Big Wheels Keep on Turnin'
It's been a long 4.5 years (from LSAT to graduation). I enjoyed it. I expected to, and I did. Which was good. I'm sad to say that I spent many hours alongside people who didn't. My heart went out to them. Law school is too much work to do if you don't want to do it.
Today was graduation. I enjoyed it, too. I didn't expect to, but I did. So that was a nice surprise. The student speaker was *hilarious* -- Crossed the line quite a bit, but the most offensive things were done in such a way as to ensure that only those who wouldn't be offended would get the joke -- I was impressed. I hope those who didn't totally enjoy law school at least enjoyed the day that it symbolically ended.
Now, I'm exhausted from a weekend full of family, food, & fun. I can't believe I start PMBR tomorrow.
May 18, 2006
Bubble bookends
It all started with a scantron in February 2002. The pesky LSAT. I recovered by taking a 2 month trip to Italy.
Then there were applications and the working and waiting for school to start. Finally, 1L began. I did a semester. There was the overpreparation and unknown of the first set of finals. I did another semester, and then the end of 1L. When all was said and done, I agreed with most of my peers that the grading and ranking system is arbitrary. But it lives.
I spent a summer working as a patent agent (what I did briefly before law school). Then it was back to 2L, where I did the typical 2L shuffle. Some more finals. I got engaged, did some more law school stuff, ran my first half marathon, externed for a judge, and what do you know, I was 2/3 done with law school.
I split the next summer between two law firms and finally decided to go with one of them after graduation.
Then, 3L hit. It was a completely different experience. First of all, E and I got married, so I spent much more time planning the ceremony than doing school stuff. I took some classes. But, I was fairly checked out of the whole school thing. I managed to check in just in time for the first sent of finals, just in time to deal with my grandfather's passing. Then, my father became ill, so I chose to spend more time with family and replaced several days of my second semester of class with days in the hospital. Again, I did my best to check back in to school just in time for finals, but only time will tell how successful I was at that attempt...
And now, today, it all ended just like it began. I sat down with some #2 pencils, read some questions, paid extra attention to words like NOT, LEAST, and MOST, and filled in bubbles in a room full of my peers doing the same.
It's all done.
Graduation is merely a ceremonial recognition of the truth: I don't ever have to do another piece of work for law school, ever again (assuming I passed all of my classes).
Wow.
It all started with a scantron in February 2002. The pesky LSAT. I recovered by taking a 2 month trip to Italy.
Then there were applications and the working and waiting for school to start. Finally, 1L began. I did a semester. There was the overpreparation and unknown of the first set of finals. I did another semester, and then the end of 1L. When all was said and done, I agreed with most of my peers that the grading and ranking system is arbitrary. But it lives.
I spent a summer working as a patent agent (what I did briefly before law school). Then it was back to 2L, where I did the typical 2L shuffle. Some more finals. I got engaged, did some more law school stuff, ran my first half marathon, externed for a judge, and what do you know, I was 2/3 done with law school.
I split the next summer between two law firms and finally decided to go with one of them after graduation.
Then, 3L hit. It was a completely different experience. First of all, E and I got married, so I spent much more time planning the ceremony than doing school stuff. I took some classes. But, I was fairly checked out of the whole school thing. I managed to check in just in time for the first sent of finals, just in time to deal with my grandfather's passing. Then, my father became ill, so I chose to spend more time with family and replaced several days of my second semester of class with days in the hospital. Again, I did my best to check back in to school just in time for finals, but only time will tell how successful I was at that attempt...
And now, today, it all ended just like it began. I sat down with some #2 pencils, read some questions, paid extra attention to words like NOT, LEAST, and MOST, and filled in bubbles in a room full of my peers doing the same.
It's all done.
Graduation is merely a ceremonial recognition of the truth: I don't ever have to do another piece of work for law school, ever again (assuming I passed all of my classes).
Wow.
May 15, 2006
And then there was one...
Well, folks, it's almost over.
Another 2 units down, and only 4 to go. I celebrated by taking the night off. First, a trip to the spa for a much-needed facial. Then, phone calls to far-away friends and home-made tahini-caeser dressing on salad, panini, and now, a chocolate concoction in the oven.
Sure, it's 1/2 a milk-chocolate easter rabbit + cocoa powder substituted for dark chocolate and all the other necessary last-minute alterations to make it work. But, I bastardized the dense chocolate loaf cake recipe from How to Be a Domestic Goddess, and regardless of how it tastes, it smells good. Dinner just wasn't enough.
E laughs every time I crave sweets. Chocolate. Any of that stuff.
See, when we met, I swore I didn't like it. Didn't need it. Didn't want it, even. Apparently, as time has passed, I've either changed or become more honest with myself.
Regardless, I'm desperately hoping that dessert turns out well. Then I can enjoy it both tonight and tomorrow AM, after my run and before I buckle down for the last push.
I can see the end. And it smells like chocolate.
Well, folks, it's almost over.
Another 2 units down, and only 4 to go. I celebrated by taking the night off. First, a trip to the spa for a much-needed facial. Then, phone calls to far-away friends and home-made tahini-caeser dressing on salad, panini, and now, a chocolate concoction in the oven.
Sure, it's 1/2 a milk-chocolate easter rabbit + cocoa powder substituted for dark chocolate and all the other necessary last-minute alterations to make it work. But, I bastardized the dense chocolate loaf cake recipe from How to Be a Domestic Goddess, and regardless of how it tastes, it smells good. Dinner just wasn't enough.
E laughs every time I crave sweets. Chocolate. Any of that stuff.
See, when we met, I swore I didn't like it. Didn't need it. Didn't want it, even. Apparently, as time has passed, I've either changed or become more honest with myself.
Regardless, I'm desperately hoping that dessert turns out well. Then I can enjoy it both tonight and tomorrow AM, after my run and before I buckle down for the last push.
I can see the end. And it smells like chocolate.
May 14, 2006
Note to self
If I ever throw a party and someone has to cancel last minute and stay home to work, please, please, please let me remember to send their spouse home with dessert.
Last night, E came home from the party with 3 super-delicious ultra-chocolatey, perfectly crumbly chocolate-chip brownies in a ziplock bag. For me! His friend's wife sent them as a consolation because I had to stay home and study instead of hanging out at the party.
I have an unfortunate tendency to be annoyed at people who RSVP as attending and then bail at the last minute. I'd rather they say "maybe" and then confirm. Why? Cause I'm lame and a control freak like that. Despite this, for some reason, I decided I was going to have time to attend last night's party a few weeks ago and replied as attending -- comedy! When it became apparent that I was an idiot, I had E change my response. That was the day before.
Instead of silently being annoyed, this woman, this saint, she sent me one of the nicest gifts I've received during finals. The difference between E arriving home from a party I couldn't attend while I'm sitting in the same position that I was in when he left, and the same scenario plus unexpected brownies is gigantic. So much pleasure from such a tiny gesture.
Life really is about the little things. I can't wait to be the unexpected giver of dessert to someone else.
If I ever throw a party and someone has to cancel last minute and stay home to work, please, please, please let me remember to send their spouse home with dessert.
Last night, E came home from the party with 3 super-delicious ultra-chocolatey, perfectly crumbly chocolate-chip brownies in a ziplock bag. For me! His friend's wife sent them as a consolation because I had to stay home and study instead of hanging out at the party.
I have an unfortunate tendency to be annoyed at people who RSVP as attending and then bail at the last minute. I'd rather they say "maybe" and then confirm. Why? Cause I'm lame and a control freak like that. Despite this, for some reason, I decided I was going to have time to attend last night's party a few weeks ago and replied as attending -- comedy! When it became apparent that I was an idiot, I had E change my response. That was the day before.
Instead of silently being annoyed, this woman, this saint, she sent me one of the nicest gifts I've received during finals. The difference between E arriving home from a party I couldn't attend while I'm sitting in the same position that I was in when he left, and the same scenario plus unexpected brownies is gigantic. So much pleasure from such a tiny gesture.
Life really is about the little things. I can't wait to be the unexpected giver of dessert to someone else.
May 13, 2006
My old friend
The fear has finally come to visit.
Thank goodness.
I've got 6 days and two finals to go. And I'm not nearly as prepared for these last two as I was for any of the others I've already taken.
I wouldn't know what to write if tested on about half of the community property issues right now. But hey, I've got 43.5 hours to learn that stuff. As a bonus, I know even less about corporations, which is unfortunate given that there's 4 units worth of information I'm supposed to be tested on come Thursday.
It's going to be a difficult few days.
The fear has finally come to visit.
Thank goodness.
I've got 6 days and two finals to go. And I'm not nearly as prepared for these last two as I was for any of the others I've already taken.
I wouldn't know what to write if tested on about half of the community property issues right now. But hey, I've got 43.5 hours to learn that stuff. As a bonus, I know even less about corporations, which is unfortunate given that there's 4 units worth of information I'm supposed to be tested on come Thursday.
It's going to be a difficult few days.
May 12, 2006
Big Fat Light Bulb
I like(d) law school. But I LOVED engineering school.
Today, I finally figured out why. Maybe it was the leftover korean lamb chop and spicy okra from last night. Or maybe this is a truly brilliant insight. Or, most likely, it's so obvious that I just couldn't see it.
Engineering is all about using whatever tools work to get to the goal. Figure out a new use for an old tool? If it works, you're a good engineer. If it doesn't but it helps you figure out another possible tool for the job, you're still a good engineer.
Law is all about learning which tools are the allowable weapons when fighting a civilized fight. There is no common goal. There is no answer. There is no, "oh, that works!" against which you can measure the value of the tools you select. The tools are valuable only because people recognize them as familiar and understand the points you are trying to make.
Hence why I've been so confused about grades and the ranking system throughout all of law school. New creative uses of tools are not the stuff of law. Law is a discipline of old, well-structured tools. The people who use the tools in the manner most approximating those that come before them are rewarded the most.
Nice timing, brain. Thanks.
I like(d) law school. But I LOVED engineering school.
Today, I finally figured out why. Maybe it was the leftover korean lamb chop and spicy okra from last night. Or maybe this is a truly brilliant insight. Or, most likely, it's so obvious that I just couldn't see it.
Engineering is all about using whatever tools work to get to the goal. Figure out a new use for an old tool? If it works, you're a good engineer. If it doesn't but it helps you figure out another possible tool for the job, you're still a good engineer.
Law is all about learning which tools are the allowable weapons when fighting a civilized fight. There is no common goal. There is no answer. There is no, "oh, that works!" against which you can measure the value of the tools you select. The tools are valuable only because people recognize them as familiar and understand the points you are trying to make.
Hence why I've been so confused about grades and the ranking system throughout all of law school. New creative uses of tools are not the stuff of law. Law is a discipline of old, well-structured tools. The people who use the tools in the manner most approximating those that come before them are rewarded the most.
Nice timing, brain. Thanks.
The black hole exam event
I have a new theory. Every day you have a final -- it's like a black hole. Sort of. Just work with me here.
Say you've got an afternoon exam. Then the morning before is a long and boring time sink. You sleep in. You shower. You work out. And then, you trudge through notes, outlines, supplement, and the book, simultaneously hoping that you'll see something you need to know and, of course, hoping that you are so prepared that you won't. You don't want to tire out your brain before the exam, so this ends up being a half-hearted attempt at learning, resulting in more papercuts than anything. You wish you were so confident that you could just say, "fuck it" and go out to brunch with friends (which is probably what you should do.) Because you know you are just going to get a B anyways, no matter how well you know this shit. So the morning slowly ticks by and you'll never get that time back.
If, on the other hand, you have a morning exam, you enter a world of pain upon awakening. It's as if there's a certain amount of annoyance and anguish you must experience before the exam phase, and the only question is whether it will be agonizingly stretched out over several hours or piercing in its quick and dirty attack. Early, after a long night of studying and fitful sleep--the day star, it burns. Not enough sleep and you're groggy, but it doesn't dull the insult of the early exam morning. Bumbling, you rush to shower, drink caffeine and set up your computer for the exam.
Regardless of the start of your day, the exam is basically the same: Long and furious typing, a need to pee that is too long ignored, a feeling that you got stuff wrong upon exit, a realization that you just typed 3 paragraphs on the wrong stuff during and the in-the-moment decision of whether to delete that "work" or leave it as evidence of something, anything. Time flies while your brain fatigues from the herculean effort to convey information you've learned while NOT conveying what you haven't learned. Time, it's just gone.
And then, there's recovery. You can't talk straight for the first hour or so post exam. It's convenient that this is the time period where you are expected to operate a motor vehicle to return home. Then, you enter the blissful post-finals stratum. A time of indulgence. For me, that's wine or beer and food plus laughter and stories. But I know people who skip the food. I know people who go to the movies. I know people who shop. Regardless, this stratum is identified because it is a time of forgetting. You won't get those hours back either. They are, in some ways the mirror image of the morning hours. But they seem so much better spent.
The next thing you know, it's the day after. You vaguely remember the pain and annoyance of the morning. You know you took an exam. And you're fairly certain you ate, relaxed and hung out because you feel better and slept better than you had in days.
Sometimes I think law school is really just a trick to get you to approach 20 or so of these time, body, and brain smashing events to help you build up stamina for the big one, where you stretch it out over a full two or three days. Some people, by the end, they've found shortcuts through the morning layer. But not me. I'm still going through all the motions, just like a 1L, I've just got tougher skin and I know what to expect. Mamma Mia the bar is gonna suck.
I have a new theory. Every day you have a final -- it's like a black hole. Sort of. Just work with me here.
Say you've got an afternoon exam. Then the morning before is a long and boring time sink. You sleep in. You shower. You work out. And then, you trudge through notes, outlines, supplement, and the book, simultaneously hoping that you'll see something you need to know and, of course, hoping that you are so prepared that you won't. You don't want to tire out your brain before the exam, so this ends up being a half-hearted attempt at learning, resulting in more papercuts than anything. You wish you were so confident that you could just say, "fuck it" and go out to brunch with friends (which is probably what you should do.) Because you know you are just going to get a B anyways, no matter how well you know this shit. So the morning slowly ticks by and you'll never get that time back.
If, on the other hand, you have a morning exam, you enter a world of pain upon awakening. It's as if there's a certain amount of annoyance and anguish you must experience before the exam phase, and the only question is whether it will be agonizingly stretched out over several hours or piercing in its quick and dirty attack. Early, after a long night of studying and fitful sleep--the day star, it burns. Not enough sleep and you're groggy, but it doesn't dull the insult of the early exam morning. Bumbling, you rush to shower, drink caffeine and set up your computer for the exam.
Regardless of the start of your day, the exam is basically the same: Long and furious typing, a need to pee that is too long ignored, a feeling that you got stuff wrong upon exit, a realization that you just typed 3 paragraphs on the wrong stuff during and the in-the-moment decision of whether to delete that "work" or leave it as evidence of something, anything. Time flies while your brain fatigues from the herculean effort to convey information you've learned while NOT conveying what you haven't learned. Time, it's just gone.
And then, there's recovery. You can't talk straight for the first hour or so post exam. It's convenient that this is the time period where you are expected to operate a motor vehicle to return home. Then, you enter the blissful post-finals stratum. A time of indulgence. For me, that's wine or beer and food plus laughter and stories. But I know people who skip the food. I know people who go to the movies. I know people who shop. Regardless, this stratum is identified because it is a time of forgetting. You won't get those hours back either. They are, in some ways the mirror image of the morning hours. But they seem so much better spent.
The next thing you know, it's the day after. You vaguely remember the pain and annoyance of the morning. You know you took an exam. And you're fairly certain you ate, relaxed and hung out because you feel better and slept better than you had in days.
Sometimes I think law school is really just a trick to get you to approach 20 or so of these time, body, and brain smashing events to help you build up stamina for the big one, where you stretch it out over a full two or three days. Some people, by the end, they've found shortcuts through the morning layer. But not me. I'm still going through all the motions, just like a 1L, I've just got tougher skin and I know what to expect. Mamma Mia the bar is gonna suck.
May 11, 2006
Serenity Now
I've had the most lax attitude towards today's Intellectual Property exam of all exams in my law career thus far.
Last night, I went to a dinner party 'til 10 PM. When I got home I gave E the practice Exam questions to see how much of this IP survey stuff the above average engineer knows. He got all of the questions correct. He missed some nuances here and there, but he knew the fundamentals. He would have gotten a B. Maybe a B+.
I knew this stuff much better than him when I was an engineer (it is, after all, the reason I went to law school.) The great thing about law school grading is I'll probably get a B too. The great thing about being a 3rd year student is I don't care, so I went to the party.
Or, at least I think I don't care.
I woke up at 6:30 AM this morning after a night of fitful sleep to find my brain racing through theoretical IP problems. I have acid reflux. I seriously considered skipping my run to "study" before the afternooon exam.
What the hell?
I've had the most lax attitude towards today's Intellectual Property exam of all exams in my law career thus far.
Last night, I went to a dinner party 'til 10 PM. When I got home I gave E the practice Exam questions to see how much of this IP survey stuff the above average engineer knows. He got all of the questions correct. He missed some nuances here and there, but he knew the fundamentals. He would have gotten a B. Maybe a B+.
I knew this stuff much better than him when I was an engineer (it is, after all, the reason I went to law school.) The great thing about law school grading is I'll probably get a B too. The great thing about being a 3rd year student is I don't care, so I went to the party.
Or, at least I think I don't care.
I woke up at 6:30 AM this morning after a night of fitful sleep to find my brain racing through theoretical IP problems. I have acid reflux. I seriously considered skipping my run to "study" before the afternooon exam.
What the hell?
May 8, 2006
Uphill, both ways, in aluminum shoes, in the snow
In my break between finals 2 and 3, I drove to my hometown. My dad is doing much better than I expected. He is tolerating his most recent rounds of chemo quite well and rearranged his next cycle so that if nothing goes wrong between now and then, he can attend my graduation. The sense of relief that I feel at seeing him do so well is indescribable. I breathe easier now. It's amazing.
Last week, E & I sent him Lance Armstrong's book: It's not about the bike. He is 2/3 of the way through it and has a very different attitude than he did the last time I saw him. He is still determined to fight this disease, but he's also much more educated on the realities of what he is facing. One of the hardest things about watching my father go through this has been knowing what is coming and realizing that he does not know. And that it's ugly. And that, much as I may not like it, it is my silent cross to bear the knowledge of the ugly possible realities that he does not yet know about because it would serve no good purpose for me to tell him of my fears.
I sent him the book to inspire him. But I hadn't considered that it would serve another purpose. The book is simultaneously educating him about the long difficult road ahead and yet helping him to build and maintain his hope and strength. I think I may put the book on my reading list for post-finals.
So, I'm in a house of struggle. I harness it while I'm here. I can't believe how much easier it is to focus and study while my dad is sleeping in the next room as opposed to when I'm home alone. My dad HAS to sleep. I have the luxury of being awake. The least I can do is use my time to overcome the mild boredom, annoyance, and frustration that face me while I'm studying for finals. (Intellectual Property? Yeah, I'm talking about you!)
Similarly, while studying for the bar will also be nothing like fighting cancer, it will be a struggle. There will be personal doubts to fight, hope to maintain, motivation to keep up, and all of the other difficulties that humans must face on the more difficult portions of their journeys. So yeah, I think my next pleasure book will be Mr. Armstrong's book.
And with that, yet another thing on the list of "things to look forward to," BT will now return to diligently studying.
In my break between finals 2 and 3, I drove to my hometown. My dad is doing much better than I expected. He is tolerating his most recent rounds of chemo quite well and rearranged his next cycle so that if nothing goes wrong between now and then, he can attend my graduation. The sense of relief that I feel at seeing him do so well is indescribable. I breathe easier now. It's amazing.
Last week, E & I sent him Lance Armstrong's book: It's not about the bike. He is 2/3 of the way through it and has a very different attitude than he did the last time I saw him. He is still determined to fight this disease, but he's also much more educated on the realities of what he is facing. One of the hardest things about watching my father go through this has been knowing what is coming and realizing that he does not know. And that it's ugly. And that, much as I may not like it, it is my silent cross to bear the knowledge of the ugly possible realities that he does not yet know about because it would serve no good purpose for me to tell him of my fears.
I sent him the book to inspire him. But I hadn't considered that it would serve another purpose. The book is simultaneously educating him about the long difficult road ahead and yet helping him to build and maintain his hope and strength. I think I may put the book on my reading list for post-finals.
So, I'm in a house of struggle. I harness it while I'm here. I can't believe how much easier it is to focus and study while my dad is sleeping in the next room as opposed to when I'm home alone. My dad HAS to sleep. I have the luxury of being awake. The least I can do is use my time to overcome the mild boredom, annoyance, and frustration that face me while I'm studying for finals. (Intellectual Property? Yeah, I'm talking about you!)
Similarly, while studying for the bar will also be nothing like fighting cancer, it will be a struggle. There will be personal doubts to fight, hope to maintain, motivation to keep up, and all of the other difficulties that humans must face on the more difficult portions of their journeys. So yeah, I think my next pleasure book will be Mr. Armstrong's book.
And with that, yet another thing on the list of "things to look forward to," BT will now return to diligently studying.
May 6, 2006
Back in the saddle
2 down. 3 to go. The last 10 units of my law school education will be earned in afternoon exams. (Yes, I did take 5 classes with exams for a grade my last semester of law school. I believe the word you are looking for is "chump.") Off to run, and then, my friends, it's me and corporations 'til dinner.
Oh, and I picked up my graduation tickets yesterday, which was cool. Then I picked up my barbri books, which were heavy and ridiculous. Given everything I'd heard, I was just happy that it was possible to carry the books to the car in one trip. But, truly, this whole graduate on Sunday and start to study for the bar on Monday thing is kinda lame. Shouldn't they space it out, just a little bit?
2 down. 3 to go. The last 10 units of my law school education will be earned in afternoon exams. (Yes, I did take 5 classes with exams for a grade my last semester of law school. I believe the word you are looking for is "chump.") Off to run, and then, my friends, it's me and corporations 'til dinner.
Oh, and I picked up my graduation tickets yesterday, which was cool. Then I picked up my barbri books, which were heavy and ridiculous. Given everything I'd heard, I was just happy that it was possible to carry the books to the car in one trip. But, truly, this whole graduate on Sunday and start to study for the bar on Monday thing is kinda lame. Shouldn't they space it out, just a little bit?
May 5, 2006
Connect the dots? Doubt it.
Post-final, I'm useless. I can't speak very well, can't think, can't function really. And that's normally, after doing what I can to soften the blows. Today's experiment, where I woke at 5:50 AM to drive to school the morning of a final did not succeed. I'm very happy that I knew myself well enough to insist that I reserve a hotel room before every morning final until now.
Today? Yeah, it was just reassurance that the money wasn't wasted all those other morning finals and money spent for rooms at the 3-star with the mostest. It's funny how much I'm going to associate Ramada with my law school experience. I'm also going to associate the tenderloin and the Renoir, but I think, when I think back, I'll remember faded glory, gorgeous redwood accent molding and support structures, crystal chandeliers dying to be polished and, in general, waiting to cross 21st century rights of passage in a 20th century environment (only with electricity and plumbing with hot water and more recently, free wireless, and all of that).
Back to Focus. This AM, at the end of the exam, BT was thanking the gods that this was a 2 unit final because come the 3rd hour, BT would have been asleep. I can't get up that early and function for long periods of time on end. This almost falling asleep on the way home was AFTER the emergency coffee I ran down and purchased just 5 minutes before the exam began. Mind you, I am NOT a coffee addict. I'd had my 2 diet cokes and I should have been fine. But I could tell, the old brain and body, they were *pissed* that I'd decided to go cheap and sleep at home with only a short yoga workout to put me to sleep at 11:30 PM. Sorry... Geez. I won't do it again. Seriously. I have no more AM finals. I've spent my last night at the Ramada for law school, and that, my friends, is something to celebrate.
In the comedy category, given how I'm useless after finals, I figured it would be a good idea to schedule a lunch with a partner I worked for in the past after my Venture Capital Law final today. I had a glass of wine and was opening my 2nd piece of mail when he arrived. It was an odd lunch. Sometimes I think I have an odd effect on people. If you ask me what's going on in my life, I'm going to tell you. You're going to hear about my dad, how school doesn't seem that important and how I'm not super concerned about the bar, because really, I'd rather spend time with my dad than study, which means, in this state, I'll probably fail.
The partner was honest: "you may want to think twice about taking it. People will always wonder if you say, 'I failed the first time because I was taking care of my dad.' But they'll never question it if you just say, 'I didn't take it in July because of my dad.'"
Damn. Sometimes I forget how competitive this field can be. I doubt it will change my behavior but who knows? My plan is to study when I feel like it, spend as much time with my dad as I can, and unless there's a really good reason, sit for the exam that I've already paid for. The way I see it, if I don't sit, I can't pass in November. If I sit, I might. Apparently, this gamble isn't viewed well in the field. Whatever. I'm over it. I'm just not buying into it. So shoot me.
In celebration of cinco de mayo, I made a cheese-chile-souflée. How could I avoid putting my Amazon Super Store Swag to work? I finished a final, and put myself on reprieve 'til tomorrow. 2.5 sticks of butter, milk, condensed milk, spices, 6 eggs, 1 pound of cheese, 2 jalapeños; (including a seed eating contest between E & L, you can imagine how well that went) and various other ingredients combined into deliciousness. Next time, I'll go lighter on the butter. But overall, delicious, if nothing close to nutritious. Did I metion that "next time" will be next cinco de mayo at the earliest?
Finally, a friend of my brother's recently ran into him and said he hadn't looked that happy in 10 years. The wife of the friend asked what had happened to him because she'd never seen him look so good. I knew he'd made some changes but didn't realize they were such a long time coming. I'm happy he's so happy. I'm sad it took him so long. I'm sad I didn't realize they were so necessary. I can't wait to see him this weekend and share the happiness with him.
Enough. Dots splattered. Sorry. Stream of consciousness was too much work, so you get this tripe. Apologies.
Post-final, I'm useless. I can't speak very well, can't think, can't function really. And that's normally, after doing what I can to soften the blows. Today's experiment, where I woke at 5:50 AM to drive to school the morning of a final did not succeed. I'm very happy that I knew myself well enough to insist that I reserve a hotel room before every morning final until now.
Today? Yeah, it was just reassurance that the money wasn't wasted all those other morning finals and money spent for rooms at the 3-star with the mostest. It's funny how much I'm going to associate Ramada with my law school experience. I'm also going to associate the tenderloin and the Renoir, but I think, when I think back, I'll remember faded glory, gorgeous redwood accent molding and support structures, crystal chandeliers dying to be polished and, in general, waiting to cross 21st century rights of passage in a 20th century environment (only with electricity and plumbing with hot water and more recently, free wireless, and all of that).
Back to Focus. This AM, at the end of the exam, BT was thanking the gods that this was a 2 unit final because come the 3rd hour, BT would have been asleep. I can't get up that early and function for long periods of time on end. This almost falling asleep on the way home was AFTER the emergency coffee I ran down and purchased just 5 minutes before the exam began. Mind you, I am NOT a coffee addict. I'd had my 2 diet cokes and I should have been fine. But I could tell, the old brain and body, they were *pissed* that I'd decided to go cheap and sleep at home with only a short yoga workout to put me to sleep at 11:30 PM. Sorry... Geez. I won't do it again. Seriously. I have no more AM finals. I've spent my last night at the Ramada for law school, and that, my friends, is something to celebrate.
In the comedy category, given how I'm useless after finals, I figured it would be a good idea to schedule a lunch with a partner I worked for in the past after my Venture Capital Law final today. I had a glass of wine and was opening my 2nd piece of mail when he arrived. It was an odd lunch. Sometimes I think I have an odd effect on people. If you ask me what's going on in my life, I'm going to tell you. You're going to hear about my dad, how school doesn't seem that important and how I'm not super concerned about the bar, because really, I'd rather spend time with my dad than study, which means, in this state, I'll probably fail.
The partner was honest: "you may want to think twice about taking it. People will always wonder if you say, 'I failed the first time because I was taking care of my dad.' But they'll never question it if you just say, 'I didn't take it in July because of my dad.'"
Damn. Sometimes I forget how competitive this field can be. I doubt it will change my behavior but who knows? My plan is to study when I feel like it, spend as much time with my dad as I can, and unless there's a really good reason, sit for the exam that I've already paid for. The way I see it, if I don't sit, I can't pass in November. If I sit, I might. Apparently, this gamble isn't viewed well in the field. Whatever. I'm over it. I'm just not buying into it. So shoot me.
In celebration of cinco de mayo, I made a cheese-chile-souflée. How could I avoid putting my Amazon Super Store Swag to work? I finished a final, and put myself on reprieve 'til tomorrow. 2.5 sticks of butter, milk, condensed milk, spices, 6 eggs, 1 pound of cheese, 2 jalapeños; (including a seed eating contest between E & L, you can imagine how well that went) and various other ingredients combined into deliciousness. Next time, I'll go lighter on the butter. But overall, delicious, if nothing close to nutritious. Did I metion that "next time" will be next cinco de mayo at the earliest?
Finally, a friend of my brother's recently ran into him and said he hadn't looked that happy in 10 years. The wife of the friend asked what had happened to him because she'd never seen him look so good. I knew he'd made some changes but didn't realize they were such a long time coming. I'm happy he's so happy. I'm sad it took him so long. I'm sad I didn't realize they were so necessary. I can't wait to see him this weekend and share the happiness with him.
Enough. Dots splattered. Sorry. Stream of consciousness was too much work, so you get this tripe. Apologies.
May 3, 2006
Perspective
I'm done with the 24-hour take home that sucked all my brain power through my eyeballs. I'm hoping it returns before tomorrow when I commence studying for Friday's exam. I took a chance and made a gutsy argument that I thought was brilliant. It's the type of argument that law school has taught me not to make on exams. In the real world -- practitioners, they love these wacky arguments of mine. But on exams they are a gamble. If I'm at the bottom of the pile, you can guarantee the creativity will not be appreciated. Fuck it. I'm a 3L. I liked the creative argument better than the standard analysis. I made it. I'm going out with a bang (and probably a C, but whatever, I feel empowered).
After turning in the exam, I learned that a good friend had a very serious pregnancy-related health scare and is now recovering the hospital with her early-born, but healthy, baby girl. I cried. I wanted so badly to be there to comfort her and her family through what must have been a terribly scary ordeal. Instead, I was studying for and taking a 24-hour exam. She commented, "wow, that sounds hard." Right. Almost as hard as Preeclampsia and childbirth.
I'm done with the 24-hour take home that sucked all my brain power through my eyeballs. I'm hoping it returns before tomorrow when I commence studying for Friday's exam. I took a chance and made a gutsy argument that I thought was brilliant. It's the type of argument that law school has taught me not to make on exams. In the real world -- practitioners, they love these wacky arguments of mine. But on exams they are a gamble. If I'm at the bottom of the pile, you can guarantee the creativity will not be appreciated. Fuck it. I'm a 3L. I liked the creative argument better than the standard analysis. I made it. I'm going out with a bang (and probably a C, but whatever, I feel empowered).
After turning in the exam, I learned that a good friend had a very serious pregnancy-related health scare and is now recovering the hospital with her early-born, but healthy, baby girl. I cried. I wanted so badly to be there to comfort her and her family through what must have been a terribly scary ordeal. Instead, I was studying for and taking a 24-hour exam. She commented, "wow, that sounds hard." Right. Almost as hard as Preeclampsia and childbirth.
May 2, 2006
This is New
Today, I'm picking up my Con Law take home exam. 24 hours of driving to and from school, searching for the answer, and writing. In years past, the night before exams I've studied 'til I fell asleep or couldn't study out of frustration. Last night I stopped studying because I felt ready, and bored (which probably tricked me into feeling ready). I watched two episodes of the Simpsons, paid bills, and fell asleep.
This morning, I woke, went to the gym and showered like I used to do every Tuesday morning during the semester. I just spent at least 30 minutes trying to plan my next trip to visit my father (Do I take the train or drive? It takes more time on the train, but I can study. It takes less time in the car, but I can't study. I can, however, listen to PMBR CDs and don't have to rely on others for my transportation to and from the train station. Still debating.)
I'm leaving to drive to pick up the exam shortly. If the last 5 semesters had any predictive value I'd be nervous, or reviewing, or something. But no. Apparently, exams (or at least this one) have become common place. I think I've finally accepted that there's no real correlation between ridiculous preparedness and doing well (at least for me) so I may as well save the effort. I've gotten A's on as many exams for which I've been underprepared as exams for which I thought I was prepared. Similar story for Bs. The only C was for an exam for which I felt VERY prepared but misread the question. Perhaps if I'd had more sleep and been more relaxed I wouldn't have misread the question. Who knows.
Anyways, this last time around, it appears that exams are just another thing in life to check off, but nothing to stress about or cause to alter my ordinary life. I vaguely remember feeling this way about exams in undergrad. I wonder how this will affect my final transcript. I guess I'll find out.
Today, I'm picking up my Con Law take home exam. 24 hours of driving to and from school, searching for the answer, and writing. In years past, the night before exams I've studied 'til I fell asleep or couldn't study out of frustration. Last night I stopped studying because I felt ready, and bored (which probably tricked me into feeling ready). I watched two episodes of the Simpsons, paid bills, and fell asleep.
This morning, I woke, went to the gym and showered like I used to do every Tuesday morning during the semester. I just spent at least 30 minutes trying to plan my next trip to visit my father (Do I take the train or drive? It takes more time on the train, but I can study. It takes less time in the car, but I can't study. I can, however, listen to PMBR CDs and don't have to rely on others for my transportation to and from the train station. Still debating.)
I'm leaving to drive to pick up the exam shortly. If the last 5 semesters had any predictive value I'd be nervous, or reviewing, or something. But no. Apparently, exams (or at least this one) have become common place. I think I've finally accepted that there's no real correlation between ridiculous preparedness and doing well (at least for me) so I may as well save the effort. I've gotten A's on as many exams for which I've been underprepared as exams for which I thought I was prepared. Similar story for Bs. The only C was for an exam for which I felt VERY prepared but misread the question. Perhaps if I'd had more sleep and been more relaxed I wouldn't have misread the question. Who knows.
Anyways, this last time around, it appears that exams are just another thing in life to check off, but nothing to stress about or cause to alter my ordinary life. I vaguely remember feeling this way about exams in undergrad. I wonder how this will affect my final transcript. I guess I'll find out.
April 30, 2006
May Day
E & I went to our favorite Mexican joint tonight with a friend, R. R is an immigrant from Canada of Indian ancestry and the holder of a greencard. On the door to the restaurant was a hand-written sign, "Restaurant will be Closed Monday, May 1." E and I laughed, saying, "good for them." R asked about the issue and we discussed it. As an immigrant himself, he agreed that immigration is a complicated issue and couldn't really be sure where he stood.
Throughout dinner, we chatted with many of the servers, who are our friends after many visits. One of them, Jesus, is our closest buddy. He attends the local Junior College. Last semester, he was taking English at the JC while we were taking Spanish. We went for dinner each Tuesday after class and he corrected our Spanish while we corrected his (far superior) English.
He informed us that he and 5 of his friends will be going to the San Francisco protests and then, they plan to drive down the peninsula to join in the San Jose protests. Apparently, 4 people from the sister restaurant will be joining as well. I don't know about the status of the 9 attendees, but I do know that the restaurant is certainly run and managed on the up-and-up. Make no mistake, regardless of their attendance at the protests, the money lost by this very successful Mexican establishment is an act of solidarity for their illegal immigrant brethren taken by some financially successful latinos who posess either greencards or citizenship.
If every restaurant in the bay area that employs Mexicans in the kitchen or on the waitstaff loses a few to the protests, or, in an act of solidarity, shuts down, allowing as many as wish to attend, we're in for a HUGE surprise. I can't remember the last time I went out to eat where the kitchen wasn't staffed by what appeared to be Mexicans (sure, they could have been others of latino descent, but you get my point).
I've done enough thinking to realize this is a complex issue. You may want to revoke my bay area citizen card, but I believe that borders do still serve a purpose in today's day and age. I also believe that the grey-market for illegal immigrant (primarily Mexican) labor is a HUGE force in the economic health of California. I hope the May 1 protests get as much support as the Mexican community can muster because I fear the economic reality of the issue is being sidestepped by Congress. And, I fear that any "solution" that ignores the economic reality of what we're considering is bound to both fail and create more problems.
Finally, on a much less abstract level, I have a friend who teaches in a bilingual classroom. She wishes Cesar Chavez (who is the new voice of the latino worker movement?) was still around to explain to the parents of her students that they should send their kids to school on the day of the protest. If they aren't going to the protest (where arguably, they'd get a better education for the day), their absence costs the school money, costs the children a day of learning, and as a result of the lower budget, decreases the quality of their education.
Anyways, I look forward to seeing what happens with the attendance of the protests in California, throughout the country, and, of course, in the classroom.
E & I went to our favorite Mexican joint tonight with a friend, R. R is an immigrant from Canada of Indian ancestry and the holder of a greencard. On the door to the restaurant was a hand-written sign, "Restaurant will be Closed Monday, May 1." E and I laughed, saying, "good for them." R asked about the issue and we discussed it. As an immigrant himself, he agreed that immigration is a complicated issue and couldn't really be sure where he stood.
Throughout dinner, we chatted with many of the servers, who are our friends after many visits. One of them, Jesus, is our closest buddy. He attends the local Junior College. Last semester, he was taking English at the JC while we were taking Spanish. We went for dinner each Tuesday after class and he corrected our Spanish while we corrected his (far superior) English.
He informed us that he and 5 of his friends will be going to the San Francisco protests and then, they plan to drive down the peninsula to join in the San Jose protests. Apparently, 4 people from the sister restaurant will be joining as well. I don't know about the status of the 9 attendees, but I do know that the restaurant is certainly run and managed on the up-and-up. Make no mistake, regardless of their attendance at the protests, the money lost by this very successful Mexican establishment is an act of solidarity for their illegal immigrant brethren taken by some financially successful latinos who posess either greencards or citizenship.
If every restaurant in the bay area that employs Mexicans in the kitchen or on the waitstaff loses a few to the protests, or, in an act of solidarity, shuts down, allowing as many as wish to attend, we're in for a HUGE surprise. I can't remember the last time I went out to eat where the kitchen wasn't staffed by what appeared to be Mexicans (sure, they could have been others of latino descent, but you get my point).
I've done enough thinking to realize this is a complex issue. You may want to revoke my bay area citizen card, but I believe that borders do still serve a purpose in today's day and age. I also believe that the grey-market for illegal immigrant (primarily Mexican) labor is a HUGE force in the economic health of California. I hope the May 1 protests get as much support as the Mexican community can muster because I fear the economic reality of the issue is being sidestepped by Congress. And, I fear that any "solution" that ignores the economic reality of what we're considering is bound to both fail and create more problems.
Finally, on a much less abstract level, I have a friend who teaches in a bilingual classroom. She wishes Cesar Chavez (who is the new voice of the latino worker movement?) was still around to explain to the parents of her students that they should send their kids to school on the day of the protest. If they aren't going to the protest (where arguably, they'd get a better education for the day), their absence costs the school money, costs the children a day of learning, and as a result of the lower budget, decreases the quality of their education.
Anyways, I look forward to seeing what happens with the attendance of the protests in California, throughout the country, and, of course, in the classroom.
Dear Abby
Yesterday, I was in a grumpy mood due to finals and my dad's ailing health and other family drama. My husband was in a bad mood due to a long week at work.
I snapped at him for loading dirty dishes into the clean dishwasher. My annoyance took some ridiculous form, like, "What is this doing in here?" (pointing at a dirty dish I made while making lunch). "I HATE it when the dishwasher is open. If you see the dishwasher open while I'm in the kitchen, it means I opened it to unload it and put away clean dishes. I don't just leave it open to slowly load it over the course of the day or let the dishes dry." (During this, I'm thinking, "How could he not notice the dishes were clean? I washed all the wine glasses, did all the dishes and cleaned the kitchen counters while he was out with friends 'til 1:30 AM last night.")
Apparently, he'd been loading the dishwasher for several minutes while I was in the kitchen. So, to him I just seemed mean and ridiculous. Why didn't I stop him earlier?
His mood declined. My mood declined. The lunch I made was too salty.
I apologized for being grumpy. Apparently, I followed up the apology with a rant about how he didn't notice that I cleaned the kitchen the night before. He retorted, "Oh. Did you do the floor?" This, of course, implies to me that all he noticed was the floor was dirty. And, trust you, me, it is! But it did nothing for making me feel appreciated. My mood sunk lower -- he refused to acknowledge anything I'd done. His did too -- My so-called apology just turned into another complaint.
I apologized for the saltiness of lunch adding, "I think I forgot that salami was so salty." His response? "And mozzarella. And garlic salt." I asked him what he meant by that -- was he actually implying that I *forgot* that garlic salt was salty? No, he claimed, he was just listing the ingredients in the lunch that were salty. I then complained about how he doesn't listen to me and that when he doesn't listen to me his comments can come across as more insulting than he may intend them to be. And, as you might imagine, the fact that he doesn't listen to me put me in a worse mood, while my complaining put him in a worse mood.
Time passed. I studied. My mood improved. I cleaned the bathrooms, he made appreciative comments. All seemed well.
But then, he tried to put up wine glass racks that I'd requested he put up a few weeks ago. The cheap cabinets in our kitchen would not cooperate. He suggested a solution. I shot it down as unsuitable. I did so while getting him a beer, and didn't think much of it. But, to him, it was just another example of how I was Captain Negative and on his case all day.
I suggested that he appeared unmotivated to finish the project and offered to take it off his hands. I explained that he was obviously frustrated, it appeared that he didn't want to do it, and it was my fault because I'm the one who asked him to do it. But, in his mind, I'd already identified this as a boy job, I'd shown my ignorance by suggesting that he put a nut on a wood screw, and I was challenging his manhood (I think this is the main explanation, I'm still not totally clear on why he didn't take me up on my offer...)
Then we went to dinner with friends and he wasn't in the best mood.
Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention that at some point in the day he asked me if we had the measurements for his tuxedo from the wedding because he's in another one and I said something along the lines of, "Probably, but they may not be correct because you've gained a little weight." I figured he's a guy, why would he care? The men in my family carry guts with pride. Apparently that didn't do much to help with his mood either. Later that night, he claimed I said something more along the lines of "you're fat." It's possible I used the word fat, although I doubt I actually called him fat. You see my husband is quite svelt, but I may have used the "f" word in a way that was unacceptable. I should know better. Obviously, if my husband said something along those lines to me there would be gunfire. So, later, when he mentioned that fiasco, I apologized for that as well.
Anyways, all of this resulted in my husband being at dinner while in a bad mood that was visibly uncomfortable for me and noticed by our friends. The ride home was awkward. And the first 15 minutes at home were some of the most horrible I've spent in this relationship.
Sure, we eventually talked about it for an hour. We agreed that the day was just a series of terrible interactions of our moods. We both apologized. I fell asleep in his arms.
But I woke up scared today. I'm a 3rd year law student with 3 months of finals and the bar exam to get through. If his work stuff continues to be as stressful as my law and family stuff, we may be in for some rough times. Not to mention the additional fun that hormonal swings can bring (believe it or not, this disaster was in one of the happy hormone weeks).
Abby, what's a wife in my situtation to do? I want to avoid these terrible downward spirals. I've racked my brain on what I could have done to avoid this chain of lame, but to no avail. A deep breath at the dishwasher stage may have diffused some of the tension temporarily, but my composure would not have survived the garlic salt comment, guaranteed. It could have been worse for both of us if I kept it in until I could no longer handle it.
Abby, in almost 6 years of being together we've never had a day like yesterday. I'd rather it be at least 6 years until we have another. Do you have any advice on how to avoid this in the future?
Sincerely,
Should B. Studying
City, California
Yesterday, I was in a grumpy mood due to finals and my dad's ailing health and other family drama. My husband was in a bad mood due to a long week at work.
I snapped at him for loading dirty dishes into the clean dishwasher. My annoyance took some ridiculous form, like, "What is this doing in here?" (pointing at a dirty dish I made while making lunch). "I HATE it when the dishwasher is open. If you see the dishwasher open while I'm in the kitchen, it means I opened it to unload it and put away clean dishes. I don't just leave it open to slowly load it over the course of the day or let the dishes dry." (During this, I'm thinking, "How could he not notice the dishes were clean? I washed all the wine glasses, did all the dishes and cleaned the kitchen counters while he was out with friends 'til 1:30 AM last night.")
Apparently, he'd been loading the dishwasher for several minutes while I was in the kitchen. So, to him I just seemed mean and ridiculous. Why didn't I stop him earlier?
His mood declined. My mood declined. The lunch I made was too salty.
I apologized for being grumpy. Apparently, I followed up the apology with a rant about how he didn't notice that I cleaned the kitchen the night before. He retorted, "Oh. Did you do the floor?" This, of course, implies to me that all he noticed was the floor was dirty. And, trust you, me, it is! But it did nothing for making me feel appreciated. My mood sunk lower -- he refused to acknowledge anything I'd done. His did too -- My so-called apology just turned into another complaint.
I apologized for the saltiness of lunch adding, "I think I forgot that salami was so salty." His response? "And mozzarella. And garlic salt." I asked him what he meant by that -- was he actually implying that I *forgot* that garlic salt was salty? No, he claimed, he was just listing the ingredients in the lunch that were salty. I then complained about how he doesn't listen to me and that when he doesn't listen to me his comments can come across as more insulting than he may intend them to be. And, as you might imagine, the fact that he doesn't listen to me put me in a worse mood, while my complaining put him in a worse mood.
Time passed. I studied. My mood improved. I cleaned the bathrooms, he made appreciative comments. All seemed well.
But then, he tried to put up wine glass racks that I'd requested he put up a few weeks ago. The cheap cabinets in our kitchen would not cooperate. He suggested a solution. I shot it down as unsuitable. I did so while getting him a beer, and didn't think much of it. But, to him, it was just another example of how I was Captain Negative and on his case all day.
I suggested that he appeared unmotivated to finish the project and offered to take it off his hands. I explained that he was obviously frustrated, it appeared that he didn't want to do it, and it was my fault because I'm the one who asked him to do it. But, in his mind, I'd already identified this as a boy job, I'd shown my ignorance by suggesting that he put a nut on a wood screw, and I was challenging his manhood (I think this is the main explanation, I'm still not totally clear on why he didn't take me up on my offer...)
Then we went to dinner with friends and he wasn't in the best mood.
Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention that at some point in the day he asked me if we had the measurements for his tuxedo from the wedding because he's in another one and I said something along the lines of, "Probably, but they may not be correct because you've gained a little weight." I figured he's a guy, why would he care? The men in my family carry guts with pride. Apparently that didn't do much to help with his mood either. Later that night, he claimed I said something more along the lines of "you're fat." It's possible I used the word fat, although I doubt I actually called him fat. You see my husband is quite svelt, but I may have used the "f" word in a way that was unacceptable. I should know better. Obviously, if my husband said something along those lines to me there would be gunfire. So, later, when he mentioned that fiasco, I apologized for that as well.
Anyways, all of this resulted in my husband being at dinner while in a bad mood that was visibly uncomfortable for me and noticed by our friends. The ride home was awkward. And the first 15 minutes at home were some of the most horrible I've spent in this relationship.
Sure, we eventually talked about it for an hour. We agreed that the day was just a series of terrible interactions of our moods. We both apologized. I fell asleep in his arms.
But I woke up scared today. I'm a 3rd year law student with 3 months of finals and the bar exam to get through. If his work stuff continues to be as stressful as my law and family stuff, we may be in for some rough times. Not to mention the additional fun that hormonal swings can bring (believe it or not, this disaster was in one of the happy hormone weeks).
Abby, what's a wife in my situtation to do? I want to avoid these terrible downward spirals. I've racked my brain on what I could have done to avoid this chain of lame, but to no avail. A deep breath at the dishwasher stage may have diffused some of the tension temporarily, but my composure would not have survived the garlic salt comment, guaranteed. It could have been worse for both of us if I kept it in until I could no longer handle it.
Abby, in almost 6 years of being together we've never had a day like yesterday. I'd rather it be at least 6 years until we have another. Do you have any advice on how to avoid this in the future?
Sincerely,
Should B. Studying
City, California
April 28, 2006
Sigh
I keep waiting for the fear. I need its comforting cold embrace to propel me to study when I really don't want to. But it's in hibernation and will not deign to visit.
Instead, I've got the lah-di-dahs.
Despite the scheduled day of much studying, I went grocery shopping, ran some errands, got my hair done, went for a walk, and studied about 4 hours total before calling for reinforcements. Thankfully, B is an over-achiever and was willing to come over and share her motivation with me in exchange for a dinner of salad and panini (another item crossed off of the to-be-made-from-the-wedding loot list).
Thanks to B, I think I may have totalled 7 hours. Which is respectable, but ridiculously short of ideal given the whole 5 finals in 21 days thing. The only possible good side to this that I can see (assuming my general lack of motivation keeps up) is that while I may suck ass on finals, at least I shouldn't be too burnt out before it's time to start the bar studies.
Oh, and the low mileage year prediction is truer every day. The race I'd hoped to do tomorrow is sold out. The weather cleared up and runners signed up. Duh. I'm an idiot. So I'll be running solo tomorrow. Assuming I can find the motivation...
I keep waiting for the fear. I need its comforting cold embrace to propel me to study when I really don't want to. But it's in hibernation and will not deign to visit.
Instead, I've got the lah-di-dahs.
Despite the scheduled day of much studying, I went grocery shopping, ran some errands, got my hair done, went for a walk, and studied about 4 hours total before calling for reinforcements. Thankfully, B is an over-achiever and was willing to come over and share her motivation with me in exchange for a dinner of salad and panini (another item crossed off of the to-be-made-from-the-wedding loot list).
Thanks to B, I think I may have totalled 7 hours. Which is respectable, but ridiculously short of ideal given the whole 5 finals in 21 days thing. The only possible good side to this that I can see (assuming my general lack of motivation keeps up) is that while I may suck ass on finals, at least I shouldn't be too burnt out before it's time to start the bar studies.
Oh, and the low mileage year prediction is truer every day. The race I'd hoped to do tomorrow is sold out. The weather cleared up and runners signed up. Duh. I'm an idiot. So I'll be running solo tomorrow. Assuming I can find the motivation...
April 26, 2006
What, me? Worry? Only about dessert.
The ordinary fear that motivates me to work my ass off when it's this close to finals is conspicuously missing. I'm having trouble motivating for 10 minute chunks of time. Just two hours of IP tomorrow and the classroom component of my law school experience is over. I'm giddy about the prospect of never sitting through another law school class again.
But, I'm also bored. And antsy. I don't want to learn. I'm so desperate to avoid making another flashcard about corporate securities that I've resorted to blogging at school, something I NEVER do. Whatever. If you see me from across the room, and know that I'm posting and figure out who I am, keep it to yourself please.
So, instead of studying, I present a review of San Francisco's only full-time churrascaria.
Espetus's wine list is 3 pages long and impressive -- lots of spanish & south american offerings. But, I have no idea how any of 'em taste because their caipirinha is the best I've ever had (granted I've only had 7 or so different preparations of the drink in my life, but these easily beat out Cafe Do Brasil's, as well as various offerings I've had in tapas bars, Puerto Rico, and Mexico.)
The mini bread ball/roll things that they bring to the table as well as the deep fried plaintain appetizers are amazing. I was grumpy to be the first one at the table, alone, waiting for the rest of the party, but then I received a cup of delicious red sangria, and a plate with the small dense roll/balls and plantains. My dinner companions have no idea how much they owe their safety to that plate and glass.
See, Espetus is an all-you-can-eat Churrascaria. So I arrived prepared. I ran in the morning, had a light lunch and was anxiously awaiting making the most of the orgy of meat. This is not the best state for BT to be waiting for other people, alone, in the restaurant. But, like I said, the lovely little gaucho servers knew how to solve the problem, so all was well.
The meal officially started with a trip to the buffet in the back to get our plates. We tried to pick through the delicious offerings while still saving room for the meat. It was tough to maintain focus. I skipped all of the salads, but was distracted by the mango salsa, the green olives, the chimichurri, the beans, and the rice. And, let's not forget the eggplant. I think I could have made an entire meal of their vinegar-marinated eggplant. I'm going to have to find a recipe for that amazing dish.
When we returned to the table, we turned the indicator to green and the gauchos started coming with the meat on the swords (no, it's not a metaphor). We never really turned the indicator to red, so I celebrated my last late night in the city by eating delicious sirloin steak, filet mignon, pork tenderloin, chicken wrapped in bacon, sausage, beef ribs, shrimp, and more sirloin steak. It was gluttonous heaven. It was also, probably too much. Each cut was very high quality and correctly cooked to slightly over rare. Random bits of portuguese conversation surrounded us as we ate. All in all, it was probably as perfect as an experience can be for churrasco in San Francisco.
But, E said it best, "San Francisco just isn't a churrasco kind of town." Chicago, New York, even Boston (G informed us), those are towns where you could go out and eat yourself sick on meat with abandon. But in San Francisco, on a Tuesday, well, we stopped short of excess. It was good. But it was not the end-all, be-all. I was slightly disappointed in us.
Thankfully, there was a dessert menu. And they had a dessert titled, "Peanut Butter Thing." God bless you, whoever came up with this dessert. I may return to Espetus solely to feast upon the huge slice of what appeared to be an ice-cream pie of sorts. It was 2.5 inches tall. It was at least 2.5 inches wide at the base. And it was easily 4 inches long. This triangle of pleasure was peanut butter mixed with vanilla ice cream, sitting in two layers covered on all sides by oreo cookie crumbles, with tiny chunks of chocolate chip cookie dough interspersed throughout. Damn.
I never thought I'd leave an all-you-can-eat high quality meat establishment and claim the best thing was the dessert. But life's about change. And here I am.
So, truth be told, I'm disappointed that Espetus doesn't have a menu where you can order a more reasonable (read: reasonably priced and healthful) dinner of side dishes, a little bit of meat and the peanut butter thing instead of all-you-can-eat meat. Wait a minute. No I'm not. If they did, I'd be there once a month. I'd be the size of China. Maybe it's a good thing that it's expensive and an overly indulgent experience. It's probably okay that it's a once in 3-4 years thing. So, yeah, I hope it's there the next time we get the craving or have something to celebrate near my school.
Okay, procrastination successful. I now have 30 minutes to focus before I can leave this infernal place for my second to last day. I can do 30 minutes of work. I swear...
The ordinary fear that motivates me to work my ass off when it's this close to finals is conspicuously missing. I'm having trouble motivating for 10 minute chunks of time. Just two hours of IP tomorrow and the classroom component of my law school experience is over. I'm giddy about the prospect of never sitting through another law school class again.
But, I'm also bored. And antsy. I don't want to learn. I'm so desperate to avoid making another flashcard about corporate securities that I've resorted to blogging at school, something I NEVER do. Whatever. If you see me from across the room, and know that I'm posting and figure out who I am, keep it to yourself please.
So, instead of studying, I present a review of San Francisco's only full-time churrascaria.
Espetus's wine list is 3 pages long and impressive -- lots of spanish & south american offerings. But, I have no idea how any of 'em taste because their caipirinha is the best I've ever had (granted I've only had 7 or so different preparations of the drink in my life, but these easily beat out Cafe Do Brasil's, as well as various offerings I've had in tapas bars, Puerto Rico, and Mexico.)
The mini bread ball/roll things that they bring to the table as well as the deep fried plaintain appetizers are amazing. I was grumpy to be the first one at the table, alone, waiting for the rest of the party, but then I received a cup of delicious red sangria, and a plate with the small dense roll/balls and plantains. My dinner companions have no idea how much they owe their safety to that plate and glass.
See, Espetus is an all-you-can-eat Churrascaria. So I arrived prepared. I ran in the morning, had a light lunch and was anxiously awaiting making the most of the orgy of meat. This is not the best state for BT to be waiting for other people, alone, in the restaurant. But, like I said, the lovely little gaucho servers knew how to solve the problem, so all was well.
The meal officially started with a trip to the buffet in the back to get our plates. We tried to pick through the delicious offerings while still saving room for the meat. It was tough to maintain focus. I skipped all of the salads, but was distracted by the mango salsa, the green olives, the chimichurri, the beans, and the rice. And, let's not forget the eggplant. I think I could have made an entire meal of their vinegar-marinated eggplant. I'm going to have to find a recipe for that amazing dish.
When we returned to the table, we turned the indicator to green and the gauchos started coming with the meat on the swords (no, it's not a metaphor). We never really turned the indicator to red, so I celebrated my last late night in the city by eating delicious sirloin steak, filet mignon, pork tenderloin, chicken wrapped in bacon, sausage, beef ribs, shrimp, and more sirloin steak. It was gluttonous heaven. It was also, probably too much. Each cut was very high quality and correctly cooked to slightly over rare. Random bits of portuguese conversation surrounded us as we ate. All in all, it was probably as perfect as an experience can be for churrasco in San Francisco.
But, E said it best, "San Francisco just isn't a churrasco kind of town." Chicago, New York, even Boston (G informed us), those are towns where you could go out and eat yourself sick on meat with abandon. But in San Francisco, on a Tuesday, well, we stopped short of excess. It was good. But it was not the end-all, be-all. I was slightly disappointed in us.
Thankfully, there was a dessert menu. And they had a dessert titled, "Peanut Butter Thing." God bless you, whoever came up with this dessert. I may return to Espetus solely to feast upon the huge slice of what appeared to be an ice-cream pie of sorts. It was 2.5 inches tall. It was at least 2.5 inches wide at the base. And it was easily 4 inches long. This triangle of pleasure was peanut butter mixed with vanilla ice cream, sitting in two layers covered on all sides by oreo cookie crumbles, with tiny chunks of chocolate chip cookie dough interspersed throughout. Damn.
I never thought I'd leave an all-you-can-eat high quality meat establishment and claim the best thing was the dessert. But life's about change. And here I am.
So, truth be told, I'm disappointed that Espetus doesn't have a menu where you can order a more reasonable (read: reasonably priced and healthful) dinner of side dishes, a little bit of meat and the peanut butter thing instead of all-you-can-eat meat. Wait a minute. No I'm not. If they did, I'd be there once a month. I'd be the size of China. Maybe it's a good thing that it's expensive and an overly indulgent experience. It's probably okay that it's a once in 3-4 years thing. So, yeah, I hope it's there the next time we get the craving or have something to celebrate near my school.
Okay, procrastination successful. I now have 30 minutes to focus before I can leave this infernal place for my second to last day. I can do 30 minutes of work. I swear...
April 24, 2006
Procrastination
Ahh, nothing provides such amusing blog fodder as the imminent approach of finals. Last night, after finishing enough corporations studying to make me wish we just didn't bother to grant 'em any status at all, E and I watched The Aristocrats.
I could even partially justify it as school-related (yeah right) -- It was in keeping with the First Amendment theme.
But, it was a great movie. I've been thinking about it ever since I saw it. I was slightly upset to realize that it made me think more than I cared to about the nature of speech, comedy, humor, what makes something offensive, whether and how offensiveness harms the listner, how laughter/comedy is often inextricably linked to crossing this line of offensiveness, and finally, how I obviously buy into the value judgment that laughter is cathartic, good, and a healing force in society. Sounds like one of the annoying people in my con law II class on call, my brain does...
Thankfully, it also made me think quite a bit about comedians, their world, and how little I know about it. First of all, up close, without makeup -- damn, it's obvious that them kids live some hard lives (chemically speaking). Indulgence aside, it's always odd to realize that someone somewhere in society does a job that I may utilize on occasion but don't generally encounter. And yet, that's their every-day job. They support themselves and/or their families by doing these things. If I had thought about it, their life could have been mine. It still could be. It's a choice that everyone could choose.
Okay, in fairness, I probably couldn't choose it for the long haul. I'd fail. I'm much too introspective, concerned about propriety, uptight, and all sorts of other crap that would make me a bad comic. But it's still an option I could try to pursue despite my obvious inadequacies. The world is full of options and wacky jobs. It's overwhelming. I could be a voiceover artist. I could be a film censor. I could be a safety testor for toys. Someone has to do all of these things. Why not me? Why didn't I try to pursue any of those paths?
Anyways, if you want to laugh, I recommend watching The Aristocrats. If you aren't so big on laughing, but really enjoy thinking, I recommend the movie to you too. Finally, if you want to understand more about the inside world of comedians, or you just like Penn Jillette and his cohorts, I recommend the movie. And really finally, if I haven't sold it yet: it's worth the price of rental simply to see Gilbert Gottfried's Rendition of the joke and Bog Saget telling his version which shows that in real life, he's much more half baked than full house.
Ahh, nothing provides such amusing blog fodder as the imminent approach of finals. Last night, after finishing enough corporations studying to make me wish we just didn't bother to grant 'em any status at all, E and I watched The Aristocrats.
I could even partially justify it as school-related (yeah right) -- It was in keeping with the First Amendment theme.
But, it was a great movie. I've been thinking about it ever since I saw it. I was slightly upset to realize that it made me think more than I cared to about the nature of speech, comedy, humor, what makes something offensive, whether and how offensiveness harms the listner, how laughter/comedy is often inextricably linked to crossing this line of offensiveness, and finally, how I obviously buy into the value judgment that laughter is cathartic, good, and a healing force in society. Sounds like one of the annoying people in my con law II class on call, my brain does...
Thankfully, it also made me think quite a bit about comedians, their world, and how little I know about it. First of all, up close, without makeup -- damn, it's obvious that them kids live some hard lives (chemically speaking). Indulgence aside, it's always odd to realize that someone somewhere in society does a job that I may utilize on occasion but don't generally encounter. And yet, that's their every-day job. They support themselves and/or their families by doing these things. If I had thought about it, their life could have been mine. It still could be. It's a choice that everyone could choose.
Okay, in fairness, I probably couldn't choose it for the long haul. I'd fail. I'm much too introspective, concerned about propriety, uptight, and all sorts of other crap that would make me a bad comic. But it's still an option I could try to pursue despite my obvious inadequacies. The world is full of options and wacky jobs. It's overwhelming. I could be a voiceover artist. I could be a film censor. I could be a safety testor for toys. Someone has to do all of these things. Why not me? Why didn't I try to pursue any of those paths?
Anyways, if you want to laugh, I recommend watching The Aristocrats. If you aren't so big on laughing, but really enjoy thinking, I recommend the movie to you too. Finally, if you want to understand more about the inside world of comedians, or you just like Penn Jillette and his cohorts, I recommend the movie. And really finally, if I haven't sold it yet: it's worth the price of rental simply to see Gilbert Gottfried's Rendition of the joke and Bog Saget telling his version which shows that in real life, he's much more half baked than full house.
April 23, 2006
This is your life
1. run 12 miles
2. drive 200 miles
3. listen to all 4 PMBR corporations CDs while driving
4. study corporations in every spare moment of the weekend
5. visit dad (ran errands with him, go over legal paperwork with him, cook for him, pick up prescriptions, and generally comfort him as he recovers from his 3rd round of chemo.)
6. find out that your student note has been accepted for publication
7. go to the dentist for a cleaning and find out that you have 2 fillings that are falling out and need to be refilled.
8. Top it all off by attending a tea party baby shower at an English Tea Cottage -- amaze the pregnant crew with your ability to put away the small sandwiches, petit-fours, mini-quiches, etc. Make sure to eat lots of sugary treats to push the line on the fillings.
I'm not complaining. I actually had a good weekend. I'm just wondering when, exactly, and how, to boot, this became a good weekend. A tea party? A weekend away from the husband? Corporations 'til my ears and eyes bleed? Who am I?
1. run 12 miles
2. drive 200 miles
3. listen to all 4 PMBR corporations CDs while driving
4. study corporations in every spare moment of the weekend
5. visit dad (ran errands with him, go over legal paperwork with him, cook for him, pick up prescriptions, and generally comfort him as he recovers from his 3rd round of chemo.)
6. find out that your student note has been accepted for publication
7. go to the dentist for a cleaning and find out that you have 2 fillings that are falling out and need to be refilled.
8. Top it all off by attending a tea party baby shower at an English Tea Cottage -- amaze the pregnant crew with your ability to put away the small sandwiches, petit-fours, mini-quiches, etc. Make sure to eat lots of sugary treats to push the line on the fillings.
I'm not complaining. I actually had a good weekend. I'm just wondering when, exactly, and how, to boot, this became a good weekend. A tea party? A weekend away from the husband? Corporations 'til my ears and eyes bleed? Who am I?
April 20, 2006
The slow descent
I just finished reading my last assigned page of law school reading. EVER.
I'm home alone. I have no one to celebrate with.
Oh, wait, yes I do. I'll celebrate with Erwin.
Yes, I'm sick. But not nearly as sick as first semester of 1L, when I was at least halfway through my outlines for every class at this point. Now, I can't quite seem to motivate myself to start really studying. And why should I? I've only got 5 finals...
Yeah, I'm gonna be barrels of fun for the next month. At least I can sustain the madness with the reality that it really is only one month 'til graduation, and I only have to attend 4 more days of class. Seems like yesterday that I started this whole law school thing.
I just finished reading my last assigned page of law school reading. EVER.
I'm home alone. I have no one to celebrate with.
Oh, wait, yes I do. I'll celebrate with Erwin.
Yes, I'm sick. But not nearly as sick as first semester of 1L, when I was at least halfway through my outlines for every class at this point. Now, I can't quite seem to motivate myself to start really studying. And why should I? I've only got 5 finals...
Yeah, I'm gonna be barrels of fun for the next month. At least I can sustain the madness with the reality that it really is only one month 'til graduation, and I only have to attend 4 more days of class. Seems like yesterday that I started this whole law school thing.
April 19, 2006
Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech...
Woo Hoo! I finished all of the assigned reading in Con Law. Our last topic was/is the First Amendment.
In celebration, I'm taking the rest of the evening off to watch Scarface. After all, it ranks 1.27 on the Fucks Per Minute scale. Sadly, Scarface is only #34 on the list. If I was a better student, I'd be watching The Devil's Rejects or Fuck, the documentary.
Given my odd affinity for curse words, it's not surprising that I've seen and appreciate several of the top-ranking movies as some of my favorites.
Unfortunately, I've worn out my Netflix karma by forgetting to randomize the selections and forcing E to watch Fast Times at Ridgement High, Dodgeball, La Femme Nikita, and random chunks of Shark Tale in succession.
So perhaps I shouldn't worry about failing to be such a good student of Free Expression. Given that the documentary doesn't interest E, I suspect there's an unfortunate date with The Devil's Rejects in my near future. And I can't say shit after all the footage I've put him through these last few weeks. How's that for a balancing test?
Woo Hoo! I finished all of the assigned reading in Con Law. Our last topic was/is the First Amendment.
In celebration, I'm taking the rest of the evening off to watch Scarface. After all, it ranks 1.27 on the Fucks Per Minute scale. Sadly, Scarface is only #34 on the list. If I was a better student, I'd be watching The Devil's Rejects or Fuck, the documentary.
Given my odd affinity for curse words, it's not surprising that I've seen and appreciate several of the top-ranking movies as some of my favorites.
Unfortunately, I've worn out my Netflix karma by forgetting to randomize the selections and forcing E to watch Fast Times at Ridgement High, Dodgeball, La Femme Nikita, and random chunks of Shark Tale in succession.
So perhaps I shouldn't worry about failing to be such a good student of Free Expression. Given that the documentary doesn't interest E, I suspect there's an unfortunate date with The Devil's Rejects in my near future. And I can't say shit after all the footage I've put him through these last few weeks. How's that for a balancing test?
April 18, 2006
Countdown
6 days of class left in my law school education.
5.5 reading assignments to complete before I've done all of the assigned reading that I plan to complete before graduation.
22 one-way 40 mile commutes.
5 final exams.
30 days 'til I am done with all academic schoolwork. (And good days those will be -- the last few pre- and mid-finals days are always such treasures.)
Regardless of how much the next month is going to be filled with unpleasantness, I can't help it: I'm excited to be done with this madness. I'm giddy. It's sunny (finally), and it's going to feel so good to be done.
And now, off to read some of that assigned reading...
6 days of class left in my law school education.
5.5 reading assignments to complete before I've done all of the assigned reading that I plan to complete before graduation.
22 one-way 40 mile commutes.
5 final exams.
30 days 'til I am done with all academic schoolwork. (And good days those will be -- the last few pre- and mid-finals days are always such treasures.)
Regardless of how much the next month is going to be filled with unpleasantness, I can't help it: I'm excited to be done with this madness. I'm giddy. It's sunny (finally), and it's going to feel so good to be done.
And now, off to read some of that assigned reading...
April 16, 2006
You Sexy Dog
Oh, Erwin. No one does for me quite what you do.
Words can't express how much I enjoyed our time together this weekend (in fact, it's not quite over yet, I think we can fit in a few more good hours of fun before I must leave you to climb into bed with the husband).
I can't tell you how much I look forward to spending this week thinking about you, and longing for the time when we can meet again.
But, you know how it is...It's complicated. So, um... yeah. Thanks for the fun, but don't call me. I'll call you. I promise. You can count on at least one more weekend trist before the first weekend in May.
I'm sorry. It's not that I don't want to be with you. The husband doesn't even seem to mind. It's just...I'm overwhelmed. I need some time away to sort things out. Like I said, it's complicated.
Oh, Erwin. No one does for me quite what you do.
Words can't express how much I enjoyed our time together this weekend (in fact, it's not quite over yet, I think we can fit in a few more good hours of fun before I must leave you to climb into bed with the husband).
I can't tell you how much I look forward to spending this week thinking about you, and longing for the time when we can meet again.
But, you know how it is...It's complicated. So, um... yeah. Thanks for the fun, but don't call me. I'll call you. I promise. You can count on at least one more weekend trist before the first weekend in May.
I'm sorry. It's not that I don't want to be with you. The husband doesn't even seem to mind. It's just...I'm overwhelmed. I need some time away to sort things out. Like I said, it's complicated.
April 14, 2006
Words of Wisdom
I had lunch today with an attorney who has a practice similar to the one I would design for myself if I could be the uber-attorney right now.
I spent lunch picking his brain about law, how to get where he's gotten, and everything in between.
He said one thing that I've heard a few times from other attorneys I respect but never really taken to heart before:
It doesn't really matter what you do for the first 3-4 years of your career. It's important to get good work and do it. That's when you learn how to be a lawyer. It's only after you've mastered the law at this level that you can even think about being successful in any of the areas that allow you to do fun stuff while incorporating your knowledge of the law.
Huh. I hadn't really realized that after law school there was another 3-4 year period of hard core learning. It's dawning on me now. I'm beginning to think life may just be one 3-4 year learning period after another.
Another jewel of insight:
I feel so lucky to have stayed in the law long enough to be where I am. I love my practice. I love each day of my work. I can't imagine doing anything else. It's so rewarding. But it's a long road. And the law is a demanding career that breaks most of the people who enter it. There were times when it was almost impossible. But I'm so glad I stuck it out. I know other people who are so glad they got out.
I've heard it before. And yet, each time, it hits me differently. I can't help but wonder: Where will I sit on that continuum? Am I one who's going to love it, or burn out before the 3-4 year learning period is even up, before I even have a chance at the fun stuff? Will I stick it out only to realize I don't love it? Or, dare to think, might I be one of the ones who will actually love it?
Of course, all of this, it's idle procrastination. I've got 8 days of class and 5 finals to get through before graduation and then a little thing called the bar. I know I'm procrastinating. I know I should study. And yet, instead, I find that I've made lunch dates with attorneys I admire instead of studying...
I had lunch today with an attorney who has a practice similar to the one I would design for myself if I could be the uber-attorney right now.
I spent lunch picking his brain about law, how to get where he's gotten, and everything in between.
He said one thing that I've heard a few times from other attorneys I respect but never really taken to heart before:
It doesn't really matter what you do for the first 3-4 years of your career. It's important to get good work and do it. That's when you learn how to be a lawyer. It's only after you've mastered the law at this level that you can even think about being successful in any of the areas that allow you to do fun stuff while incorporating your knowledge of the law.
Huh. I hadn't really realized that after law school there was another 3-4 year period of hard core learning. It's dawning on me now. I'm beginning to think life may just be one 3-4 year learning period after another.
Another jewel of insight:
I feel so lucky to have stayed in the law long enough to be where I am. I love my practice. I love each day of my work. I can't imagine doing anything else. It's so rewarding. But it's a long road. And the law is a demanding career that breaks most of the people who enter it. There were times when it was almost impossible. But I'm so glad I stuck it out. I know other people who are so glad they got out.
I've heard it before. And yet, each time, it hits me differently. I can't help but wonder: Where will I sit on that continuum? Am I one who's going to love it, or burn out before the 3-4 year learning period is even up, before I even have a chance at the fun stuff? Will I stick it out only to realize I don't love it? Or, dare to think, might I be one of the ones who will actually love it?
Of course, all of this, it's idle procrastination. I've got 8 days of class and 5 finals to get through before graduation and then a little thing called the bar. I know I'm procrastinating. I know I should study. And yet, instead, I find that I've made lunch dates with attorneys I admire instead of studying...
April 12, 2006
The first of many bar-related blows
I had hoped to run 4-5 races between now and the bar.
One of them came and went -- I didn't run it, too much rain to train for it and then the day arrived and it was a horrid stormy day, so I didn't feel bad for missing what would most likely have been a canceled or muddy trail race.
Today, when I looked at the BarBri class schedule I found out that that my tentative race and workout schedule is hilariously wrong. While BarBri doesn't plan on taking every Saturday AM of my life between graduation and the bar, it does expect me to be there on 3 of the mornings when I'd scheduled races.
So now, I'm down to two races to try to fit in. One is two weekends before the bar and I already told myself that I'd merely train for it to maintain my sanity. If I needed to be home instead of running (which seems quite likely from what I've heard), obviously, I'll skip it. That leaves one last option between now and August: the Saturday after classes end, I'm scheduled for a 14K. I'm training enough to fit it in, distance-wise, but if the weather doesn't clear up soon, I'm guessing it'll be canceled as well.
Somehow, I think this is going to be a very low-mileage year.
I had hoped to run 4-5 races between now and the bar.
One of them came and went -- I didn't run it, too much rain to train for it and then the day arrived and it was a horrid stormy day, so I didn't feel bad for missing what would most likely have been a canceled or muddy trail race.
Today, when I looked at the BarBri class schedule I found out that that my tentative race and workout schedule is hilariously wrong. While BarBri doesn't plan on taking every Saturday AM of my life between graduation and the bar, it does expect me to be there on 3 of the mornings when I'd scheduled races.
So now, I'm down to two races to try to fit in. One is two weekends before the bar and I already told myself that I'd merely train for it to maintain my sanity. If I needed to be home instead of running (which seems quite likely from what I've heard), obviously, I'll skip it. That leaves one last option between now and August: the Saturday after classes end, I'm scheduled for a 14K. I'm training enough to fit it in, distance-wise, but if the weather doesn't clear up soon, I'm guessing it'll be canceled as well.
Somehow, I think this is going to be a very low-mileage year.
April 11, 2006
How did you not see this coming?
The crème brulée torch had an encounter with one of the Peeps.
Facts learned:
1. Peeps do catch on fire when lit with a butane torch.
2. Despite their temerity in the face of chemical solvents, the eyes do not survive the torching.
3. If you prefer your campfire marshmallows burnt, you will enjoy Peep brulée as well.
4. If you are a true Peeps lover, you will inform BT that despite the fun of fire, you prefer them in their unmolested, fresh-from-the-fridge form.
The crème brulée torch had an encounter with one of the Peeps.
Facts learned:
1. Peeps do catch on fire when lit with a butane torch.
2. Despite their temerity in the face of chemical solvents, the eyes do not survive the torching.
3. If you prefer your campfire marshmallows burnt, you will enjoy Peep brulée as well.
4. If you are a true Peeps lover, you will inform BT that despite the fun of fire, you prefer them in their unmolested, fresh-from-the-fridge form.
April 9, 2006
Weekend Lessons
1. Espresso machine good. Developing espresso addiction easy.
2. There's a reason I'd never heard of gnocchi a la carbonara.
The consistency was all wrong. It was still good (E2 claimed it was in contention for one of my best meals yet), but next time, I'll be sure to make pasta a la carbonara the way it should be made -- with barilla pasta from a box (I'll still substitute venison sausage for pork and bacon, but never again the gnocchi -- it was mush).
3. Community property means that it's not my crème brulée set.
It's our crème brulée set. This means that E gets to open it and play with the butane torch before I need to use it on tonight's dessert. I don't think I'd fully realized the power of community property 'til that moment. I wanted to stop him, to point out that all kitchen gadgets are mine. It was my new toy and I should get to use it first. But before I could open my mouth, I recalled the lessons from this morning's CP review: it was acquired during the marriage, and it was a gift to the couple -- both presumptively and evidentiarily community property. So, I haven't yet used the torch, but E's figured out how to get the flame to a nice 10-inches, which I'm sure will come in handy in the kitchen.
1. Espresso machine good. Developing espresso addiction easy.
2. There's a reason I'd never heard of gnocchi a la carbonara.
The consistency was all wrong. It was still good (E2 claimed it was in contention for one of my best meals yet), but next time, I'll be sure to make pasta a la carbonara the way it should be made -- with barilla pasta from a box (I'll still substitute venison sausage for pork and bacon, but never again the gnocchi -- it was mush).
3. Community property means that it's not my crème brulée set.
It's our crème brulée set. This means that E gets to open it and play with the butane torch before I need to use it on tonight's dessert. I don't think I'd fully realized the power of community property 'til that moment. I wanted to stop him, to point out that all kitchen gadgets are mine. It was my new toy and I should get to use it first. But before I could open my mouth, I recalled the lessons from this morning's CP review: it was acquired during the marriage, and it was a gift to the couple -- both presumptively and evidentiarily community property. So, I haven't yet used the torch, but E's figured out how to get the flame to a nice 10-inches, which I'm sure will come in handy in the kitchen.
April 8, 2006
The good, the bad, and the ugly
This weekend promises to be filled with good food and good friends. This morning, I started my day by knocking one of the fun things off the wedding present to-do list and making myself a cappuccino with frothed milk in the Krups Espresso and Coffee maker. It was not bad. In fact, it was good. And fun.
Tonight, I'll be combining two of my favorite things into what I hope is a masterpiece. First, I'll start with a couple of hours of labor to make spinach gnocchi. Then, I'll quickly whip up a traditional pork-based carbonara sauce. It has the potential to be very good. Add that we are taking it over to the home of some of our friends to watch Cops and The Big Lebowski and, well, how can it not be good?
Sunday, we're going to a different friend's home to be fed salmon. I'm bringing my first attempt at creme brulée. The prospect of using a kitchen blowtorch is also good.
Unfortunately, as I enjoyed the cappuccino, I had to admit that my life is not all potato pillows of heaven, crusted custard and frothed milk. I needed the caffeine specifically so that I could cuddle with my IP book bright and early. That's right, it's the time of year where I get to study late into the evening on Friday and then wake on Saturday to begin anew. That's bad. Not horrid. Not terrible. But definitely not good. I'd love to put it off, but as H and I drove home on Thursday, I realized that we only have to commute to school on 12 more days. That's it. 12 days of school and then I never have to attend another day of law school classes. The end of class is exciting, but it brings with it the lovely spector of finals, which are bad.
And ugly? That would be the current weather, which stops me from running, the current state of our bathrooms, which means I get to spend one of my study breaks cleaning toilets, and my general appearance (hair, clothes, makeup) which I've pretty much completely ignored since the honeymoon. The good news is, you know with finals studying, I'm going to find plenty of time to proscrastinate with things like cleaning, beautifying, and running.
And really, all's well that ends well. In a short while the bad will be over, the good will be pleasant memories plus re-usable knowledge of how to make yummy food, and the ugly will hopefully be banished. (And Yes, I know what comes then, but I'm not thinking about it. The amount of studying I need to do in order to graduate is sufficiently annoying at the moment, thank you.)
This weekend promises to be filled with good food and good friends. This morning, I started my day by knocking one of the fun things off the wedding present to-do list and making myself a cappuccino with frothed milk in the Krups Espresso and Coffee maker. It was not bad. In fact, it was good. And fun.
Tonight, I'll be combining two of my favorite things into what I hope is a masterpiece. First, I'll start with a couple of hours of labor to make spinach gnocchi. Then, I'll quickly whip up a traditional pork-based carbonara sauce. It has the potential to be very good. Add that we are taking it over to the home of some of our friends to watch Cops and The Big Lebowski and, well, how can it not be good?
Sunday, we're going to a different friend's home to be fed salmon. I'm bringing my first attempt at creme brulée. The prospect of using a kitchen blowtorch is also good.
Unfortunately, as I enjoyed the cappuccino, I had to admit that my life is not all potato pillows of heaven, crusted custard and frothed milk. I needed the caffeine specifically so that I could cuddle with my IP book bright and early. That's right, it's the time of year where I get to study late into the evening on Friday and then wake on Saturday to begin anew. That's bad. Not horrid. Not terrible. But definitely not good. I'd love to put it off, but as H and I drove home on Thursday, I realized that we only have to commute to school on 12 more days. That's it. 12 days of school and then I never have to attend another day of law school classes. The end of class is exciting, but it brings with it the lovely spector of finals, which are bad.
And ugly? That would be the current weather, which stops me from running, the current state of our bathrooms, which means I get to spend one of my study breaks cleaning toilets, and my general appearance (hair, clothes, makeup) which I've pretty much completely ignored since the honeymoon. The good news is, you know with finals studying, I'm going to find plenty of time to proscrastinate with things like cleaning, beautifying, and running.
And really, all's well that ends well. In a short while the bad will be over, the good will be pleasant memories plus re-usable knowledge of how to make yummy food, and the ugly will hopefully be banished. (And Yes, I know what comes then, but I'm not thinking about it. The amount of studying I need to do in order to graduate is sufficiently annoying at the moment, thank you.)
April 6, 2006
It's about time
Today, the rain streak broke. (Unfortunately, it's scheduled to come back for 10 more days or some shit like that.)
I celebrated by going for one of my standard runs. It was more difficult that I remembered.
Oh, I guess that's because I haven't ran more than 5 miles at once since January 25th.
Sometimes, keeping a running log is a bummer. I feel like I've been running an average amount each week despite the stuff that life has seen fit to throw at me.
But no, with the rain, the wedding, and my dad, I've only broken 20 miles in a week on two weeks this year. And it's more than 1/3 over...
Today, the rain streak broke. (Unfortunately, it's scheduled to come back for 10 more days or some shit like that.)
I celebrated by going for one of my standard runs. It was more difficult that I remembered.
Oh, I guess that's because I haven't ran more than 5 miles at once since January 25th.
Sometimes, keeping a running log is a bummer. I feel like I've been running an average amount each week despite the stuff that life has seen fit to throw at me.
But no, with the rain, the wedding, and my dad, I've only broken 20 miles in a week on two weeks this year. And it's more than 1/3 over...
April 5, 2006
'Tis the season
Every year around this time, we get an ant infestation in the kitchen.
It's from the the year's best Peep uses. We just can't help ourselves.
Okay, in fairness, E can't help himself. We negotiated a "suprise" purchase of flowers for me at some point in the near future in exchange for peeps for him the next time I'm at the grocery store.
Ahhh. Young love.
Every year around this time, we get an ant infestation in the kitchen.
It's from the the year's best Peep uses. We just can't help ourselves.
Okay, in fairness, E can't help himself. We negotiated a "suprise" purchase of flowers for me at some point in the near future in exchange for peeps for him the next time I'm at the grocery store.
Ahhh. Young love.
April 3, 2006
The Power of Taste
Tonight, thanks to my brother, E and I had pasta a la carbonara con carne di cervo.
Carne di cervo (aka venison) is a delicacy that I never ate in Italy. Only as an adult have I come to realize how spoiled I was to grow up a meat-eating kid in a family of hunter/fisherpeople. Fresh venison sausage from the butcher who processed the deer that was killed, a side of beef raised by the local 4-h boy, half a pig raised by the local 4-h girl, and all varieties of fowl (pheasant, quail, turkey, ducks) and fish (tuna, trout, and salmon were the big ones) regularly graced our table. I ate very well as a child.
But, like many Americans who travel to Italy, it was in Italy that I truly learned to appreciate food. I believe carne di cervo was probably available during my most recent and longest stay in Italy, but I was poor, an unemployed dot-com bubble victim, on a trek to find herself, learn Italian, and, save money by living very cheaply. Carne di cervo didn't make the list (but Prosciutto di San Daniele did...).
In terms of saving money, I came out ahead. In 2002, it was actually cheaper to be an unemployed student/tourist in Italy and paying rent in San Francisco, as well as paying for plane flights to Europe, and European lodging, transport, and food costs, than it was to cover my bay area pared-down monthly expenses upon my return.
Of course, despite the fact that I saved money, I still ate well. That's one of the greatest things about Italy -- you can eat like royalty on $5/day. For the first two weeks of language school, I paid my $30/week to have the cook feed me two meals a day at a huge communal table. I rounded out my sustinence with trips to the bar for cappucini in the morning and $0.50 wine at night. And I was never hungry.
Then, I realized I was getting ripped off. The meals served by the school were simple combinations of easy to prepare ingredients from the local supermarket. They were inspired, mind you. But I wanted to cook like that. I wanted to practice. I was certain I could do it, and for much cheaper. So, I organized a revolt and 8 of my fellow students and I decided to exercise our option not to pay the cook. This was quite a scandal -- apparently, the school had never had to deal with this before and the $30/week was calculated upon economies of scale. With 8 of us out of the loop, we were warned, the other students may not be able to enjoy the cook. The American in me was appalled. How dare they use the others' possible hunger and inability to pay a higher price for the cook to shame us into paying for an "optional" service. But the swiss-Italian blood in me recognized it as a cultural difference that I should respect. So I smiled, apologized, and explained that I wanted to learn how to cook in the great style of Le Marche (the region where I was staying). Somehow, the cook still got paid, the other students ate, and I learned to cook simple and filling Italian dishes for 4-8 people on less than $2-$4/day.
Tonight, for the first time since Le Marche, I made pasta a la carbonara. Sure, I didn't use the leftover pork. I actually had venison/pork sausage. But otherwise, it was the same.
The power of the memories that came flooding back with the smells of the dish cooking and the first taste in my mouth were amazing. This dish will always be an embodiment of Italy to me. Never before my travels had I had it. It's peasant food. Simple. Basic. Filling. Warm. And so ridiculously delicious I can't believe I haven't made it since my return.
E made a primal grunt of happiness while eating his pasta tonight. It's the first time I've heard that noise as his wife. I'd heard it before as his fiancée, but that was at least a couple of months ago -- not all good food can elicit the cave man grunt. I get quite a ridiculous level of satisfaction from hearing that grunt. And then, for me, independent of enjoying E's enjoyment, I can't explain how happy and content I was to eat such simple and delicious food. The memories that flooded back made me smile and reminded me that I can do anything (pack up and leave the country when the job market gets tough -- just go!) and that I can live and eat well on next to nothing. It was very comforting.
So, if you're looking for some amazingly simple and hearty pasta, might I recommend the peasant favorite:
Pasta a la carbonara
1. Boil 1/2 packet spaghetti or 1/2 box Barilla semolina pasta of choice in hot water with a touch of oil and salt 'til al dente. Remove from heat and drain water. Do not rinse in cold water.
2. While pasta is boiling, chop 2 cloves garlic and place in sautee pan. Add meat and sautee lightly. (Traditionally -- use 1/2 lb chopped pork in butter and/or olive oil. Alternatively, use sausage, or just cook some fatty bacon cuttings in their own lard.) Cook through.
3. Add 2/3 cup of grated aged parmigiano, 1 can chopped chilis (4 oz), some olives (chopped in a can, pitted kalamata, whatever's available), and the cooked pasta to the meat. Toss.
4. Beat 3-4 eggs with 1/2 cup of half-and-half and a generous helping of ground black pepper (If no half-and-half, use cream or milk, whatever you've got. No liquid milk products? No problem, use more cheese in step 3. Not enough eggs? No problem. Use more milk products.)
5. When the the cheese is reasonably melted and the pasta is evenly heated, add the milk/egg mixture to the sautee pan and stir for 1 minute. Keep stirring and remove from heat when the eggs are cooked through (the sauce has taken a solid-like texture)
6. Add 1/2 cup of chopped parsely, stir in, cover for 5 minutes, and serve.
I dare you to not enjoy this dish.
Tonight, thanks to my brother, E and I had pasta a la carbonara con carne di cervo.
Carne di cervo (aka venison) is a delicacy that I never ate in Italy. Only as an adult have I come to realize how spoiled I was to grow up a meat-eating kid in a family of hunter/fisherpeople. Fresh venison sausage from the butcher who processed the deer that was killed, a side of beef raised by the local 4-h boy, half a pig raised by the local 4-h girl, and all varieties of fowl (pheasant, quail, turkey, ducks) and fish (tuna, trout, and salmon were the big ones) regularly graced our table. I ate very well as a child.
But, like many Americans who travel to Italy, it was in Italy that I truly learned to appreciate food. I believe carne di cervo was probably available during my most recent and longest stay in Italy, but I was poor, an unemployed dot-com bubble victim, on a trek to find herself, learn Italian, and, save money by living very cheaply. Carne di cervo didn't make the list (but Prosciutto di San Daniele did...).
In terms of saving money, I came out ahead. In 2002, it was actually cheaper to be an unemployed student/tourist in Italy and paying rent in San Francisco, as well as paying for plane flights to Europe, and European lodging, transport, and food costs, than it was to cover my bay area pared-down monthly expenses upon my return.
Of course, despite the fact that I saved money, I still ate well. That's one of the greatest things about Italy -- you can eat like royalty on $5/day. For the first two weeks of language school, I paid my $30/week to have the cook feed me two meals a day at a huge communal table. I rounded out my sustinence with trips to the bar for cappucini in the morning and $0.50 wine at night. And I was never hungry.
Then, I realized I was getting ripped off. The meals served by the school were simple combinations of easy to prepare ingredients from the local supermarket. They were inspired, mind you. But I wanted to cook like that. I wanted to practice. I was certain I could do it, and for much cheaper. So, I organized a revolt and 8 of my fellow students and I decided to exercise our option not to pay the cook. This was quite a scandal -- apparently, the school had never had to deal with this before and the $30/week was calculated upon economies of scale. With 8 of us out of the loop, we were warned, the other students may not be able to enjoy the cook. The American in me was appalled. How dare they use the others' possible hunger and inability to pay a higher price for the cook to shame us into paying for an "optional" service. But the swiss-Italian blood in me recognized it as a cultural difference that I should respect. So I smiled, apologized, and explained that I wanted to learn how to cook in the great style of Le Marche (the region where I was staying). Somehow, the cook still got paid, the other students ate, and I learned to cook simple and filling Italian dishes for 4-8 people on less than $2-$4/day.
Tonight, for the first time since Le Marche, I made pasta a la carbonara. Sure, I didn't use the leftover pork. I actually had venison/pork sausage. But otherwise, it was the same.
The power of the memories that came flooding back with the smells of the dish cooking and the first taste in my mouth were amazing. This dish will always be an embodiment of Italy to me. Never before my travels had I had it. It's peasant food. Simple. Basic. Filling. Warm. And so ridiculously delicious I can't believe I haven't made it since my return.
E made a primal grunt of happiness while eating his pasta tonight. It's the first time I've heard that noise as his wife. I'd heard it before as his fiancée, but that was at least a couple of months ago -- not all good food can elicit the cave man grunt. I get quite a ridiculous level of satisfaction from hearing that grunt. And then, for me, independent of enjoying E's enjoyment, I can't explain how happy and content I was to eat such simple and delicious food. The memories that flooded back made me smile and reminded me that I can do anything (pack up and leave the country when the job market gets tough -- just go!) and that I can live and eat well on next to nothing. It was very comforting.
So, if you're looking for some amazingly simple and hearty pasta, might I recommend the peasant favorite:
Pasta a la carbonara
1. Boil 1/2 packet spaghetti or 1/2 box Barilla semolina pasta of choice in hot water with a touch of oil and salt 'til al dente. Remove from heat and drain water. Do not rinse in cold water.
2. While pasta is boiling, chop 2 cloves garlic and place in sautee pan. Add meat and sautee lightly. (Traditionally -- use 1/2 lb chopped pork in butter and/or olive oil. Alternatively, use sausage, or just cook some fatty bacon cuttings in their own lard.) Cook through.
3. Add 2/3 cup of grated aged parmigiano, 1 can chopped chilis (4 oz), some olives (chopped in a can, pitted kalamata, whatever's available), and the cooked pasta to the meat. Toss.
4. Beat 3-4 eggs with 1/2 cup of half-and-half and a generous helping of ground black pepper (If no half-and-half, use cream or milk, whatever you've got. No liquid milk products? No problem, use more cheese in step 3. Not enough eggs? No problem. Use more milk products.)
5. When the the cheese is reasonably melted and the pasta is evenly heated, add the milk/egg mixture to the sautee pan and stir for 1 minute. Keep stirring and remove from heat when the eggs are cooked through (the sauce has taken a solid-like texture)
6. Add 1/2 cup of chopped parsely, stir in, cover for 5 minutes, and serve.
I dare you to not enjoy this dish.
Let's be clear
It is only because of the fact that I carpool with H that I'm not sleeping for the hour that was stolen by Daylight Savings Time.
Con Law just isn't that important.
It is only because of the fact that I carpool with H that I'm not sleeping for the hour that was stolen by Daylight Savings Time.
Con Law just isn't that important.
April 1, 2006
Dolla Bill Y'all
I've been overly stressed about getting all of E's and my finances in line. I knew that if I didn't do it before I hunkered down for finals it wouldn't be done 'til at least August (and who wants to cuddle up with spreadsheets after a big exam?).
Yesterday, I finally finished the majority of it: Asset-Liability sheets of our separate property, budgeting of joint expenses, balancing bank accounts that haven't been touched in almost a year (tax time always brings this out in me), making certain that every bit of the wedding was paid for as we agreed up front, and finally it hit me.
No wonder I'm stressed. Assuming I start work in October, I will not have earned any money for 14 months. School loans will get me through the end of school (seeing as how that's what they are supposed to do, I suppose I can't complain). But with the wedding I didn't really have the ability to plan for financial outlays after graduation. What to do?
Turns out, I'm in the middle of the longest period I've gone without actively bringing in money to support myself since I was 15 years old. Bonus -- some part of my personality is VERY uncomfortable with relying on others for my financial support. I suppose I could avoid this feeling of relying on others by taking more loans, but it turns out, I'm married now. And if I wanna incur the debt, I need to clear it with E. It's a no-brainer that it's better to live off the spouse than take private loans if that option is available. But, in admitting that, boy do I feel like the incredible black hole of money sucktitude.
Law School. You'll build more character than you ever wanted.
I've been overly stressed about getting all of E's and my finances in line. I knew that if I didn't do it before I hunkered down for finals it wouldn't be done 'til at least August (and who wants to cuddle up with spreadsheets after a big exam?).
Yesterday, I finally finished the majority of it: Asset-Liability sheets of our separate property, budgeting of joint expenses, balancing bank accounts that haven't been touched in almost a year (tax time always brings this out in me), making certain that every bit of the wedding was paid for as we agreed up front, and finally it hit me.
No wonder I'm stressed. Assuming I start work in October, I will not have earned any money for 14 months. School loans will get me through the end of school (seeing as how that's what they are supposed to do, I suppose I can't complain). But with the wedding I didn't really have the ability to plan for financial outlays after graduation. What to do?
Turns out, I'm in the middle of the longest period I've gone without actively bringing in money to support myself since I was 15 years old. Bonus -- some part of my personality is VERY uncomfortable with relying on others for my financial support. I suppose I could avoid this feeling of relying on others by taking more loans, but it turns out, I'm married now. And if I wanna incur the debt, I need to clear it with E. It's a no-brainer that it's better to live off the spouse than take private loans if that option is available. But, in admitting that, boy do I feel like the incredible black hole of money sucktitude.
Law School. You'll build more character than you ever wanted.
March 31, 2006
He Said, She Said
Last night, E and I decided to go out. I am officially only behind in 2 classes, which seemed like something to celebrate. Either that, or the fact that it was Thursday, or, maybe that I just didn't want to cook.
I threw out all of our usual suspect restaurants, but kind of wanted to branch out and try something we don't go to very often. I suggested an old Sunnyvale favorite but E didn't want to drive that far. So, I suggested a new local vietnamese fusion joint that we'd gone to with friends a few weeks prior. I thought that we had loved it.
Turns out, it was just me. I loved it. I even took my bridesmaids there on our day-before-the-wedding thank you lunch. They loved it too (or so I thought). The restaurant seems to be quite a success -- they hit the right price point, the quality of the food is excellent, and the theme is unlike anything else in the area, which makes it your only option for healthy, well-done, vietnamese fusion.
But E didn't want to go there. In fact, he made a face. I was confused.
BT: Didn't you love the food?
E: It was all right.
BT: But, weren't those huge fighting prawns cool?
E: Yeah, they were okay.
BT: And your shaking beef, made from filet mignon, how could you not love it? It was delicious.
E: Dude. You guys were the ones who loved that place. It was too hip.
BT: What?
E: You know. The lighting. The ambiance. The crowd. I didn't like it.
BT: Oh.
So, we ended up at a local Pizza joint we'd never tried.
BT: Is this better?
E: Yeah. They almost got it right. Cheap beer, there's a bar, it's kind of loud, smells like pizza.
BT: [laugh] There needs to be a bar for you to enjoy a pizza joint? They can't just serve drinks?
E: Yeah, that's why I didn't want to go to Pizza Chicago.
BT: [laugh] I had no idea. [Thinking to self: We're not even sitting at the bar, why does it matter if they have one?]
E: This place is pretty good though. They've almost got it right. The fixtures are too shiny, but the menu, ambiance, and crowd is right on.
BT: Actually, I do like this place, it's pretty cool.
E: Yeah, I'm kind of disappointed in us that we've never been here. It's not quite up to the standard of The Front Room, but it's close.
We had a delicious dinner of calzones (calzone caliente is *highly* recommended). And, as we enjoyed our dinner, we ran into not 1, not 2, but 4 of my former work colleagues at the pizza joint. I guess E's taste is shared by many people. Silly me, always focused on just the food and drink (ambiance, outside of good service and cleanliness, does very little either positive or negative for my dining experience). Who knew that people selected restaurants on the basis of things like lighting, fixtures, and the existence of a bar? Learn something new every day.
Last night, E and I decided to go out. I am officially only behind in 2 classes, which seemed like something to celebrate. Either that, or the fact that it was Thursday, or, maybe that I just didn't want to cook.
I threw out all of our usual suspect restaurants, but kind of wanted to branch out and try something we don't go to very often. I suggested an old Sunnyvale favorite but E didn't want to drive that far. So, I suggested a new local vietnamese fusion joint that we'd gone to with friends a few weeks prior. I thought that we had loved it.
Turns out, it was just me. I loved it. I even took my bridesmaids there on our day-before-the-wedding thank you lunch. They loved it too (or so I thought). The restaurant seems to be quite a success -- they hit the right price point, the quality of the food is excellent, and the theme is unlike anything else in the area, which makes it your only option for healthy, well-done, vietnamese fusion.
But E didn't want to go there. In fact, he made a face. I was confused.
BT: Didn't you love the food?
E: It was all right.
BT: But, weren't those huge fighting prawns cool?
E: Yeah, they were okay.
BT: And your shaking beef, made from filet mignon, how could you not love it? It was delicious.
E: Dude. You guys were the ones who loved that place. It was too hip.
BT: What?
E: You know. The lighting. The ambiance. The crowd. I didn't like it.
BT: Oh.
So, we ended up at a local Pizza joint we'd never tried.
BT: Is this better?
E: Yeah. They almost got it right. Cheap beer, there's a bar, it's kind of loud, smells like pizza.
BT: [laugh] There needs to be a bar for you to enjoy a pizza joint? They can't just serve drinks?
E: Yeah, that's why I didn't want to go to Pizza Chicago.
BT: [laugh] I had no idea. [Thinking to self: We're not even sitting at the bar, why does it matter if they have one?]
E: This place is pretty good though. They've almost got it right. The fixtures are too shiny, but the menu, ambiance, and crowd is right on.
BT: Actually, I do like this place, it's pretty cool.
E: Yeah, I'm kind of disappointed in us that we've never been here. It's not quite up to the standard of The Front Room, but it's close.
We had a delicious dinner of calzones (calzone caliente is *highly* recommended). And, as we enjoyed our dinner, we ran into not 1, not 2, but 4 of my former work colleagues at the pizza joint. I guess E's taste is shared by many people. Silly me, always focused on just the food and drink (ambiance, outside of good service and cleanliness, does very little either positive or negative for my dining experience). Who knew that people selected restaurants on the basis of things like lighting, fixtures, and the existence of a bar? Learn something new every day.
March 29, 2006
Daytime Dreams
I have a list of all of the fun things I get to make with our new wedding-related booty. I'm very excited to cross 'em off one-by-one over the next year, but for now must content myself with referring to list and smiling in anticipation because very few of 'em are going to make the time cut before August. The wok has already been seasoned and well-used, but that's because Asian food is efficient for a high-stress life. (In recognition of that fact, we took a trip to Ranch 99 last weekend and loaded up on all sorts of quick and easy food for finals and the bar.)
But, I digress. Here's what I'm looking forward to enjoying as a result of the wedding gifts:
1. Espresso Drinks made with the espresso maker (need to get a grinder with a superfine setting or buy some espresso grounds)
2. Panini grilled on the panini grill (We broke it in on some pugliese rubbed with olive oil and garlic to go with the Tuscan Bean Soup the other night. But I'm really looking forward to the day when I can lay some fresh-cut prosciutto, fontina, and fresh summer tomatoes between two slices of bread...).
3. Evenly rolled and cut linguine made with the pasta roller attachment for the kitchenaid. (Yes, I have made homemade pasta by hand ever since living in Italy and do consider kitchen gadgets to be somewhat unnecessary. But, I've never even attempted to hand cut linguine. I'm not crazy. Okay, I am. But not that crazy.)
4. Creme Brulée. (Two words: Blow torch. Apparently, it takes a few times before you get it right. How fun is that going to be?)
5. Baking with the pyrex, silicone, and various other bakeware we received. (I already made some perfectly moist and structurally sound homemade cornbread in the silicone bread pans. [yeah, I was skeptical about the oil instead of butter too... try it, you'll be thrilled] But I'm looking forward to cakes, souflées, casseroles, breads, tartes, pies, cookies, and well, you get the idea.)
6. Ice cream in the ice cream attachment for the kitchenaid. (E's mother makes the best lemon ice cream ever. I may have to start with that and then branch out if she's willing to part with the recipe.)
7. Pizza from scratch, on the pizza stone. (Mmmmmm...home made pizza.)
8. Salad in our new serving bowls (okay, in fairness, this one should be able to get itself off the list just as soon as I can figure out where they will be stored.)
9. Chips and salsa or cruditée with dip in the gorgeous party platter (this will probably cross itself off the list when barbeque season rolls around.)
10. Custard or chocolate molten cakelettes or something else wonderful in our new larger ramekins.
11. Something (or many somethings) from each of our recently acquired cookbooks (including a local women's club collection which appears to have some fabulous offerings).
12. Margaritas in our new margarita pitcher and glasses. (Need a good recipe. We love the ritas, but thus far, we only drink 'em at Mexican restaurants or in Mexico.)
13. Martinis in our new martini glasses. (I admit, we don't drink much in the way of hard alcohol around here, so if you have any suggestions for variations on the theme that may appeal to us like chocolate martinis, or something the boys may like, I'd love your suggestions.)
14. A dinner party where we break out all of our new china and stemware with friends. (It's likely we'll need to acquire some additional table-like apparati in order to fit all the placesettings at once, check back sometime in the fall.)
How's that for a short list of great things to which I look forward? Trust me, I've got a million other lists of things I'd like to do (friends to visit, books to read, places to travel, restaurants to try, wine to try, languages to speak, experiences to have), but this one is easy and focused. I have all of the necessary equipment, I just have to find the time. And I will. Soon. Ahhh... here's to looking forward while I go back to my con law reading (update, I'm only behind in 3 classes now! Woo hoo!)
I have a list of all of the fun things I get to make with our new wedding-related booty. I'm very excited to cross 'em off one-by-one over the next year, but for now must content myself with referring to list and smiling in anticipation because very few of 'em are going to make the time cut before August. The wok has already been seasoned and well-used, but that's because Asian food is efficient for a high-stress life. (In recognition of that fact, we took a trip to Ranch 99 last weekend and loaded up on all sorts of quick and easy food for finals and the bar.)
But, I digress. Here's what I'm looking forward to enjoying as a result of the wedding gifts:
1. Espresso Drinks made with the espresso maker (need to get a grinder with a superfine setting or buy some espresso grounds)
2. Panini grilled on the panini grill (We broke it in on some pugliese rubbed with olive oil and garlic to go with the Tuscan Bean Soup the other night. But I'm really looking forward to the day when I can lay some fresh-cut prosciutto, fontina, and fresh summer tomatoes between two slices of bread...).
3. Evenly rolled and cut linguine made with the pasta roller attachment for the kitchenaid. (Yes, I have made homemade pasta by hand ever since living in Italy and do consider kitchen gadgets to be somewhat unnecessary. But, I've never even attempted to hand cut linguine. I'm not crazy. Okay, I am. But not that crazy.)
4. Creme Brulée. (Two words: Blow torch. Apparently, it takes a few times before you get it right. How fun is that going to be?)
5. Baking with the pyrex, silicone, and various other bakeware we received. (I already made some perfectly moist and structurally sound homemade cornbread in the silicone bread pans. [yeah, I was skeptical about the oil instead of butter too... try it, you'll be thrilled] But I'm looking forward to cakes, souflées, casseroles, breads, tartes, pies, cookies, and well, you get the idea.)
6. Ice cream in the ice cream attachment for the kitchenaid. (E's mother makes the best lemon ice cream ever. I may have to start with that and then branch out if she's willing to part with the recipe.)
7. Pizza from scratch, on the pizza stone. (Mmmmmm...home made pizza.)
8. Salad in our new serving bowls (okay, in fairness, this one should be able to get itself off the list just as soon as I can figure out where they will be stored.)
9. Chips and salsa or cruditée with dip in the gorgeous party platter (this will probably cross itself off the list when barbeque season rolls around.)
10. Custard or chocolate molten cakelettes or something else wonderful in our new larger ramekins.
11. Something (or many somethings) from each of our recently acquired cookbooks (including a local women's club collection which appears to have some fabulous offerings).
12. Margaritas in our new margarita pitcher and glasses. (Need a good recipe. We love the ritas, but thus far, we only drink 'em at Mexican restaurants or in Mexico.)
13. Martinis in our new martini glasses. (I admit, we don't drink much in the way of hard alcohol around here, so if you have any suggestions for variations on the theme that may appeal to us like chocolate martinis, or something the boys may like, I'd love your suggestions.)
14. A dinner party where we break out all of our new china and stemware with friends. (It's likely we'll need to acquire some additional table-like apparati in order to fit all the placesettings at once, check back sometime in the fall.)
How's that for a short list of great things to which I look forward? Trust me, I've got a million other lists of things I'd like to do (friends to visit, books to read, places to travel, restaurants to try, wine to try, languages to speak, experiences to have), but this one is easy and focused. I have all of the necessary equipment, I just have to find the time. And I will. Soon. Ahhh... here's to looking forward while I go back to my con law reading (update, I'm only behind in 3 classes now! Woo hoo!)
It Begins
After the wedding, I had about 2 weeks of low frequency nightmares. For me, this is amazing. I have them all the time. Last night, it was particularly bad.
Once, E and I barely swam away from a plane that crashed into a lake. We swam away bobbing under water intermittently. Former coworkers of mine passed us doing heads-up freestyle. We bobbed to the left out of their path after they passed us. The plane exploded. Everyone except E and I went up in flames (because of the path of oil/gas they trailed behind them while swimming through the top of the water). I woke in a cold sweat.
I fell back asleep only so E could jump out of a helicopter while it was a few feet from the ground and careening to its demise. He started to run away leaving me in the thing. Realized I hadn't followed, he turned around and waited 'til the helicopter was closer to the ground and started yelling at me to jump out the back. I yelled at him to get out of the way and not get crushed. He put his hand in the helicopter, I ran beneath the blades, grabbed his hand and jumped. We ran away just before it exploded. I woke certain that I could be the reason E did something stupid that hurt him.
Finally, I fell back asleep to find myself in the hospital and my dad wasn't getting better. He insisted on getting up and walking by himself but he was very unsteady. I yelled at him to get his walker, and he turned around, confused. I was too far away. I yelled at the nurse that he was going to fall. She got there just in time, but couldn't catch all of his weight so he fell anyways and hit his head. I ran to his side and we both cried at his declining health.
My stomach hurts this morning.
After the wedding, I had about 2 weeks of low frequency nightmares. For me, this is amazing. I have them all the time. Last night, it was particularly bad.
Once, E and I barely swam away from a plane that crashed into a lake. We swam away bobbing under water intermittently. Former coworkers of mine passed us doing heads-up freestyle. We bobbed to the left out of their path after they passed us. The plane exploded. Everyone except E and I went up in flames (because of the path of oil/gas they trailed behind them while swimming through the top of the water). I woke in a cold sweat.
I fell back asleep only so E could jump out of a helicopter while it was a few feet from the ground and careening to its demise. He started to run away leaving me in the thing. Realized I hadn't followed, he turned around and waited 'til the helicopter was closer to the ground and started yelling at me to jump out the back. I yelled at him to get out of the way and not get crushed. He put his hand in the helicopter, I ran beneath the blades, grabbed his hand and jumped. We ran away just before it exploded. I woke certain that I could be the reason E did something stupid that hurt him.
Finally, I fell back asleep to find myself in the hospital and my dad wasn't getting better. He insisted on getting up and walking by himself but he was very unsteady. I yelled at him to get his walker, and he turned around, confused. I was too far away. I yelled at the nurse that he was going to fall. She got there just in time, but couldn't catch all of his weight so he fell anyways and hit his head. I ran to his side and we both cried at his declining health.
My stomach hurts this morning.
March 28, 2006
Scheduling
Yesterday, I did some master planning for all days between today and memorial day.
Primarily, I allocated time to the following 3 groups of activities:
1. Law school -- mainly study day allocation as necessary given my current state of unpreparedness, how many units the course is, and how much I think I need to study between now and the exam.
2. Working out -- if there's one thing law school has taught me, it's that in a time of stress, many things can go out the window, but I MUST maintain some minor commitment to working out or I'll head into a downward spiral of headaches, dizziness, heartburn, and sleeping problems. So, I've got tentative plans to do a few easy races between now and memorial day. If life won't let me run 'em, no worries, at least I'll have done the training to stay sane.
3. Social/Family/E -- yup. I'm that big of a geek. When facing a big grind-time, I actually schedule when I'm going to see my extended family, when I'm allocating time to hang out with E, and when, if at all, I'm going to allow myself to do something social with people outside of my family.
The scheduling brought an odd intersection of bay area running, my family life, and law school to my attention that may have otherwise slipped my notice: My school, in its infinite wisdom, scheduled graduation for the same day as a little footrace known as Bay to Breakers. Awesome. An extra 65,000 participants and 110,000 spectators all less than 2 miles from graduation... sounds fun.
The race suggests finding an alternate route (you know, avoid the freeways that the out of towners will be using to get to the race...that's right, all of 'em) and, also to avoid/postpone travel in the affected areas.
This presents a particularly interesting problem. I have relatives from out of town who are uncomfortable with "the city." If they must come, they deal with much of their discomfort by getting up at the asscrack of dawn. This means they arrive very early (to avoid traffic and have enough time to deal with unforseen complications). Clearly this plan is going to backfire this time. So now, I've got to figure out if it's better to get 'em all to San Francisco and into a hotel the night before graduation (a night in the city???) or to try to make the point that they should drive later in the day and just sit in traffic because it'll actually be better than the early AM traffic on the day of the race.
Yesterday, I did some master planning for all days between today and memorial day.
Primarily, I allocated time to the following 3 groups of activities:
1. Law school -- mainly study day allocation as necessary given my current state of unpreparedness, how many units the course is, and how much I think I need to study between now and the exam.
2. Working out -- if there's one thing law school has taught me, it's that in a time of stress, many things can go out the window, but I MUST maintain some minor commitment to working out or I'll head into a downward spiral of headaches, dizziness, heartburn, and sleeping problems. So, I've got tentative plans to do a few easy races between now and memorial day. If life won't let me run 'em, no worries, at least I'll have done the training to stay sane.
3. Social/Family/E -- yup. I'm that big of a geek. When facing a big grind-time, I actually schedule when I'm going to see my extended family, when I'm allocating time to hang out with E, and when, if at all, I'm going to allow myself to do something social with people outside of my family.
The scheduling brought an odd intersection of bay area running, my family life, and law school to my attention that may have otherwise slipped my notice: My school, in its infinite wisdom, scheduled graduation for the same day as a little footrace known as Bay to Breakers. Awesome. An extra 65,000 participants and 110,000 spectators all less than 2 miles from graduation... sounds fun.
The race suggests finding an alternate route (you know, avoid the freeways that the out of towners will be using to get to the race...that's right, all of 'em) and, also to avoid/postpone travel in the affected areas.
This presents a particularly interesting problem. I have relatives from out of town who are uncomfortable with "the city." If they must come, they deal with much of their discomfort by getting up at the asscrack of dawn. This means they arrive very early (to avoid traffic and have enough time to deal with unforseen complications). Clearly this plan is going to backfire this time. So now, I've got to figure out if it's better to get 'em all to San Francisco and into a hotel the night before graduation (a night in the city???) or to try to make the point that they should drive later in the day and just sit in traffic because it'll actually be better than the early AM traffic on the day of the race.
March 27, 2006
A nod to the law-life
Believe it or not, my life isn't all stir-fry and domestic happiness. The stuff necessary to one day practice law does, in fact, take up a substantial amount of my life. As proof, I present the following:
First, If you are a law student (or any graduate student) who hasn't yet consolidated your student loans:
Just Do It. Now.
You have 'til July 1, 2006 whether you are a 3rd year student or a continuing student. If you consolidate, you get to lock in at least a 4.7% over the life of the loan. If you don't, next year, and every year after it, you get 6.8%. If you don't have time to consider your options, my 2-cents would be to consolidate with your existing lender (half of you will have to anyways because of the single lender rule), because it'll most likely save you money in the long run. (Of course, the smart thing to do would be to *calculate* which option makes the most sense for you...)
Second, after a weekend of medium effort on the school front, with 5 weeks of school left, I'm pleasantly surprised at how far behind in school I am. Given that I got married, took my honeymoon over spring break, and had to miss a few weeks of school for a family member who was ill, I figure this isn't too bad.
So, in theory, I could catch up if I read for 270 minutes this evening (I average about 2 minutes per page). But, in reality, I'll probably only read the 15 pages for IP (only to have a new assignment due as soon as I exit that class tomorrow).
I'm very aware that the time where I can take care of life things (finances, cleaning, cooking for enjoyment, etc.) is quickly drawing to a close. Whether it's realistic or not, I feel like once it's time to buckle down for finals, that's it 'til August. There's finals, then bar review, then the bar.
Perhaps I'll be pleasantly surprised. But, because I fear I won't be, I'll keep plugging through the life things that can't be put on hold 'til August and that pile of reading will most likely remain the same size for at least another week.
Finally, and if you have lots of Lexis points and you to are looking to procrastinate with other stuff before you buckle down for finals -- the Amazon Superstore ROCKS! In contrast, Westlaw's reward program is lame. I don't want anything in my point range on Westlaw. But for lexis, I just browsed amazon 'til I found stuff I wanted. Now, I can't wait to get my Mexican cookbooks, my Martin Yan -- Quick & Easy (remember Yan Can Cook?), another Yoga DVD, and All the Pretty Horses (I never read it, and figure having one unread pleasure book lying around for after the bar is a good idea).
Believe it or not, my life isn't all stir-fry and domestic happiness. The stuff necessary to one day practice law does, in fact, take up a substantial amount of my life. As proof, I present the following:
First, If you are a law student (or any graduate student) who hasn't yet consolidated your student loans:
Just Do It. Now.
You have 'til July 1, 2006 whether you are a 3rd year student or a continuing student. If you consolidate, you get to lock in at least a 4.7% over the life of the loan. If you don't, next year, and every year after it, you get 6.8%. If you don't have time to consider your options, my 2-cents would be to consolidate with your existing lender (half of you will have to anyways because of the single lender rule), because it'll most likely save you money in the long run. (Of course, the smart thing to do would be to *calculate* which option makes the most sense for you...)
Second, after a weekend of medium effort on the school front, with 5 weeks of school left, I'm pleasantly surprised at how far behind in school I am. Given that I got married, took my honeymoon over spring break, and had to miss a few weeks of school for a family member who was ill, I figure this isn't too bad.
- Community Property: 60 pages behind.
- Constitutional Law: 60 pages behind.
- Corporations: N/A -- didn't buy the book, going off an outline (I'll let you know how that turns out).
- Venture Capital Law: Unable to calculate. Have read one of the suggested additional reading books, but it wasn't formally assigned. I've done bits of the assigned reading from the handouts, but I expect to frantically cram the billions of handouts that he gave us into my head the day before the final (unless I can magically come up with some other time to do it).
- Intellectual Property: 15 pages behind.
So, in theory, I could catch up if I read for 270 minutes this evening (I average about 2 minutes per page). But, in reality, I'll probably only read the 15 pages for IP (only to have a new assignment due as soon as I exit that class tomorrow).
I'm very aware that the time where I can take care of life things (finances, cleaning, cooking for enjoyment, etc.) is quickly drawing to a close. Whether it's realistic or not, I feel like once it's time to buckle down for finals, that's it 'til August. There's finals, then bar review, then the bar.
Perhaps I'll be pleasantly surprised. But, because I fear I won't be, I'll keep plugging through the life things that can't be put on hold 'til August and that pile of reading will most likely remain the same size for at least another week.
Finally, and if you have lots of Lexis points and you to are looking to procrastinate with other stuff before you buckle down for finals -- the Amazon Superstore ROCKS! In contrast, Westlaw's reward program is lame. I don't want anything in my point range on Westlaw. But for lexis, I just browsed amazon 'til I found stuff I wanted. Now, I can't wait to get my Mexican cookbooks, my Martin Yan -- Quick & Easy (remember Yan Can Cook?), another Yoga DVD, and All the Pretty Horses (I never read it, and figure having one unread pleasure book lying around for after the bar is a good idea).
March 26, 2006
Everyone has bad days
Yesterday, E and I went to our favorite local hole-in-the-wall burrito joint. In fariness, it's not really that much of a hole-in-the-wall, it's more like the fanciest authentic California-ized taqueria you've ever seen (they serve more burritos from the assembly line than tacos and they are okay with it).
Unfortunately, E found a hair in his burrito right around the same time that I spotted and killed a cockroach scampering across the newly tiled floor.
Then, I quietly went to report these atrocities to the manager. I didn't want to make a scene. Between the E and I over the last 3 years, I think we've averaged at least one item per week from this joint. We love it and I have no desire to upset their business or other customers. I was just a little disappointed and disgusted.
The manager was very concerned about the hair. She collected it in a napkin, and I suspect there will be hair comparisons later -- someone is getting in trouble. Pero la cucaracha? Nada importante. Like, I said, this joint is authentic.
Of course, to make it up to us, she apologized and offered us two free burritos on our next visit. We thanked her and pocketed the hand-written card. We'll be back. Just as soon at the food coma (burritos yesterday and dim sum this morning) dissipates. Burritos make up at least 35% of my finals sustinence. I suspect the bar will be the same. I'm not about to let something so silly as a forgotten hair net and an expired roach trap change my game plan.
Bad days. We all have 'em. (Here's to hoping they don't miss again...I'd hate to lose my apetite.)
Yesterday, E and I went to our favorite local hole-in-the-wall burrito joint. In fariness, it's not really that much of a hole-in-the-wall, it's more like the fanciest authentic California-ized taqueria you've ever seen (they serve more burritos from the assembly line than tacos and they are okay with it).
Unfortunately, E found a hair in his burrito right around the same time that I spotted and killed a cockroach scampering across the newly tiled floor.
Then, I quietly went to report these atrocities to the manager. I didn't want to make a scene. Between the E and I over the last 3 years, I think we've averaged at least one item per week from this joint. We love it and I have no desire to upset their business or other customers. I was just a little disappointed and disgusted.
The manager was very concerned about the hair. She collected it in a napkin, and I suspect there will be hair comparisons later -- someone is getting in trouble. Pero la cucaracha? Nada importante. Like, I said, this joint is authentic.
Of course, to make it up to us, she apologized and offered us two free burritos on our next visit. We thanked her and pocketed the hand-written card. We'll be back. Just as soon at the food coma (burritos yesterday and dim sum this morning) dissipates. Burritos make up at least 35% of my finals sustinence. I suspect the bar will be the same. I'm not about to let something so silly as a forgotten hair net and an expired roach trap change my game plan.
Bad days. We all have 'em. (Here's to hoping they don't miss again...I'd hate to lose my apetite.)
March 24, 2006
Wok this way!
Okay, first, this is creepy:
It's pretty dead on for me. Link thanks to beanie.
Second, we got a wok for one of our wedding presents. Tonight's offering was fabulous. So, I've decided the best way to cook pheasant is in the form of some chili-oil based stir-fry. Pheasant is healthy. Pheasant is difficult to shoot. Pheasant is a nice gift from the family hunters. But generally, even when wrapped in bacon, pheasant is hard-pressed to be fabulous.
So, if you have a spare vacuum-sealed pheasant in the freezer, here's my suggestion.
Black-bean chili pheasant stir-fry
1. Thaw and carve/cut one pheasant into small stir-fry sized chunks of pheasant meat. Wash and place the chunks in a bowl, ready for stir-frying.
2. Open a can of black-bean chili sauce (or what should be known as black-bean chili oil). Pour 3 Tablespoons into the wok.
3. Heat the wok to high. Add 1 yellow onion, diced, and 3 cloves of garlic diced. Sautee in the wok vigorously for 1-2 minutes.
3. Add pheasant. Continue to stir in the wok.
4. Open and drain: 1 can baby corn (E likes it cut into bite-sized pieces, I think they are bite-sized already), 1 can water chestnuts, 1 can button mushrooms. Add all drained vegetables to wok, turn down the heat to medium-high and continue stirring for 1-3 minutes. Cover if bored.
5. Chop 1/3 bunch of washedparsely cilantro. Mix with 2 cups bean sprouts.
6. When the meat is cooked through and the vegetables are well soaked in chili-oil, turn to low heat, continue to stir, addparsely cilantro & bean sprouts. Stir and cool.
7. After 1-2 minutes, turn off heat. Continue to stir until ready to be served. Serve hot, from the wok, either over rice or on its own.
Enjoy!
Okay, first, this is creepy:
It's pretty dead on for me. Link thanks to beanie.
Second, we got a wok for one of our wedding presents. Tonight's offering was fabulous. So, I've decided the best way to cook pheasant is in the form of some chili-oil based stir-fry. Pheasant is healthy. Pheasant is difficult to shoot. Pheasant is a nice gift from the family hunters. But generally, even when wrapped in bacon, pheasant is hard-pressed to be fabulous.
So, if you have a spare vacuum-sealed pheasant in the freezer, here's my suggestion.
Black-bean chili pheasant stir-fry
1. Thaw and carve/cut one pheasant into small stir-fry sized chunks of pheasant meat. Wash and place the chunks in a bowl, ready for stir-frying.
2. Open a can of black-bean chili sauce (or what should be known as black-bean chili oil). Pour 3 Tablespoons into the wok.
3. Heat the wok to high. Add 1 yellow onion, diced, and 3 cloves of garlic diced. Sautee in the wok vigorously for 1-2 minutes.
3. Add pheasant. Continue to stir in the wok.
4. Open and drain: 1 can baby corn (E likes it cut into bite-sized pieces, I think they are bite-sized already), 1 can water chestnuts, 1 can button mushrooms. Add all drained vegetables to wok, turn down the heat to medium-high and continue stirring for 1-3 minutes. Cover if bored.
5. Chop 1/3 bunch of washed
6. When the meat is cooked through and the vegetables are well soaked in chili-oil, turn to low heat, continue to stir, add
7. After 1-2 minutes, turn off heat. Continue to stir until ready to be served. Serve hot, from the wok, either over rice or on its own.
Enjoy!
March 22, 2006
Wifey Lifey
So far this week, I've been a good new wife. I'm slowly cleaning the house to return it to some semblance of cleanliness that preceded the wedding hurricane. I made lentil soup from scratch for Monday (leftovers tuesday). I even stayed awake for all of Lost in Translation last night (I'm one of those who fall asleep instead of watching the movie with you). Tonight I thawed some homemade bolognese to serve with artichoke linguine (from the Great Artichoke trip) in an effort to bribe our photographer when she showed up with the contact sheets. Unfortunately (or fortunately, really), she was onto me and brought her own bribe of citizen cake pugliese and dessert. E, who never misses a trick, pointed out that we should have the photographer over more often since he prefers bolognese, bread, and cake to vegetarian lentil soup.
Unfortunately, the only thing I'm not liking about my first wife week at home is that I have a sore throat. My tongue is slightly swollen. It hurts to swallow. And, I'm exhausted.
Figures. Everytime I really buckle down to push through a stressful period of time, as soon as I relax, my body does it's best to let me know how much it disliked what I put it through.
Got it. Message received.
So, since I can't go home to visit my dad during his chemo with this nice little infection (which is probably the cousin of the nasty sinus infection that E has, I hope I don't have to go to the doctor to get antibiotics), I get to stay home and just do normal life stuff for the first weekend in at least 4 months.
I'm ecstatic.
I've got big plans to study, catch up on my reading, clean, sleep, write Thank Yous and possibly cook another meal or two. It may not sound fun to you, but it sounds like heaven to me. Even with a mutinous body.
How's that for a boring post? Oh, and the contact sheets were fun. I don't know how we're going to pick our favorite photos. But it's a good problem to have.
So far this week, I've been a good new wife. I'm slowly cleaning the house to return it to some semblance of cleanliness that preceded the wedding hurricane. I made lentil soup from scratch for Monday (leftovers tuesday). I even stayed awake for all of Lost in Translation last night (I'm one of those who fall asleep instead of watching the movie with you). Tonight I thawed some homemade bolognese to serve with artichoke linguine (from the Great Artichoke trip) in an effort to bribe our photographer when she showed up with the contact sheets. Unfortunately (or fortunately, really), she was onto me and brought her own bribe of citizen cake pugliese and dessert. E, who never misses a trick, pointed out that we should have the photographer over more often since he prefers bolognese, bread, and cake to vegetarian lentil soup.
Unfortunately, the only thing I'm not liking about my first wife week at home is that I have a sore throat. My tongue is slightly swollen. It hurts to swallow. And, I'm exhausted.
Figures. Everytime I really buckle down to push through a stressful period of time, as soon as I relax, my body does it's best to let me know how much it disliked what I put it through.
Got it. Message received.
So, since I can't go home to visit my dad during his chemo with this nice little infection (which is probably the cousin of the nasty sinus infection that E has, I hope I don't have to go to the doctor to get antibiotics), I get to stay home and just do normal life stuff for the first weekend in at least 4 months.
I'm ecstatic.
I've got big plans to study, catch up on my reading, clean, sleep, write Thank Yous and possibly cook another meal or two. It may not sound fun to you, but it sounds like heaven to me. Even with a mutinous body.
How's that for a boring post? Oh, and the contact sheets were fun. I don't know how we're going to pick our favorite photos. But it's a good problem to have.
March 19, 2006
Hola Senora E!
Well, it's a done deal. E and I are hitched. Additionally, everything was a fairy tale, from my father who was able to walk me down the aisle without a walker or wheelchair, to my niece, who at 4 years old insisted on giving her own toast (and the DJ let her), to our families & friends who all appeared to be enjoying themselves immensely at every turn, to the food, the service, the building, and even the weather. Despite weather.com's predictions, even the weather cleared up to provide a beautiful blue sky day for our wedding. I can easily say that struggles were absolutely worth it. Trite, but true, my wedding day was the happiest and most fun day of my life. When the entire wedding weekend and honeymoon are combined, I can't even believe how wonderful the last week of my life has been (and how quickly it is now over).
At some point after the ceremony (during family photographs) my matron of honor, D, signed the marriage license as the one required witness, and that was that. E and I were officially husband and wife as of the pronouncement during the ceremony. I actually thought E and I had to sign the marriage license as well so I didn't realize that I was truly married 'til 11 PM when I asked when E & I were going to sign and formalize the whole thing. Apparently, after getting the marriage license, the only required formalities are a witness to the oral oaths and the verification from the officiant that the oaths had been administered correctly.
R immediately signed her name in the place of the "officiant" after the ceremony. One of my closest friends since middle school, E & I asked her to become ordained through the Universal Life Church in order to marry us. She did so, and she did an excellent job performing the ceremony. In fact, other than the food and location, we received more compliments on the officiant and the ceremony than anything else. After how well it worked out, I can't imagine having us joined by any other person. I am so thankful that she was willing to take on that task.
So, after making promises and kissing, R introduced us to the crowd as Mr. & Mrs. E, whereupon we attended and enjoyed the greatest party of my life (how could it not be with all of the close friends and family selected by you?). A day or two later we arrived in Zihuatanejo for some much needed R&R on our luna de miel. We did nothing other than sleep (in the bed, on our private sun terrace, on the sun deck, under the umbrellas at the poolside bar), eat delicious food, walk in the sun, swim, lay in the shade, lay in the sun, drink beers and margaritas, enjoy some of the most impeccable service I've ever received at a hotel, and, of course, enjoy each other without any distractions from friends, family, or outside life. Everywhere we went, I was greated with, "Hola Senora E! Como Esta? Todo Bien?" Each time, I grinned and answered, "Si. Completamente bien."
And each day, I became more and more comfortable that I was Senora E. Just 2 months prior I'd been in Mexico as Senorita BT. It had been at least the 4th or 5th time in my life to be referred to in Spanish as Senorita BT and I had learned to accept it as my name when in a Spanish speaking country. (You see, there's no Ms. in Spanish...)
Imagine my surprise when I arrived this time to find I had an entirely new name. Senora E! That's me. For some reason, it was the missing formality I needed. I never signed the certificate, which I thought I had to do. So, thank goodness for the sexist nature of the Spanish language and Mexico's insistence on referring to me by both "Senora" and E's name. After 5 days of hearing it, I finally believed it was true.
And, now, my friends, Senora E has some serious catching up in the real world to do. School and basic life responsibilities like cleaning were on pause 'til after the wedding. Now, despite what I may wish, the honeymoon *is* over. I have no excuse and very little time left 'til I'm no longer a law student (assuming all goes well...).
Well, it's a done deal. E and I are hitched. Additionally, everything was a fairy tale, from my father who was able to walk me down the aisle without a walker or wheelchair, to my niece, who at 4 years old insisted on giving her own toast (and the DJ let her), to our families & friends who all appeared to be enjoying themselves immensely at every turn, to the food, the service, the building, and even the weather. Despite weather.com's predictions, even the weather cleared up to provide a beautiful blue sky day for our wedding. I can easily say that struggles were absolutely worth it. Trite, but true, my wedding day was the happiest and most fun day of my life. When the entire wedding weekend and honeymoon are combined, I can't even believe how wonderful the last week of my life has been (and how quickly it is now over).
At some point after the ceremony (during family photographs) my matron of honor, D, signed the marriage license as the one required witness, and that was that. E and I were officially husband and wife as of the pronouncement during the ceremony. I actually thought E and I had to sign the marriage license as well so I didn't realize that I was truly married 'til 11 PM when I asked when E & I were going to sign and formalize the whole thing. Apparently, after getting the marriage license, the only required formalities are a witness to the oral oaths and the verification from the officiant that the oaths had been administered correctly.
R immediately signed her name in the place of the "officiant" after the ceremony. One of my closest friends since middle school, E & I asked her to become ordained through the Universal Life Church in order to marry us. She did so, and she did an excellent job performing the ceremony. In fact, other than the food and location, we received more compliments on the officiant and the ceremony than anything else. After how well it worked out, I can't imagine having us joined by any other person. I am so thankful that she was willing to take on that task.
So, after making promises and kissing, R introduced us to the crowd as Mr. & Mrs. E, whereupon we attended and enjoyed the greatest party of my life (how could it not be with all of the close friends and family selected by you?). A day or two later we arrived in Zihuatanejo for some much needed R&R on our luna de miel. We did nothing other than sleep (in the bed, on our private sun terrace, on the sun deck, under the umbrellas at the poolside bar), eat delicious food, walk in the sun, swim, lay in the shade, lay in the sun, drink beers and margaritas, enjoy some of the most impeccable service I've ever received at a hotel, and, of course, enjoy each other without any distractions from friends, family, or outside life. Everywhere we went, I was greated with, "Hola Senora E! Como Esta? Todo Bien?" Each time, I grinned and answered, "Si. Completamente bien."
And each day, I became more and more comfortable that I was Senora E. Just 2 months prior I'd been in Mexico as Senorita BT. It had been at least the 4th or 5th time in my life to be referred to in Spanish as Senorita BT and I had learned to accept it as my name when in a Spanish speaking country. (You see, there's no Ms. in Spanish...)
Imagine my surprise when I arrived this time to find I had an entirely new name. Senora E! That's me. For some reason, it was the missing formality I needed. I never signed the certificate, which I thought I had to do. So, thank goodness for the sexist nature of the Spanish language and Mexico's insistence on referring to me by both "Senora" and E's name. After 5 days of hearing it, I finally believed it was true.
And, now, my friends, Senora E has some serious catching up in the real world to do. School and basic life responsibilities like cleaning were on pause 'til after the wedding. Now, despite what I may wish, the honeymoon *is* over. I have no excuse and very little time left 'til I'm no longer a law student (assuming all goes well...).
March 5, 2006
Day of Celebration
9 cases of wine for the wedding picked up from the hometown local winery. One bottle opened and tasted -- delicious relief that we won't be serving swill.
Avoiding the Tahoe traffic from my hometown by going through wine country -- fabulous.
Spending the day with E talking and thinking about how everything we did was probably the last time we were going to be doing that thing as a non-married couple -- surreal.
Arriving home to find the Corporations Gilbert's that I ordered to save me from the fall-out of the bottom of the priority list -- a relief.
Learning that my dad had a wonderful response to his first round of chemo and is much better than he was a month ago -- words fail me.
Hearing the oncologist tell us that my dad will probably be out of the hospital in time to attend the wedding in person -- emotional beyond words.
It's raining. According to weather.com it's probably going to rain on our wedding day. But a year ago E refused to let us select a venue without a gorgeous indoor facility. Smart guy, that E. Sure, there are only 6 days 'til the wedding and a billion things to do. But it's all falling into place, one piece at a time. I'm excited and happier than I could imagine.
9 cases of wine for the wedding picked up from the hometown local winery. One bottle opened and tasted -- delicious relief that we won't be serving swill.
Avoiding the Tahoe traffic from my hometown by going through wine country -- fabulous.
Spending the day with E talking and thinking about how everything we did was probably the last time we were going to be doing that thing as a non-married couple -- surreal.
Arriving home to find the Corporations Gilbert's that I ordered to save me from the fall-out of the bottom of the priority list -- a relief.
Learning that my dad had a wonderful response to his first round of chemo and is much better than he was a month ago -- words fail me.
Hearing the oncologist tell us that my dad will probably be out of the hospital in time to attend the wedding in person -- emotional beyond words.
It's raining. According to weather.com it's probably going to rain on our wedding day. But a year ago E refused to let us select a venue without a gorgeous indoor facility. Smart guy, that E. Sure, there are only 6 days 'til the wedding and a billion things to do. But it's all falling into place, one piece at a time. I'm excited and happier than I could imagine.
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