I have been working non-stop for the past three weeks! My human rights fact-finding report on the repatriation of persons with mental disabilities is officially complete--sent it to our graphic designer this morning!--after a ton of work from our amazing group of nine students. I've been putting in about 25 hours of work per week on the report this month, on top of my full course load, the Poverty Law Journal, the Catholic Student Association (CSA), and searching for a job. However, I'm energized rather than exhausted. I love being busy. Boredom is my worst enemy. To that end, here are some highlights from the past three weeks...
I got a very short haircut, which I'm enjoying immensely. It is so nice to not have hair on my neck! I told the stylist that I didn't want any hair past my jawline, and she did a great job.
I did a series of informational interviews with immigration non-profits in the Bay Area while I was in town for Spring Break. No one was hiring, but I got some good information about what it's like in the field, and about public interest law in general.
The CSA had Fr. Ray Schroth, the author of a new biography on Fr. Bob Drinan, come speak at an event. I enjoyed learning more about Fr. Drinan, and even got a signed copy of the book.
My journal hosted a symposium on the intersection of legal education and poverty law, which was very successful.
It started to feel like spring, but then regressed to winter. Snow in late March?! I do not approve.
I did some trash clean-up at Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens, which is so beautiful! We sorted and bagged over a dozen giant bags of trash and recyclables. I really wish people would stop littering.
There are many more things that I could talk about: e.g., getting addicted to John Grisham novels, journal bake sale tabling for prisoner literacy, planning the CSA budget, Bluebooking, crashing the Tax Journal's end-of-year party, handing out free St. Patrick's Day cookies, sooo much report editing... But, I don't want to ramble.
In other news, there are five weeks of classes left, and I graduate in 55 days. Our human rights report launch is in two weeks, and we have a ton of amazing advocacy meetings lined up with D.C. policy makers. It's definitely starting to feel like the home stretch, and I'm excited! Please keep my job search in your prayers--I have an interview this Friday (which I don't want to blog about until after the fact).
Who would like to join in on a holiday revival of Still Thinking, the ever-popular virtual book club?! We haven't chosen a book yet, so head on over and post your suggestions for a good book to read and discuss over break. Kudos to Cindy for getting the ball rolling.
In other news, I have a final exam today (International Law of Labor and Employment), all of my papers are due tomorrow, and I fly home to California on Saturday! In the meantime, Jess and I have had a few sanity-sustaining study breaks, including the National Symphony Orchestra Pops holiday concert, a screening of the delightful movie Tangled, and a game night featuring Scrabble and gin rummy with our friend Gabe. (Yes, I won at Scrabble.)
Also, it has been very, very cold here as of late. The wind chill is just awful, bringing temperatures down near zero! On my walks from the law school to the Gallery Place - Chinatown Metro station, it's been so cold that breathing is painful (thank goodness for scarves). I never thought I'd be hoping for the temperature to get up to freezing. At least we might get a couple of inches of snow today--snow is pretty.
The past few days have been consumed by an epic snowstorm that hit D.C. Friday and Saturday. All told, Arlington got 21 inches! The federal government is closed tomorrow, as is Georgetown. In other words: SNOW DAY! Indeed, I am trapped in Arlington, as the Metro is not running above ground (which is how I typically get into D.C.), and none of my bus lines are running.
I've really enjoyed hunkering down at home since Friday, especially after the frenetic pace of last week. Jess and I had hardly seen each other all week, so it was nice to spend time together in the apartment. We passed the time by staring out of our big window in the living room, watching not only the snow, but also the neighbors dealing with the snow. (Regular readers of this blog will recall that I love to window watch.) Appropriately, we then watched Rear Window, the 1954 Hitchcock classic with Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly. The tag line sums it up well: "Through his rear window and the eye of his powerful camera he watched a great city tell on itself, expose its cheating ways... and Murder!"
We didn't witness anything sinister from our window: children playing, people digging out their cars, snow ploughs, and dogs frolicking. I mean, murder? Cheating? We didn't even see churlishness. C'mon, Arlington, where's the suspense?
I had a lot of fun taking photos of the snow this weekend. The album is on Facebook, but I thought I'd share a few of my favorites here.
Staying warm under the auspices of hot cocoa.
It's interesting how the snow collected on the banister.
There was so much snow in our front yard.
Four Mile Run, our nearby stream.
This bench was already occupied.
I walked down to Fraser Park specifically to take photos of this fence.
The blue sky made photography so much more rewarding on Sunday morning.
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!
Good weather for studying with a mug of hot apple cider--which, incidentally, is good, as there is much studying to be done. Final exams on Wednesday (Tax), Friday (Corporations), and the following Monday (Professional Responsibility), plus a paper due on the 18th; keep me in your prayers.
Oh, and while we're on the topic of weather, I must share this with you: http://obama-weather.com/Obama/s/20001. Obama shows you how to dress for the week's weather! Hilarious, and makes checking the forecast so much less mundane.
As I was sitting at my desk, outlining for final exams, I couldn't help but to notice how ominous the sky seemed:
I took a photo so that I could write a little post joking about how I hope it wasn't too foreboding of final exams, but then, five minutes later, a low rumble alerted me to how quickly the scene outside of my window had changed:
A thunderstorm! What a delight! Seriously, I love thunderstorms. It is an absolute downpour! And, it was 65 and sunny earlier today, too. Crazy East coast weather!
In other news, I have some amusing quotes from my professors to share from the past few weeks:
“Seibert—now, that is some fine lawyering.” - Criminal Justice professor on Missouri v. Seibert
“Abraham Lincoln didn’t have a TV! He walked 16 miles in the snow and didn’t have a TV!” – Contracts professor on whether a TV or stereo would be considered a necessity
“What can you do around here if you cannot drive? You can drink. And, indeed, many people do.” – Property professor on living in Houston
“He can’t do it all… He’s not Super-Scalia.” - Property professor on Justice Scalia's ability to determine the common law
And, in the time it took me to write this post, the storm has seemingly passed:
I was called on today in my Civil Procedure class, and survived! The professor kept me and my classmate sitting next to me on call for the entire hour-and-a-half (though sometimes calling on other people). I didn't take very many notes, because I was too busy concentrating on every word he said to make sure I'd be able to answer his questions, which are sometimes cryptic. For example, when trying to ask me about the role of traditional tests for personal jurisdiction, all he said was "Fiddler on the Roof?" I stared at him, utterly perplexed, until he said with gusto, "Tradition!" Gah, I should have gotten that! There were definitely some questions I couldn't answer, but he nonetheless told me "Good job" after class, which was a relief.
The other cool thing that happened today was SNOW! It snowed for five minutes or so around lunchtime. I was in the library when it started, and once I caught sight of it from a window, I packed up all of my things, ran down four flights of stairs, and stood in our little quad, gawking at the sky. The only other time I had seen snow fall was on the Spring 2006 Newman retreat (iTune into God), so I was very excited. The snow melted as soon as it touched the ground, but there were definitely little flakes clinging to my Cal sweatshirt! So pretty! A man walking by spotted me and, gesturing toward my sweatshirt, commented, " I bet you don't see this too often in Berkeley." True story, sir.
