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.