Blind Prophecy

Been a while since I did one of these 12 for 12 things.

7:00 am - shower time

7:15 am - time to take my daily mugshot. Apparently I've done 599 of them. I've only missed 2 days in that whole time. You can see the results on the About Me page.

7:30am - whole wheat toaster waffles, sugar-free maple syrup and applesauce for breakfast

9:00 am - arrive at school

10:00 am - studying in the Urban Law Journal office followed by class and official office hours

4:00 pm - time for a trip to the gym

6:00 pm - dinner of mashed potatoes, brown rice and vegetable medley

6:30 pm - dealing with extracurricular stuff from my hiding spot in the Public Interest Resource Center

8:00 pm - hitting the books again

10:00 pm - rehearsal for Tortfeasors, our school's a capella choir

11:00 pm - leaving school

11:30 pm - arriving at my home subway stop

All in all, a pretty light day for me.

Filed under: 12 for 12 by Jere Keys
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There’s a guy who got away.

I wish he hadn’t.

It’s complicated and weird, but I wish we had another chance, even though I know we don’t.

And now I’m being weird. this is what Fall does to me.

Filed under: Uncategorized by Jere Keys
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What I don’t understand is how I’m still getting over 200 hits per day when I’ve practically abandoned my blog this month.

Anyway, yadda yadda busy blah blah lame excuse blah.

Last weekend was our school’s intraschool trial advocacy competition. Since I made the team over the summer, I was only competing for placement on an interschool competition team or a bench team. My partner and I made it to the quarterfinals and the top 8 before we lost to the team that ultimately took the championship.

I’ve been placed on the competition team representing Fordham at the ABA Labor Law Trial Advocacy competition in November. Basically, we put on a full trial, call witnesses, present evidence, and make arguments in an employment disability discrimination case. We’re scored on strategy, effectiveness and presentation. As Craig described it: cosplay for lawyers.

I’ve been saying that between interning at the EEOC, taking a class in employment discrimination, my background in employment diversity, and now this competition, I’m apparently specializing already.

My classes have been okay this semester. One class is turning out to be a drag, and it’s not the one I expected to be a snoozefest. But, of course, classes are just a distraction from my law school experience as a 2L. The real action is in extracurriculars.

This year, in addition to Trial Ad, I’ve joined our school’s a capella choir, the Tortfeasors; I’m stage manager for Follies; on the board of OUTLaws (the LGBT group); chair of an event committee for Stein; co-directing “The Vagina Monologues”; founded a weekly running club; I mentor about half-a-dozen awesome 1Ls; and I’m on the staff of the Urban Law Journal. I still haven’t figured out when I’m going to apply for summer positions or get all my studying in.

Last week: red is extracurricular, blue is classes and class meetings, yellow is work and internship related.

So, this week is the exciting return of all those TV shows I didn’t have time to watch last year. Since I’m now scheduled to be at school between 6-8 and 9-10:30 every Tuesday night, I’m going to have to just plan on catching Glee on hulu or something. Which means, of course, I’ll be avoiding the internet even more than I have been mid-week because I just can’t cope with your spoilers.

As awesome as my law school friends are, I miss my family and my non-law school friends. I’ve already noticed that I can go an entire week without talking to anyone who isn’t a regular in the halls of Fordham Law School.

Anyway, this coming weekend looks like it might have potential. We have some OUTLaws events, but at least I’ll be talking to law students at a bar.

Filed under: law school by Jere Keys
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Miami was great. I attended some really interesting discussions of LGBT legal issue, met some interesting (and sexy) people, got a tan/sunburn and had lots of fun at the 2010 Lavender Law conference. I can’t wait for next year’s conference in Hollywood.

I’ve never been a drinks-by-the-pool or book-on-the-beach kinda guy. If I’m travelling for vacation or business (or, like this trip, a combination), I prefer to keep busy. Since I didn’t want to spend much money over and above what the university was reimbursing, I tried to keep my entertainment simple this trip. Which meant a lot of sitting on the beach with a book or lounging by the pool with a fruity drink of some kind. I’m sold.

Not much more to say about Miami Beach, so on with the photos.

On my way to a sunrise jog on the beach

Bobby and I have a Lambda summer interns reunion

I don't know why there are so many Fordham gays on this bed (and why they're all still dressed)

This guy came and sat right next to me. I promptly put my t-shirt back on.

Yes, I wore sunscreen. Yes, my Mormon genes left me with a nasty sunburn anyway.

I did occasionally go inside the hotel to the conference areas.

My tuition money at work on flip-flops that leave the words "Fordham" (right foot) and "Law" (left foot) in the sand. I'm so glad that they only raised tuition 3% this year, I'd hate to see them cut back on perks like this.

Anyway…

First day back at school was okay. Lotsa meetings related to extracurricular activities. Almost made my only class of the day seem like an afterthought. Tomorrow is the first day of the internship in Newark.

Ended the day at a karaoke fundraiser for my friend Sirrah, who is raising money in connection with her participation in the New York Marathon this fall. Sirrah and I did a duet of “Suddenly Seymour” then I sang Heart’s “Alone” and “Stray Cat Strut” (a karaoke song I have loved since David showed off with it at the Puntabulous Karaoke gathering of 2009). Then I came home and read about theories of efficiency in corporation and agency law.

Filed under: law school, travel by Jere Keys
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Okay, so it looks like I’ve fallen off the blogging wagon the last few weeks. I can’t really say I’ve been busy, quite the opposite.

Anyway, so I finished out the summer internship at the beginning of the month. It was a really good experience and made me feel like I’ve finally found the right direction for my career. The work was challenging, the people I worked with were driven and intelligent, and I felt like I was truly contributing to something. I also really enjoyed getting to know my co-interns.

After finishing at Lambda, I started working on campus with the Academic Enrichment Program, a sort of law school boot camp for incoming students. If y’all remember last summer when I very abruptly moved to New York 3 weeks sooner than I had planned, it was to take part in AEP. This summer I returned as a mentor/teaching assistant. My assigned workshop was on time management, where my goal was to impress upon the students how much time would be required of them and the wisdom of keeping a schedule (read as: scare the sh*t out of them). I also ended up playing the role of mean judge in the oral argument preview and proctor during their final exam. In other words, I was always the mean guy.

I did get to take a small group on a field trip to the Met. We spent most of our time enjoying the Picasso exhibit, then the Egyptian wing. We were going to finish our night in the Greek statutes, but a guard encouraged us to head to the roof and watch the Sunset in the Big Bambu exhibit.

The following week, I got the group to come out to a gay club in Hell’s Kitchen, Posh Lounge, where they were having karaoke night with a live band. After blowing out my vocal chords leading a group round of “Don’t Stop Believin’” I mostly watched the rest of the night, but everyone was having a good time.

Since AEP ended, I’ve been trying to get ready for school. We hit the ground running next week. I’ve already been through two rounds of journal assignments and the fall competition for the trial advocacy team is the second weekend of September. I have a paper due on Wednesday, my first day of my fall internship on Tuesday, and I’m a mentor to 5 first year students who I need to meet with.

Good thing I’ll be spending the next 4 days in Miami Beach. I’m heading down for the Lavender Law conference with about a dozen other members of our OUTLaws student group. I spent today making sure all my financial aid stuff was completely done because when I get back from Miami I’m going to be pitifully broke until the loan check clears. Even though I’m technically going down for a conference, I plan to relax as much as I can before school starts.

There isn’t a whole lot else to report. After a few months away, it was nice to start running into my friends on campus again today. It made me excited to start the semester, even if it is going to be a busy one.

Filed under: law school, personal by Jere Keys
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If I had extra cash right now, I’m very much in the mood for some new ink. I want to get either my X-Man tattoo or my Whitman quote. Anyway, this week’s theme is guys with tattoos.

Choice 1	Choice 2	Choice 3
A touch of ink	Medium coverage	Full body canvas

To review the rules… You must choose one who you would spend the rest of your life with, one you would have a freaky-monkey one-night stand with, and one who you would put to death*. You tell me who you choose and why.

*standard disclaimer: we are anti-death penalty, we play this game as a thought exercise, not an endorsement of murder. Also, we are sex-positive and believe that two people can have crazy one-time sex without shame or emotional baggage. Finally, for the purposes of this game, we all live in marriage equality jurisdictions.

My picks from last time:
Marry: Katy Perry. Far and away my favorite of the three.
Fuck: Ke$ha. I could only handle one night with her and I’m pretty sure neither of us would really remember it afterward, anyway.
Kill: Miley. It’s Miley. (Apologies to my niece, who adores Hannah Montana)

Filed under: games, unnecessary beefcake by Jere Keys
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“I’m not sure exactly what the drafters of the (14th) amendment had in mind, but I doubt it was that somebody could fly in from Brazil and have a child and fly back home with that child, and that child is forever an American citizen,” Sen. Jeff Sessions said as Republicans push for hearings to modify the 14th Amendment.

Now, I realize that I’m not an elected official sworn to uphold and defend the Constitution or anything, but I would guess that what the drafters of the 14th amendment had in mind was something along the lines of, “we should probably put it in the constitution that people born here can’t be denied citizenship because of the color of their skin.”

They might have been thinking about all those individual states who were ignoring federal authority in passing laws that denied people, based on their race, the right to enter into employment contracts, the right to protection from abuses of the police power of the states, the right to be heard in a court of law, and the right to not be bought and sold as slaves. It’s a crazy theory, but I think a lot of academics and historians would probably agree.

But what do I know? It’s not like I’m the minority party’s ranking member on the judiciary committee, tasked with reviewing and confirming federal judges with lifetime appointments to interpret and enforce the Constitution. If I were that guy, I’d probably want to spend some time developing some theories about what the framers of the 14th amendment were intending. Especially as it relates to passing laws that target brown people for special exclusion from the rights, benefits, and obligations of United States citizenship.

On the other hand, maybe Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III and his buddies, Tweedleracist and Tweedleracister from Arizona, have a point. If the advancements of modern society were unfathomable to the people who wrote a part of the Constitution, we should think about changing it, and in the meantime, allow states to figure out a way to pass laws seemingly inconsistent with the spirit of the document while staying within the exact letter of the language.

Like that second amendment with the thing about bearing arms. No way the framers were thinking about petty criminal carrying concealed handguns and semi-automatic weapons. I demand Congressional hearings! And until that happens, the federal government and the courts should let the states pass laws that they think fit within what the framers could have contemplated.

Filed under: politics by Jere Keys
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So I missed an anniversary of sorts last week. I moved to New York exactly one year ago last Monday. The only reason this occurred to me is that I was walking around the financial district the other day having one of those internal policy debates where I imagine how I would answer certain questions (what, doesn’t everyone daydream about political arguments?), and in my imaginary debate, I answered a question (about the Mosque near Ground Zero) by pointing out emphatically that I am a New Yorker.

Then I realized that I had no idea when I started thinking of myself as a New Yorker and started to think of this place a bit as home. Probably sometime after I moved into my current place in Harlem. But the subways no longer intimidate me, I’m mispronouncing fewer place names, I feel relatively comfortable giving tourists directions… yesterday I was told that I’m losing my Nevada/Utah accent.

Anyway, I wouldn’t go so far as to claim I’m a “true New Yorker” yet – I think one has to spend a little more time outside Manhattan than I have – but I’m certainly starting to settle in.

The upper west side skyline near Fordham Law School during the spring.

So, I’ve got one week left at Lambda. I’ve really enjoyed working there this summer and hope I get to work with them again in the future. I’m definitely planning to stay in touch with the staff I’ve worked with.

I got offered a fall semester internship working with the EEOC in Newark. I accepted the position and look forward to figuring out how to make all the pieces of my fall semester schedule work together. That’s four classes, a journal, a competition team, an internship, a board position for a networking group, and a handful of volunteer commitments. I’m already looking forward to the winter holiday. I’d been talking about putting some volunteer time in on one of the political campaigns this season (you may have heard that my congressman has been in the news this week, guy by the name of Charlie Rangel), but I think that’s not going to happen now.

Yesterday’s pool party and the house of Puntabulous was a lot of fun. I got to meet some people in the flesh for the first time, catch up with other friends, and generally spend a relaxing day out on Long Island. I took exactly 0 pictures because everyone else had their cameras going all the time, so I imagine the documentation will arrive soon.

Today I’m on my way back to school for training in how the Journal will function this year.

Filed under: NYC, miscellaneous by Jere Keys
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This week is pop music whores. Because I can’t think of a category I’d actually care about.

Choice 1	Choice 2	Choice 3
Katy Perry will melt my popsicle	Ke$ha likes my beard	Miley Cyrus isn’t telling me to go to hell, she’s not a brat like that

To review the rules… You must choose one who you would spend the rest of your life with, one you would have a freaky-monkey one-night stand with, and one who you would put to death*. You tell me who you choose and why.

*standard disclaimer: we are anti-death penalty, we play this game as a thought exercise, not an endorsement of murder. Also, we are sex-positive and believe that two people can have crazy one-time sex without shame or emotional baggage. Let’s just go ahead and pretend that Miley Cyrus is 22 years old so no one has to have the (legally incorrect in most states) “but she’s not legal” comment. Finally, for the purposes of this game, we all live in marriage equality jurisdictions.

My picks from last time:
Marry: Charlie. Smart, kind and sexy.
Fuck: Josh. Behind all that cocky ego is an insecure little boy who probably tries really, really hard to impress you between the sheets. Also, I like his brand of snark.
Kill: Sam. And not just because I think it’s funny that this is the second week in a row I have someone with an embarrassing threesome sex tape leak (NSFW), but because I find him terribly boring.

Filed under: games, music by Jere Keys
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This is how I learn family news now, apparently.

Anyway, that’s my baby sister getting engaged. That means the balance has officially tipped and we’re about to about to reach the first time where a majority of my siblings are married.

I’m very happy for her and I actually met this guy a few years ago when I was living in San Francisco. I hope. If she’s engaged to someone else, I’m going to be really embarrassed to have said that. Because right now, all I officially know is what you see in that FaceBook update. That and apparently they’ve decided on December 30 just to make sure I’m stuck spending another shitty New Year’s Eve in Utah even though I live in New York City so I can definitely be there.

Does anyone think flying into NYC on Dec 31 is a bad idea?

ETA: In fairness to my sister, she did send me a text message last night. It could have arrived before the FB message, but I didn’t see it until after I’d written this post and scheduled it to publish in the morning.

Filed under: Mi Familia by Jere Keys
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