It's boogie time

Last night was Albany Law School's annual barrister's ball (that's fancy lawyer talk for law school prom.) Originally, I wasn't planning on going. I didn't buy a ticket, but then one of my friends wanted to go, and I thought, meh, Why not?

Slight problem, though. They stopped selling tickets like a week ago. So if we wanted to go, we were going to have to find someone who didn't want their ticket. My friend Steven helpfully searched the entire student body, I'm pretty sure, and found us two tickets. Thursday night. Ten points to Steven!

So last night was the prom. I couldn't decide what to wear. I know it's a prom for law students, but I didn't think I wanted to wear a prom dress. Besides, I don't have one. Being a great lover of all clothes comfortable, I have very few fancy schmancy get ups. My coworker was nice enough to bring some of her daughters things to work and told me I could wear one of them, if I wanted. She has some pretty dresses, so I started to get kind of excited about getting all dressed up. :)

Anyway, I ended up not wearing any of those dresses and stuck with one of mine. Michelle told me it looked like I was wearing a sarong, but whatever. I wore my pretty pearl earrings Lukey gave me for Christmas a few years ago. I felt very fancy, even if I was wearing a sarong.This is me and a few friends at a pre-barristers ball party at another friends house. Andrew and Anthony did not go to the prom, but they did come hang out for a while before hand, so that was fun.

The prom itself was . . . not what I expected. I don't really know what I expected, actually. It cost $25 to get in, and then there was supposed to be food and drink galore. Well, there was drinking galore. For some reason, I thought they were going to have like dinner food, but not so. They just had fancy snacks. The bread was pretty good though. There was much dancing, which I always enjoy. It was fun to hang out with friends and remember why I would rather be short than walk around in four inch heels all day. It's always fun to go out with friends and cut loose, as it were. At any rate, I enjoyed the barrister's ball. I may even go again next year.

So everyone's happy and no one went to jail? What a waste.

Spring Break has come to an end. Sigh. It was a wonderful break from reality. My sister Katie came out to New York for the week, which was wonderful. It's always nice to be able to spend time with family. I loved having my sister here in my neck of the woods, and I miss her already!

We had some crazy adventures while Katie was on the East Coast. We spent a couple of days in Albany. We met the mayor of Lark Street and a guy who was not a bum because he was gay. He needs to rethink his lines. We were going to go on the tour of the capitol building and all that, but we missed the tour by like a minute and a half. But we still got to see this random tunnel and, I don't know how else to describe it, but like a flea market inside. That was new. My sister got to experience the glory that is New York style pizza.Yum!

We also went to Ben and Jerry's ice cream store and went to a glorious little Indian restaurant.

The next day we headed out to New York City!! Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed we were, metaphorical bells on our toes, excitement exuding from our collective anticipation.Ok, we might have been a little tired. But still, our excitement was almost tangible! We drove over the Millenium Bridge, took the bus through New York, and then rode through the Lincoln Tunnel.

I'm a big fan of big cities. I feel safe in assuming that Katie is also a fan. I love the anonymity of them. New York City is so diverse; it doesn't matter who you are, you belong. You belong because you're different, and in being different you're the same. It's a gloriously circular logistic nightmare. Anyway, so I love New York City. I could live there happily.

Anyway, back to Spring Break. The first stop was the metro. We got on the wrong one at first, and some nice man helped us get off the wrong one and find the right one. So, once we got on the right metro we managed to get to our hotel. Which was super nice, by the way. I've always wandered what it would be like to stay in a Hilton; now I know. It's super nice. Anyway, we wasted no time at all! We dropped our stuff off and headed out for MOMA (Museum of Modern Art). We promptly got lost. But eventually we figured out where the hell we were and how the hell we were supposed to get to MOMA. Success!

MOMA was cool. It was huge; we only saw a few of the exhibits they had there. Some of them were incredible, moving, profound. Some of them were . . . less so. One of the exhibits was a giant bale of hay. Just a bale of hay. Perhaps I'm obtuse in my artistic views, but I fail to see how that is artistic at all. It's just a damn bale of hay. But anyway, some of my favorite exhibits were, of course, the ones with words. There was an exhibit that was slightly strange, but it had such a powerful message about what it means to be human and how we view our bodies, our obsession with our bodies.I also really liked this exhibit. We went to the photography area. Some of the pictures were really cool; some were very strange. They also had an entire room dedicated to music. It had music videos, and mini-documentaries on certain songs that had an impact on a generation. Very cool.

After MOMA, we decided we were starving. Katie wanted to experience the street vendors. One of my friends suggested we try the Halal Cart on 52nd street. As luck would have it, 52nd street was right next to our hotel. So we went to the Halal Guys on 52nd street. It was so good! I had to make myself stop eating because I was so full, but I wanted to keep eating it! It was delicious. If you are ever in NYC, go to the Halal Guys on 52nd street (but if they tell you they have coke, they're lying!)

After a, um, quick nap, we took the metro (the right one on the first try!) to a place called Century 21. It's like a TJ Maxx for the big wig designers most of whom I, of course, had never heard of. I am apparently very out of style. That was kind of fun though. We got some fun pictures.I also finally bought a suit. Bleh. But it's Calvin Klein, so that's cool, right? And it was on sale which is definitely cool. Anyway, Century 21 was fun. It was also across the street from the World Trade Center. That was strange. It just looked like construction, nothing special. If there hadn't been a sign, I never would have known that's where the WTC used to be. I'm sure the monument will do more justice to the victims when it's finished.

After Century 21, we went back to our hotel and dropped off our wares and headed out into the night! Katie wanted to see the Empire State Building, which you would think would be easy to find. You would be wrong. We got lost again (the Chrysler Building had us confused for a second). I made the awful mistake of picking a chain restaurant for dinner... I was so hungry! But they had gelato, so that was a plus. We also accidentally stumbled upon Grand Central Station, so that was serendipity.After much adventures, we finally made it to the Empire State Building. It was cool, but kind of anti-climatic, honestly. It cost $21 (and that doesn't even take you to the top) and then you get to look out at the city, which really is kind of cool.This is Katie and I on the observation deck at the Empire State Building. I think it's on the 82nd floor.

After the Empire State Building we went back to our hotel and chilled for a bit. The next day was St. Patrick's Day! St. Patrick's Day is a big deal on the east coast. In NYC they have a big parade, so Katie and I checked out of our hotel room and headed over to see the parade. One of my friends was also in NYC that day, so we met up and he showed us around the city a bit. We got to go to central park, Soho, Greenwich Village, and Nolita I think? Anyway, lots of walking. Then the bus back to Albany. Oh sigh; I miss NYC already.

After we got back to Albany, we went to karaoke night at Elda's! Katie and I rocked the shit out of that joint! So much fun!Katie and I sang some Joan Jett and, of course, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!One of my friends joined us for that show stopper. :D So much fun!

Then it was Friday and I had to take my sister back to the airport. I had some serious sister withdrawals this weekend. It was an awesome spring break, and I'm so glad Katie was able to come out here. The weather was also fairly nice, for New York anyway, so that was a definite plus. It was an excellent week which was, as vacations always are, over far too quickly. May the epic-ness of this spring break live on forever in our hearts!

Parlay?

So I finally tried Indian food last night. Sorry, no pictures. It tastes better than it looks.

The restaurant was nice though. Our waiter was kind of funny. One of my friends got a dish that was really spicy, and when he asked the waiter if it was how he had ordered it (really spicy) the waiter told him to try it to make sure, so he did. Apparently it was definitely how he had ordered it.

Anyway, they had a DVD playing while we were there. It was like the best music videos of some famous singer in India. It was interesting. It was like flash backs to Grease, West Side Story, even Anything Goes, but Indian style. It was great.

I have no idea what I ordered, but it was pretty good. Something with chicken and spinach I think. And naan. That was so delicious. So ridiculously delicious. I need to learn how to make that.

Anyway, another successful food adventure here in New York. There was a Korean restaurant down the street from the Indian restaurant we went to. I think I'll try that next.

Life is not tried, it's just merely survived if you're standing outside the fire

Whew. It's been a crazy week. And it's only Tuesday. Oh law school, why must you be so cruel??!!?

I'm getting ridiculously excited for spring break. It'll be nice to have a whole week where I don't have to go to school. I'm really excited to see my sister. We are going to rock the hell out of New York. :)

So my visiting teachers came this Sunday. I know, shocker, I have visiting teachers; they're actually quite nice. Anyway, we were talking about the summer, and I told them I was going to Spain. They asked me if I was going with anyone. When I said no, they acted surprised and told me how brave they thought I was. I was flattered. However, having known myself for 25 years, I wouldn't use the word 'brave.' 'Oblivious' is perhaps a better term.

Of my many faults, I like that I do what I want. My decisions have little to do with what other people think I should do, and I like that. Is that weird? For those who know me well, (which is everyone reading this blog, I assume because why else would you read this shit?) you know that I have always valued my freedom and independence. A lot. It is one of the most important ideas to me, that I am me and no one can take that away. That is such a beautiful phrase, don't you think?

I love that I make my decisions based on me, not you. Nothing personal. I am often grateful that, for the most part, I have shrugged off the societal pressure that is sometimes pushed my way. To hell with that shit. I know people who try very hard to fit in; I also know people who spend most of their time trying to be different, from their peers, or their parents, whatever. I'm not trying to fit in or rebel. Which is good because I don't have the energy, time, or patience for all that shit. Seriously. I want to find my joy in my life, not in superficial things or fleeting emotions, things that don't last. Even though I will get my heart broken, I will be disappointed, I'm willing to take that risk. Ultimately, that's what life is, isn't it? It's not about never falling down; it's about learning how to get back up. And I love that. Except when I fall down. Then I love it a little less. But isn't it incredible to know that, even when you are at your lowest, you always have a choice to drag your ass out of the hole, to take another risk. Life is beautiful, dangerous, and I love it. Most of the time.