Fresh Start

Something I have always cherished about being in school is the fresh start that accompanies each new semester. The beginning of the school year inspires such hope, such potential. I have many goals for this semester, and this year, both academic and personal. Here are a few.

Treat law school like a 9-to-5 job. I will be living off-campus this year, in Arlington. The sheer weight of law books is a great incentive to try to finish my reading on campus, as opposed to lugging the texts home on the Metro each night. (I'll have a locker at school.) Also, this summer reminded me how nice it is to not have homework at night, after a full day's work. I think I can achieve that balance in law school, if I show up to school at the same time each day, and work in the library when I don't have class.

Continue to explore D.C. During 1L year, I think that I did a great job of seeing all of the main attractions in Washington, such as museums, monuments, and government buildings. This year, I'd like to go off the beaten path a little more, continuing my 2009 New Year's resolution to "Get to know D.C. like a native." There are also some major places that I have yet to visit. Some new places on my to-do list: the Newseum, the Holocaust Memorial Museum, Mt. Vernon, the National Postal Museum, the Corcoran Gallery, and the National Zoo.

Be social. I have a feeling that this year will be more difficult than 1L year with regards to socializing with other students. Possible reasons: living off-campus as opposed to in the dorm, taking a variety of classes with different students instead of all my classes in one section with the same 120 students, and the increased workload of 2L year. So, this year, it will be important to stay in touch with the friends I've made, as well as to get to know my classmates in my new classes. I also hope to reach out to 1Ls through the Catholic Student Association (the new name for Catholic Forum). And, of course, I will continue to keep in touch with friends and family from home.

Pursue the Lord. To be honest, this wasn't the most spiritual summer for me. I mean, I was going to church each week, and feel like I'm on good terms with God, but I wasn't actively engaged in progressing my relationship with Him, and my prayer life is a bit weak at the moment. I am praying that the Lord ignites my heart with a renewed fervor to pursue Him with devotion, and to spur on others to do the same.

* * * * *

In other news, I got on to a law journal!* As you may recall, I spent half of May toiling away at my application for Georgetown Law's Write On competition. Well, the hard work paid off, because I am now officially a staff member of the Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law and Policy. It is funny how life works. I have spent a lot of time studying international issues because I am interested in a legal career in international human rights, and yet I continue to find myself pulled toward domestic poverty issues. First, an internship with a non-profit law firm working on homelessness, and now membership with a poverty law journal. Granted, the Journal does occasionally publish articles about international poverty law, but the focus is primarily upon domestic issues. I do wonder where this will take me. The Journal's Editor-in-Chief quoted Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., at the beginning of the letter to interested 1Ls:

True compassion is more than flinging coins to a beggar . . . It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.

I have to agree. If this summer taught me anything, it is that the causes of homelessness are varied and complex. By learning what those causes are, and figuring out how to prevent homelessness rather than merely providing services to those who are already homeless, we will be able to provide more stability--and, for a smaller cost. I am excited to think that working on this journal may help to identify some opportunities for restructuring in the legal realm.

*For the non-law school kids who read this blog: a law journal (a.k.a., law review) is a scholarly journal published by law students. The articles are written primarily by law professors (and some judges and professionals), and notes or comments written by law students are also sometimes published. The big idea is that law journal articles influence the development of the law. The main roles of a 2L on a journal (from what I've heard) are citation checking and bluebooking, while 3Ls take on editor positions. Law journals membership is useful because it provides research and writing experience, which makes you a more qualified candidate when applying for jobs.

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.

Powell and Market

My first day of work went well. The commute to San Francisco is pretty long, but I don't mind. I've always kind of liked taking the train. The sounds, the people-watching, the sway from the upper seating level, the small carbon footprint, the glimpses of other cities... I do enjoy it. Bart is a bit less charming, but I'm still happy to be taking it instead of driving. Oh, and the people-watching is excellent on Bart, because I can watch the reflections in the windows in the dark tunnels. The $159 that I paid this morning for my June Caltrain ticket was a little painful, but I like belonging to the "club" of daily commuters. So élite. None of that one ride ticket nonsense for me!

My office is on the top (12th) floor of the Flood Building at Powell and Market. The building survived the 1906 earthquake! We have such a lovely view of the city--especially City Hall. I love it. I'll have to take some photos of the view, and of my work area, soon. For now, here's my building:


The people at work are very nice, as is the other intern. We started off this morning with a crash course in homelessness: the history, the causes, the major legislative acts, etc. Then, after an orientation to the office and our computers, I was introduced to my two supervisors. One is a staff attorney, and the other is a policy analyst (who got her Ph.D. from Cal, woo hoo!). I was given a writing project right off the bat, which involved researching the practices of Project H.O.M.E. in Philadelphia. Luckily, we had a DVD that had tons of info on the organization, so I actually spent some of my afternoon watching a movie. I kept getting this nagging feeling that I had read about Project H.O.M.E. before, and then I realized that Sister Mary Scullion, one of the organization's co-founders, was one of this year's Time 100! I recall being rather amused by the closing line of the article:

When Jon Bon Jovi (a loyal Project supporter) described Mary to the press as a nun "who swears and spits," the good sister merely replied, "I do not spit" — and then returned to her work of tirelessly saving her city, one desperate citizen at a time.

Well-played, Sister. At any rate, I finished the assignment, and cannot wait to see what tomorrow will hold! Let me know if you want to make a lunch date, SF kids...

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.

Does it suit me?

In the process of packing up my room, I have to figure out what clothing I'm taking with me to CA for the summer. I figure I might need a suit once in a blue moon--even though I'm interning with a hip SF non-profit law firm that allows jeans and flip-flops (you read that right, Molly). So, I was trying on my suits (all two of them) to decide which one to bring home, and I started to wonder... When will wearing a suit feel normal? When will it cease to feel like dress-up, like role-playing, like pretend? What is it about a suit that makes me feel like a grown-up, that gives me an extra boost of confidence, that makes me want to give a presentation about something, anything? When I try on a suit, it makes me think of high school debate; when will it feel like everyday attire, rather than a special occasion? I wonder.

Existential crises aside, should I bring the all-purpose, conservative black suit, or should I bring the beige suit with light yellow pinstripes? Hm...

Final Exams: Song Title Edition

All these things I've done... Unfinished. A hard day's night. Raindrops keep fallin' on my head. Steady, as she goes. Strength to endure. You learn. One week: homeward bound! (I predict a riot.) Joy to the world. California dreamin'. Go home!