Pics from this weekend

I had a great time this weekend at my cousin Elle's bat mitzvah in Dallas. It's not often that my dad's family gets together so I was glad I was able to attend. It was great to get away from law school for a while. The service was wonderful and Elle did a great job with the whole thing. Everyone was very proud of her.



The party was a lot of fun, it was held at the Dallas Museum of Art. There were 100 13-year-old girls dancing around to disco and rap music. The best part, though, were the "party facilitators" who walked around in flat-billed hats with microphones encouraging the dance party. (again, the irony of all that rap at a bat mitzvah). The food was wonderful (steak and swordfish, yum). Besides the dancing there was, of course, drinking for the older folk and caricatures for the younger kids on t-shirts with Elle's name on them. Really smart.



My iPhone is great. We used it all weekend to navigate, check the LSU game score (No. 1 again!), etc. This thing really is the greatest invention since sliced bread.

All that stuff I said about liking law school

Goes out the window starting this week.

Exams are in less than a month and I can't shake the feeling that I'm behind. Way behind. I know I'm probably just freaking out and everyone does this but exams' rapid approach is enough to mess with your mind.

I finally bought an iPhone last week and it should be arriving in the old BR by Tuesday, just in time for me to program it and head to Dallas for my cousin Elle's bat mitzvah. Looking forward to seeing some family there and spending time with Breland.

Wish me luck.

Washington Post's quote of the week

"I really appreciate the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce for giving me an opportunity to explain why I have made some of the decisions I have made. My job is a decision-making job. And as a result, I make a lot of decisions. And it's important for me to have an opportunity to speak to you and others who would be listening about the basis on which I have made decisions, to explain the philosophy behind some of the decisions I have made."

-- President Bush, a.k.a. "The Decider."

I think that says it all.

The best $50

Last night was the best $50 I've ever spent. At the last second I came across a student football ticket and paid up. LSU's 28-24 victory over Florida was the single greatest sporting event I have ever witnessed.

Never have I been so angry for so long of a game (it was almost 4 hours). Finally my anger paid off and we snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. The student section was a madhouse, with students jumping up and down, literally crying while riding the emotional roller coaster that was the Tigers' win.

The next day, sitting in the law library procrastinating my inevitable civil procedure homework, I am still angry about Matt Flynn's recently developed inability to read the defense. If you watched the game you may have seen Flynn make a few great plays, mainly because of the athleticism of his receivers. Something has gone wrong with his game, and he needs to figure out how to fix it. Throwing the ball to your first option receiver every time is not what one would call a good passing game plan.

Things I am looking forward to

It has been a while since I've updated this thing -- sorry about that.

Law school is going well, I'm busy with homework though. Not a lot of time to play around. Fortunately next week is fall break and I get a few days off to focus on my Legal Writing assignment. I'll spend some time updating the blog then.

Big football game this weekend (vs. Florida) and I'm looking for a ticket, hope I can get in.

On this day, six years ago...

On my Dashboard (for you non-Mac users, that's like a second desktop that comes up at the push of a button) my "This day in history" World Book Encyclopedia Widget says the following happened on Sept. 11:
"The Battle of Brandywine" in the American Revolution, 1777.

It has three other facts, the last one being the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

This morning I was listening to Public Radio and I listened as jim bob Republican and rich-but-liberal Democrat battled about whether we should be in Iraq. About 5 minutes in to this less-than-riveting session I heard one of them say the most profound thing I've heard about the war, scary as that is.

It went something like "We can't leave Iraq now, because now there we have a thousand terrorists with years of on-the-job training."

Crazy.

To buy or not to buy...

Today I dropped my cell phone and it's been acting up ever since, which brings up the question I've been wrestling with since June -- am I going to buy an iPhone.

As an Apple believer (and stockholder) I'm leaning toward buying one. It seems like it would be an excellent tool to help me stay organized in law school as well as check my stocks and stay connected.

The price tag recently dropped to $399, and you can get some of the refurbished models for $349. It's funny because I'm usually one to wait for the second version of a certain piece of technology, but then again, if you wait for the next version you'll be waiting forever.

I'll be sure to post pictures if I do buy one.

Winner

How ironic the day of qualifying for the Louisiana gubernatorial race was the last day of elections for the Student Bar Association. Well maybe not that ironic, but still, I was excited for two reasons:

1.) No Ray Nagin for Governor.

2.) I won the office I was running for, President of the 1L Class.

I'm glad I won -- I've always found myself more apt to focus on school when I have other things on my plate such as a leadership position. Also I feel like I can do some good because of my experience with how things work at LSU.

I ran against four other opponents and was concerned right until the results were announced that I might lose my first real election. I think I'm just used to being a journalist and making fun of politicians.

Thanks to everyone who supported me, I will try my hardest to do you proud.

All we are saying

Is give peace a chance

A little retro-active for you all.

About the work

During this long weekend I've been hanging out with my sister Marylee here in Baton Rouge and in Mississippi at Breland's camp. And we've been eating. A lot.

With Marylee here I haven't had a chance to really spend a lot of time thinking about school and the amount of homework I have this weekend. Honestly, it's not that much, compared to last weekend, but I know it's going to get worse.

Living with a law graduate and living around law students has taught me that it gets worse -- that I should be freaking out, outlining things I don't yet understand. I should be spending more than the time allotted at school and at home on studying. But I'm not.

Don't get me wrong -- I do the work, I spend about four hours a day after classes studying. But then I go home, I go to the gym, I read or watch TV. Granted, some days are worse than others, but on average that's my day.

I'm sure it will get worse, but these last two days "away from the law" have made me think that my friends who are gunning hard already might be obsessed with doing just that -- obsessing.

Class elections are Wednesday and Thursday and I'm running for office. We'll see how that goes.

Morning people?

Are all law students morning people or is it just me? I kind of think we have to be.

For those of you who know me well, you know in college I stayed up late and woke up mid-morning, barely made it to work at the SPLC on time every day and have never been a wake-up-early person.

But not in law school.

The fear of walking into my 8 a.m. torts class late and being ostracized by the professor has literally turned me into a morning person. This morning I slept until 6:45, thank goodness.

We'll have to see how those weekend wake up times go...

Last day of the Second (third) week

I'm writing this post from my Legal Traditions class, which is basically a lecture on the history of law. I'm not ignoring the teacher, I promise.

Thursday is the last official day of class of the second official week of school. Although it started long before that with orientation and a large load of homework. LSU's Paul M. Hebert Law Center starts a week before other major law schools in the country (sometimes up to three weeks before) because of the bijural nature of the curriculum. We also take the most required credit hours of any law school in the country, including a mandatory summer session.

And I decided to go here!

Honestly, law school is not as hard as it is just a lot of work. As a matter of fact, it's the most work I've ever done for a single class in my life... for every class. As I told one of my old professors from the Manship School the other day, I don't believe I was ever seriously intellectually challenged until law school. Sure, stuff was difficult in undergrad, but not on this level or magnitude.

Tonight, some 1Ls are congregating at my house to watch The Paper Chase, a movie about... you guessed it, law school. Our conversations are dominated by it. While lifting weights yesterday I found myself trying to figure out if I dropped a 70-pound weight because it was too heavy on someone's foot would that be a tort. Seriously.

I hope you all like the new look of this site (please send suggestions) and hope you will continue to check it to keep up with how law school and my life is going. I will write about all kinds of things from politics and journalism to law school and the nature of legal education. Basically, I'm going to need a break from writing about the law all day. This blog is that break.

Ch-Ch-Changes

So I'm in Law School now and I'm going to need a place to write things... non-law related. I hope ya'll will bear with me but I'm trying to work on this space in my free time.

Back in Black

So law school orientation starts tomorrow. I've spent the last two days getting used to Baton Rouge again... driving around to do stuff, buying things I probably don't need, talking to old friends and getting to know some of my classmates.

All I can say is I had no idea how much this would be like high school. I had always heard that, but I guess I misunderestimated it, to use popular vernacular around here.

More to come.

And now, the end.

The group after my farewell dinner at Lauriol Plaza in Dupont

I have been really bad about updating this blog lately, so much has been going on this summer, honestly. In having dinner with my aunt Rachelle the other day she reminded me that people still read it. I'm going to keep the blog open, and probably convert it in to some kind of 1st-year law students blog. After I get my new computer I'll redesign it, etc.

I will miss the friends I've made, and the friendships I've rekindled by being in the District. It really is a great place to live, except for the fact that your vote doesn't count and the taxes are ridiculous. I'm realy glad I have this year under my belt and I'm excited to go back to law school, but it's bittersweet because of the great people I've been with here.

I also enjoyed getting to hang out with family up here, from my cousin Jay to my aunt Rachelle. I'm looking forward, though, to seeing more family as I return down south. I'm glad for the people who got to visit and take advantage of my being here.

And now, home. At 4:30 today I will leave Arlington Virginia and probably be stuck in traffic for a while.

My route will take me down Virginai HWY 29 to Charlottesville, VA and then Greensboro, NC. I'll stay with my uncle Bill and his family there for the night and then head to Charlotte, where my new Apple Macbook awaits. North Carolina is having a tax-free weekend and I'm going to benefit!

It's been a while

I'm working like crazy here during my last month in Washington, D.C., and planning to leave town right after my last day of work, August 3. I'll travel down the east coast and hope to stay with my uncle's family in North Carolina for a night, possibly, then continue on to New Orleans, where I'll pick up most of the stuff I left behind a year ago, then on to Baton Rouge.

I'm moving back in tot he same place I lived in during my senior year, with the same roommate. The house is great and in a great location. It's going to be a little bit of deja vu, no doubt.

This weekend Mat Sanders, Mark Bonner and Dennis Mitchell are coming to visit, witht my old bud Jimmy Murphy in town as well visiting Carey Givens. Should be a crazy couple of days. Patrick's wedding on Friday, flying into MSY on Friday then on to Baton Rouge for the wedding, then back to NOLA for another wedding Saturday. Life in the fast lane, literally.

New York, New York Redux

Not the only straight one in Dupont Circle.

So my sister Marylee came up for a surprise visit this weekend and in between all the tourist-y stuff that you normally do with a 14-year-old visitor I took her to the Capital Pride parade, the annual parade of gays, lesbians and their supporters in the haven of DC's Dupont Circle.

Much different than the pride parades I've seen in the past which are normally attended by the faithful few and their followers, this was an all-American, family oriented event. The mayor was there marching, as was the DC Delegate to Congress and even a representation of Hillary Clinton (apparently, the LGBT community supports Hillary overwhelmingly because no other presidential candidates were represented).

The biggest cheers from the crowd came for the large construction worker float (above), which featured weight lifters and chin-uppers, among others. Christian groups marched in the two-hour-long affair, proclaiming their acceptance and chanting that "God loves you Gay or Straight." Families with gay children, gay couples with adopted children and anti-AIDS marchers also received high praise.

Marylee and I had a great time this weekend and I was sorry to see her go. Next weekend I'm off to New York City for my friend Patrick's bachelor party. The extravaganza will include expensive dinners, more expensive drinking (trust me) and a four-on-four football game in Central Park's famous Sheep Meadows. Stay tuned for more details, but until then here's some more pictures from this weekend.


Which state am I from? Who knows?




Marylee at the exorcist steps in Georgetown.

The only Republican worth voting for in 2008 is...

This man right here. Ron Paul. The only Texan with a shot of eliminating George Bush as our last Republican president for a long time.



From his own presidential Web site, Ron Paul for President.
Brief Overview of Congressman Paul's Record
He has never voted to raise taxes.
He has never voted for an unbalanced budget.
He has never voted for a federal restriction on gun ownership.
He has never voted to raise congressional pay.
He has never taken a government-paid junket.
He has never voted to increase the power of the executive branch.
He voted against the Patriot Act.
He voted against regulating the Internet.
He voted against the Iraq war.
He does not participate in the lucrative congressional pension program.
He returns a portion of his annual congressional office budget to the U.S. treasury every year.

Wow. This guy is a freaking winner. He's exactly the kind of president I want. The stay-the-hell-out-of-my-life president. Not only that, but as I watch the debates I find myself more and more thinking he is what John McCain used to be.

New York, New York

This past weekend I took the Amtrak train to New York City for both business and pleasure. I took the train Thursday evening and enjoyed the 3 1/2 hour trip. It's a beautiful journey, until you get to New Jersey. Those of you who know me know my general disdain for the entire state of New Jersey. The view from the car doesn't help.

Thursday night I had dinner in NYC with three of my fraternity brothers, Tim, Jay and Brad (who was also in town on business). Friday I spoke to a small convention of college editors-in-chief along with a lawyer from the West Coast who does consulting work for the SPLC. Friday evening I moved from my Morningside Heights Hotel (which my room, incidentally, was truly New York Small) to my friend Jay's apartment on the Upper East Side.

We spent the weekend drinking, eating good food and generally doing New York things. Although there are no pictures, the camera battery died after taking this one above. Jay and I went to see "A Chorus Line" on Broadway, which for those of you who don't know, is about a casting a Chorus Line on Broadway. What a coincidence! It was great. I love Broadway shows.

Sunday morning I picked up a Lox bagel at a deli a few blocks from Penn Station and ran to the train. While eating that bagel, the quintessential Sunday morning meal for me, I finished reading a book "Under the Banner of Heaven," by one of my favorite authors, Jon Krakauer. The book is about violent Mormonism and the general history of the religion. Let me tell you, that will make you think twice about voting for Mitt Romney. Although I will say that if someone had written the same kind of historical novel about my religion (or any religion, since Mormonism is the true modern American religion), I believe many readers would think similarly.

My little sister Marylee is coming to visit this weekend, I just found out. and next weekend I'm set return to New York for a friend's bachelor party.

More later.

Some photos from Annapolis

Last weekend a group of us went to Annapolis to see the historic area, downtown, the Maryland state capitol and the naval academy. The weather was a little cold but otherwise wonderful.


On a boat tour of the Chesapeake Bay




The Maryland Capitol Building

My summer goals

Well, my spring interns are gone and the spring magazine has been printed and is currently being shipped to our subscribers and newsrooms around the country. You should be able to read it online on our Web site, splc.org, sometime next week.

I have set a few goals for myself this summer before I return to LSU's Law School. Thought I'd share them with you all.

1.) Lose 15 more pounds/improve health. I'm already down 15 from my weight when I got here.
The summer is the perfect time to knock these extra pounds off before law school.

2.) Launch http://www.reveillealumni.org. I've already got a shell of a site up, but I'm still learning the database code that will allow future Reveille alumni to search out other alumns in the geographic areas/fields they are moving to/interested in. I think this will eventually be an invaluable tool.

3.) I bought a stock trading reference book and I'm learning about the stock market. I may even make some recreational trades.

4.) Explore the corridor: whether its hiking, biking, sightseeing etc, I'm going to have a car up here this summer and I'm planning to use it. I'm also headed to NYC at least twice.

Pictures from last week's trip to Annapolis will be up this weekend. Enjoy the weekend everyone!

The TP and New Orleans

There's a reason the Times-Picayune is one of the best-read newspapers in the country. It's because people trust the newspaper. Liberal and conservative, black and white, people in New Orleans make time to read the paper. I don't get the same feeling from the local papers I've read in the past and read now.

Check out this great commentary from the New York Times' David Carr on how the Times-Pic is faring in a post-K environment.

Bush v. Louisiana

Yet another example of why I don't understand how Louisiana is one of the only states in the union that still approves of the job our president is doing.

An article citing $854 million in lost post-Katrina aid from foreign countries caught my eye in this morning's Washington Post. The Times-Picayune and several other area news organizations have caught on and played up the story (although not one of my favorite, The Dead Pelican, with its extreme-right slant, has not deemed the story more worthy than third-tier status).

The offer was made up of cash, food and oil.

Although America gives countless millions to countries around the world, not to mention the unprecedented amount of money donated in wake of the Tsunami two years ago, the Post story says that U.S. Ambassadors were "embarrassed" to have to tell these foreign governments that we did not need their manpower, money and supplies.

I guess that's because Brownie was doing such a "heckuva job."

Forget about the mismanagement of the war or billions a week we're spending there, why are people in Louisiana not demanding more from our president (and those who support him?)

Bush's national approval rating is sitting at 38 percent as of April 2007. Although I can't find it online I know I read recently that Louisiana was one of a handful of states where he still has a favorable approval rating.

Only two other presidents since polling began have held a below-40 percent approval rating for longer than George W. Bush, Richard Nixon (Watergate) and Harry Truman (Korean War).

I told someone recently that one day my kids will be learning about how Bush completely failed Louisiana. What a shame.

And sometimes I wonder about my friends who still have their "Bush/Cheney" bumper stickers. 2004 was a long time ago, and I don't care how they vote in 2008, as long as they remember what happened after Katrina and Rita when they do.

Why I love Bill Clinton

This clip from Family Guy on Youtube is hilarious, everyone take a look:

Bill Clinton plays Dance Dance Revolution

The best storm to never hit Baton Rouge

This week's bad weather along the East Coast extended my vacation to Baton Rouge an extra day, and although I'm not scrambling to keep up with my work schedule here in DC I see it as a blessing in disguise.

The weather has been awful this week in DC, grey skies and increment rain. But the weekend in Baton Rouge (except for a few showers) was beautiful, sunny and about 65 degrees. Coupled with a good visit to the Law School I think the feeling of the weekend, the ability to move back in with my friend Jason and the price tag have led me to send my seat deposit in to my Alma mater.

The Manship School is going to allow me to take graduate classes in Mass Communication as electives in my law curriculum, which should be a nice break and will keep my skills and theory fresh.

Just thought I'd let you all know that I'll be back in Baton Rouge in August as a member of the 2010 class of the Paul M. Hebert Law Center. You could say I'm counting the days.

Cherry Blossoms and a Movie Review

Breland and I spent a long weekend together here during what wound of being a beautiful, perfect-weather weekend. We attended the annual Cherry Blossom Festival here in the District. The cherry blossoms really are a great accent to the Tidal Basin area, which stretches from the Jefferson Memorial along the National Mall. We especially enjoyed the Kite Festival on the National Mall, not sure if you can really see how many kites there were on the mall that Saturday, but it must have been hundreds.



While she was in town, Breland and I saw "Blades of Glory," which was funny. But the night she left I saw a sneak preview of "The Reaping" with some of my friends in Georgetown. The movie, starring Hillary Swank and filmed in Louisiana, is downright awful. Besides having a plot that confuses more than it clears up, it portrayed every bad stereotype of Louisianans that you could possibly imagine. I.e. we don't have running water, are all evangelical Christians, talk with a twang, etc.

The only bright spot of the movie was some scenes set on LSU's campus and seeing LSU's logo all over stuff. Wonder how much they got paid for that?

Don't see the movie. Don't support the industry that took Louisiana's tax credit program to town. It's so awful it's currently ranked with a 7 percent on Rottentomatoes.com, listing it as simply an awful movie. The movie itself has also been in production and post-production forever, (the movie is so old it still uses the old LSU logos from 2005).

I'm coming down to Louisiana next week for an LSU Law visit day. Hoping to see everyone in Baton Rouge.

Close enough

I am now 99% sure that I'll be back at LSU next year for law school, for a number of factors.

A.) Attending LSU will provide minimal debt (scholarship + low cost of living = little loans) allowing me to pursue any kind of career interest (public interest, lawyer-reporter, etc) without having to worry about paying back $100,000 in loans.

B.) Alabama and Chapel Hill still haven't gotten back to me and LSU's first deposit deadline is April 15.

C.) Baton Rouge wouldn't be an awful place to spend three more years.

D.) They seem to be very interested in accommodating my needs as a law student, and it seems that the school is on the rise. Plus I think Louisiana wouldn't be that bad of a place to wind up in the end.

Sound good enough to you? Me too.

I am however, disappointed in LSU's no-work policy for first year law students. Other law schools around the country allow you to work up to 20 hours a week to help augment the price of law school and get experience. I was hoping to freelance for a few publications in town. It seems I will have to keep my journalism skills honed in other ways, for a year at least.

I also have contacted the Manship School about taking some of my electives in Journalism graduate courses, which the school and the law school have been very receptive to.

My recovery from Wisdom Teeth surgery is coming along nicely. Last night I cut my sore teeth with the first solid food I'd really eaten in a week by going out to dinner with an LSU Law professor and a few other prospective LSU Law students at a swanky local restaurant. I got the fish, seemed easy enough. Hoping I can move on to more solid foods this weekend.

Breland flies in to D.C. tomorrow morning, just in time for the Cherry Blossom Festival to begin. It really is a beautiful time here in D.C., I'll be sure to post pictures after our long weekend.

Ow... that hurts

I now weigh two teeth less. I had my right upper and lower wisdom teeth out Friday. I took half a day off of work and had it done. They didn't put me under, just numbed me up and gave me some pain medication. Actually, it wasn't as awful as some people made it out to be. Not like I'd want it done again or anything.

However, they numbed me so well that I was alittle concerned Friday evening because I still didn't have feeling in my face. After hearing the warning that sometimes when they take your wisdom teeth out they can clip the nerve and cause permanent damage, I began to freak out.

Of course, feeling in my face returned later that night.

Today, instead of my usual trip to the gym I am going to forgo physical activity and head to buy myself a new seersucker suit. They are half-off at Jos. A Bank today and tomorrow. Quite exciting.

I love traveling, really I do

The best part, to me, about living here in the DC Metro area is the traveling opportunities we have here. Since moving here I've tried to become an aficionado of airfares, train travel and public transportation in general.

This last weekend I was supposed to attend a conference in New York City and spend the weekend with my old friend Jay Melder. It didn't work out that way. Allow me to give you the written version. Trust me, it's worth the read.

On Friday, March 16, I awoke at 5 a.m. to take a shower and get dressed in time to take my 7:30 a.m. Delta shuttle to NYC. I arrived at the airport at 6:45, spent 30 minutes going through security (I got screened and searched) and arrived at my gate at 7:20, with plenty of time to still get on the plane. But of course, my flight was cancelled.

I hadn't checked the weather that morning and although it was only raining in DC, it was snowing and sleeting in NYC. The gate attendant told me that if I wanted to get to New York, I could run down to the other side of Reagan National Airport, change my ticket to USAirways and take their shuttle, which apparently was still flying.

So I ran to the other side of the airport (I had to catch the 8 a.m. shuttle!). Concerned about making the convention in time to be at a session where I was supposed to speak to student journalists, I made my way to the front of the line, changed my ticket, went back through security and got searched (again!). I made it to the gate on time, got on the plane and we taxied away from the gate.

We sat on the runway for an hour before they brought the plane back from the terminal. They told me I probably wouldn't make it to NYC unless I took a train. By this point it was 9:00 and I was going to miss my 11 a.m. session in NYC anyway. So my boss told me not to come.

But I had a great idea. I could fly to Baton Rouge and see my girlfriend. I went to the Delta line and tried to change my ticket to a Baton Rouge arrival (there's a nonstop that leaves DCA for BTR at 9:10, and it was delayed). But because they had changed my ticket to a USAir ticket, it took about an hour and a half to get it straightened out, and they couldn't send me anywhere near Baton Rouge.

Dejected, I returned home and plopped down on the couch, took out my powerbook and decided that I was going somewhere this rainy, Friday the 16th of March. So after much discussion with my dad in Houston and my mom in Natchez, I decided to fly to Jackson from Baltimore and go to the Natchez Pilgrammage Ball, which was to be held that Saturday.

Breland was going to meet me and it was going to be great. About this time I received the call that one of my good friend from Natchez's fathers had died in an accident, which made me want to go home even more. I bought the fully-refundable fare from Baltimore, about 45 minutes north of here, to Jackson, MS coordinated my step-dad to pick me up from the airport. About 2:30 p.m. I set off for Baltimore in the rain.

I walked a half-mile, got on the bus to the train station, on the train to the airport, and an hour later I was standing at the gate, only to see the words "delayed" on the screen. The rain had begun to freeze, the attendant said, and the flight that was supposed to take me to Jackson was in Buffalo, NY, and still had to take off and land to bring me to Jackson. It wasn't going to happen until about 9:45 p.m.. My flight was supposed to leave at 5 p.m.

More dejected, I sat there for about an hour waiting for the attendant to give me the final tally as to whether my flight would even take off. I left before she gave me the final answer. As I boarded the bus that would take me back to the train station and back to DC, Breland texted me that the flight had been cancelled. I wasn't going anywhere.

Especially when I arrived at the train station. I stood in line for an hour there because all the NYC/Philly/Boston passengers wanted to get home on this Friday, the 16th of March, and their only recourse was the Amtrak train. I fought through the hordes of northern-bound people and got on the southern-bound Amtrak. The sleet was so thick that the train attendant didn't notice my ticket wasn't actually for the train I got on, and I was able to get home 30 minutes earlier, in business class no less. My first lucky stroke of the day.

As I sat on the train I thought about it. I had been booked on three different airlines, been on three different forms of public transportation (train, bus, plane) in three different states, at two different airports going in two different directions. All in one 14-hour period. It was non-stop, to say the least.

Thank God for my friend Brad Golson, who picked me up in his car as my train arrived at DC's Union Station at 9 p.m.. I took him to dinner and went to bed.

This was how I spent the first day I've taken off work all year.

Democrats aho

I began March by attending a South Carolina Democratic Party fundraiser that was also attended by two presidential candidates, U.S. Sen Chris Dodd (D-Conn) and U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY). The fundraiser was interesting and the speeches were bland, but I was literally three feet from Hillary and took a picture with Sen. Dodd. It's stuff like that fundraiser that makes me glad I'm taking this year to live in DC.




My friend Jonathan and I at the fundraiser:



Right now I'm not sold on anyone. I hope the Republicans nominate Guliani so either A.) A Democrat will win or B.) We'll have a liberal-minded executive in the White House no matter who wins. Maybe Obama or Edwards. Stay tuned for my pick.

Snowed in

My roommate and I spent the entire day playing classic nintendo games at consoleclassix.com. Tetris and Super Mario. Seriously. It's free, and you'll never leave the house again.

Mardi Gras in New Orleans was a blast, with the exception of my delayed plane flight (don't ask) and the fact that I got a free ticket that I can't even use on most of the days I've tried to use it for future travel. I may never fly US Airways again.

I met up with my old DC roommate Chris, who is now living in the Garden District and working (again) for the Times-Picayune. It was his first New Orleans Mardi Gras.



Breland and I also went to the Bacchus Ball and watched the parade come through the convention center. James Gandolfini of the Sopranos was the King and Drew Brees its Grand Marshall. Quite the show. None of my pictures really came out, unfortunately.

I've really enjoyed catching up (over the phone) with some of my old friends from college and working at The Daily Reveille. I think I have almost talked myself in to going to LSU Law School. The amount of money they've offered in scholarship dollars and the ease of moving back to Baton Rouge into my old place where I already have a group of friends is extremely appealing.

Unless Tulane comes through with $$ I think I'll be back in Baton Rouge next year. I'm visiting LSU April 13 just to be sure.

Tomorrow I'm off to the Oral Surgeon to get a consult on getting my wisdom teeth out. No fun, especially in this snow and ice. That's all for now, will write more this week.

Uphill, both ways

Today, for the first time in my life, I walked through snow to get to work. This wasn't pretty, awe-inspiring Colorado snow, though. I'm used to that. This was the disgusting, muddy, exhaust-infused snow/slush that covered downtown Washington on my walk to work.

I received the best text message ever this morning -- that I didn't have to arrive to work until Noon instead of my usual 9 a.m.. My boss had determined that since it took a car 10 minutes to drive up the hill near his house because of the road conditions that perhaps it wasn't safe to require people to come in so early. I slept until 11.

Saturday I am heading home to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, and Breland and I will be attending the Bacchus ball on Sunday night. I'm very excited and can't wait to get home.

Mardi Gras goes crazy

Who would have thought that I would party more here in Washington, D.C. for Mardi Gras than I have for the actual event in New Orleans the last few years. This entire week has been filled with great king cake parties, happy hours and most importantly, Louisiana food. From Hot Boudin to white chocolate bread pudding, it was like being home for the week. The arrival of a few of my friends from Baton Rouge and New Orleans helped make the week go by quickly (especially since I spent a lot less time sleeping and a lot more time out and about).

And it all led up to the D.C. Mardi Gras ball last night (and this morning). I didn't return back to my apartment until about 4 a.m. In a word, it was amazing. Definitely the most fun I've ever had at a Mardi Gras event.

We began the day Saturday around 1 p.m. at Old Ebbitt Grill for my friend (and old roommate) Jason Doré's birthday. Needless to say that's where the drinking started. About five hours (and a number of cocktails) later I found myself in my tuxedo in Rep. Bobby Jindal's suite. Jason and I took the picture with the man who wants to be Louisiana's next governor.



I met up with the rest of the LSU in DC crew at Rep. Richard Baker's suite. All of the congressional delgation as well as the ball's royalty had hospitality suites where they invited constituents and friends to come and eat, drink and basically be merry.



After the suite-hopping we went down to the actual ball, where a few of my friends and I had secured a place in Bobby Jindal's box (thanks to his communications director). From there we watched the parade of princesses and queens, the krewe and the congressional delegations' entourages.
(Below) King of Washington Mardi Gras Boysie Bollinger and Queen Elizabeth Chance, an LSU student, from their seat on their float which toured the football field-sized ballroom.


The most fun thing about the ball for me was walking around and playing find the politicians. Kathleen Blanco, Mitch Landrieu, Ron Forman, the entire Louisiana congressional delegation and a few former legislators as well.

As the night began to wind down, my new roommate Veronica and I caught up with former Sen. John Breaux.


It was a great night. Definitely one for the books.

Protest Pics

When Breland was in town two weekends ago we went to the anti-war protest on the mall (much to her objection, she's a Republican, don't ask). It's taken a while but I finally downloaded the pictures to my computer.



The protest was interesting, I don't have any pictures but I wore one of the "no troop surge" stickers for a little while... Then I took it off because I still can't get over that whole journalistic ethics thing.

There were lots of students there, holding banners and yelling for and end to the war. I understand why people are so passionate about this issue, I know I feel strongly about bringing our troops home, and it felt good to see that many people rallied together for one cause. It was quite a scene. Providing background music was the group of guys dressed in black armed with a megaphone, shouting the clever protest phrase: "Hey Bush, what do you say? How many kids did you kill today?"



My favorite was the "Impeach Cheney First" posters. Can't say I disagree with that one. News reports said that there were close to 50,000 people there. Didn't look like it at this point, but this was well before the marching part of the protest.



Back later this weekend with more information about DC Mardi Gras. What a week this has been. The ball is tomorrow (Saturday) night.

Journalistic beginnings

My inner struggle with Law School continues after a conversation I had with an old friend at The Times-Picayune. I'm being tempted to return to New Orleans not as a law student but as a journalist. It wouldn't be the worst thing to do to get more work experience, especially in a field that I'm already enveloped in, but my mom warns that if I don't go back to school now I never will. If I do take a job in journalism I could always apply to better law schools down the road and (hopefully) get in. There's also the option that I just won't go to Law School and I'll live out my life as a journalist, albeit relatively poor.

My roommate, Chris, is in New Orleans right now house-hunting. The Times-Pic gave him a great deal to return to NOLA and he's excited about working for such a great paper again. The TP really is a great place to work, they're like family to me, and I think Chris feels the same.

In a late-night discussion with myself (I do that more and more now) I shot a quick (and free) application to night law school at Loyola - New Orleans. Although it's definately a lower-ranked school than LSU (my current pick) it would allow me to work in the field and get my JD in less than four years.

Something to think about.

Law School, Yeah

So LSU Law made it extremely worth my while to return to Baton Rouge next year. Enough to where I would graduate with almost no debt, assuming I can keep the scholarship they offered. So here's the question, is three more years in Baton Rouge worth turning down a better school that would put me into debt considerably?

When you compare LSU to Tulane, Alabama, Wake Forest and UNC you can't really beat the value. The only one I'd probably even consider at this point is UNC, simply because it's a top-30 law school at a rock-bottom price. But at LSU I could get a good education, have little debt, take some journalism courses as electives and be back at home. Closer to my girlfriend and my family, around my friends and the people I love. There's no question that it would be comfortable.

But is comfortable really worth it? I find myself wondering if I should be experiencing something different. Still, I can't go wrong going back to school, especially if it's (relatively) free, assuming I keep my grades up.

Breland came up this weekend and we had a great time. Unfortunately for me I received the bad news that I'll have to have my wisdom teeth out ASAP because one of them has a cavity the size of Texas in it. The Mardi Gras festivities start up here next week and I'm planning on some visitors from Baton Rouge, then its down to New Orleans for the real thing Feb. 17. I'm taking the red-eye back home Mardi Gras day and bringing a huge king cake to my co-workers. I'll be sure to post pictures.

Also took pictures at the big war protest this weekend, I'll be sure to post them later tonight.

Marching on

So the Saints lost. Maybe it was time for the team's run to end anyway. But now comes the speculation of what could have ben. Personally, I'm looking toward the draft and hoping Sean Payton gets a good cornerback and some other defensive players. We went to 18th Amendment for the game, but the highlight of the day was the two inches of snow that fell. We had a snowball fight in front of the bar during halftime, very exciting.

I'm looking forward to going back to work tomorrow. My new interns started last week. They're all around my age. Erica went to a small college in Pennsylvania, Jared is from Iowa State and Brian went to UNC-Chapel Hill. All very cool people, and Jared, Brian and I have spent some time playing darts at happy hour after work this past week.

My mother was in town for a few days last week and we ate some good food and saw Dreamgirls, an excellent movie that I didn't think I would like as much as I did. I would definately recommend it to any of you.

My law school search is nearing the end. I am having doubts, I must add, that maybe I should just go work for another year or so before heading back to school. We'll see. So far I've been admitted to Miami, LSU and Tulane. I'm still waiting on decisions from Alabama, Wake Forest, UNC-Chapel Hill and Colorado. I am leaning toward LSU. Everyone, from my friends to my uncle who went to Law School there over Tulane, has been telling me not to waste my money in New Orleans. The pricetag is about $25,000 more to go to Tulane, not to mention cost of living.

We'll see. That's all for now. More to come this week.

Snow on the ground

It's snowing (substantially) for the first time since I moved up to Washington. And it's only an hour from the NFC Championship game and I'm about to head out to cheer for the Saints. Its not like I haven't seen snow before, but its somewhat different when you live in a city where you have to walk everywhere.

I'll post pictures later. Go Saints!

New Year's in NOLA

I just returned to the district from my eight-day foray into the south. I was able to spend time in New Orleans and Natchez. I'll backtrack the trip for all of you reading.

Breland and I spent New Year's Eve at an apartment in the French Quarter owned by one of her family's friends. The fireworks were stellar and the apartment was in a choice location, at Jackson Square just across the street from Cafe du Monde. This was no doubt the absolute best place to spend New Year's Eve.
We also brought boxes and boxes of old Mardi Gras beads up to the apartment, which we (and the other revellers) began to throw to the crowds below as the night wore on. We wound up leaving the French Quarter around 1 a.m., and I returned home to Metairie and immediately fell asleep. Earlier that day we ate at Cannon's Uptown with my dad, Glynis and the twins. It seems like a major part of my trip revolved around food. Crabby Jack's Po-Boys, Soul Food at the Piggly Wiggly in Natchez, home cooked meals. I really think I gained some weight while at home, and so now that I'm back in the district (where the food literally sucks, I might add) I will have to slim it down.

I arrived home in New Orleans late on Dec. 22, after my airline schedule was changed so much that I actually went home, watched a movie, and then went back to the airport to catch my flight. After celebrating my birthday in New Orleans with my chocolate Doberge cake (my favorite) I headed home to Natchez for Christmas and drinks with old friends. My mom made me a Carmel cake for my birthday/Christmas (also a favorite) and I caught up with friends there that I hadn't seen in a while. After Christmas with the family I made it back to New Orleans where I spent quality time with my family there, my girlfriend and some friends in the area, including fraternity brothers and some old Reveille staffers. And, as I said earlier. I ate, a lot. I won $15 at the casino (I was losing until the very end, my dad lost as well), and played blackjack next to some Notre Dame football players, including star quarterback Brady Quinn. You can rest assured there were no LSU players there, I'm sure Les Miles had them under lock and key in the hotel.

With Ashley Jennings and Russ Butts at Andrew's in Downtown Natchez.

With Stephen Crain, Mat Sanders and Wes Galjour at Bruno's in New Orleans

More to come. Tired now. My flight back didn't get in until almost midnight and I didn't get to bed until late. I did, however, get a free plane ticket because they needed my seat on my original flight. If I didn't get to see you when I was in Louisiana/Mississippi then I'm sorry, I'll catch you next time. Happy New Year to everyone.