Wrapping up Lent

The past two weeks have been very exciting for my human rights fact-finding mission, because we are doing advocacy work on the Hill and with federal agencies to push for policy revisions to address the problems we identified in our report.  It is liberating to be able to do more than point out a problem--to actually present ideas on how to solve those problems, and hopefully have an impact on the lives of future persons with mental disabilities at risk of being deported.  So far, I have been part of a panel discussion at American University, met with an attorney at the Executive Office for Immigration Review, and met with the staff of Senator Gillibrand and Senator Leahy (collecting many business cards along the way).  There are a few more big meetings coming up, so we'll see what happens!

Other things going on?  Let's see, I've tabled with my journal for a bake sale to raise money for DC Books to Prisons, I attended a lovely reprise of Thanksgiving dinner at Brad and Marie's, we took our panoramic class photo (and it felt like high school all over again), the Catholic Student Association had a well-received Fish Fry, I saw the Georgetown Gilbert & Sullivan Society perform The Sorceror, I took several strolls around the Tidal Basin at night with Jess, we made butterbeer, I was the narrator for Palm Sunday Mass, and I've been studying for final exams and writing a paper.

Last night, a few of us from the CSA trekked over to main campus for Holy Thursday Mass.  It was a very nice service, and struck me as a peaceful culmination of my Lenten experience.  For most of Lent, I was not as devoted as I would have liked.  However, things turned around a couple of weeks ago when I went to confession and renewed my commitment to a prayerful pursuit of God.  He is awesome.  My favorite part of the Holy Thursday Mass was the procession out of Dahlgren Chapel at the end of the Mass with the body of Christ.  We sang and walked through Healy, around the side of the building to the  Copley Crypt Chapel, which was calming and sincere.

My Triduum continues with a service at St. Joseph's on the Hill today, Easter Vigil tomorrow night at the Basilica of the National Shrine, and the CSA's third annual Easter Brunch on Sunday.  Hopefully, I'll find time to work on a paper and do some outlining this weekend, too...

100 Days

Study

Study

Study

Study

in 5 days: Easter

Study

Study

Study

Study

in 10 days: the last day of class

Finals

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in 25 days: my family comes to visit

Fun

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Fun

Fun

in 33 days: I graduate from law school

in 34 days: I move back to CA

in 35 days: I begin studying for the CA bar exam

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in 60 days: Cameron and Eric's wedding
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in 76 days: Independence Day

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in 98 days: the CA bar exam begins

Bar exam

in 100 days: the CA bar exam ends

Webcast

The video of our report launch is now available online! You can access it here.

The report launch starts at the 20:00 minute mark, so fast forward to there to begin. [EDIT: They have posted an updated version of the video that edits out the first 20 minutes, so I have updated the minute marks below.]  If you just want to watch the parts where I speak, here are the minute marks:

00:20:17 - 00:26:34 -- My section on the right to health
00:51:58 - 00:53:07 -- I answer a question on women's issues
01:03:47 - 01:05:55 -- I answer a question on detention facilities

Unfortunately, our Powerpoint slides are hard to read in the video, but hopefully we'll be able to post those online as well.  [EDIT: You can find the slides from our Powerpoint presentation and a FAQ sheet about our project here.]  Thanks again for all of your support!

We Have Liftoff!

Yesterday's report launch was very successful!  Everyone did an amazing job, and I'm so proud of the work we've done this year.  We had well over 50 people attend the launch, plus more who tuned in online.  (I'll post a link to the webcast as soon as I get it.)

My part of the presentation was on the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health, and I felt great about how it went.  I was particularly impressed by how my fellow team members fielded questions at the end of the presentation--it was a little unnerving because we couldn't prepare for that and just had to take questions as they came, but we all have particular areas of expertise at this point, so at least one of us had an answer to each question.

Finally, our report is now publicly available as a PDF!  Check it out--if not to read the whole thing (it's quite long), then at least to see how pretty it is, with the professional graphic design.  It's a real, actual, published report!  So surreal.

Report Launch on Friday

This year, I have been a part of a year-long human rights fact-finding mission seminar through the Georgetown Law Human Rights Institute.  Along with eight other law students, I have been studying the impact of U.S. deportation policies and practices on the human rights of persons with mental disabilities, which included spending a week in Kingston, Jamaica, in January interviewing dozens of deported persons and practitioners.  This Friday, our 124-page report will be released to the public!  We are hosting a report launch that will be attended by dozens of human rights practitioners and government officials, and I will be one of the student panelists presenting our findings.

If you are interested, there's information below about how to watch a live webcast of our report launch on Friday at noon Eastern (9 am Pacific).  I will also post a link to our report and a recording of the report launch once those go public.  The research, report writing, and advocacy work that I have been doing this past year on this issue has been one of the most meaningful and worthwhile experiences of my law school career, and I just wanted to share it with you.

Martha Washington's Great Muffins

Saturdays are the only day of the week when I have enough time to make a more elaborate breakfast than coffee and a bagel.  This morning, I decided to bring to life an idea that's been brewing in my head for a little while--Martha Washington's Great Muffins.

As loyal readers will recall, last December I made Martha Washington's Great Cake.  I enjoyed the combination of cranberries, almonds, and orange extract, and wanted to apply the concept to muffins.  Accordingly, I made up the recipe that follows!

Martha Washington's Great Muffins


Ingredients:

• 2 C. Bisquick or other baking mix
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• 1 C. milk
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp. cardamom
• 1/2 C. dried cranberries
• 1/4 C. sliced almonds
• 1/2 tsp. orange extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line muffin pan with paper muffin cups.  (The muffins ended up sticking to the paper cups, so you might be better off greasing the pan instead.  The muffins are definitely still edible in paper cups, but might require a fork.)

2. Combine all ingredients.

3. Distribute batter evenly among twelve muffin cups.

4. Bake 13-15 minutes or until golden brown.

5. Enjoy!  (Or, read on to make it even more delicious...)

When I tried a muffin, I enjoyed the orange-cranberry flavor, but felt that there could have been more cardamom, and maybe a bit of cinnamon or nutmeg.  I also felt that something was missing--somehow, deep down, I was expecting this muffin to be sweeter.  And, that's when it dawned on me that this muffin was basically an unfrosted hot cross bun!  So, I whipped up a little glaze (1/2 C. powdered sugar and 1 tbsp. milk), and here was the result:

Much improved.  Between the muffin sticking to the paper, and the sticky glaze, however, this is definitely a muffin that requires a fork.  Nonetheless, the result was what I had been aspiring to create: a muffin that reminded me of Martha Washington's Great Cake!

March to Victory

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.
• I tried out a delicious, yet simple, sautéed shrimp recipe from my new cookbook, and had Brad and Marie over for dinner.  Yum!
• 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).