Finals Insanity

• Friday night I took my Ethics final. I feel I got in the B- range, which is perfectly fine with me.
• Thursday I have my Admin final. I have not yet begun to study for it... But it's open book... But I slacked all semester long... But it's yet another law school exam... Which is pretty intense... Maybe I'll study at work tomorrow.
• Parents out of town this weekend
• Human Rights paper due 15th. Not even begun.
• Trade paper due 16th. A complete draft is finished... Will let it stew for a few days, then do final edits...

Then on the 20th, I start my new job at the shooting range... and 4 weeks of no education... Classes for the fall include

• Evidence -- I can't believe I've waited this long to take it
• Trusts and Estates
• Human Rights Clinic
• Trial Advocacy -- waitlisted, bummer, dude. Also, need to get approved for an overload, so I turned in the paperwork today.

Wish me luck!

A Barenaked Apology

So, as you know, I've been upset with Steven Page and the disastrous cocaine bust in July. Well, he's been granted a reprieve by the State of New York, and has apologized to his fans, me included. Here's what he had to say:

To our fans...As you know, I have been granted an Adjournment In Contemplation of Dismissal, which, in six months time, will hopefully result in full dismissal of my charges.I am grateful to Judge Miller and to District Attorney Fitzpatrick for this opportunity to further prove myself as a productive and law-abiding member of society. I look forward to the next six months as a period of healing and growth. I thank my lawyers, Mark Mahoney and Len Glickman and my manager Terry McBride. Special thanks also to my bandmates for their love, compassion and support through this difficult period.The past several months have been especially hard for all of us, and I sincerely thank my family, friends and loved ones as well as all the fans who have shown their love and support; it has meant a great deal to me to be shown the impact I have on others’ lives. From people on the street who have stopped me to show their support and encouragement, to those friends and loved ones closest to me who have opened their homes and their hearts, I am deeply moved and thankful.The greatest gift a person can know is to not go through their life alone. I am fortunate enough to have been afforded that gift.I also apologize to all of those I have hurt or embarrassed during this episode. The respect and responsibility I have earned over the course of my life and career thus are important to me, and I am moving forward from this with gratitude and hope.Steven

In light of this, I've decided to forgive him. The Barenaked Ladies are officially my favorite band again.

War Eagle

Go, Aubie! Go!

I thought I was the only one who felt this way

But then I found this essay while surfing online. Note the race of the reader...

My name is James Nazarene. I'm a tall young black man living in the city of Boston. I moved to America from the Republic of Haiti a few years ago. Recently, I graduated from Northeastern University with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice. Someday soon, I'm going to be a police officer. I've already gotten accepted into the Boston Police Academy. I know I will make it. I am physically fit, college-educated, and I have no criminal record. I'm a goal-oriented Haitian man who's going places. I just wish my black brothers and black sisters from the African-American community were taking note.

Where I come from, black men and black women who are smart, and work hard can accomplish great things. I know it can be done. My father was an engineer. My mother was a college professor and administrator. My brother is a lawyer. My sister is a dentist. We did alright for ourselves back home. I was sent to America to get my college education. And so I did. I made my parents proud. I just wish more black men and black women from America were living up to their full potential instead of tearing each other to pieces and blaming all of their problems on the white man.

Quite a few black men and black women from North America can and have done great things. Look at Senator Barack Obama. Billionaire businesswoman and TV mogul Oprah Winfrey. Former United States Secretary of State Colin Powell. Secretary of State Condi Rice. We can accomplish great things. We're a people that's hardened and toughened by what life has thrown at us. We've got strength, courage and dedication. We can be stellar athletes, students, entertainers, businesspeople and all that. The world can be ours. All we need to do is stay away from crime. Don't do drugs. Don't sell drugs. Don't get locked up. Stay away from violent men and violent women. Avoid haters. Fight against the dark forces which want to take us out. Go to college. Graduate. Get into the business world. Create successful and happy families. Achieve the American Dream. The world can be ours. We've only got to take it. There is a right way to do it, though.

What I find appalling is when I see young black men and young black women doing what they're not supposed to. Walking around with their pants hanging below their butts. Fighting in the streets. Becoming parents before their time. Cussing on the subway. The world doesn't give them second chances. So they have to walk on the straight and narrow. Most of them don't realize that. In order to succeed, the black man and the black woman have to work three times as hard as white men and white women. We have to be stronger, faster and more intelligent. We have to adapt to new situations and new people. We have to deflect, and sometimes confront, treachery. We can do it all and succeed. But we need to stay away from crime, get into college and make it. Pure and simple.

I don't know when manners went out of style in the African-American community but nobody gave me the damn memo. Why are black men and black women acting so damn rude? Many black men I meet act like savages. They don't have to be. There's nothing sexier than a black gentleman. It's official. All black women are chicken-heads. I don't care if they're living in mansions, or in a damn shack in the hood. I think there's something genetic inside of them which makes them rude and obnoxious regardless of where they are or where they come from. I say this quite reluctantly. I really wish it weren't true. Seriously. When a decent, intelligent and college-educated, heterosexual black male spends time looking for a mate, he naturally thinks of a black woman from a similar background. Unfortunately, quite often these black men are discouraged from dating black women because most black women are stuck-up, rude, crude, obnoxious and downright vicious.

Years ago, the black woman was the foundation of the black family. She supported everything and everyone. Her strength kept the black man going and kept her sons and daughters solid citizens. Nowadays, these so-called ladies are bigger whores than the men. You can see it on television shows like Maury and Jerry Springer. How many black females show up on the show, with similar stories? They've slept with a dozen men in one week and can't figure out who their son or daughter's biological father happens to be. It's mostly black women who have this predicament.

For every black man out there who sleeps with two or three different women outside of his supposedly monogamous relationship, there are five black women sleeping around with as many as six men each! Every time I'm on the bus and I hear some woman in the back making noise, cussing or acting rude, I close my eyes and hope she isn't black. Eight times out of ten, it's a black woman acting rude, cursing and making noise. And they think behaving like this makes them seem tough. If you ask me, it just makes them look like the cheap, common whores we all know them to be. Why do black women think it's okay to act like this? It's not an example of black female empowerment, it's a damn bore!

Every time you run into a black woman say at the lineup in a grocery store like Shaw's or Stop & Shop. They're the loudest, meanest people in the entire damn line. They take up a lot of time. That's just the way they are. And their loud voices, rude mannerisms and bloodshot eyes scare everybody. Black men. White women. White men. Asian men. Asian women. Latin men. Latin women. Middle-eastern men. Middle-eastern women. Everyone is deathly scared of the mad black woman. Like the snarling banshee of Irish mythology, she's the scariest thing in the cosmos.

I really wish I could take all the young black men and young black women in the big cities and place them in specially designed, black-oriented, all-male and all-female schools. Strict, paramilitary-type schools which would demand academic excellence from them. Schools which would teach them some manners and give them much-needed guidance. Then maybe they'd get into college instead of getting into county jail. In a single-sex school, black males and black females wouldn't become parents before they're mentally, physically and financially ready to embrace fatherhood and motherhood. Maybe that would enable me to save the race. But that's just wishful thinking. We need a miracle.

One of those personality tests

Seems eerily accurate. What do you think?

6 - the Questioner

you chose CY - your Enneagram type is SIX (aka "The Loyalist").

"I am affectionate and skeptical"

Questioners are responsible, trustworthy, and value loyalty to family, friends, groups, and causes. Their personalities range broadly from reserved and timid to outspoken and confrontative.

How to Get Along with Me
Be direct and clear.
Listen to me carefully.
Don't judge me for my anxiety.
Work things through with me.
Reassure me that everything is OK between us.
Laugh and make jokes with me.
Gently push me toward new experiences.
Try not to overreact to my overreacting.

What I Like About Being a SIX
being committed and faithful to family and friends
being responsible and hardworking
being compassionate toward others
having intellect and wit
being a nonconformist
confronting danger bravely
being direct and assertive

What's Hard About Being a SIX
the constant push and pull involved in trying to make up my mind
procrastinating because of fear of failure; having little confidence in myself
fearing being abandoned or taken advantage of
exhausting myself by worrying and scanning for danger
wishing I had a rule book at work so I could do everything right
being too critical of myself when I haven't lived up to my expectations

SIXes as Children Often
are friendly, likable, and dependable, and/or sarcastic, bossy, and stubborn
are anxious and hypervigilant; anticipate danger
form a team of "us against them" with a best friend or parent
look to groups or authorities to protect them and/or question authority and rebel
are neglected or abused, come from unpredictable or alcoholic families, and/or take on the fearfulness of an overly anxious parent

SIXes as Parents
are often loving, nurturing, and have a strong sense of duty
are sometimes reluctant to give their children independence
worry more than most that their children will get hurt
sometimes have trouble saying no and setting boundaries

Renee Baron & Elizabeth Wagele
The Enneagram Made Easy Discover the 9 Types of People Harper SanFrancisco, 1994, 161 pages

Hmm.. Kinda Shady

DISCLAIMER: POLITICAL AND SOCIAL OPINIONS WILL BE DISCUSSED.

So you all know that I'm a McCain girl, and have been since he first ran 8 years ago. But did you know that Senator McCain adopted a Bangladeshi girl, and opened up his family? Well, he did, and that act causes my respect for him to grow that much more.

On the flip side of the potential first family coin, is Senator Obama... who doesn't have a relationship with his own brother. Take a look at this from Russia Today (not even a US paper)

Obama’s brother lives in a Kenyan shack

U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama’s lost brother has been tracked down in Kenya. George Hussein Onyango Obama, aged 26, was found by journalists from the Italian edition of Vanity Fair. He reportedly lives in poverty in a shack on the outskirts of Nairobi.

He has the same father as the U.S. senator, Barack Hussein Obama, but a different mother. Her name has been given as Jael.The youngest of Obama’s half-brothers says he lives on less than a dollar per month in a 2m x 3m shack. Its walls are decorated with posters of famous footballers and a calendar featuring exotic beaches. The magazine also noted George has a newspaper picture of his brother.

He has only met his famous brother twice. Once when he was five and then in 2006 when Senator Obama visited Nairobi. George admits their meeting was very brief and cool.

If you want your president to have good family values, take a look at their choices.

~~ The Wig (Don't forget to vote for McCain!)

Too Many Plates

When I'm feeling overwhelmed at work, with too many random emails and faxes and voice mails and other random shit on my desk that needs to be taken care of, I put it all in one pile, and then write a list of all of it, and prioritize from there.

I'm currently feeling overwhelmed, both at work and out, and I think that I need to make a list of all the random shit that's on my figurative desk, and prioritize it so that I can calm down and stop freaking out about all the chaos.... So, here goes:

1. Negotiations Moot Court
~ Competition this Saturday at 9 am.
~ Materials already printed out and skimmed.
~ Meeting with my partner tomorrow after my 6 pm class to discuss strategy, etc.

2. SBA Meeting regarding the treatment of Evening Students
~ Address the current 1LEs, who are probably the most fired up of the 4 evening classes.
~ Come up with a "wish list" of the things that evening students would like to see
~ Determine the difference between what day and evening students invest ($) into the SBA, and compare that to the relative benefits/access that the two groups have.
~ Write statement to be given at SBA Meeting on 9/15 at 5:15

3. College Republicans
~ Ran for VP of Events
~ Wait for election results

4. International Law Journal Candidacy
~ Cite and Source Due Sept 17

5. Student Trial Lawyers Association
~ Competition Sept ??
~ Materials are printed out, but need to be read
~ Determine meeting time with Team and Coach
~ Meet with team and discuss strategy

6. General Election -- November 4
~ Serving as Election Judge

7. International Human Rights Law
~ Print out and Read the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
~ Look for Senate floor debate when it was last brought for ratification, to see what the arguments on both sides are
~ Look for drafts of similar petitions so that we can have a jumping off place

8. Concerts with Mom
~ Bernadette Peters
~ Burt Bachrach

9. Georgia Grace
~ Due for an oil change soon
~ Needs to be taken into the shop to have leak fixed and recall issue resolved.
~ Would benefit from the attention of a vacuum.

10. International Trade Law
~ Start thinking about topic for final paper

11. Administrative Law
~ Listen to old lectures/read Paul's notes to catch up on what I've missed (I'm a bit lost)
~ Look at reference material to figure out what the h*ll this guy is talking about.
~ Start outline

12. Legal Profession
~ Listen to old lectures to catch up on what I've ignored.
~ Start Outline -- focus on rules and commentary, not the casebook.
~ Follow up with Michal about getting the moot court guy's barbri book -- on second thought, I think I have a barbri book at home... Need to check on that.

13. Life in general
~ Get Issac to send me his address so I can ship his stuff
~ Feed Buddy
~ could use a pedicure and a haircut.
~ laundry. Always laundry.
~ Take shoes to the shoe guy to get fixed.
~ Put jewelry away
~ Put shoes away
~ Take magazines to work
~ Take dishes to kitchen
~ get new charms soldered onto charm bracelet
~ figure out why the notary application was denied.
~ pay bills

~~ The Less Overwhelmed Wig