more than makes up for it. I found the reading assignment very interesting because it discussed the impact of environmental issues upon indigent populations in developing countries. I'm very interested in the intersection of poverty law and international law.

Next, I had International Law II. At Georgetown, IL I (which I took last spring) focuses on public international law, whereas IL II is about corporate international law (i.e., trade, investment, and finance). Personally, I've discovered that I'm more interested in public IL than private IL, but it will still be interesting to learn more about setting up international business deals, arbitration, and the WTO. I mean, I did major in International Political Economy with a concentration in Law and Economics, after all.

This week is going to be pretty crazy. Typically, I will only have class/internship four days per week; however, this weekend is the first of two Friday - Sunday sessions for my Negotiations seminar. We will be meeting from 9 am to 4:30 pm each day! So, I have to go ten days straight without a day off. Don't pity me, please--I did this to myself. Actually, I'm really excited about the seminar, because negotiating is such an important part of life, not just the legal field. I'm reading Getting to Yes right now, which provides a very interesting strategy.

Well, back to homework; 63 pages of reading for Constitutional Law II tomorrow! Plus, tomorrow is the first day of my internship with the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless [hereinafter Legal Clinic]. At least the authors of my Con Law book seem to have a sense of humor. They keep throwing in quirky facts at odd moments. For example:

Marshall outlived all of his contemporary adversaries, including his enemy Jefferson, and was determined to outlive populist President Andrew Jackson as well. Only in this last aspiration did the Chief Justice fail. He stubbornly refused to resign, notwithstanding failing health, and in 1835 became the first Chief Justice to die in office. While it was being tolled on the occasion of his death, the Liberty Bell cracked. (Can you beat that for symbolism?)

Seriously, that is the authors' parenthetical at the end, not mine. So far, I've also discovered a fantastic footnote about the "scoundrel" Aaron Burr, many exclamation points at unexpected moments, and an unlikely comment on Justice Harlan's predilection for chewing tobacco on the bench, but I'll spare you.

One more thing: I am an ardent Conan O'Brien fan. I watch his show every night (indeed, I have watched every single episode of his Tonight Show). I am devastated by NBC's actions, and am so fearful for what the end of the week may bring. Poor Coco! Though, I will admit that it has been interesting to follow this from a legal standpoint--all of the legal blogs I follow have been abuzz with speculation about his contract. Specifically, I'm curious to see whether Conan's lawyers will be able to successfully argue for a definition of "The Tonight Show" that includes the specific 11:35 time slot. In the meantime:

I'M WITH COCO!

Taking a Break

I've been home for a week. I flew out last Tuesday, in spite of the fact that I overslept and missed my flight! I am still in disbelief that I did such a thing. However, Delta was extremely helpful. I woke up at 6 a.m., 40 minutes before my flight was scheduled to depart, and, after freaking out for about five minutes, called Delta to see if I could reschedule. When I called, an automated system asked me for my frequent flyer number, and then connected me to an operator who said, "Hello, Ms. Stempson, I see that you are going to miss your flight..." and proceeded to tell me that there was another flight I could catch at 8:25. I was amazed that she did all of this instantaneously without even asking me why I was calling. Plus, they only charged me a $50 fee, which I thought was very reasonable. I've been very impressed with Delta during my transcontinental flights over the past couple of years, and this is yet another example of their excellent service.

The first few days home were not quite vacation time, as I had a paper due on Friday. I decided that I preferred to finish editing my paper at home, rather than sticking around in D.C. In light of the crazy snowstorm that dumped 20.5 inches on Arlington and shut down the airports, I am very thankful that I decided to fly out early. I am pleased with how my paper turned out. I wrote it for my Transnational Law seminar, but got it to overlap with my Poverty Law Journal note. The topic was "Child Support and Indigence: How the Hague Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance Will Help Poor Creditor Parents."

Once I submitted my paper online, vacation officially began--not only for me, but also for my family! We've been hanging around the house, baking Christmas cookies, doing some shopping, and getting ready for our Christmas Eve gathering with my uncle and grandmother. Our family tradition is to eat crab on Christmas Eve, yum!

Also, I wanted to share some internship news. First, I am excited to say that I was offered--and accepted--a spring internship with the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless! So, next semester, I will be interning with the Legal Clinic 10 hours per week, which will involve direct client casework, researching legal questions, coalition work, and community education work.

I am still searching for a summer legal internship in the Bay Area. Yesterday, I had an in-person interview with the Santa Clara County office of Bay Area Legal Aid, for a summer internship position. (I had a screening interview with them in D.C. back in October.) The office is right in downtown San Jose, which would be a very easy commute from Sunnyvale. (I plan to live with my family again this summer to save money.) I enjoyed meeting the attorneys who interviewed me... They were both friendly and enthusiastic about their work. BayLegal provides legal services to low-income people living in the Bay Area. Law clerks get to work in one of three fields: domestic violence, housing, or public benefits.

Not sure if I'll post again before Christmas, so:

Merry Christmas!

(Doesn't that photo make my three-foot tree look enormous?)

Advent(ures)

Happy first Sunday of Advent! I love liturgical seasons, because they present opportunities to start anew. Advent, in particular, appeals to me because of the wonderful sense of anticipation. Everyone is looking forward to Christmas! Moving away from home has intensified this expectant feeling, as I am excited not only for Christmas, but also for the chance to go home. And, of course, all students eagerly await the conclusion of final exams. I pray that this season will be prayerful, productive, and joyful for all of us.

In the spirit of welcoming Christ into our lives and homes, Jess and I decorated our apartment! An impromptu visit to Target yielded wonderful results--stockings, lights, and even a little Christmas tree!

My favorite part is that we spelled out our names on the stockings using pipe cleaners. And, the lights look so gorgeous. Jess and I keep finding excuses to wander into the living room when we should be in our rooms, studying. The little tree is just right for us, too. (The tree skirt is one of Jess's scarves!) We are very pleased with the resulting atmosphere of our apartment.

The past couple of weeks, while fraught with another brand of anticipation in the form of final exams, have nonetheless been full of good moments. The weekend before last, of course, Cal kept the Axe! Jess and I had a good time watching the game at the Cal-Stanfurd D.C. alumni viewing party at Bar Louie in Chinatown. Go Bears!

I'm currently looking for a spring internship, to take advantage of all of the amazing opportunities for law students here in D.C., and last week was exciting because I had an interview with the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless! We'll see what happens... I've applied to other places as well, and have an interview coming up with the Department of Health and Human Services Departmental Appeals Board this week. I am looking for an internship to complete my Pro Bono Pledge hours, which I think is a great idea. So, keep your fingers crossed that I find an internship that allows me to grow through service.

Jess and I both stayed in D.C. for the Thanksgiving holiday so that we could get work done, but that didn't stop us from having fun! We attended not one, but two Thanksgiving dinners. The first was on Wednesday, hosted by the President of Georgetown University in one of the dining halls on campus, and it was fantastic. We ate a ridiculous amount of food, including multiple desserts, and made some lovely new friends at our table. Oh, and there was live music! Very classy, Georgetown. There were lovely flowers as centerpieces that [Jess and I decided] were up for grabs, so now I even have some gorgeous chrysanthemums living in my room!

The second dinner was on the law school campus on Thanksgiving day, sponsored by our dean and organized by Sr. Dorinda, who led us in an interesting Native American prayer before the meal. This meal was even better than the one on main campus, in my opinion. I'm not usually a stuffing fan, but something about this stuffing made it delicious. And, the gravy was fantastic. The best part was that they provided plates and plastic wrap so that we could take home leftovers! Mm, still have a bit of turkey in the fridge.

Thanksgiving morning, Jess and I did some volunteer work with Food and Friends, an organization in D.C. that delivers food to home-bound cancer and AIDS patients. After a training session at their very organized facility, we were off, armed with three gigantic bags stuffed with full Thanksgiving dinners to feed families of four, including entire turkeys, multiple pies, and all of the fixings. We drove around Northwest D.C., dropping off the meals at our assigned locations. One old lady cracked us up by asking where our "menfolk" were, and seemed disappointed to learn that it was just us. Oh, goodness...

On Friday afternoon, Jess and I went to the Kennedy Center to see the National Symphony Orchestra perform The Music Man, conducted by Marvin Hamlisch! We weren't sure exactly how they were going to do it, and were very surprised and delighted to see it performed on stage, right in front of the orchestra, featuring Shirley Jones, her son Patrick Cassidy, and Rebecca Luker. It was very entertaining, and a great way to take a break from our studies. (Though, admittedly, this break was not as productive as I had planned.) The best part was that we had fantastic seats in the orchestra for only $15, thanks to the Kennedy Center's Attend program for 17- to 25-year-olds. For goodness sake, parking cost more!

Other than that, I've been focusing on my studies, what with my Tax Law exam only ten days away, yikes! Well, actually, I did do one other little fun thing over the Thanksgiving break--I read Dan Brown's new novel, The Lost Symbol. Jess bought it last week (and raced through the 500 pages in a day), so I couldn't help but do the same. Obviously, as an English major, I could critique the writing--I mean, no one needs to use the word "esoteric" that many times in one book--but I don't think that Brown is trying to write a meaningful masterpiece. No, he's trying to entertain, and he succeeded in that regard. I was especially interested in reading the book because it takes place in D.C., which made it a lot of fun to read his descriptions of the city and think, I know what he's talking about! He made a few minor errors (e.g., the seats on the Metro are not hard plastic), but I'll forgive him. I enjoyed the story, even if Jess and I both saw the big twist coming from a mile off. At any rate, I recommend it if you're looking for a quick, light read, and, if not, it'll make a for fun movie in a few years.

Settling In

I left California last week on the 18th, a day-long flight with minor delays in Atlanta. As I touched down at National Airport, my heart leapt with eagerness and trepidation--I would soon see my apartment for the first time. I had signed a lease based only on photographs of the place, as Jessica and I had conducted our apartment search remotely from CA. Would it be nice? Spacious? Safe? What of all the intangibles that cannot be expressed photographically? There was nothing left to do but hope and pray.

I caught a taxi from the airport. The cab driver didn't know where my apartment was, so I had to look up directions on my iPhone. (Thank goodness for GPS!) As we drove up to my apartment, I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief--the neighborhood was gorgeous. The streets are lined with trees, children were playing outside, and everything seemed fresh, aided by the warm rain.

Once I entered the apartment and greeted Jessica, my joy increased dramatically. Our apartment is so nice! I love it! It has tons of room, everything seems new and clean, and, most importantly, the windows provided an ample amount of natural light. Jess and I literally danced in our living room, then devoid of furniture, out of sheer exuberance for our good fortune.

The week that followed was filled with many trips to IKEA, Target, a mattress outlet, Office Depot, and Home Depot. Thankfully, Jess brought her car, so we were able to get things fairly easily, though we had to have some things delivered, such as our beds, couch, and table. We were also fortunate to have Jess's family in town for a few days; they kindly helped us carry things upstairs and build furniture. It took me a few more days to finish unpacking my boxes, but everything is now complete! I took a ton of photos--the album is on Facebook.

It took me a little while to unpack everything this week because I had other things going on--namely, Georgetown Law's Early Interview Week (EIW). EIW is where law firms come to one's law school to conduct job interviews for internships for next summer. I had 10 interviews, all with law firms in San Francisco and Silicon Valley. I was a bit nervous about the interviews, but they went well. I had some interesting questions:

• What is your favorite subset of 20th century literature?
  
• What is International Political Economy?
• What do you do in your free time?
• I see that you worked for Kaplan. Did you hear that Stanley Kaplan died yesterday?!
• Tell me more about the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.

Most of the rest of the questions were more standard inquiries about my resumé, and asking why I was interested in their law firm in particular. Consequently, I did a lot of research about the firms; the encouraging part of my research was to see how many firms have international law practice groups, and offices abroad. Very exciting! Keep your fingers crossed for call-back interviews, and I'll keep applying for jobs in the meantime. Can you believe that the job hunt for the summer of 2010 starts so early in the law school cycle?

Classes start up on Monday. Here is my fall schedule: Corporations, Current Topics in Transnational Law (Writing Seminar requirement), Ethics in Public Interest Practice (Professional Responsibility requirement), and Tax Law. I'm a little intimidated by some of the course topics, but I'm also excited. It's nice that my schedule is so light, with regards to hours:


I am taking more units in the spring, but I wanted to keep the fall a little lighter as I adjust to living off-campus, being on a journal, searching for a job for next summer, and fulfilling my writing seminar requirement (a 6,000-word paper, exclusive of footnotes). I'll share more about the classes next week, after I've attended a couple of lectures.

Summery Summary

My internship, exacerbated by my commute, has not afforded me much time for my usual hobbies. Dozens of episodes of The Daily Show have gone unwatched, I haven't baked a single thing from scratch in ages, and, worst of all, I haven't written a blog post since the beginning of June. Well, dear reader, my internship ends Friday, and, along with it, my hiatus from the blogosphere.

That isn't to say that I haven't been up to things--just that I've failed to chronicle them. Here are some highlights from the past two months, furnished mainly by tweets, for posterity's sake:

• Watched the A's cream the Orioles
• Ate the best meal ever at the Daily Grill during SF's Dine About Town
  
• Played pool for the second time, ever, and wasn't half bad at it
  
• Ate tamales while sitting on the Civic Center grass
• Perfected the art of inconspicuous people-watching via Bart window reflections
  
• Sang tribute to Michael Jackson at a karaoke bar in El Cerrito
• Was on a train that hit a car (no one was hurt)
• Visited a purple sweater at the Gap for 5 weeks until it was marked down 50%
  
• Adopted some walking stick bugs for the summer
  
• Made crab cakes for Father's Day
  
• Became a regular customer at the Bean Scene in Sunnyvale
• Learned about the federal grant process for homeless service providers
  
• Saw the San Francisco Symphony, George Takei (Sulu), and fireworks on 4th of July
• Ate lunch with adorable second cousins
• Availed self to be on a jury, but was never summoned
  
• Received fortune cookie: "It's amazing how much good you can do if you don't care who gets the credit."
• Saw the Mechanical Snails play at the Blue Bonnet
  
• Did memo research at the San Francisco Law Library
  
• Fell in love with the weedy sea dragons at the Monterey Bay Aquarium
• Bounced on trampolines with friends have known for a decade
• Visited six different housing projects in Solano County
  
• Said good-bye to Fr. Charlie
• Tried to rescue a lost cat named Persephone
  
• Took little brother out to practice driving
  
• Had a photo published on The New York Times website
• Went for a hike with law firm at Castle Rock State Park
• Watched, and enjoyed, Harry Potter VI
• Found a nice place to live in Arlington, with a nice roommate
  
• Placed bids for Early Interview Week
• Bought a new suit on sale for $99 (regularly $320)
• Traveled 3,698 miles by train over a nine-week period
  

It's been a good summer. I learned a lot, felt affirmation about my decision to go to law school, and enjoyed time at home with friends and family. As good as my internship has been, though, I'm looking forward to a couple of weeks off before I fly out for 2L year. I'll be around through the 18th--let's hang out!

In the HUD, yo

My internship is going well. I took a few more photos, for starters. Here's the door to our office in the Flood Building. Yes, the walls of the hallway are made from imported marble:

Here's the window near which I sit. We can see City Hall's gilded roof, on the far left:

Here is my desk. It's kind of odd, because it has doors that close, like a wardrobe or cupboard. Also, there are a bunch of random papers being stored in it that don't belong to me. My iMac G4 could use some more memory, methinks... When I run more than one application simultaneously, there is a lag in typing responsiveness. It will teach me patience:

They made me a nameplate, of sorts:

Well, that's the grand tour. I've been assigned a bunch of projects, which is good, because I hate it when I don't have enough to do as an intern. It's cool to see how the projects relate to what I've learned this past year in law school. For example: successful grant applications result in contracts; homeless shelters have to think about property law; the formerly imprisoned are at-risk for homelessness. Legal Research and Writing has been the most applicable class, thus far, though--Abernathy was right, Brad! (Shocker.)

On Wednesday, I attended an all-day training put on by my firm at the HUD (Office of Housing and Urban Development) San Francisco Regional Office called "Homelessness 101." We are hired by HUD to teach homeless service providers about McKinney-Vento grants--a crucial source of funding for shelter programs. I'm really glad that we happened to be putting on this training during the first week of my internship, because it was a great crash-course in the stuff that my firm works on as a NOFA (Notice of Funding Availability) technical assistant; that is, we help Continuums of Care (communities of homeless service providers) apply for HUD grants. At the very least, it familiarized me with the abundant acronyms and vocabulary that I need to learn.

I enjoyed meeting the people who attended the training, because it gave me a real appreciation for just how many people are involved in this process. It's not just a matter of having people volunteering to help out at the shelter... the funding, facility management, and compliance with regulations are all behind-the-scenes issues that must be addressed, too. I'm excited to learn more this summer. Although I'm most interested in international human rights law--as opposed to domestic issues--this internship is nonetheless piquing my curiosity for domestic social justice. Hmmm.

May Flowers

It's been a while, faithful readers. Finals and moving back to Sunnyvale for the summer were busy times, and last week, I was working on my application for getting on to a journal. Lots of reading, legal citations, and writing--woo hoo! Actually, the work was interesting, but it was difficult to say "no" to hanging out with my family.

Finals went pretty well. They felt better than last semester, mostly because I knew how to study and what to expect. I also liked this semester's classes more. I was surprised by how interesting Criminal Justice was, since I have no interest in criminal law. Our professor was superb--she was intelligent, funny, and articulate. The class felt like what I had imagined law school to be like... 4th and 5th Amendment issues are so important! I also really enjoyed Contracts because of our professor. His sarcasm, intellectual aggression, and ardent organization worked well with the way that I learn best. I signed up for Constitutional Law II with him for next year--I hope I get it! International Law I was fun. I'm not a huge fan of survey courses because we can't get in-depth about any of the interesting topics, but I think it was a good foundation for classes that I'll be taking over the next two years, such as Refugee Law and International Environmental Law. Property was my least favorite class of the semester, mostly because I had a hard time following our professor. However, to her credit, I will say that I was impressed by how much we had covered when I went back through my notes to outline.

Moving out of Gewirz was a lot of work. I packed everything into cardboard boxes and, with the help of some wonderful classmates with cars, moved it into a rental storage facility for the summer. I don't know where I'll be living this fall, but it'll be with one--if not both--of my current roommates from the dorm, which is great. We're thinking about living in the Northeast neighborhood of D.C. (a.k.a., Capitol Hill), which is within walking distance of the Georgetown Law campus, and has a lot of great rowhouses (à la San Francisco's Painted Ladies, but less colorful). The area is undergoing gentrification--as is much of the city--which means that the relative safety of the neighborhood literally varies block by block. That makes it a little difficult to do apartment-hunting remotely, so I'll probably fly out in late July one weekend to look at places with my roommates. (Anyone want to come?!)

I had a few days between my last final and when I flew back to California, so I did a few fun things. I went out for drinks with my classmates after finals, which was quite a party! I spent a great afternoon on the roof of some friends' apartment complex for a birthday party, which was fun in spite of the high winds. I visited the National Air and Space Museum, which was on my list of things to do (see right column). Actually, speaking of that list--I did pretty well! Rolling over to next year are three items: watch a Supreme Court oral argument (I attempted, but only got in for 5 minutes), get a tour of the White House (I attempted, but have yet to score tickets) and take the Chinatown bus to NYC (which will be easier now that I have a friend or two moving there).

Being home has been a nice change of pace from the busyness of law school these past couple of weeks. I participated in Bay to Breakers with ADX and other friends--what an adventure! We went as a group of 1980's aerobic enthusiasts. We walked (rather slowly, I might add), rather than running, which enabled us to see all of the crazy costumes and floats. My favorite costumes were Shamwow, Obama (on podium float surrounded by Secret Service), a tribe of headhunters, nudists on strike (wearing robes and carrying picketing signs), and Where's Waldo. After over 7 miles, we were quite excited to make it to the beautiful Pacific Ocean:

Other fun events from my time off: going to work with my mom for the walk-a-thon at Westwood Elementary, hanging out with my brother in downtown Sunnyvale, eating ice cream with the Seekers crew at Ghirardelli Square (and spending quality time with my best friend), and playing with our dog, Zero (a portly chihuahua). Other than that, I was mostly working on the journal application, I'm afraid, and now my break has come to an end--my internship starts tomorrow morning!

My internship is with HomeBase, a non-profit, public policy law firm in San Francisco. (I'm sure I'll have more to post about it this week, once I actually start working!) The only downside to this internship is the commute--I have to ride my bike to Caltrain, transfer to Bart at Millbrae, and arrive at Powell Station over an hour-and-a-half after leaving my house. Thankfully, since I'm not driving (don't have a car anyway), I'll get to do a lot of reading for pleasure! Book recommendations are welcome.

I'm going to Mass in Sunnyvale with my mom at St. Martin's Parish. It's a pretty good church. My only gripes are that there isn't a strong showing of people in their 20s, and there doesn't seem to be a very vibrant community outside of the families whose children attend the K-8 parochial school. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed today's Pentecost service. Fr. Tony gave a great homily about, well, behaving. Doing the right thing, having a good attitude--it was a message of living your faith, instead of just talking about it, on a day-by-day basis. I thought it was an interesting approach for a Mass about the Holy Spirit, and it really resonated with me.

My dad and I fixed up my bicycle this afternoon in anticipation of my daily commute. We tuned the breaks, lubed the chain, adjusted the seat, and cleaned out the gear shifter so that I'm not stuck in third gear all the time (it's a six-speed). I'm so pleased with how it's working, now! I forgot how lovely it is to have a bike, especially in a bicycle-friendly town like Sunnyvale.

Well, I have an early train to catch, so I'll stop tinkering with this post (which I've been doing for over a week) and actually publish it. Over 1,000 rambling words--cheers.

Impact of the Downturn?

From a recent New York Times editorial, With the Downturn, It's Time to Rethink the Legal Profession:

The downturn will probably rein in salaries at the high end. [. . .] Lower pay should mean that associates will not need to work the grueling hours many have been forced to. And it will mean less pressure to go into private practice for law graduates who would rather do something else.

I disagree. I think the downturn will have the opposite effect: rather than lessening the pressure to go into private practice, it will increase the pressure to go into public interest and government jobs because they are the only options left--other than unemployment. What I've seen this year as a 1L has been a public interest summer internship market that is significantly more competitive than prior summers (according to my 2L and 3L friends).

Speaking of jobs, my own summer internship search has come to an end! I had mentioned a few weeks ago that I might be working for East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, but things have changed. After a very successful phone interview last week, I will be spending this summer in San Francisco interning with HomeBase, a non-profit, public policy law firm working on homelessness! I'm very excited about this opportunity, because it will help me to learn more about what it means to work for a non-profit while honing my research skills and working for a good cause. Plus, I'll be able to commute from Sunnyvale by Caltrain and Bart. While a long commute--1-1/2 hours each way, ouch--it will save me tons of money, which is an important factor when you're an unpaid intern living on a small public interest stipend. I'm also glad to be close to my family, whom I've missed very much while in D.C. this year.

Spring Break

This past week was my much-needed Spring Break. I discovered this week that I really do love the Bay Area. The weather is mild, the culture is thriving, the people are my friends and family. When I left for D.C., I figured that moving to the East Coast would solidify my love of the Bay Area, and it has. This is not to the detriment of my appreciation for D.C., and how glad I am to be living here for another two years. Rather, moving away has shed some light on the subtle blessings that I have enjoyed growing up in the Bay Area.

I spent Monday through Wednesday in Berkeley, which was fantastic. I went to Monday night meeting at ADX. It felt strange to not know half of the girls in the room. I got to have coffee with a lot of different friends, and I was glad to see that our conversations picked up where they last left off, a confirmation of true friendship. FHE at the Alumni House was a lot of fun, and delicious! I also got my Newman Hall fix--I went to Mass, I had dinner at the rectory, and went to Seekers. Seekers was so adorable for making me a sign! A bunch of us went out to Nations afterward, which was great. And, I got to hang out with Robert, who makes me smile so much. :-)

While in Berkeley, I also got a chance to visit East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, a non-profit that provides legal services to immigrants and refugees. I have an offer to intern with them this summer, which I will probably accept. Berkeley kids, you know that one door labeled "The Living Room" on the side of Trinity United Methodist (the church across the street from the RSF)? Well, that door leads to the basement of the church, where EBSC is located! What a small world. I'm still hoping to hear back from some other summer internships, but at least I have one opportunity lined up.

Outside of my visit to Berkeley, I spent my Spring Break in Sunnyvale with my family. It was a low-key visit, which was nice. I got some studying done, but, more importantly, I now feel sufficiently recharged to tackle the second half of the semester. (Finals start in 6 weeks, wow!) This break provided me a chance for a little introspection, since I was continually asked "How is law school?!" My answer is that law school is tough, but good. Last semester was a lot of trial and error, but I feel far more confident about where I'm going this semester. Hopefully, I'll be able to maintain a firm reliance upon God for my strength in these last four weeks of Lent, and last two months of my first year of law school.