Fairy wings. A song came up on my pandora today called Fairy Wings, and it made me think of being a kid. I remember fairy wings. I remember imaginary worlds. I remember heroes and battles won. And fairy wings.
Sort of a random way to start a post, but I promise its relevant. I know it's been a long time since I last posted on here. It has been a crazy semester. I've been trying to do seventeen million things simultaneously. It worked out ok. I'm still alive, I haven't been fired, and they haven't kicked me out of school yet, so I count it as a success. Most of my extracurricular stuff is done now, so all I have to worry about is school and work. You have no idea what a relief that is. Actually, you probably do. I've found there are few that have not experienced that level of stress. The world moves too fast sometimes.
Anyway, things are going well. I competed at the trial competition with my team, and we did ok. It was a great experience, and I learned a lot. Also, I'm a major law nerd, so I had a lot of fun. I hope to be able to do it again next year. My moot court board responsibilities have now come to an end. We did our last competition this last week, and that's a relief. So really, just school and work. That's do-able.
I accepted an internship with the NY State Department of Environmental Conservation for the summer. I think that will be a great experience. I also was offered an internship with the US Attorneys office for the fall and spring. I am really excited about that. I actually applied for that internship last year and didn't get it, so I am super excited to have the opportunity to do it this year. I think that's actually what I want to do when I graduate, so this'll be a great opportunity to see if that's really what I want to do. In any event, it'll be a great experience.
So, Fairy wings. As you can see, I've been kind of busy. Going to school full time, working two jobs, trial team practice, moot court board responsibilities, it all adds up. For a minute there, I felt like I was drowning. I wondered, what the hell am I doing here? I could be home with my family, but no, I had to move to the other side of the damn country so I could have seventeen million things to do and be miserable. Sometimes when life gets too crazy, it's easy to forget our purpose. And I did, for a minute. I just wanted to go home and play with my nieces and nephews, spend time with my parents and my brother and sisters. I felt like I was swimming upstream like salmon, who I might add, swim upstream and get eaten by bears. I don't want to get eaten by bears.
So I took a minute to think, had a conversation with God, tried to remember why I came out here in the first place. Then I remembered that I am an ideological fool, that I believe in justice and truth, that I believe there is good in this world, and it's worth fighting for. I remembered when I was a kid, and I would play pretend with my friends. There were the evil kings we had to overthrow to rescue our country. All was bleak, and then there were fairies. In my imaginary worlds, the fairies were there to remind us to be happy, to hope. They were probably my brain trying to impose some level of femininity upon me whilst I pretended to be a pirate/ninja hero. (Though I would like to note, the fairies were just as much the heroes my stories as any pirate/ninja. I'll leave the discussion on the strength of femininity for another day.) At any rate, in my stories there were always fairies to help the hero make it to the end, so the pirate/ninja could save the world.
I don't think that's so different from the real world. Metaphorically. I think there are "fairies" around us that remind us of our purpose, that give us a sprinkling of fairy dust to keep us going. You can call it 'tender mercies' or 'luck' or whatever you like, but they are there. And Thank God for that. I needed a good dose of fairy dust to get through these last few weeks. I needed a troupe of fairies to lift me up and clear my mind so I could remember my purpose.
And they did. I remembered, and accordingly, I survived. Now it is on to spring break. A good friend from College is coming out to visit, and I can't wait to see him. This is going to be a good week and it may or may not include fairies, pirates, ninjas, or bears.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Sunday, January 15, 2012
"You're supposed to be dead!" "Am I not?"
So school has begun again, as it must in the vicious cycle of academia. This semester my classes all seem to be exponentially harder than last semester. In almost all of them, I have seriously considered dropping them, thinking there was no way I could hack it in that class. Alas, I decided to go the route of masochism, and stay in all of my classes. Ultimately I decided that I should just step up to the damn plate. Maybe I'll surprise myself. I really hope so.
Anyway, my first class is federal jurisdiction. It's going to be a class about federalism (the different powers afforded to the states and the federal government and the relationship between the two) and about federal courts. That sort of thing. I think I'm going to enjoy it. It's a really small class. There are only like 15 people in that class. I think that'll be good though.
My next class is legal profession. It's a class about legal ethics. It'll be good. In order to be admitted to the bar, you have to take the MPRE which is a test about legal ethics and professional rules of responsibility. So this class will help with that. Plus, it's required, so you know, there's that.
My next class is criminal procedure: investigation. We'll be talking about things like search and seizure, interrogation, that sort of thing. It's a really big class, but I still think it'll be good. My professor is very passionate about criminal procedure, so that makes the class interesting.
My last class is legislative and statutory interpretation. This class, I fear, will be my hardest. It's going to be really interesting though. As implied by the title, it's a class that teaches different ways to read and interpret statutes. You'd think that would be a fairly straightforward endeavor, but I expect if you think that you've never read a statute. Also, we're lawyers. We need to know how to argue that a statute means the exact opposite of whatever our opponent says it means. (I hope you keep that in mind when you hear politicians squabbling about what a certain piece of legislation means. You're probably not getting the full picture from either one of them.) Anyway, I think it'll be a good class. Setting aside the cynicism, it's good to know how to read and interpret statutes. Sometimes (read almost always) they're hard to understand, so I think this class will give me the tools I need to understand legislation better, which is always good.
Anyway, those are my classes this semester. It's gonna be a crazy semester, but I think it'll be good. I'm also doing the moot court trial team. We get started on Monday. I'm pretty excited about that. I think it'll be a lot of fun, so I'll keep you posted on a the adventures I expect will be inherent with the athletic equivalent of law school. :) Hope you're all staying warm!
Anyway, my first class is federal jurisdiction. It's going to be a class about federalism (the different powers afforded to the states and the federal government and the relationship between the two) and about federal courts. That sort of thing. I think I'm going to enjoy it. It's a really small class. There are only like 15 people in that class. I think that'll be good though.
My next class is legal profession. It's a class about legal ethics. It'll be good. In order to be admitted to the bar, you have to take the MPRE which is a test about legal ethics and professional rules of responsibility. So this class will help with that. Plus, it's required, so you know, there's that.
My next class is criminal procedure: investigation. We'll be talking about things like search and seizure, interrogation, that sort of thing. It's a really big class, but I still think it'll be good. My professor is very passionate about criminal procedure, so that makes the class interesting.
My last class is legislative and statutory interpretation. This class, I fear, will be my hardest. It's going to be really interesting though. As implied by the title, it's a class that teaches different ways to read and interpret statutes. You'd think that would be a fairly straightforward endeavor, but I expect if you think that you've never read a statute. Also, we're lawyers. We need to know how to argue that a statute means the exact opposite of whatever our opponent says it means. (I hope you keep that in mind when you hear politicians squabbling about what a certain piece of legislation means. You're probably not getting the full picture from either one of them.) Anyway, I think it'll be a good class. Setting aside the cynicism, it's good to know how to read and interpret statutes. Sometimes (read almost always) they're hard to understand, so I think this class will give me the tools I need to understand legislation better, which is always good.
Anyway, those are my classes this semester. It's gonna be a crazy semester, but I think it'll be good. I'm also doing the moot court trial team. We get started on Monday. I'm pretty excited about that. I think it'll be a lot of fun, so I'll keep you posted on a the adventures I expect will be inherent with the athletic equivalent of law school. :) Hope you're all staying warm!
Sunday, December 18, 2011
And keep an eye on the staircases. They like to change.
Finals are over! I'm so happy. :) Now I'm just hoping I'll still feel as happy when I get my grades...
Friday was the last day of finals, so I'm fairly certain that any ALS student that had not already gone home for the break was on Lark street celebrating. I went out with a few friends, and we ran into several other students while we were out. It was a great time, a much needed un-winding. This semester has been insanely busy; I really haven't had time to hang out with my friends very much, and I've missed them. I tried to make up for all the lost fun time on Friday; I think I came pretty close. :) In any event, hopefully next semester won't be so insane. I even dropped a class in the hopes it would free up my life a bit; we'll see if it actually did or not.
Anyway, yesterday I did nothing. I watched Lord of the Rings until 1 AM and then I slept today until noon. It was glorious. I didn't even have to feel guilty for being so damn lazy. Of course, today I need to get started on all the shit I neglected during finals week, but it's not school work, so I feel super happy about doing it. My brain is definitely ready for a break from school.
I have to work this week, so I'm not flying home until Thursday. I'm a little bit excited for Thursday to hurry up and be here. Barring the possibility that Albany will whip up a winter storm to delay my flight on Thursday, I will see all of you in less than a week!! Not that I'm counting down or anything. :D
Friday was the last day of finals, so I'm fairly certain that any ALS student that had not already gone home for the break was on Lark street celebrating. I went out with a few friends, and we ran into several other students while we were out. It was a great time, a much needed un-winding. This semester has been insanely busy; I really haven't had time to hang out with my friends very much, and I've missed them. I tried to make up for all the lost fun time on Friday; I think I came pretty close. :) In any event, hopefully next semester won't be so insane. I even dropped a class in the hopes it would free up my life a bit; we'll see if it actually did or not.
Anyway, yesterday I did nothing. I watched Lord of the Rings until 1 AM and then I slept today until noon. It was glorious. I didn't even have to feel guilty for being so damn lazy. Of course, today I need to get started on all the shit I neglected during finals week, but it's not school work, so I feel super happy about doing it. My brain is definitely ready for a break from school.
I have to work this week, so I'm not flying home until Thursday. I'm a little bit excited for Thursday to hurry up and be here. Barring the possibility that Albany will whip up a winter storm to delay my flight on Thursday, I will see all of you in less than a week!! Not that I'm counting down or anything. :D
Saturday, December 10, 2011
"Sixty miles? And you didn't get me a doughnut?"
2 down, 1 to go! Finals are slowly drawing to a close, and I think I may survive. Of course, the issue of survival is never certain until grades are issued, so ask me again in January... Anyway, I had my evidence exam on Monday and handed in my trial notebook on Thursday. Now I just have my business organizations final to wrestle with...
I'm finding it difficult to study. After an entire semester of having too much shit to do, only having one thing to study for seems to give my brain an excuse to relax. You know, like I've got plenty of time to study, so chill and watch a movie or go out with the friends you haven't seen all damn semester (I did both, in case you wondered). Alas, I must study. Otherwise, I will not survive...
Anyway, in other news, I bought myself a little space heater. My apartment is always ridiculously cold, so I finally bought a damn heater. It was way more adventure than it should have been. The first one I bought turned out to be a propane heater, and I felt like that was probably not the best heater for my apartment. So I took that one back and bought the cheapest electric heater walmart had. When I got home and opened the box, turned out the damn thing was broken. In half. So I went back a third time and got the same heater but one that was not broken. When I finally got home for good, I plugged it in and waited for it to be hot. It didn't ever got hot, but it did trip my breaker (I still don't know how to spell that), so I guess there's that. Anyway, that was Monday. Today I went back to walmart and shelled out the money to get a decent space heater. Thus far, it has not tripped the breaker and it is warming up my living warm, so life is good. I don't even have to wrap myself in a quilt to ward off hypothermia. Definite improvement.
Well folks, I'm going to hit the hay, and in the morning I will once again attempt to convince my brain that I really should stop procrastinating and study for my last damn exam. December 22nd, you cannot come soon enough!
I'm finding it difficult to study. After an entire semester of having too much shit to do, only having one thing to study for seems to give my brain an excuse to relax. You know, like I've got plenty of time to study, so chill and watch a movie or go out with the friends you haven't seen all damn semester (I did both, in case you wondered). Alas, I must study. Otherwise, I will not survive...
Anyway, in other news, I bought myself a little space heater. My apartment is always ridiculously cold, so I finally bought a damn heater. It was way more adventure than it should have been. The first one I bought turned out to be a propane heater, and I felt like that was probably not the best heater for my apartment. So I took that one back and bought the cheapest electric heater walmart had. When I got home and opened the box, turned out the damn thing was broken. In half. So I went back a third time and got the same heater but one that was not broken. When I finally got home for good, I plugged it in and waited for it to be hot. It didn't ever got hot, but it did trip my breaker (I still don't know how to spell that), so I guess there's that. Anyway, that was Monday. Today I went back to walmart and shelled out the money to get a decent space heater. Thus far, it has not tripped the breaker and it is warming up my living warm, so life is good. I don't even have to wrap myself in a quilt to ward off hypothermia. Definite improvement.
Well folks, I'm going to hit the hay, and in the morning I will once again attempt to convince my brain that I really should stop procrastinating and study for my last damn exam. December 22nd, you cannot come soon enough!
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Stop talking about production value; the Air Force is gonna kill us!
Friends, I am currently in the throes of finals, and I hate everything about life. Except for my cheerful little Christmas tree. It makes me feel better about my impending scholastic doom.
Isn't it festive?
Anyway, my evidence final is on Monday, and I am approximately 47% ready. So, not ready at all. I can't wait for all of this hoopla to be finished, so I can come home for two whole weeks! It's going to be glorious.
Other than finals, nothing else is happening. Literally. I mean, I'm sure other things in other people's lives are happening, but not in mine. Just school (though admittedly, I do still have to go to work). Law school can be kind of a downer sometimes.
I officially finished my internship with the court yesterday. I'm kind of sad it's over; I really enjoyed working there. It was a good experience, and I learned a lot. I was really lucky to be able to intern there; hopefully there will be more internships like it in the future!
I feel like I had some cool story to share, but now I can't remember it. Hm. I blame all the evidence floating around my head right now (mostly it's evidence that I have officially lost my mind. Hopefully there's some evidence up there that I know my shit too. A girl can dream.)
Anyway, I hope you are all enjoying the season thus far! I love this time of year (or I will on the 16th at about 1 PM, anyway). Hopefully I'll have more exciting things to talk about next week, assuming, of course, that I am still alive and/or not in the asylum. Fingers crossed!
Isn't it festive?Anyway, my evidence final is on Monday, and I am approximately 47% ready. So, not ready at all. I can't wait for all of this hoopla to be finished, so I can come home for two whole weeks! It's going to be glorious.
Other than finals, nothing else is happening. Literally. I mean, I'm sure other things in other people's lives are happening, but not in mine. Just school (though admittedly, I do still have to go to work). Law school can be kind of a downer sometimes.
I officially finished my internship with the court yesterday. I'm kind of sad it's over; I really enjoyed working there. It was a good experience, and I learned a lot. I was really lucky to be able to intern there; hopefully there will be more internships like it in the future!
I feel like I had some cool story to share, but now I can't remember it. Hm. I blame all the evidence floating around my head right now (mostly it's evidence that I have officially lost my mind. Hopefully there's some evidence up there that I know my shit too. A girl can dream.)
Anyway, I hope you are all enjoying the season thus far! I love this time of year (or I will on the 16th at about 1 PM, anyway). Hopefully I'll have more exciting things to talk about next week, assuming, of course, that I am still alive and/or not in the asylum. Fingers crossed!
Saturday, November 19, 2011
I see Blue. He looks glorious!
Thanksgiving is upon us. That fills me with much joy which is shortly followed by heart stopping dread: Thanksgiving means finals are here. Kill me now.
As I have frequently whined, both here and to my dear Mother, this semester has been two inches over the line of "biting off more than you can chew." To be fair, it's my own fault. Also, it's been a good semester. I've learned a lot, or I think I have. Memory of the last four months comes and goes... In any event, it's almost over, and thank heavens for that. I'm still alive!!!! Success. :)
I only have two finals this year, which isn't too bad. I do have to do a trial notebook and write a reflection paper, but the paper shouldn't be too bad. The trial notebook . . . I'm sure it won't be too bad once I figure out what the hell I'm supposed to do. You know, all in a days work. Speaking of which, I'm really enjoying my job which is always a plus. My internship is almost over, and I'm kind of sad about that. It's been a lot of fun interning at the court, and I learned a lot. All things considered, it's been a good semester.
But the next four weeks are going to be a little bit insanity-inducing. I don't envy the 1Ls though. At least I know what's coming. I feel like it's easier to face impending doom if you know how it will show it's ugly face, so in that regard, this year is infinitely better than last year. Seriously though, I'm just worried about finals because I'm always worried about finals. I did fairly well on my midterms and I didn't study at all for either one of those. So hopefully that means if I study for my finals, I'll do just as well. Midterms scores are supposed to be indicative of final scores, right?....
Anyway, I'm coming home for Thanksgiving this year. I really shouldn't because I'll just be studying the whole time, but I'm excited to see my family! It will be very difficult to concentrate on my work when all I want to do is hang with the fam, so I've come up with a plan. I fully intend on putting my nieces and nephews to work researching statutes and finishing my memos. By the time I leave, they'll all be lawyers, and all of my work will be done. Genius? I think so. They're parents can thank me later.
Anyway, in other news, the trial team got the problem for the competition. It's a negligence case, so that will be fun. I'm really excited about being on the team. I think it'll be a good experience, plus I'm a total law nerd and get very excited about participating in pretend litigation. Other than that, I haven't really had any adventures of late. It's been all work and school which has made Abby a very dull girl. So, while my nieces and nephews are slaving away on all of my work, I am going to get all of my playing in. It's gonna be a good week. See you on Tuesday!
As I have frequently whined, both here and to my dear Mother, this semester has been two inches over the line of "biting off more than you can chew." To be fair, it's my own fault. Also, it's been a good semester. I've learned a lot, or I think I have. Memory of the last four months comes and goes... In any event, it's almost over, and thank heavens for that. I'm still alive!!!! Success. :)
I only have two finals this year, which isn't too bad. I do have to do a trial notebook and write a reflection paper, but the paper shouldn't be too bad. The trial notebook . . . I'm sure it won't be too bad once I figure out what the hell I'm supposed to do. You know, all in a days work. Speaking of which, I'm really enjoying my job which is always a plus. My internship is almost over, and I'm kind of sad about that. It's been a lot of fun interning at the court, and I learned a lot. All things considered, it's been a good semester.
But the next four weeks are going to be a little bit insanity-inducing. I don't envy the 1Ls though. At least I know what's coming. I feel like it's easier to face impending doom if you know how it will show it's ugly face, so in that regard, this year is infinitely better than last year. Seriously though, I'm just worried about finals because I'm always worried about finals. I did fairly well on my midterms and I didn't study at all for either one of those. So hopefully that means if I study for my finals, I'll do just as well. Midterms scores are supposed to be indicative of final scores, right?....
Anyway, I'm coming home for Thanksgiving this year. I really shouldn't because I'll just be studying the whole time, but I'm excited to see my family! It will be very difficult to concentrate on my work when all I want to do is hang with the fam, so I've come up with a plan. I fully intend on putting my nieces and nephews to work researching statutes and finishing my memos. By the time I leave, they'll all be lawyers, and all of my work will be done. Genius? I think so. They're parents can thank me later.
Anyway, in other news, the trial team got the problem for the competition. It's a negligence case, so that will be fun. I'm really excited about being on the team. I think it'll be a good experience, plus I'm a total law nerd and get very excited about participating in pretend litigation. Other than that, I haven't really had any adventures of late. It's been all work and school which has made Abby a very dull girl. So, while my nieces and nephews are slaving away on all of my work, I am going to get all of my playing in. It's gonna be a good week. See you on Tuesday!
Monday, November 14, 2011
Well, I'd like to help, but not as much as I'd like not to
I never thought I'd be grateful it was Monday, but today I am grateful it is Monday. It has been a ridiculously long weekend, but that's what I get for being on the moot court board.
This weekend was the ABA Negotiations Competition. It was held at Albany Law School this year, and Erin and I were the ones in charge of organizing and running the damn thing. Well, Erin was in charge. I just helped.
Anyway, hosting a competition involves all kinds of headaches. There's the obvious stuff: scheduling rooms, sending the information to the teams, finding a hotel for them to stay at (they make their own reservations, but we had to call the hotel and tell them we needed like 50 rooms or something. I don't remember the exact number, but it was a lot, so they gave us a discount. Or, they gave the teams a discount, rather. Anyway). We also had to find judges for the competition, which is one of the bigger pains in the ass. Not only did we have to find 35 attorneys/judges/arbitrators to come judge for us, but you inevitably have someone drop out at the last minute. We actually did pretty well. No one dropped out at the last minute, but two of our judges did fail to show up. We had enough to cover, though so all was well. And really, only two judge issues? Not too bad.
Anyway, so there was much involved in preparation. We've been getting ready all semester, but last week was particularly busy. We were at the school stuffing envelopes and getting team packets ready on Wednesday, and then we spent all night Friday getting all the last minute stuff done. Erin, and I (and a few of the Moot Court board members) got to the school at 7:15 Saturday morning to get everything set up. And then we were there until 8:30 that night. It was a long damn day. And I, in my infinite wisdom, decided to wear high heels. NEVER AGAIN! My back still hurts.
Sunday was our final round. We got there at 7:30 to get it all set up, and then we were done by 12:30. We got to watch the final round (I was actually the time keeper) which was kind of fun. Afterwards, Erin and I did the clean up and organized the massive amount of paperwork we had. I honestly feel like we should plant a small forest to make up for all the trees we killed for our competition... I actually got home at 4 PM yesterday, which wasn't bad at all. There was another competition going on which Erin and I were planning on staying and helping with, but Dana and Chris (Chair of the competition and Executive director of MC) were nice enough to let us go home. So we did.
Anyway, the competition went smoothly. We had a few issues, but they were solved quickly and mostly without incident. It was kind of fun to get to meet students from other schools. AND one of our teams actually won the competition!! Woot! Go Albany Law! That means they get to go to New Orleans in the Spring for the national competition. We were very proud. :)
Anyway, so it was a long weekend. I now know what it feels like to run a moot court competition and do not feel the desire to do it again. I still have to help with the other competitions, but that's not so bad. I'm glad our competition is over and done, and I'm very glad it's Monday.
This weekend was the ABA Negotiations Competition. It was held at Albany Law School this year, and Erin and I were the ones in charge of organizing and running the damn thing. Well, Erin was in charge. I just helped.
Anyway, hosting a competition involves all kinds of headaches. There's the obvious stuff: scheduling rooms, sending the information to the teams, finding a hotel for them to stay at (they make their own reservations, but we had to call the hotel and tell them we needed like 50 rooms or something. I don't remember the exact number, but it was a lot, so they gave us a discount. Or, they gave the teams a discount, rather. Anyway). We also had to find judges for the competition, which is one of the bigger pains in the ass. Not only did we have to find 35 attorneys/judges/arbitrators to come judge for us, but you inevitably have someone drop out at the last minute. We actually did pretty well. No one dropped out at the last minute, but two of our judges did fail to show up. We had enough to cover, though so all was well. And really, only two judge issues? Not too bad.
Anyway, so there was much involved in preparation. We've been getting ready all semester, but last week was particularly busy. We were at the school stuffing envelopes and getting team packets ready on Wednesday, and then we spent all night Friday getting all the last minute stuff done. Erin, and I (and a few of the Moot Court board members) got to the school at 7:15 Saturday morning to get everything set up. And then we were there until 8:30 that night. It was a long damn day. And I, in my infinite wisdom, decided to wear high heels. NEVER AGAIN! My back still hurts.
Sunday was our final round. We got there at 7:30 to get it all set up, and then we were done by 12:30. We got to watch the final round (I was actually the time keeper) which was kind of fun. Afterwards, Erin and I did the clean up and organized the massive amount of paperwork we had. I honestly feel like we should plant a small forest to make up for all the trees we killed for our competition... I actually got home at 4 PM yesterday, which wasn't bad at all. There was another competition going on which Erin and I were planning on staying and helping with, but Dana and Chris (Chair of the competition and Executive director of MC) were nice enough to let us go home. So we did.
Anyway, the competition went smoothly. We had a few issues, but they were solved quickly and mostly without incident. It was kind of fun to get to meet students from other schools. AND one of our teams actually won the competition!! Woot! Go Albany Law! That means they get to go to New Orleans in the Spring for the national competition. We were very proud. :)
Anyway, so it was a long weekend. I now know what it feels like to run a moot court competition and do not feel the desire to do it again. I still have to help with the other competitions, but that's not so bad. I'm glad our competition is over and done, and I'm very glad it's Monday.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
My mama always told me someday I'd be good at something. Who'd a guessed that something'd be zombie-killing?
Happy belated Halloween!!
Last weekend I went to Miami. That's right: Miami.
I think I'm gonna move there.
Anyway, I have friends that live down there and they invited me down for the weekend. It was so much fun! I way bad needed a vacation, and that was a perfect place to go. I had so much fun hanging out with my friends, and it was 80 degrees all weekend long.
Friday night was the big Halloween party. I dressed up as Cleopatra this year.
What do you think? I thought I made a pretty good lil Queen of the Nile. Anyway, we went to Rita's house for a pregame (Rita's the one in the middle) and then headed to some place called Villa 221 for the party. There was dancing, laughing, and fun had by all. I got to see some of my other friends from Spain, and made a few new friends in the process. A successful evening, I would say. :)
I didn't get back to Kimmie's place until about 4 in the morning, so I slept until noon the next day, but when I did finally drag myself out of bed, Kimmie, Vinnie, and Alejandro showed me around town. We went to South Beach, which was awesome. I know it's ironic because I really hate (read 'am terrified of') the ocean, but I way love the beach. So long as sharks don't grow legs and learn to walk, I could totally be a beach bum. Anyway, it started raining, so we headed indoors. They showed me their school, which was fun to see. There was even a little montage of pictures from Spain. Then we headed back to Kimmie's. The rain was coming down pretty hard, and we soon lost power. We were all starving so we decided to drive around town until we found some place that still had power and ended up at Applebees where I had a Blondie, and life was good. :)
Anyway, it was a great weekend. I had so much fun hanging out with my friends; it was a much needed break. I'm glad I was able to go down! I told them all they needed to come visit me, but there was unanimous consent to wait until winter was over. Who wouldn't want to come visit NY in the winter?... :P
Last weekend I went to Miami. That's right: Miami.
I think I'm gonna move there. Anyway, I have friends that live down there and they invited me down for the weekend. It was so much fun! I way bad needed a vacation, and that was a perfect place to go. I had so much fun hanging out with my friends, and it was 80 degrees all weekend long.
Friday night was the big Halloween party. I dressed up as Cleopatra this year.
What do you think? I thought I made a pretty good lil Queen of the Nile. Anyway, we went to Rita's house for a pregame (Rita's the one in the middle) and then headed to some place called Villa 221 for the party. There was dancing, laughing, and fun had by all. I got to see some of my other friends from Spain, and made a few new friends in the process. A successful evening, I would say. :) I didn't get back to Kimmie's place until about 4 in the morning, so I slept until noon the next day, but when I did finally drag myself out of bed, Kimmie, Vinnie, and Alejandro showed me around town. We went to South Beach, which was awesome. I know it's ironic because I really hate (read 'am terrified of') the ocean, but I way love the beach. So long as sharks don't grow legs and learn to walk, I could totally be a beach bum. Anyway, it started raining, so we headed indoors. They showed me their school, which was fun to see. There was even a little montage of pictures from Spain. Then we headed back to Kimmie's. The rain was coming down pretty hard, and we soon lost power. We were all starving so we decided to drive around town until we found some place that still had power and ended up at Applebees where I had a Blondie, and life was good. :)
Anyway, it was a great weekend. I had so much fun hanging out with my friends; it was a much needed break. I'm glad I was able to go down! I told them all they needed to come visit me, but there was unanimous consent to wait until winter was over. Who wouldn't want to come visit NY in the winter?... :P
Saturday, October 22, 2011
I saw a UFO once, man... It sent me a message, in big bright yellow letters. It told me I was gonna have a good year.
Oh what a week. Why do I always feel like I need 48 hours in every day but it feels like there are only 12? Does this mean I'm finally grown up? Because if it does, I don't think I like it.
I got the flu this week, so point to Mother Nature for worst timing ever. This Thursday I had my evidence midterm and a preparation for deposition in my fact investigation class. So I took the day off (from both of my jobs, I felt like such a slacker) on Wednesday and rested in the hopes I would feel better for the next day. It worked, mostly. I did feel much better the next day, but apparently not well enough...
On Thursday morning I got up early to go over my notes for fact investigation and evidence. I kept an eye on the clock to make sure I got in the shower at 930 so I would be able to make it to class by 11. Great plan except for one small problem. My class starts at 10. I have no idea why half way through the semester I suddenly felt like class started an hour later than usual. At about 948 it clicked and I started freaking out. I sent an email to my professor that I figured she wouldn't get but better safe than sorry, threw some clothes on, and ran out the door. I managed to make it to class only 15 minutes late. Not too shabby, I'd say. I'm sure my teacher thought I had both of my screws loose when I told her why I was late, but whatevs. I did manage to make it and prep my client for deposition. Sort of.
I really like that we get to do interviews and depositions and the like in that class. I think it's really helpful. It's also a serious dose of humility when you finish and Prof. Shanks rips you to shreds. In a good way, but it still leaves you thinking "Wow. I have no idea what I'm doing." I think that all the time though, so it's not too bad. Anyway, I've learned I have to stop being so polite and start being much more direct. Grow a pair, in other words. Being a law student is always an adventure.
In any event, now it's the weekend, and I'm feeling much better. Taking Wednesday off has caused me to be ridiculously behind, but really when am I ever not behind? So all is well and I will try to not forget what time my classes start.
I got the flu this week, so point to Mother Nature for worst timing ever. This Thursday I had my evidence midterm and a preparation for deposition in my fact investigation class. So I took the day off (from both of my jobs, I felt like such a slacker) on Wednesday and rested in the hopes I would feel better for the next day. It worked, mostly. I did feel much better the next day, but apparently not well enough...
On Thursday morning I got up early to go over my notes for fact investigation and evidence. I kept an eye on the clock to make sure I got in the shower at 930 so I would be able to make it to class by 11. Great plan except for one small problem. My class starts at 10. I have no idea why half way through the semester I suddenly felt like class started an hour later than usual. At about 948 it clicked and I started freaking out. I sent an email to my professor that I figured she wouldn't get but better safe than sorry, threw some clothes on, and ran out the door. I managed to make it to class only 15 minutes late. Not too shabby, I'd say. I'm sure my teacher thought I had both of my screws loose when I told her why I was late, but whatevs. I did manage to make it and prep my client for deposition. Sort of.
I really like that we get to do interviews and depositions and the like in that class. I think it's really helpful. It's also a serious dose of humility when you finish and Prof. Shanks rips you to shreds. In a good way, but it still leaves you thinking "Wow. I have no idea what I'm doing." I think that all the time though, so it's not too bad. Anyway, I've learned I have to stop being so polite and start being much more direct. Grow a pair, in other words. Being a law student is always an adventure.
In any event, now it's the weekend, and I'm feeling much better. Taking Wednesday off has caused me to be ridiculously behind, but really when am I ever not behind? So all is well and I will try to not forget what time my classes start.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Now where did it say that on the eighth day He dusteth?
This week has been insane. I started my job on Monday, after much confusion (mostly my own). I think it'll be good. I'm still trying to figure out all the office protocol; hopefully they don't fire me before I figure it out!
This year I'm on the moot court board. Because I'm on the board, I can't do any of the competitions at the school. I was pretty bummed out about that because I am a complete nerd and was most excited about 2L year because it means we get to do moot court. However, we do have travel teams. So a couple of weeks ago I tried out for the trial team. We had to do a 5-8 minute closing argument on a one page fact pattern. It kind of felt like auditioning for a play, only I had to write my own monologue. Anyway, it was totally terrifying, but I'm glad I tried out. All the judges were really nice, which makes things better. I found out this week that I made the team!! Yay!!! I am so excited. The competition is in March, and it's Boston. That's basically all I know about it. We're supposed to be meeting up in a couple of weeks to talk things over, so I'll know more soon. In any event, I am really very exceedingly excited. And I don't care how nerdy that is.
In other news, last Sunday I went to a pentecostal church. It was quite an experience; I rather enjoyed myself. I don't think I'll be joining anytime soon, but I'm glad I got to go. They sang this fun kind of pop gospel number for like twenty minutes (seriously). I thought that was super cool. I got to sing as loud as I wanted and sway to the music. It was great.
It was a really interesting experience though. My only churchy experiences are Mormons and Catholics, so it was interesting to experience the more, uh, exuberant style of preaching. Some of it I really loved. And it was cool to see how different people expressed their feeling the spirit in different ways. Some people got down and prayed, some people swayed, some people called out; it was really a very eclectic crowd. I also road an Albany City bus for the first time. It was pretty much like every other cities bus system.
So, in sum, I am enjoying work but have no idea what I'm doing, I'm very excited about being on the moot court team but have no idea what I'm doing, and I went to a church where no one knew what they were doing. Are you seeing a trend here? Sigh. I wonder if I'll ever know what I'm doing?
On a more hopeful note, it's been a crazy, sometimes frustrating, semester thus far, but I've been given some pretty amazing opportunities too. I have a job, I have an internship, I made the moot court team, and they haven't kicked me out of my classes yet (which is always a relief). Also, I've just realized I'm obsessed with semi-colons, but that's neither here nor there.
Anyway, all things considered it's been an adventurous week and a pretty damn good one too. I hope all of you have also had a pretty damn good week and that you are enjoying the fall weather! My apartment is a total disaster, so I must now go and clean.
This year I'm on the moot court board. Because I'm on the board, I can't do any of the competitions at the school. I was pretty bummed out about that because I am a complete nerd and was most excited about 2L year because it means we get to do moot court. However, we do have travel teams. So a couple of weeks ago I tried out for the trial team. We had to do a 5-8 minute closing argument on a one page fact pattern. It kind of felt like auditioning for a play, only I had to write my own monologue. Anyway, it was totally terrifying, but I'm glad I tried out. All the judges were really nice, which makes things better. I found out this week that I made the team!! Yay!!! I am so excited. The competition is in March, and it's Boston. That's basically all I know about it. We're supposed to be meeting up in a couple of weeks to talk things over, so I'll know more soon. In any event, I am really very exceedingly excited. And I don't care how nerdy that is.
In other news, last Sunday I went to a pentecostal church. It was quite an experience; I rather enjoyed myself. I don't think I'll be joining anytime soon, but I'm glad I got to go. They sang this fun kind of pop gospel number for like twenty minutes (seriously). I thought that was super cool. I got to sing as loud as I wanted and sway to the music. It was great.
It was a really interesting experience though. My only churchy experiences are Mormons and Catholics, so it was interesting to experience the more, uh, exuberant style of preaching. Some of it I really loved. And it was cool to see how different people expressed their feeling the spirit in different ways. Some people got down and prayed, some people swayed, some people called out; it was really a very eclectic crowd. I also road an Albany City bus for the first time. It was pretty much like every other cities bus system.
So, in sum, I am enjoying work but have no idea what I'm doing, I'm very excited about being on the moot court team but have no idea what I'm doing, and I went to a church where no one knew what they were doing. Are you seeing a trend here? Sigh. I wonder if I'll ever know what I'm doing?
On a more hopeful note, it's been a crazy, sometimes frustrating, semester thus far, but I've been given some pretty amazing opportunities too. I have a job, I have an internship, I made the moot court team, and they haven't kicked me out of my classes yet (which is always a relief). Also, I've just realized I'm obsessed with semi-colons, but that's neither here nor there.
Anyway, all things considered it's been an adventurous week and a pretty damn good one too. I hope all of you have also had a pretty damn good week and that you are enjoying the fall weather! My apartment is a total disaster, so I must now go and clean.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Second shelf is mine. That's where I keep my rootbeers and my double-thick Oreo cookies. Nobody touches the second shelf but me.
Woo! This week has been one giant shitshow. And it's not over yet. :( Any warm fuzzies sent my way would be much appreciated!
The week was going fairly well until Tuesday night when my computer decided to snap in half. Literally. The screen un-attached itself from the keyboard. So... that seemed like it wasn't supposed to happen. The computer itself works fine, so I figured I could just take it to Best Buy and they could screw it back together or something. Apparently they don't carry Dell parts. So the geek squad fellow recommended some computer store in Latham, so I went there. The guy told me it probably was fixable but it was going to cost, best case scenario, like $300. Oh, and he also informed me I probably wouldn't get my computer back, if they could fix it, for a week and a half. I'm a damn law student. I basically don't exist without my computer. Sigh. Plus, I needed a new battery for my computer (you're supposed to replace them every 2 years. It's been 3...) and one of the USB ports is broken, so you know, kill me now.
Anyway, my dear parental units offered to help me purchase a new computer as it seemed to be the more sensible route (someday when I'm 82 and finally have my student loans paid off, I'll send them on like a dream vacation or something). So I bought the new computer (and an external hard drive. Now if my computer has to be parted from me for more than a few hours, I can plug in my hard drive in a different computer and all will be well) and took it home to try and figure out how to transfer all my shit over. I have a lot of shit, but, with the help of a friend, I think I managed to get it all transferred over. Phew!
Thus far my new lil computer seems to be working pretty well. At any rate, the screen is still attached...
In other news, I got a job! Yay!! I'm very excited about it. I should be able to start on Monday, which is even better. It's quite the story how I managed to get the job (Dean Salkin is going to get twinkled, I'm pretty sure), but the important thing is that I got it. I even have my first project, and I'm pretty excited about it. It should be an interesting job which is always good. I got to meet a few of the people in the office on Friday, and everyone was really nice and friendly, so I think it'll be a good place to work.
So this week started off a little like wishing I was dead, but it's turning out much better. I got a job, and life is good. However, I did fall ridiculously behind on my work (by ridiculously I mean like insanely ridiculously. I had to start a 3rd to do list yesterday because my other 2 were getting to long. 3 to do lists!! Sigh) due to the death of my computer, so I must now go slave away (on my 3 to do lists) in an attempt to get caught up. I hope all of you are well with happy healthy computers and only 1 to do list!
One thing about living in Santa Carla I never could stomach, all the damn vampires.
Happy October! I can't believe how fast this semester is going. Before I know it, finals will be here, and then I will get to go home!! Yay. :)
I've had a couple of very lawyer-y experiences the last few days. A couple of weeks ago I got an email saying there was a group putting together an effort to offer pro bono legal services to the victims of Hurricane Irene. I decided that would be a good way to be useful to society, so I've been trying to help out. This last Wednesday I was able to go out and help do intake and that sort of thing. It was interesting. For one thing, it was raining. I don't think it will ever stop raining here! The people that were there while I was there were, for the most part, quiet. Filled out the forms and then waited silently for an attorney to be available. I had an opportunity to read through some of the information packets that are given to Hurricane victims. Ridiculous. The hoops these people have to jump through just to get a real human being on the phone is unconscionable. Seriously, I struggle to understand how, as a society, we think it's ok to let these people languish. FEMA is woefully underfunded. I think currently the max these people can get from FEMA, assuming they can even get that far, is like $30,000. That is definitely better than nothing, but if your house has floated down the river, $30,000 won't build you a new one. One woman, who was lucky enough to have her house not float down the river, needed to have the floors in her house replaced. Her house had flooded and the floors were beyond repair. FEMA gave her $272. And because FEMA helped her, the insurance company won't.
And the insurance companies are even worse. That woman probably got more money from FEMA than her insurance company would have given her, if she had insurance. The older I get, the more I think insurance is just a giant ponzi scheme. You pay in your whole life and then when you need it they don't want to give you the money. Ass holes.
So, anyway, I'm glad I'm getting the opportunity to help a bit. I'm basically useless at this point because I don't know very much, but every little bit of help counts I guess. And I think it's really cool that there are attorneys willing to take a day or two off to come and help these people. We're not all bad, you know.
I did notice something I thought was interesting though. There were two attorneys working that day. Both times they came in and were introduced to me, they went straight to me (the woman in the suit) before even acknowledging the client (who wasn't wearing a suit). It made me very uncomfortable. I was grateful to meet these two attorneys, but it seemed strange to me that their first priority was to meet the law student rather than to meet the person there for much needed legal advice. I may have just perceived the entire thing wrong, but I still thought it was interesting, and it still made me a little uncomfortable.
In any event, they're doing a lot of good for these people, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to help!
I've had a couple of very lawyer-y experiences the last few days. A couple of weeks ago I got an email saying there was a group putting together an effort to offer pro bono legal services to the victims of Hurricane Irene. I decided that would be a good way to be useful to society, so I've been trying to help out. This last Wednesday I was able to go out and help do intake and that sort of thing. It was interesting. For one thing, it was raining. I don't think it will ever stop raining here! The people that were there while I was there were, for the most part, quiet. Filled out the forms and then waited silently for an attorney to be available. I had an opportunity to read through some of the information packets that are given to Hurricane victims. Ridiculous. The hoops these people have to jump through just to get a real human being on the phone is unconscionable. Seriously, I struggle to understand how, as a society, we think it's ok to let these people languish. FEMA is woefully underfunded. I think currently the max these people can get from FEMA, assuming they can even get that far, is like $30,000. That is definitely better than nothing, but if your house has floated down the river, $30,000 won't build you a new one. One woman, who was lucky enough to have her house not float down the river, needed to have the floors in her house replaced. Her house had flooded and the floors were beyond repair. FEMA gave her $272. And because FEMA helped her, the insurance company won't.
And the insurance companies are even worse. That woman probably got more money from FEMA than her insurance company would have given her, if she had insurance. The older I get, the more I think insurance is just a giant ponzi scheme. You pay in your whole life and then when you need it they don't want to give you the money. Ass holes.
So, anyway, I'm glad I'm getting the opportunity to help a bit. I'm basically useless at this point because I don't know very much, but every little bit of help counts I guess. And I think it's really cool that there are attorneys willing to take a day or two off to come and help these people. We're not all bad, you know.
I did notice something I thought was interesting though. There were two attorneys working that day. Both times they came in and were introduced to me, they went straight to me (the woman in the suit) before even acknowledging the client (who wasn't wearing a suit). It made me very uncomfortable. I was grateful to meet these two attorneys, but it seemed strange to me that their first priority was to meet the law student rather than to meet the person there for much needed legal advice. I may have just perceived the entire thing wrong, but I still thought it was interesting, and it still made me a little uncomfortable.
In any event, they're doing a lot of good for these people, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to help!
Monday, September 19, 2011
He wore that finger trap for two years. Mother had to teach him to eat with his feet.
Larkfest has come and gone, once again and, as always, it was one big, messy adventure. I think there were more people there this year than last year. It felt like there were seventeen million people there! I guess that was good though, more entertainment.
I didn't get there until like 3:30, but luckily the party was still raging on. Considering there were seventeen million people there, I did not feel the desire to attempt to find a parking spot, so I walked. I managed to run into a friend on my way there, so we strolled through the crowds for a bit. I got to look at some of the booths, which was fun. Honestly, the booths aren't that cool. I didn't go all the way down the street, but I only saw one booth of photographs/paintings. Kind of disappointing. Mostly it's just jewelry and sunglasses. That's ok though because the crowd makes up for the lack of crafts.
Larkfest only has two rules: No glass bottles and no coolers. Doesn't seem to be asking to much. I saw a guy who managed to get around those rules, though. He had a cooler, but he had turned it into a stereo. Seriously, he was pulling the thing down the street playing music. It was ridiculous and also very creative. I never would've thought of that. There was also somebody walking around with an old school boombox playing 80's rap. There was a big dance party going on at the intersection of Chestnut and Lark.
One of my friends described it as a giant frat party. That pretty much sums it up. There were people dropping jello shots out of windows and all kinds of crazy things. I didn't get as many pictures as I did last year, but I did get one with a er... very friendly clown dude. He had this fake rat with him. He wouldn't talk to you, but he kept making squeaking noises while he flung the rat around (presumably that was supposed to be the rat running around). He was very strange, so, naturally, I took a picture with him.
Yay for Larkfest. :)
I didn't get there until like 3:30, but luckily the party was still raging on. Considering there were seventeen million people there, I did not feel the desire to attempt to find a parking spot, so I walked. I managed to run into a friend on my way there, so we strolled through the crowds for a bit. I got to look at some of the booths, which was fun. Honestly, the booths aren't that cool. I didn't go all the way down the street, but I only saw one booth of photographs/paintings. Kind of disappointing. Mostly it's just jewelry and sunglasses. That's ok though because the crowd makes up for the lack of crafts.
Larkfest only has two rules: No glass bottles and no coolers. Doesn't seem to be asking to much. I saw a guy who managed to get around those rules, though. He had a cooler, but he had turned it into a stereo. Seriously, he was pulling the thing down the street playing music. It was ridiculous and also very creative. I never would've thought of that. There was also somebody walking around with an old school boombox playing 80's rap. There was a big dance party going on at the intersection of Chestnut and Lark.
One of my friends described it as a giant frat party. That pretty much sums it up. There were people dropping jello shots out of windows and all kinds of crazy things. I didn't get as many pictures as I did last year, but I did get one with a er... very friendly clown dude. He had this fake rat with him. He wouldn't talk to you, but he kept making squeaking noises while he flung the rat around (presumably that was supposed to be the rat running around). He was very strange, so, naturally, I took a picture with him.
Yay for Larkfest. :)
Monday, September 12, 2011
Remember, forget it!
I got an email from my professor today. For Fact Investigation, we get to do a lot of "pretend-play". Yay... Anyway, this week I get to "pretend-play" giving a client interview. I have no bloody idea how to do a client interview, so... this will be an adventure.
Anyway, the email told us we weren't allowed to use any of the material in our book. Because the case is completely made up, all of the depositions, pleadings, witness statements, etc. are already in our book, giving us complete access to all of that information. However, my professor informed us that she wants these to be as real as possible (except for the whole "the entire class will be watching you" part), so we have to pretend like we don't already know the facts of the case. Right. I dunno, maybe this'll be an advantage. You know, they tell trial lawyers to never ask a question they don't already know the answer too, so there you have it. I'll already know the answer to all of my questions. Unless there's some curve ball in there I don't know about, which is likely. Law school would be way less interesting if they weren't always trying to trick you. Keeps you on your toes, you know...
Anyway, we'll see how my client interview goes. I'm nervous as hell but a little excited too. It'll be a new adventure, and I'm gonna have to learn how to do it eventually. Better sooner than later, I guess. Now if you'll excuse me, I must now go forget.
Anyway, the email told us we weren't allowed to use any of the material in our book. Because the case is completely made up, all of the depositions, pleadings, witness statements, etc. are already in our book, giving us complete access to all of that information. However, my professor informed us that she wants these to be as real as possible (except for the whole "the entire class will be watching you" part), so we have to pretend like we don't already know the facts of the case. Right. I dunno, maybe this'll be an advantage. You know, they tell trial lawyers to never ask a question they don't already know the answer too, so there you have it. I'll already know the answer to all of my questions. Unless there's some curve ball in there I don't know about, which is likely. Law school would be way less interesting if they weren't always trying to trick you. Keeps you on your toes, you know...
Anyway, we'll see how my client interview goes. I'm nervous as hell but a little excited too. It'll be a new adventure, and I'm gonna have to learn how to do it eventually. Better sooner than later, I guess. Now if you'll excuse me, I must now go forget.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
I gotta go Julia; we got cows.
As promised, my shitty pictures of Hurricane Irene. Enjoy. Or whatever.
Debris!
My lil supply of food. I had more in the fridge, but this was just in case my house blew up or something. I don't know.
Giant tree that fell down on Woodlawn (that's the street I live on) forthwith knocking out the power to everyone in the neighborhood . . .
. . . and uprooting the sidewalk.
Monday, August 29, 2011
My cat has been petrified! I want to see some punishment!
I'm alive!!!! I'm so happy! I survived Hurricane Irene (or Tropical Storm Irene, I guess; whatever you call her, I did not like her). It was an adventure, to be sure. Honestly, not as much of an adventure as I originally planned, but I feel ok about that.
The storm kind of got started on Saturday night; that's when it started to rain, anyway. I was pretty nervous about the whole thing, but I tried to make sure I had everything in order, just in case the worst should happen (whatever the hell that means). Anyway, I was ready.
I had a hard time sleeping and woke up several times. Honestly, I was freaking out a little bit. I don't mean to sound arrogant, but I've always felt like I could handle pretty much everything. You know, I'm a Brinkerhoff, we're pretty tough, and I can be fairly resourceful. Plus, I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but I'm certainly not the dullest. At any rate, the one thing I never felt like I could handle was a natural disaster. So, of course, here I am in the middle of a natural disaster. I bet mother nature had a good chuckle.
Anyway, when I finally managed to peek out from my covers it was about 9 in the morning. It was raining, but the wind wasn't too bad. My power was out which kind of sucked, but I still had running water. I had everything ready. I had my tub full of water just in case I ran out of running water (I read up on how to prepare oneself for a hurricane. I was ready dammit! He who is prepared shall not fear, right? What a bunch of bullshit. I was terrified.) Anyway, I opened up my blinds so I could see this awful natural disaster that I was certain was going to wipe me off the face of the planet. At least there weren't any sharks. It was kind of cool to see, actually. I got a few pictures, but I was kind of afraid to go outside, so they aren't very good pictures. Sorry. Next time there's a hurricane and/or tropical storm out here, feel free to come visit me and take a picture yourself.
Anyway, I kept checking the weather forecast on my phone and reading the news updates. Some power lady said we should all be prepared to be without power for days. Days, with an s. I hoped she was just being pessimistic. As it turns out, she was. My power came back on at around 1:30 or 2, and I promptly celebrated by taking a nap. It was a glorious little nap, and I slept with all of my lights on. Anyway, the power went out again at about 6, and that's when the wind really picked up, in my neck of the woods anyway. I didn't like it. I closed all of my windows so I couldn't hear it. Of course, I could still hear it, but it made me feel better.
Anyway, I busted out my little flashlights and tried to get some homework done. Called Nationalgrid, again, to tell them my power was out. They had an automated phone message thing. I kind of felt bad; I expect they were pretty busy. Apparently like 90,000 people were without power by 6 o'clock. Apparently some of them still are. Counting my blessings...
Anyway, in a fit of wishful thinking I decided to go downstairs and check my braker (I don't know how to spell that). I knew that the power was out because a tree came down on my street (yes, the whole tree. And it was a very big tree. It actually uprooted the sidewalk. It's still there, so no one is driving on woodlawn. It's been kind of quiet), but I hoped I could just switch the braker and my lights would come on again. So through the torrent of wind and rain I went down into my basement. It stunk. It kind of smelled like a mixture of insecticide and gasoline. So now I was all worried that I had a gas leak and my house was going to blow up. Wouldn't that just be my luck?
I called my dear Father who, I'm certain, wondered what I wanted him to do about it. He told me to call Nationalgrid. So I did. They showed up fairly quickly. Apparently what I was smelling was something horrid that had come up the drain when our basement flooded, but we did actually have a gas leak. So two guys from Nationalgrid stayed here until about midnight fixing our gas leak, and my landlords came today to fix the smell.
When I woke up this morning, my power was still out. Cursing Irene, I walked my ass up to the school library. I needed my computer to do my homework, and my laptop is old - the battery doesn't last very long. Anyway, whilst at the library I got a call saying the power had been restored. Yay!! All was right again in my world.
So, all things considered Irene wasn't too terrible to us. There has been widespread flooding throughout the region, and there are still several flood warnings being issued. There are still people without power, and there are still giant trees blocking the roads, but for the most part Albany is recovering quite nicely. I'm really grateful for the power people who, I'm sure, are getting lots of overtime. I for one am appreciative that they are working so hard. I love electricity!
I was going to post my shitty pictures of Irene, but it's taking to long to load, and I am exceedingly tired. I'll post them tomorrow. Until then may you all be in sunshine only (maybe some shade).
The storm kind of got started on Saturday night; that's when it started to rain, anyway. I was pretty nervous about the whole thing, but I tried to make sure I had everything in order, just in case the worst should happen (whatever the hell that means). Anyway, I was ready.
I had a hard time sleeping and woke up several times. Honestly, I was freaking out a little bit. I don't mean to sound arrogant, but I've always felt like I could handle pretty much everything. You know, I'm a Brinkerhoff, we're pretty tough, and I can be fairly resourceful. Plus, I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but I'm certainly not the dullest. At any rate, the one thing I never felt like I could handle was a natural disaster. So, of course, here I am in the middle of a natural disaster. I bet mother nature had a good chuckle.
Anyway, when I finally managed to peek out from my covers it was about 9 in the morning. It was raining, but the wind wasn't too bad. My power was out which kind of sucked, but I still had running water. I had everything ready. I had my tub full of water just in case I ran out of running water (I read up on how to prepare oneself for a hurricane. I was ready dammit! He who is prepared shall not fear, right? What a bunch of bullshit. I was terrified.) Anyway, I opened up my blinds so I could see this awful natural disaster that I was certain was going to wipe me off the face of the planet. At least there weren't any sharks. It was kind of cool to see, actually. I got a few pictures, but I was kind of afraid to go outside, so they aren't very good pictures. Sorry. Next time there's a hurricane and/or tropical storm out here, feel free to come visit me and take a picture yourself.
Anyway, I kept checking the weather forecast on my phone and reading the news updates. Some power lady said we should all be prepared to be without power for days. Days, with an s. I hoped she was just being pessimistic. As it turns out, she was. My power came back on at around 1:30 or 2, and I promptly celebrated by taking a nap. It was a glorious little nap, and I slept with all of my lights on. Anyway, the power went out again at about 6, and that's when the wind really picked up, in my neck of the woods anyway. I didn't like it. I closed all of my windows so I couldn't hear it. Of course, I could still hear it, but it made me feel better.
Anyway, I busted out my little flashlights and tried to get some homework done. Called Nationalgrid, again, to tell them my power was out. They had an automated phone message thing. I kind of felt bad; I expect they were pretty busy. Apparently like 90,000 people were without power by 6 o'clock. Apparently some of them still are. Counting my blessings...
Anyway, in a fit of wishful thinking I decided to go downstairs and check my braker (I don't know how to spell that). I knew that the power was out because a tree came down on my street (yes, the whole tree. And it was a very big tree. It actually uprooted the sidewalk. It's still there, so no one is driving on woodlawn. It's been kind of quiet), but I hoped I could just switch the braker and my lights would come on again. So through the torrent of wind and rain I went down into my basement. It stunk. It kind of smelled like a mixture of insecticide and gasoline. So now I was all worried that I had a gas leak and my house was going to blow up. Wouldn't that just be my luck?
I called my dear Father who, I'm certain, wondered what I wanted him to do about it. He told me to call Nationalgrid. So I did. They showed up fairly quickly. Apparently what I was smelling was something horrid that had come up the drain when our basement flooded, but we did actually have a gas leak. So two guys from Nationalgrid stayed here until about midnight fixing our gas leak, and my landlords came today to fix the smell.
When I woke up this morning, my power was still out. Cursing Irene, I walked my ass up to the school library. I needed my computer to do my homework, and my laptop is old - the battery doesn't last very long. Anyway, whilst at the library I got a call saying the power had been restored. Yay!! All was right again in my world.
So, all things considered Irene wasn't too terrible to us. There has been widespread flooding throughout the region, and there are still several flood warnings being issued. There are still people without power, and there are still giant trees blocking the roads, but for the most part Albany is recovering quite nicely. I'm really grateful for the power people who, I'm sure, are getting lots of overtime. I for one am appreciative that they are working so hard. I love electricity!
I was going to post my shitty pictures of Irene, but it's taking to long to load, and I am exceedingly tired. I'll post them tomorrow. Until then may you all be in sunshine only (maybe some shade).
Friday, August 26, 2011
That's no moon, that's a space station!
Well, I survived the first week of my second year! Though, I may not survive the weekend. The weather channel isn't being very clear on my survival prospects. Anyway, school is good. I like my classes, though I wish my books weren't so damn heavy. Honestly, my arms are sore from carrying my books around. That tells you two very important things: 1) I really need to do some weight training, and 2) my textbooks probably weigh more than I do. Bollocks.
So, my classes. I'm taking fact investigation which is a practical course, so that should be fun. As the name implies, it's a class about investigating facts, an important aspect of any lawyer's job. It'll be fun to pretend to be a lawyer and sift through depositions, and witness statements, and expert testimony, all made up of course, but that's not the point. The point is, I think it's going to be fun.
My next class is business organizations. I have no idea why I'm in that class. I just had this insane thought last semester that I really needed to take it, so I did. I've only been twice, but I rather enjoy it. We'll see if my enjoyment lasts all semester. At any rate, right now we're learning about partnerships. We talked about the difference between a principal and agent relationship and a partnership, and then the difference between a partnership and a creditor relationship. You know, so far pretty basic stuff. Hopefully it stays basic. If not, I will be hitting up my sister Anna. She is very smart at all this business-y stuff. I may just send her my notes, and ask her to translate.
My last class is evidence. Holy shit. So much information! Honestly, I leave that class with an eye twitch every day. Again, it's a very important class, no matter what you do, and I do rather enjoy it. I dunno why; it really is a dense course (mind you I've only been once...) I think it'll be a good class though.
I'm enjoying my internship at the court house. Everyone is super nice, and when I get lost (which I do frequently. Every hallway looks the same!!) there is always someone who is willing to guide me to my destination. Right now I'm just working on briefing an opinion that recently came out of the Supreme Court, but I've gotten to see some hearings and that sort of thing, so that's been fun. And, as I say, everyone is really nice. My supervising attorney is always willing to answer any questions as is the judge I'm interning for. He's also one of my professor's, so that's good. I think.
In any event, school schmool. The REAL news is Hurricane Irene. Aack! I've never been in a hurricane before. I fear this fall may be a bit more adventure than I bargained for. But I have lots of water (hopefully enough) and a shit load of batteries and junk food. yay? I went to wal-mart today after work (it's not really work. I don't get paid). Anyway, I needed to go grocery shopping, and I thought I'd pick up a few things just in case all hell breaks loose this fine Sunday. Holy mother. It was a damn shitshow. There were so many people there, and they were running out of everything, and there was merchandise strewn all over the floor. Bloody hell. I am absolutely certain that I bought things I don't need and forgot to buy things I do need in my haste to get out of there. If I die, I fully intend on suing wal-mart. God will let me do that from Heaven, right? I am going to Heaven, aren't I? Bugger. I better check my karma before this hurricane hits.
The weather people are calling it a tropical storm when it hits Albany. All I know, is there is supposed to be a lot of rain and a lot of wind, and there are a lot of trees in Albany. I am really hoping and praying that we don't have any power outages, and if we do, that they happen while I'm asleep and are over by the morning. At any rate, if I don't blog again in the next five days . . . . the power's still out in Albany.
Hurricane Irene, bring it! I'm ready for a weather adventure! I think. Possibly. Wish me luck!
So, my classes. I'm taking fact investigation which is a practical course, so that should be fun. As the name implies, it's a class about investigating facts, an important aspect of any lawyer's job. It'll be fun to pretend to be a lawyer and sift through depositions, and witness statements, and expert testimony, all made up of course, but that's not the point. The point is, I think it's going to be fun.
My next class is business organizations. I have no idea why I'm in that class. I just had this insane thought last semester that I really needed to take it, so I did. I've only been twice, but I rather enjoy it. We'll see if my enjoyment lasts all semester. At any rate, right now we're learning about partnerships. We talked about the difference between a principal and agent relationship and a partnership, and then the difference between a partnership and a creditor relationship. You know, so far pretty basic stuff. Hopefully it stays basic. If not, I will be hitting up my sister Anna. She is very smart at all this business-y stuff. I may just send her my notes, and ask her to translate.
My last class is evidence. Holy shit. So much information! Honestly, I leave that class with an eye twitch every day. Again, it's a very important class, no matter what you do, and I do rather enjoy it. I dunno why; it really is a dense course (mind you I've only been once...) I think it'll be a good class though.
I'm enjoying my internship at the court house. Everyone is super nice, and when I get lost (which I do frequently. Every hallway looks the same!!) there is always someone who is willing to guide me to my destination. Right now I'm just working on briefing an opinion that recently came out of the Supreme Court, but I've gotten to see some hearings and that sort of thing, so that's been fun. And, as I say, everyone is really nice. My supervising attorney is always willing to answer any questions as is the judge I'm interning for. He's also one of my professor's, so that's good. I think.
In any event, school schmool. The REAL news is Hurricane Irene. Aack! I've never been in a hurricane before. I fear this fall may be a bit more adventure than I bargained for. But I have lots of water (hopefully enough) and a shit load of batteries and junk food. yay? I went to wal-mart today after work (it's not really work. I don't get paid). Anyway, I needed to go grocery shopping, and I thought I'd pick up a few things just in case all hell breaks loose this fine Sunday. Holy mother. It was a damn shitshow. There were so many people there, and they were running out of everything, and there was merchandise strewn all over the floor. Bloody hell. I am absolutely certain that I bought things I don't need and forgot to buy things I do need in my haste to get out of there. If I die, I fully intend on suing wal-mart. God will let me do that from Heaven, right? I am going to Heaven, aren't I? Bugger. I better check my karma before this hurricane hits.
The weather people are calling it a tropical storm when it hits Albany. All I know, is there is supposed to be a lot of rain and a lot of wind, and there are a lot of trees in Albany. I am really hoping and praying that we don't have any power outages, and if we do, that they happen while I'm asleep and are over by the morning. At any rate, if I don't blog again in the next five days . . . . the power's still out in Albany.
Hurricane Irene, bring it! I'm ready for a weather adventure! I think. Possibly. Wish me luck!
Sunday, August 21, 2011
"Back to school, back to school, to prove to Dad that I'm no fool."
Back to school. Sigh. I wasn't ready for summer to be over, but alas, over it is. This week began with a very long drive. It actually went by fairly quickly, which is good. I made it to Hays Kansas at about 9:30 Utah time. Not too shabby. I got stuck in the traffic jam from hell in the Rockies, or I would've made it earlier. Oh well. The room was huge. I would've really enjoyed it if I didn't have to get up the next day and head out again. It was kind of nice sleeping in a king size bed. I woke up lying horizontally across the bed; I guess I was really reveling in the extra space to stretch out seeing as the king bed was significantly larger than my lil bed at home.
Anyway, Monday wasn't as long a drive as Sunday, and I made it to Kentucky in one piece. Good thing too. I was a little worried there through Kansas and Illinois. I saw a funnel cloud and drove through the ocean in St. Louis. It was less than pleasant, but I survived, so all was well.
It was SO good to see my parents! They were very nice and waited to have dinner until I got there, even though it was pretty late. We went to Applebees, and I had some yummy veggie pizza. Dad was able to get some time off, so on Wednesday we all headed off for New York. We cut the trip in half, so we didn't make it too Albany until Thursday, but we got here pretty early. Like two, I think.
Anyway, it was so very wonderful to have my parents here for 2 and a half days. Dad gave Ol' Bessie some serious reconstructive surgery. She runs like a charm now. Apparently I drove all the way across the country on a torn timing belt (I hear that's a bad thing...), so I'm very grateful my Dad was willing to do a ton of work so I don't have to worry about my car exploding or anything. He even put on new brakes. I think Ol' Bessie was pretty pleased about her new parts, and so am I.
My Dad bought a TV whilst in Kentucky. I guess he decided he didn't need it anymore, so he gave it to me. I rather enjoy having a tv. Of course I don't have cable; I'm way to cheap to pay for that. But it's fun to watch movies on it. The picture is bigger and the sound is louder than on my computer, so I'm a happy camper. :) We watched a couple of movies on my lil TV while my parents were here; it was fun.
We didn't get to do a lot of tourist-y stuff; I guess I wasn't being a very good host. We got a ton of stuff done though and just relaxed. Honestly, I didn't really care what we were doing. I was just so happy to be able to spend some time with my parents. I was sad they had to leave this morning, but that's life I guess. OPEN INVITATION: feel free to come visit me! I always love to have people over. And parental units: come back soon! :)
Anyway, so school. I'm doing a field placement with a judge this semester, so I went to my orientation for that on Thursday. It was interesting. My supervising attorney is really nice, and I think they're going to be keeping me very busy, so it'll be good. I suspect I'll learn a lot as well, which is always a bonus. Classes technically start tomorrow, but I only have classes Tuesday and Thursday (Well, I have one class on Wednesday, but it doesn't really count). I'm trying to get my homework done; I'm mostly failing. It's difficult to get back into the swing of things, but get back into the swing I must. Oh summer, why must you be so short!
Anyway, Monday wasn't as long a drive as Sunday, and I made it to Kentucky in one piece. Good thing too. I was a little worried there through Kansas and Illinois. I saw a funnel cloud and drove through the ocean in St. Louis. It was less than pleasant, but I survived, so all was well.
It was SO good to see my parents! They were very nice and waited to have dinner until I got there, even though it was pretty late. We went to Applebees, and I had some yummy veggie pizza. Dad was able to get some time off, so on Wednesday we all headed off for New York. We cut the trip in half, so we didn't make it too Albany until Thursday, but we got here pretty early. Like two, I think.
Anyway, it was so very wonderful to have my parents here for 2 and a half days. Dad gave Ol' Bessie some serious reconstructive surgery. She runs like a charm now. Apparently I drove all the way across the country on a torn timing belt (I hear that's a bad thing...), so I'm very grateful my Dad was willing to do a ton of work so I don't have to worry about my car exploding or anything. He even put on new brakes. I think Ol' Bessie was pretty pleased about her new parts, and so am I.
My Dad bought a TV whilst in Kentucky. I guess he decided he didn't need it anymore, so he gave it to me. I rather enjoy having a tv. Of course I don't have cable; I'm way to cheap to pay for that. But it's fun to watch movies on it. The picture is bigger and the sound is louder than on my computer, so I'm a happy camper. :) We watched a couple of movies on my lil TV while my parents were here; it was fun.
We didn't get to do a lot of tourist-y stuff; I guess I wasn't being a very good host. We got a ton of stuff done though and just relaxed. Honestly, I didn't really care what we were doing. I was just so happy to be able to spend some time with my parents. I was sad they had to leave this morning, but that's life I guess. OPEN INVITATION: feel free to come visit me! I always love to have people over. And parental units: come back soon! :)
Anyway, so school. I'm doing a field placement with a judge this semester, so I went to my orientation for that on Thursday. It was interesting. My supervising attorney is really nice, and I think they're going to be keeping me very busy, so it'll be good. I suspect I'll learn a lot as well, which is always a bonus. Classes technically start tomorrow, but I only have classes Tuesday and Thursday (Well, I have one class on Wednesday, but it doesn't really count). I'm trying to get my homework done; I'm mostly failing. It's difficult to get back into the swing of things, but get back into the swing I must. Oh summer, why must you be so short!
Monday, July 4, 2011
Another summer day has come and gone away, in either Paris or Rome (or Seville)
On Saturday, I went to Granada with Alejandro. It was absolutely incredible. Alhambra was beautiful, stunning. I highly recommend it. I'm really glad I got to go. Word to the wise though, if you ever go to Granada, plan at least a full day just for Alhambra. That place is really very humongous. Anyway, I'm too lazy to post pics to my blog today, so if you'd like to look at the pictures of Alhambra (and you really should. It's definitely worth a look) click here.
Anyway, it's currently finals week. Finals week is particularly horrible when studying abroad. Trying to study European legal history while in Spain is . . . difficult. It's hard to concentrate. I had my first final today; it was for the comparative womens study class. Bleh. I'm glad it's over, and that's all I have to say about that.
Now I just have to study for my legal history class, and then I'm done. Done with finals. Yay! Done with study abroad. Not so much yay. I've loved Spain. I could live here happily, though I should probably brush up on my Spanish skills before I send for the furniture. I'm really not ready to leave Spain, but I'm ready to come home. I can't even explain to you how much I miss my family. It's a lot.
I'm so glad I got to have this experience, and I would do it again. Who knows? Maybe I will. But today, and yesterday, and I imagine tomorrow, I want to come home. I've been so blessed to be able to have the experiences that I've had. Living in Spain has been incredible. I've learned things about the world and about myself. I even got to join in a protest. Life has been good. I love Spain; I hope to come back someday, but as my day of departure grows nearer, "all I want, is to come home." So you all better be really freaking excited to see me when I get there!! (And I've pretty much lived on tostada and gelato, so if I've gained thirty pounds, please don't say anything.)
Anyway, I love that I'm in Spain; I love that I got to live here; I'd love it if I get to live here again someday. But in the mean time: "Another aeroplane, another sunny place. I'm lucky I know; but I wanna go home. I got to go home."
Anyway, it's currently finals week. Finals week is particularly horrible when studying abroad. Trying to study European legal history while in Spain is . . . difficult. It's hard to concentrate. I had my first final today; it was for the comparative womens study class. Bleh. I'm glad it's over, and that's all I have to say about that.
Now I just have to study for my legal history class, and then I'm done. Done with finals. Yay! Done with study abroad. Not so much yay. I've loved Spain. I could live here happily, though I should probably brush up on my Spanish skills before I send for the furniture. I'm really not ready to leave Spain, but I'm ready to come home. I can't even explain to you how much I miss my family. It's a lot.
I'm so glad I got to have this experience, and I would do it again. Who knows? Maybe I will. But today, and yesterday, and I imagine tomorrow, I want to come home. I've been so blessed to be able to have the experiences that I've had. Living in Spain has been incredible. I've learned things about the world and about myself. I even got to join in a protest. Life has been good. I love Spain; I hope to come back someday, but as my day of departure grows nearer, "all I want, is to come home." So you all better be really freaking excited to see me when I get there!! (And I've pretty much lived on tostada and gelato, so if I've gained thirty pounds, please don't say anything.)
Anyway, I love that I'm in Spain; I love that I got to live here; I'd love it if I get to live here again someday. But in the mean time: "Another aeroplane, another sunny place. I'm lucky I know; but I wanna go home. I got to go home."
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
"Look, stairs"
Oh air conditioning, how I've missed you! I went to Morocco this weekend, and I was very excited to come back to my little dorm room and sit underneath the AC. Morocco is very warm. Amen.
Despite the Death Valley-esque heat, it was a good weekend. We arrived in Marrakesh on Friday afternoon, and someone from the hostal was waiting to pick us up and take us to the hostal. I quickly realized wearing jeans was a very bad idea, as I was sweating to death. Kimmie and I had brought conservative clothes (and by conservative I mean pants and t-shirts) because Morocco is a conservative country, but the jeans were like a very sweaty death. One of our friends let us borrow some linen pants and a long skirt she had, so I swapped my jeans for the skirt as soon as we got to the hostal. That made it a little bit better.
Vinnie had a friend who happened to be in Morocco at the same time as us, so we met up with him and his friend and headed to the Souks (the markets in Marrakesh). It was quite the adventure. We didn't really stop and shop at all, just looked around. The market is like a maze with shops everywhere. Spices are a big deal there, so there were a lot of spice shops. They also have a lot of leather products and fabrics. Lanterns are also kind of a big deal in Morocco, and they were everywhere. Their lanterns are really cool though, very colorful.
That's the lantern in the lounge area at our hostal. They're really cool. Anyway, I bought a dress there because I was really not wanting to wear pants and we only brought one skirt. My first ever haggling experience! I thought I did pretty well. I probably could've gotten it for a cheaper price, but I did all right.
Anyway, the shops were kind of the big thing in Marrakesh. There is the Djamma El Fna square (I think that's how it is spelled). That's kind of where the souks begin. At night, everyone comes out because it isn't quite so hot. The square is really cool then. People come out and play music, and there are a million and two people trying to sell you shit. The key is to not make eye contact. If you make eye contact, they will chase you down the street trying to get you to come into their shop.
The food in Marrakesh was amazing! It was mostly halal food, kebabs and the like. They did have this one dish called a pastilla. It was so ridiculously tasty. It was like a meat pie with a sweet crust and powdered sugar on top. Oh my gosh. It was amazing. I must learn how to cook that when I get home. They also have the best orange juice I've ever had in my life. They literally squeeze the oranges in front of you and then hand you a glass of the juice. It's delicious.
The streets of Marrakesh are dangerous! Seriously, scooters of death everywhere. They don't really have roads, per se. But Moroccans think they have roads. The "roads" are really narrow, and they have shops and people packed into them. Still, people on bikes, bikes with motors attached to them, scooters, motorcycles, cars, even donkey-pulled carts think they can make their way through. We all got very adept at listening for motors or hooves so we would know to get the hell out of the way. We had a few close calls.
On Sunday, Kimmie, Vinnie, and I took a bus out to Essaouira. It's a beach town about three hours from Marrakesh. The bus ride was interesting.
Yes, those are goats in a tree. No, it's not photoshopped. When the bus pulled off the road, and I looked out the window I did a total double take. "What the hell" was literally the first thing out of my mouth. The goats eat the fruit of the Argan trees, and then the locals pick up the seeds which are apparently found in the droppings of said goats. The seeds are ground into oils which are used for a variety of purposes one of which is Moroccan peanut butter. Which is amazing, by the way.
I had to google it when I got home: the goats actually climb up into the trees. Apparently food is scarce in the region (who knew?) so the goats, I don't know, evolved into tree-climbers or something. So they climb the Argan trees and chill up there. Weirdest thing I've ever seen, and that's saying something.
Anyway, Essaouira was cool. It wasn't quite so hot because of the breeze from the ocean. We had some Moroccan pizza, which was delicious. Honestly, I'm not sure I've had anything on this trip I didn't think was delicious.... Hm. Yeah, nothing's coming to mind. Anyway, we sort of just wondered around the town for a couple of hours. We went up to some cool fort they had and paid 10 dirhams to get in (that's like 2 dollars). It was cool; it had a great view of the city and a cool little place set up for pictures.
While we were up there, I needed to use the bathroom. This is what I found.
I decided to wait.
Anyway, there was actually a music festival going on there that weekend, but the concert didn't start until six and we left at five. Bad timing I guess. Oh well.
We didn't ever get to ride camels, which made me kind of sad. We just ran out of time. I WILL ride a camel some day though. I may have to go back to Morocco someday, which I would totally do, by the way. I loved it. It was an adventure for sure. Only, next time I go, I think I might shell out a few extra bucks for a hotel with AC.
Despite the Death Valley-esque heat, it was a good weekend. We arrived in Marrakesh on Friday afternoon, and someone from the hostal was waiting to pick us up and take us to the hostal. I quickly realized wearing jeans was a very bad idea, as I was sweating to death. Kimmie and I had brought conservative clothes (and by conservative I mean pants and t-shirts) because Morocco is a conservative country, but the jeans were like a very sweaty death. One of our friends let us borrow some linen pants and a long skirt she had, so I swapped my jeans for the skirt as soon as we got to the hostal. That made it a little bit better.
Vinnie had a friend who happened to be in Morocco at the same time as us, so we met up with him and his friend and headed to the Souks (the markets in Marrakesh). It was quite the adventure. We didn't really stop and shop at all, just looked around. The market is like a maze with shops everywhere. Spices are a big deal there, so there were a lot of spice shops. They also have a lot of leather products and fabrics. Lanterns are also kind of a big deal in Morocco, and they were everywhere. Their lanterns are really cool though, very colorful.
That's the lantern in the lounge area at our hostal. They're really cool. Anyway, I bought a dress there because I was really not wanting to wear pants and we only brought one skirt. My first ever haggling experience! I thought I did pretty well. I probably could've gotten it for a cheaper price, but I did all right. Anyway, the shops were kind of the big thing in Marrakesh. There is the Djamma El Fna square (I think that's how it is spelled). That's kind of where the souks begin. At night, everyone comes out because it isn't quite so hot. The square is really cool then. People come out and play music, and there are a million and two people trying to sell you shit. The key is to not make eye contact. If you make eye contact, they will chase you down the street trying to get you to come into their shop.
The food in Marrakesh was amazing! It was mostly halal food, kebabs and the like. They did have this one dish called a pastilla. It was so ridiculously tasty. It was like a meat pie with a sweet crust and powdered sugar on top. Oh my gosh. It was amazing. I must learn how to cook that when I get home. They also have the best orange juice I've ever had in my life. They literally squeeze the oranges in front of you and then hand you a glass of the juice. It's delicious.
The streets of Marrakesh are dangerous! Seriously, scooters of death everywhere. They don't really have roads, per se. But Moroccans think they have roads. The "roads" are really narrow, and they have shops and people packed into them. Still, people on bikes, bikes with motors attached to them, scooters, motorcycles, cars, even donkey-pulled carts think they can make their way through. We all got very adept at listening for motors or hooves so we would know to get the hell out of the way. We had a few close calls.
On Sunday, Kimmie, Vinnie, and I took a bus out to Essaouira. It's a beach town about three hours from Marrakesh. The bus ride was interesting.
Yes, those are goats in a tree. No, it's not photoshopped. When the bus pulled off the road, and I looked out the window I did a total double take. "What the hell" was literally the first thing out of my mouth. The goats eat the fruit of the Argan trees, and then the locals pick up the seeds which are apparently found in the droppings of said goats. The seeds are ground into oils which are used for a variety of purposes one of which is Moroccan peanut butter. Which is amazing, by the way. I had to google it when I got home: the goats actually climb up into the trees. Apparently food is scarce in the region (who knew?) so the goats, I don't know, evolved into tree-climbers or something. So they climb the Argan trees and chill up there. Weirdest thing I've ever seen, and that's saying something.
Anyway, Essaouira was cool. It wasn't quite so hot because of the breeze from the ocean. We had some Moroccan pizza, which was delicious. Honestly, I'm not sure I've had anything on this trip I didn't think was delicious.... Hm. Yeah, nothing's coming to mind. Anyway, we sort of just wondered around the town for a couple of hours. We went up to some cool fort they had and paid 10 dirhams to get in (that's like 2 dollars). It was cool; it had a great view of the city and a cool little place set up for pictures.
While we were up there, I needed to use the bathroom. This is what I found.
I decided to wait. Anyway, there was actually a music festival going on there that weekend, but the concert didn't start until six and we left at five. Bad timing I guess. Oh well.
We didn't ever get to ride camels, which made me kind of sad. We just ran out of time. I WILL ride a camel some day though. I may have to go back to Morocco someday, which I would totally do, by the way. I loved it. It was an adventure for sure. Only, next time I go, I think I might shell out a few extra bucks for a hotel with AC.
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