NYC, Part I

I took a bus to New York City Friday morning to visit David at Columbia. I was very excited about the trip, not only because I hadn't seen David in over a year, but also because I'd only been to NYC once before. That trip was centered around visiting law schools, and allowed for only a whirlwind look at the city.

I've been meaning to take advantage of my proximity to other East Coast cities. Indeed, taking a Chinatown bus to NYC has been on my DC to-do list since last year! The bus ride was pleasant, speedy, and uneventful. For those of you who watch Conan O'Brien: We passed through Newark, and I think that Conan's critiques are well-founded.

My bus let me off near Madison Square Gardens. David met me there, and we went for a walk, checking out Times Square, Rockefeller Center, and St. Patrick's Cathedral. At St. Patrick's, we accidentally attended Mass... It was just starting as we arrived! We later realized that it seems that they do Mass continually, because another Mass started up right after ours ended. I enjoyed the atmosphere of the church, because there were a lot of people there to visit, which made the place feel like a community in a way that I haven't seen other cathedrals accomplish. Then again, a guard searched my bag at the entrance, which was a bit of a detraction from that feeling.

It was great to walk through the city. David has a very good grasp of the important buildings throughout the city, and gave me an informal tour as we explored. The tone is very different from DC because the buildings are so much taller; in DC, nothing is allowed to be taller than the Capitol (roughly 12 stories). The pedestrian traffic is more... Intense? Bustling? I can't quite put my finger on it, but there seems to be a sense that everyone has somewhere important to be, and they're nearly late. Basically, it is a city full of rabbits from Alice in Wonderland.

David and I took the subway to get to Columbia. It's not as nice as the Metro, because it is dingy, and seems to have quite a learning curve. I just blindly followed David as to where to go. I'm glad that my daily Metro commute isn't like the subway here.

Columbia has a nice campus. They have a statue of Alma Mater, and she has a little owl hiding in the folds of her robes! I am perpetually surprised by how small some university campuses can be, but I suppose that Berkeley's gigantic campus is the exception, not the rule. The law school building is very nice. They have a lot more random study spots with cushy chairs scattered throughout the building than we do at Georgetown. Their lecture halls are prettier, too. We have a better cafeteria, though, and a nicer campus overall, as our three buildings have grassy quads between them. My California sensibilities still prefer plant life to a formally urban landscape.

David and his brother Daniel have a pretty cool apartment in the grad student housing. They painted some of the walls burgundy and taupe, and have lovely furnishings to complement the color scheme. They're on the first floor, though, which I wouldn't like, because of street noise and such. The apartment layout is a bit odd... Very closed. We were discussing it, and determined that a modern apartment would never be designed like this, as people have such a preference for open spaces.

Friday afternoon, we visited the Studio Museum in Harlem. It is located across the street from the iconic Apollo Theater. The Studio Museum features a contemporary collection of works by black artists. I really liked their Hurvin Anderson installation, which examined the varied use of the space of a barbershop. This was the first museum that we visited, and it taught me a couple of things. First, museums in NYC, unlike museums in DC, are not free. And, second, museums like to give you little buttons or tags to wear, as though you are an animal that they are studying and then releasing into the wild to continue to track. Very strange.

We attempted to visit Grant's Tomb, but it was closed. I was bummed--now I'll never know who is buried there! Instead, we strolled about the city for a little while, then reconvened at the apartment before attending vespers at the Church of Notre Dame. The church had a beautiful grotto (check out this virtual tour). We finished our evening with dinner at a diner, and then watched A Beautiful Mind back at the apartment.

Spiritual Deafness

What a beautiful morning! I am sitting in my living room on my kelly green couch, sipping some freshly brewed coffee, and soaking up the morning sunshine. I've had a bit of a cold all week long, but I am finally starting to feel better today, thank goodness.

Last Sunday, I attended the Red Mass and John Carroll Society brunch. The Red Mass is a special Mass for the legal profession, attended by many members of the Supreme Court, and the John Carroll Society is a professional organization for Catholics in Washington. The coolest part was seeing Justice Sotomayor. At the brunch, everyone gave a standing ovation for Sotomayor, but not for the other justices--including Chief Justice Roberts! Heh, whoops.

Bible study is still going well. Last night, we went through Chapter 7 of Mark. In response to verses 31-37, we had a discussion about spiritual deafness. What causes spiritual deafness for you? How do you know when you're deaf? How are you healed? For me, spiritual deafness is when things just don't feel quite right, when my heart feels clouded with guilt for the ways in which I have been neglecting my relationship with God. Spiritual deafness also manifests itself in my prayer life when I fail to listen to God, instead rambling my prayers thoughtlessly, or else by not taking the time to pray at all. In Mark, "people brought to [Jesus] a deaf man," which resonates with me: it is often the accountability and encouragement of others that opens the door to reconciliation for me. Thankfully, I don't feel spiritually deaf right now, though I do want to work on the consistency of my prayer life. I think I need to commit to some regular daily devotional exercise, like the Rosary or the Liturgy of the Hours or something. Any ideas? What has helped your prayer life to become more consistent?

September Digest

I didn't post last month because I was out and about doing stuff! So sue me. (Though, I wouldn't recommend it, seeing as I'm studying law and whatnot.)

I had a nice birthday, even if it was the second day of school. (Tax Law lecture = best birthday present ever! Or, not.) Jess and I went to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner, which was delicious. Especially memorable was the Chocolate Oreo Mudslide cheesecake (chocolate Oreos baked in creamy chocolate cheesecake with a chocolate-almond brownie crust), complete with a candle and singing waiters.

I am really enjoying being on the Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law and Policy. My grammatical nerdiness is finally paying off--I love being a staff editor! I also like that we do community service together as a journal, living out our mission. We did some cleaning at Central Union Mission last month, and I'll be doing some work with S.O.M.E. (So Others Might Eat) later this week. Also, I'm on the Article Selection Committee, which is exciting, because I have some input on which articles we choose for publication!

Things are going well for the Catholic Student Association. (We renamed the Catholic Forum, to clarify our purpose.) I'm a co-chair, and am very excited about the enthusiasm I've seen from students about this year. Attendance at our weekly Bible study has been more consistent than last year. We're going through the Gospel of Mark, which has been very interesting. To supplement my understanding, I am reading Mary Healy's fantastic book on Mark, written for the Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture.

A few of us attended a lecture by Fr. James Martin last week on "Laughing with the Saints: Joy, Humor and Laughter in the Spiritual Life." It was great--he told jokes the entire time, but with a good message: that laughter is good for your spirituality. You may recognize Fr. Martin as the author of several excellent books, including My Life with the Saints, and as a guest on the Colbert Report. In fact, you can watch his lecture on YouTube. I especially appreciated the discussion in the context of my confirmation name, Sarah, because she gives birth to Isaac at a very old age, causing her to remark, "God has given me cause to laugh, and all who hear of it will laugh with me." (Genesis 21:6) Indeed, Isaac means "he will laugh."

I checked out the National Postal Museum on a whim a few weeks ago. I've been meaning to do so for ages, because it is only a couple of blocks from campus, and now I can finally check it off of my D.C. to-do list. I must say, it was a lot more exciting that I had anticipated. Honestly, I was expecting a museum with postage stamps framed on walls. Rather, it was very interactive, and a good place to take kids, although it felt like the museum hadn't really been updated since the mid-1990s. I especially liked the exhibit of F.D.R.'s stamp collection.

Another item completed on my to-do list: the National Zoo. My Corporations class was canceled last week, so I went to the zoo instead! My favorite part, of course, was seeing the owls. They had adorable little burrowing owls (pictured at right)! The owl on the left kept flying around, perching on a tall cactus to survey the area, while the owl on the right was sleepy. The zoo also had two barred owls, who were serene and dignified.

My dear roommate and I have had our share of fun this month, too: watching Cal football with the Cal D.C. Alumni Club, meeting up for lunch and shopping at our local mall, giving some Iraq Air Force vets (one of whom was a friend of Jess from home) a tour of D.C., a spontaneous late-night trip to 7-11 for Slurpees, attending an Oktoberfest in Maryland via water taxi, cooking together in our beautiful kitchen, and watching House, M.D., in spite of the fact that we don't own a television. Good times.

The ultimate testament of how much better 2L year is to 1L year: I actually am finding time for a bit of light reading. Fr. Alexei (one of the Catholic chaplains for Georgetown Law) recommended The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell, so I'm reading it right now. In a nutshell--Jesuits in space! I think the Amazon review sums it up well:

In 2019, humanity finally finds proof of extraterrestrial life when a listening post in Puerto Rico picks up exquisite singing from a planet which will come to be known as Rakhat. While United Nations diplomats endlessly debate a possible first contact mission, the Society of Jesus quietly organizes an eight-person scientific expedition of its own. What the Jesuits find is a world so beyond comprehension that it will lead them to question the meaning of being "human." When the lone survivor of the expedition, Emilio Sandoz, returns to Earth in 2059, he will try to explain what went wrong... Words like "provocative" and "compelling" will come to mind as you read this shocking novel about first contact with a race that creates music akin to both poetry and prayer.

Well, that is my September digest. I attended some other museums and events, and caught up with a lot of people whom I hadn't seen all summer, but I think you get the gist of how September was for me--busy, but in a good way. Tune in next time to read about going to Red Mass with the Supreme Court (and possibly the President), celebrating Jess's birthday, and even attending a congressional hearing for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee!

Wake Me Up When September Ends

Um, where did September go? Well, I wrote the following post last week, and then things got busy, and I never finished editing it, and thus it was never posted. Oh, dear. I'm going to post it as-is, and move on.

*****

I think it is safe to say that this year is so much better than 1L year. I feel like I know what I'm doing, academically. Certainly, the courses continue to be a lot of work, but I no longer feel unsure of myself, unsure of how to study, unsure of what to expect. Let me tell you a little more about my classes.

Corporations. I never took any courses in undergrad related to business, so this course is really helpful. I feel like I'm learning stuff that "adults" should know, especially with regards to basic corporate structure. This is one of those courses that isn't required curriculum, but is strongly recommended by most professors. I think it makes sense, because corporations are such an integral part of how our economy--if not our society--functions.

Professional Responsibility. I am really enjoying this class! In a nutshell, we meet for two hours each week and debate moral quandaries presented as hypotheticals. I think the discussions have been fascinating, especially when a classmate argues that the ABA's Model Rules of Professional Responsibility are at odds with his or her personal convictions. The course is taught from a public interest perspective, which brings an interesting perspective, as the Model Rules often fail to address issues that fall outside of the traditional role of a lawyer.

Tax Law. I am utterly shocked by how much I love this course. I dreaded taking this class--in fact, I didn't want to take it, ranked it really low on my choice of classes, and considered it to be bad luck that I had gotten in. Boy, was I wrong about this class! First of all, I comprehend the material... which, in all honestly, I was afraid would not be the case. However, what I failed to realize is that the beauty of a dry topic like tax law is how clear the law is. Instead of murky common law, we have the Internal Revenue Code! And, if that's not good enough, we can check out the regulations! It's so simple! I find the course surprisingly refreshing after the ambiguity of much of what we learned 1L year. That being said, I don't see myself becoming a tax lawyer anytime soon, but I think I'll be far more adept at handling my own finances after this course.

Transnational Law Seminar. Pretty much everyone gives me a blank stare when I tell them that I'm studying "transnational" law, so allow me to explain. It is also known as private international law, or conflicts of law. Private international law deals with private parties, as opposed to public entities (e.g., state governments, the EU, the UN). This course fulfills my writing requirement, and I'm tying it in to the note that I will be writing for the Poverty Law journal by writing about the 2007 Hague Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support.

My schedule is pretty nice: no class on Fridays, and only Corporations on Mondays and Wednesdays. I've been attempting to stick to my 9-to-5 work mentality for homework, which has been a good system thus far. Whenever I'm not in class, I go to the library to get work done. I also come to campus on Sundays for Mass, and stick around to get work done afterward. The best part is coming home without textbooks on the Metro, because I'm already done for the day.

Mount Vernon

Jess and I went to Mount Vernon yesterday. Wow, haven't been in town two weeks, and I already get to check something off my D.C. to-do list! Mount Vernon, of course, was George Washington's Virginia plantation. It's only 10 miles south from our apartment. Jess and I decided to go on a day with a 30% chance of rain, so it wasn't even too crowded in the morning. Below are some of the photos from our trip (taken by Jess and myself).

Although the trip was mainly lighthearted, I really did enjoy learning more about our first President, and his wife. Martha was pretty incredible--did you know that she traveled to the battles to visit her husband, since he couldn't make it back to Mount Vernon to visit her? Apparently, she was a great morale booster. I learned much of this from the 20-minute video at the education center, which was introduced by none other than Pat Sajak! Sooo random (or so I thought--apparently, he maintains a residence in Maryland). Jess and I had to exercise incredible levels of self-control to not burst out laughing, especially when he strolled on screen in 17th-century attire.

The first thing we saw? Sheep! Adorable sheep.


Inside the education center, there was an opportunity to hold hands with Washington. In fact, the hand was worn down from so many tourists!


We weren't allowed to take photos inside the house, but here are some of the slaves' quarters. Wow. It was strange to be on an actual plantation, having only ever treated them as a part of American history.


The house looks grand from afar, but actually isn't that big up close. Also, although it looks like it is made of stone, Washington had the house made of wood, and then used a paint-and-sand method to make it look like stone. Apparently, he was quite frugal.


The view from the porch onto the Potomac is gorgeous. As you can see, the Maryland shore has been maintained as a state park.


Jess and I are going to frame this for our apartment.


Washington's tomb was impressive. We attended a wreath-laying ceremony. They invited members of the military, boy scouts, and girl scouts to participate, which I thought was cool.


Down at the wharf, there was a silly little owl hiding in a corner!


Jess is so cute.


Oh, trees... You're so lovely. The shade was very helpful, since it was really hot (and humid... always humid) in the afternoon.


This was not the answer that we expected as we pulled the lever.


Hee hee, an owl hand puppet in the gift shop. The head turned 360 degrees!

The Lion's Final Roar

The passing of Senator Ted Kennedy affected me more than I would have anticipated. As I watched the coverage of the burial yesterday evening (taking place a mere 3 miles from my apartment), I was particularly struck by Cardinal McCarrick's reading of excerpts from a letter that the senator wrote to Pope Benedict. I would like to share that letter here:

Most Holy Father, I asked President Obama to personally hand deliver this letter to you. As a man of deep faith himself, he understands how important my Roman Catholic faith is to me, and I am deeply grateful to him.

I hope this letter finds you in good health. I pray that you have all of God's blessings as you lead our Church and inspire our world during these challenging times.

I am writing with deep humility to ask that you pray for me as my own health declines. I was diagnosed with brain cancer more than a year ago, and, although I continue treatment, the disease is taking its toll on me. I am 77 years old and preparing for the next passage of life.

I have been blessed to be a part of a wonderful family, and both of my parents, particularly my mother, kept our Catholic faith at the center of our lives. That gift of faith has sustained, nurtured and provided solace to me in the darkest hours. I know that I have been an imperfect human being, but with the help of my faith, I have tried to right my path."

I want you to know, Your Holiness, that in my nearly 50 years of elective office, I have done my best to champion the rights of the poor and open doors of economic opportunity. I've worked to welcome the immigrant, fight discrimination and expand access to health care and education. I have opposed the death penalty and fought to end war. Those are the issues that have motivated me and been the focus of my work as a United States Senator.

I also want you to know that even though I am ill, I am committed to do everything I can to achieve access to health care for everyone in my country. This has been the political cause of my life. I believe in a conscience protection for Catholics in the health care field and will continue to advocate for it as my colleagues in the Senate and I work to develop an overall national health policy that guarantees health care for everyone.

I have always tried to be a faithful Catholic, Your Holiness, and though I have fallen short through human failings, I have never failed to believe and respect the fundamental teachings. I continue to pray for God's blessings on you and our Church and would be most thankful for your prayers for me.

As a Catholic and a Democrat, this letter reminds me of why I went to law school, and the hopes that I have for my own impact upon others. I know that Senator Kennedy wasn't perfect--we're all sinners, after all--but, I nonetheless look up to him, and pray that he finds eternal peace.

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.