April Fools Day Catch Up Blog

Long time no write! Life has been crazy. Here are a few of the things I've been doing:

1. MS Walk Fundraising. I finally sent out my annual plea for donations for the MS Walk. Come on peeps, I need your help! I want to hit $2,000 this year, and I totally think it's doable. Every little bit helps. If you want to donate, I've set up a link on my blog (top right corner). Thanks for anything you can give!

2. Watching two episodes of the Tudors with Beth and Samantha. To put it simply, I hate that show. Not only is it about one of my least favorite time periods in history (well, let's face it, I pretty much only like history from 1600 on anyway), but the show is incredibly graphic. In the two episodes I watched, I saw and heard a man burned to death, saw people boiled to death (Beth muted for me), and watched a man slit his own throat. WTF?!? Obviously, this stuff happened, but I certainly do not need to watch/hear it on TV. I seriously can't get the images out of my head. Disgusting. Needless to say, I don't plan to watch much of that show in the future.

3. ER visits. Poor Beth is sick. Something is wrong with her stomach/abdomen area, and after three trips to the ER and one night in observation, the docs still don't know what is wrong. They kept saying virus, virus, virus, but I'm sorry, viruses don't last this long. Currently, she is at Methodist hospital undergoing more tests. Her regular doctor sent her there to see a surgeon. Best guess: appendicitis. She had all the symptoms, but the cat scan was clear before. Who knows? I'm headed over to the hospital later today.

4. Jersey Boys. My family and I went to see Jersey Boys on Saturday night. I enjoyed the show, but my sisters and I and our respective dates were by far the youngest people in the crowd. The show must appeal more to my parents' generation, which is too bad because it's a good story with good music. Perhaps it's just the high price that keeps my folks away. If you have the time and the cash, go check out the show. Good stuff!

5. Visiting various Twin Cities Minute Clinics. I've been a bit sick myself, and after getting meds at one Minute Clinic and then not getting better, I had to jet to another Minute Clinic between classes yesterday. Good times! Hopefully this set of antibiotics will do the trick!

6. School stuff. I had a midterm exercise due on Monday, so I finished that over the weekend. I'm also trying to stay on task, as finals are in less than a month. I'm trying to remind myself that I only need to pass...

In other school news, one of my Sexual Orientation and the Law professors really irked me last Wednesday. We were discussing a case and she mentioned that HLNJ, my firm, argued on one side. After class, I asked her which case they had argued, and she told me the name. I then proceeded to tell both profs that I would be working there upon graduation. One of the profs said that was great and that she had a close friend there, and the other prof just said, why would you work there. She wouldn't even look at me. So, there I was, left feeling a bit crushed, as I'm proud and happy to be working for HLNJ, and I tried to respond by saying that I think it's a good firm, etc. She then proceeded to say that she had argued against them too many times to say anything, and then stopped talking. She basically left it at that.

I left class feeling dirty, like I had done something wrong...I can't figure out if she has a personal problem with some folks at the firm (likely guess), or if she just really can't stand people who do defense work (which my firm does a lot of). I also got the vibe that she thought I was selling my soul (she does plaintiff's work for people, many GLBTers, bringing employment discrimination cases, and HLNJ does a lot of employment defense work). I'm really not sure what her problem was, but I found her response quite jarring and completely inappropriate. If she has an opinion, she should state it, but she should also recognize that I'm a student and that what she says will impact me. Anyway, after stewing about it, I decided to visit with Career Services to discuss the firm and its reputation...I highly doubt I will make any horrible discoveries (I've already worked there for 3 months), but I thought it would make me feel better regardless. Stay tuned for more on that, if I remember anyway.

7. Volleyball. I played my last volleyball game of the season (I missed this last week because of another event which will be described below). Overall, the season went well, but we never played up to our full potential. Regardless, I'm so glad I played and I can't wait until next fall to start again!

In other sports news, I think I'm going to play softball this summer! I haven't worn cleats since I demolished my knee, but I thought, why not give it a try. I will try to take it easy and focus on fun...we'll see how that goes. I'm going to hit the batting cages soon, so that should be fun as well. :)

8. Bowling. Beth and I went bowling when I returned home from DC. It turns out there is a bowling alley in the midway - who knew (well, besides Beth of course)? We bowled four games, and I bowled fine. I'm just never going to be a good bowler, and that's okay. My tendonitis certainly remembered to act up though, as I could hardly use my right hand the next day!

9. Planning Trips. Alaska is booked now, which is excellent news. We have our plane tickets and everything. I can't wait to go on that trip! We will spend time in Anchorage, Denali National Park (location of Mt. McKinley), and Barrow, a town that is super far north and only accessible by plane. While in Barrow, I'll be near the Arctic Sea, which I think is quite neat.

I still need to plan my other summer adventures too...so many options, so little money! ;)

10. Setting a start date at the firm. As of right now, I will begin working at HLNJ on September 8, 2008! They let me choose between that date and the Tuesday after Labor Day. I figured I might as well take the extra time, as once I start working I won't have a whole lot of vacation time. Oh, in other news, Don Lewis, the "L" in HLNJ, is going to be the dean of Hamline's law school! This is great news for Hamline! Don will stay on at the firm in the Of Counsel position, which is great for the firm. All in all, good news!

11. Twins Season Opener. I went to the Twins opener last night with Beth and her parents. We battled the crazy snow and made it to the game with plenty of time to spare. Everyone kept talking about how nice it was to have the dome because of the weather. However, I disagree with them. Once the new stadium opens, the Twins will simply open the season on the road; there won't be home games in March. Plus, not that many games get rained/snowed out, period. I just don't think it will be a huge deal. I could eat these words in 2010, but oh well.

Anyway, the game was fun and the Twins won, so no complaints here. Oh, except that the hot dog that I ate made me quite sick. Other than that, it was all good! I can't wait to go to my next game...

12. Volunteering at Planned Parenthood. Not much new to report here, as I missed a shift for spring break and then another from being sick. I will be there tomorrow though, so perhaps I'll have a good story for the blog. Stay tuned. :)

13. Making plans to see you, my friends and family! I'm trying to hang out with folks before the mad rush of finals and so you all don't forget I exist! ;) Shout out if you want to get together some time soon.

Well, I think that's about it. I need to buckle down on school work, so life (and as a result, this blog) might be a bit boring for a while.

Adios mis amigos!

DC Wrap Up

On Wednesday morning, we headed over to Betty McCollum's office for our official capitol building tour. There were 20+ people from her district there from the tour, and it was a nice group. Curt Brown, the Strib reporter, and his family were part of our group - cool people. Anyway, the tour was quite disappointing. We had to stand in a massive security line in an underground tunnel to enter the building, and our tour guides really didn't know much. They screwed things up, so we didn't get to go on the floor of the House chamber - that was a bummer. Also, they consistently led us in the wrong direction for things; very odd experience. I guess I should have asked Klobuchar's office to set things up; next time I guess. Regardless, it was still cool to see the building, but entering from the basement kind of wrecks the feeling of it. There's something to be said for climbing the front steps; I feel that way about the MN state capitol too. Security theater I tell you; what a waste of time!

After the capitol I went over to see the Supreme Court. That is definitely an impressive building! It's bigger than I pictured, and I could climb those steps and head right in (well, after going through a metal detector of course). The court wasn't in session (they hear arguments Monday-Wednesday in the morning, and our capitol tour caused us to miss them), but it was still neat to see the chamber. Such an impressive building. I can't even imagine arguing there.

When I left the capitol, I decided on a whim to stop in the Library of Congress, since it's right there. I'm glad I did, as it was an amazingly beautiful building. I took the provided tour, and our tour guide was quite knowledgeable - a nice change after the capitol! My camera couldn't really capture the beauty of the place, but I'm glad I went. Unfortunately, the exhibit which most interested me was closed for renovations. It seems like a lot of places here are closed for renovations; I'm not sure if it's the time of the year or what. Oh well - there's too much to do and see here as is!

After the Library of Congress, I caught the Metro and headed to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. That was an impressive museum, filled with old planes (including the Spirit of Saint Louis) and rockets. However, my favorite part was the one room dedicated to the items from the American History museum, also closed for renovations. In that room, I saw the top hat Abe Lincoln was wearing the night he was killed, Dorothy's ruby red slippers, a lunch counter from the civil rights movement sit-ins, R2-D2 and C3PO, George Washington's uniform, and some suffrage movement items among other things. Really, really cool stuff, stuff that connects me to history. I would love to go back to the museum when it opens fully, as it was one of my favorite parts of the trip.

After Air and Space, I headed back to the condo and went to bed early, as I was tired. This place requires a ton of walking, and it wore me out!

Yesterday (Thursday), we went to Mount Vernon, George Washington's estate. Mt. Vernon was definitely one of my favorite places here. It was really cool to see where George and Martha lived, and the estate is fantastically beautiful, even in March. It's located right on the Potomac, and there are fantastic views all around. I would love to go back in the fall, as I think it would be amazing!

After Mount Vernon, we headed up to the Mall, as I wanted to see the WWII memorial with the water in it. It was insanely windy yesterday, so that made walking difficult, especially for Mary. However, it was still cool to see the memorial with the water, and I do love the Mall. I could spend hours there.

We ventured into Georgetown for dinner and wound up eating at a place called Clyde's. It was probably my best meal in DC. However, it was too cold to spend much time walking around Georgetown, so I didn't see much besides the fancy shops. Seems like a cool area, something I will explore more next time.

Today, our flight home leaves at 2:30 or so, as long as the weather allows. I guess it's snowing like crazy at home - yay! We've had good weather here, so going home to snow is a bit of a bummer. I just hope our flight makes it. I was thinking about doing a few last minute touristy things this morning, but instead I took it easy, finished packing, cleaned the condo a bit, and wrote this blog. :)

Hope everyone is well - see you soon!

DC Day 4 - Here's some more!

Today, I went to the National Zoo. I typically like zoos as long as they are the right kind (doing research, building decent habitats, etc.), and I liked the National Zoo. However, it wasn't fantastic or anything - I think the Minnesota Zoo is actually better. Seeing the pandas was cool (they were quite amorous), and I enjoyed seeing the cheetahs too. However, several exhibits were closed, including the wolves and the hippos, and that disappointed me. All in all, I'm still glad I went.

After the zoo, I went over to see the White House. That was pretty cool, even though you can't get very close up. Also, I couldn't cross the street so I had to walk all the way down around a block and then back up because some motorcade went through. I highly doubt it was GWB, but who knows. Compared to the other big sites in DC, the White House seems almost small. Majestic, but small.

After the White House, I grabbed a hot dog and walked down on to the Mall again. The Mall is basically my favorite place here - I could spend hours there. It's just sort of mesmerizing. After a little stroll there, I caught the Metro back to the condo - I'm tired today and I didn't have much energy left. I've been walking tons, including today, and the zoo is uphill (getting there and inside). We were up late last night too, so today has just been a tired day overall.

Tonight we ate dinner at a little Italian joint in the neighborhood. Nothing spectacular, but not bad either. There are quite a few places to eat around here, so that's nice.

Tomorrow, we have a our scheduled tour of the Capitol building, and then I want to go look at the Supreme Court. Then I hope to hit some of the Smithsonians, particularly the Air and Space Museum and then maybe the museum of Natural History. Tomorrow is pretty open, and I'm looking forward to that.

Anyway, enough for tonight. I hope everyone is well - sorry about the snow in MN!

PS: I did NOT crash into anything today. Woot woot!

Washington DC and Me Parts Two and Three

On Sunday, we ventured over to Dupont Circle, a gay/wealthy/powerful/glamorous neighborhood filled with shops, restaurants, and Embassy Row. Because we seem to get lost everywhere, I'm not sure we did Dupont Circle justice, but we did hang out in a bookstore, have some dessert at the cafe in the bookstore, had lunch, and walked around a bit. Unfortunately, we couldn't find the coffee mug that Sarah wanted. Maybe next time dear!

That evening, after I took Sarah to the airport via the Metro, Mary, Jessie and I decided to check out the Mall at night. The monuments looked fantastic, and I'm glad we decided to go. However, we waited too long to leave the Mall, and then we walked to the wrong side...as a result, it took us a LONG time to hail a cab. We tried to use 411 to order one, and I literally chased several, but no one would stop. Finally, finally, finally, I hailed a cab, and we went back to the condo. It was fine for me, but Mary is in rough shape so it was a long walk for her. Also, it was quite cold. Regardless, I really enjoyed the Mall at night.

Yesterday, we went to Arlington National Cemetery, and it was a really great experience. I saw the headstones of many of our past Supreme Court Justices, the Kennedy grave sites, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the changing of the guard, the Arlington House (former house of General Robert E. Lee), and a ton of other graves. There are over 20 funerals held at Arlington each day. Sad and amazing.

After Arlington, we went to the Theodore Roosevelt Island, a memorial park that is actually an island in the middle of the Potomac river. It was a great park, but I found it ironic that the freeway and giant buildings were right next to it. Not really Teddy's ideal at all. The views of Georgetown from the other side of the island were quite nice.

We journeyed home after TR, and then eventually, we headed out to dinner at a restaurant called America. My Lonely Planet guide suggested, and it sounded neat. It was supposed to be an American themed restaurant with dishes from every state, map shaped menus, etc. Also, it was near the Union Station Metro stop, so we figured we would be able to find it. Alas, the book didn't make it clear that the restaurant is IN Union Station, so we spent a good amount of time wandering around wondering how the same Massachusetts Ave can go from 40, to 1, to 20, to 25, all without changing directions. I simply do not understand the layout of this city, and we tend to get lost a lot. To me, that is frustrating, but there is not much we can do about it. It doesn't help that I have a poor sense of direction to start with.

Anyway, we finally figured out that the damn restaurant was IN Union Station, and so we had dinner there. It was not all that great - I'm disappointed in my Lonely Planet, which hasn't happened often. There were no map shaped menus, and there weren't dishes from every state. No mention of Minnesota at all (or many other states for that matter). The food was basically suburban chain restaurant. I had a satisfying meal, but really, all that for a version of Applebees! Am I becoming a foodie? Perhaps.

A funny story: we were wandering around trying to find America last night (yes, I know that sounds funny, but that's not the story), and we witnessed a near car accident and then what seemed like might become a brawl. All three of us were mesmerized as we walked along...until I walked right into a parking meter. Bam - seriously, I barreled into the thing. Hard. It hurt some, but I didn't smash my face open or anything, so all was good. Just embarrassed and in pain. I think i bruised my sternum, but who the heck knows. Seriously, only I could do such a thing. I have no idea how Mary and Jessie didn't bust out laughing for the rest of the evening, but they didn't. They are kind souls. :)

I'm not sure what is on the agenda for today, as I'm sort of tired and wondering if I'm catching a cold. We have been up late and up early for the last couple of days, with lots of time outside in the cold. I don't want to get sick here, so I think I best take things a little slower. Perhaps the zoo and one of the Smithsonians - stay tuned for that.

Later skaters!

Washington DC and Me!

I spent my first day in DC today, and I had a fantastic time. We went to the National Mall, and I saw the Capitol building, lots of the Smithsonian buildings, the Washington Monument, the WWII Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam War Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, the FDR Memorial, and the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. It was a ton of walking, but the weather was fantastic and I had a great time just being outside. The fantastic sights made it all that much better.

Out of all the monuments and memorials we saw today, I most enjoyed the war memorials. They were each quite moving, but my favorite was the Vietnam memorial. We heard a speaker explain the design of the wall before we actually looked at it, and that made it even more moving. To see all those names really hits home. Such a waste of life, and so so sad that those men and women never came home. DO NOT think I'm saying that I don't honor and value what they did. I just don't think we should have been in Vietnam, period. I think we will one day, if not already, feel the same about Iraq. Sarah asked where we would put the memorial for that war, and it made me wonder too. Will they build one? Who knows. Regardless, the war memorials were excellent and a good reminder of why I'm wandering around as a free woman. I do wish more people would understand that sacrifice - from the random groups running around screaming (kids), it's clear that people don't always understand what they are looking at.

For dinner, we went to a little restaurant in the neighborhood: The Banana Cafe and Piano Bar. It was Cuban/Puerto Rican/Mexican influenced, and I had a very good meal. I would like to go back to enjoy the piano bar some time, as I love them. However, Sarah and Jessie were understandably tired and we came home.

Tomorrow we plan to go to Dupont Circle, which should be nice. Sarah goes home tomorrow evening, so that's too bad. I'm glad she came for the weekend, even though it was a whirlwind trip for her. Wednesday we have a capitol tour set up, and I hope to spend a little time checking out the Supreme Court building too. There is still tons to see and do, and I hope we can get it all done!

Enough for now - I'm tired. Love to all!

PS: Thanks to my lovely cat sitters K and D and thanks also to BT for everything you did to make my trip go more smoothly. You all are the best!

Scrabble Geek

My scrabble geekiness continues to grow exponentially. I think I have about 5-6 games taking place daily on facebook, and today, I purchased a travel scrabble game and an official scrabble dictionary. I'm set to play any time now, online or offline. Good times; I wonder how long I'll be obsessed. The cribbage obsession of the mid-2000s was relatively short lived, but I do still love cribbage...maybe I should pull that out more too. Homework, what homework?!? ;)

Anyway, if you are looking for me, I'm the girl toting around the travel scrabble case and the dictionary...please refrain from pointing and laughing. It tends to hurt my feelings. :)

Stay tuned for some posts from DC - perhaps I can get some actions shots of me playing scrabble on the Mall or something. Ah, the possibilities are endless!

"You're a hollow shell"

So today I discovered that I'm a hollow shell, that I'm dead but yet in my body, that I'm doing Satan's work, that I'm crazy, going to hell, and that I enjoy shredding babies. I also learned much more about myself, but I can't remember it all at the moment. What the hell was I doing you ask? Well, that was just from my first class this morning!

Okay, okay, really, I made all these discoveries during my weekly Planned Parenthood volunteer stint. A new (to me) anti-choice protestor showed up today, and let me tell you, she was a nut job. She informed me of all of the above and said much, much more as well. She was in our faces, rude, and confrontational in general. Also, she kept shaking "holy" water on the ground in front of the clinic. I declined her offer for my own personal bath, and fortunately, she at least listened to that. She also carried around a disgusting picture of a "shredded" baby and spent a great deal of time talking to herself. My favorite though was when she told the African-American patients that she had people who would love to take their black babies. Wow! I've heard she often uses the N-word, but fortunately, she did not today. Seriously, she needs treatment. Scary, scary woman. In good news, her presence makes our side look a lot more sane!

Also, I heard Charlie, a regular protestor who is basically harmless, tell crazy lady that they saved a baby today in Robbinsdale. Now, I'm not sure how they did that, since it's really the woman's choice, but they were so proud and smug. Also, I think the clinics in Robbinsdale are similarly named, so they probably tricked the poor woman into going to the wrong clinic. Seriously, they make me laugh.

Finally, in an interesting twist of events, a car pulled up in front of the clinic and out climbed a woman. I figured, okay, she must be a patient, but this is a bit odd as patients are usually dropped off in the parking lot. Instead, it turns out that this woman is pro-choice and wants to get right in the face of the anti-choicers. And she does. Right in their faces, arguing with them.

Now, you might think her stepping up is good, but it actually made me very nervous because confronting the protestors tends to escalate the situation. Our job as escorts is to remain calm and keep the scene under control while accompanying patients inside; really, it's about patient care. Thus, we are not to engage in dialogue with people like nut job lady. Instead, we are to ignore them and to provide a buffer between them and the patients. Ignoring them isn't alway easy, especially on days like today, but it works. In fact, it really pisses the protestors off when you ignore them. However, our well meaning pro-choice activist caused a bit of a scene and Charlie threatened to call the police because she was interfering with his speaking. Really, the police probably would have ignored him, but because he was reaching for his cell phone, I had to step up and call security outside. Our security guard spoke to our pro-choicer and things calmed down a bit after that. Eventually, the pro-choicer was picked up (still super strange) and things returned to normal (well, as normal as they get outside of PP). I appreciate her efforts, but really, that probably wasn't the best idea and it's certainly not the most effective way to enact change. So friends, please don't show up to confront the anti-choicers, especially during my shifts. :)

Despite the craziness, I'm still loving the clinic escort gig. In fact, I sort of thrive on the craziness. I'm not saying I want a violent blow up or anything (that would be horrible), but I'm good at maintaining the peace. I can remain calm in crazy situations, and I think that carries over into the surrounding environment. Thus, I feel like I'm making a difference everyday I work there. However, I'm very glad I had a co-escort today, as a solo shift might have been difficult under the circumstances. Overall, PP rocks and I'm so glad I volunteer there. Yay PP!

PS: Two days til DC! Yay!

Spring Break Countdown!

I leave for Washington, DC on Friday, March 14! Yay! I get to spend a whole week in our nation's capital, a place I've never been. I have a tour of the capitol building lined up, and we have plans to do tons of other things as well. Sarah is meeting us (me, Mary, and Jessie) on Friday night, and she will be there until Sunday - that should be fun too. Basically, I can't wait! The only way it could be better would be if baseball season had already started and if the Newseum was open. All in all, no complaints from me though!

In the mean time, I have to take care of a million things (of course I do have a penchant for hyperbole, so it's not really a million people). I have to send in my bar application (I think it's finally done, and never have I felt more nervous about my moral character - stupid application), play volleyball, volunteer at Planned Parenthood, participate in an online negotiation with some students in France, write a little paper, do homework, get a haircut, pack, and tons of other things. Oh well, everything will come together - it always does.

I'll try to post from DC - later skaters!

School Stress

I had a dream the other night...no no, not the MLK, Jr. type, but rather a school-mare if you could call it that. In the dream, I had a Criminal Procedure midterm exam, but for some reason, I didn't study for it. Not even a tiny bit. And I hadn't done the readings either. So, I sat down to take the exam, and I couldn't even answer the first question (multiple choice). I literally had no idea. However, for some odd reason, we were allowed to use the internet for the exam, so I spent the next 45 minutes googling the answer for the first question. When I finally finished, I realized I had no time left for the other 30+ questions, so I just filled in the "B" bubble for all of them. Yikes! Clearly, I would have failed this exam, and I was freaking out in the dream.

Dream interpretation: time to really get cracking with the school work. If only I could find that motivation somewhere...

PS: This post is not meant to make anyone feel guilty for distracting me. I'm an adult, and I make my own choices. You know who you are!

PPS: Safe travels to my parents, my sister/brother in law, and brother in law!

Bar Application Update

The application is filled out, I have my character references, the two affidavits attesting to my good moral character are ready to go, my little passport picture is glued to the ID card, my handwriting sample, which let me tell you took me forever since I NEVER use cursive, is complete I made sure my law school application matches the information on the bar application, and I have the checks signed. Basically, all I have left to do is to explain my speeding tickets in the supplemental section. I even have most of that written out, but I just need to firm up a few details. Basically, after I sign the application in two more places, have it notarized, make a copy or two, and drop it in the mail, I'm all finished! Hopefully I completed everything accurately and the entire process will go smoothly. If simply applying to sit for the exam is this much of a hassle, I can't even imagine what the actual test will be like. Can't wait til July! Woot woot! :)

Fabulous Scrabulous

I now have a new addiction to keep me from school work: Scrabulous. For those of you not in the know, Scrabulous is Facebook's version of Scrabble. Actually, it's the exact same game as Scrabble, which explains the lawsuit against the Scrabulous designers. Anyway, I was never all that much into Scrabble before, but for some reason, I'm now addicted. Perhaps that's because Beth actually taught me how to play, who knows. Regardless of why, I now find myself pondering letter combinations and counting up their points. Craziness. Between Scrabulous and the Gilmore Girls, the likelihood of actually graduating seems to be decreasing by the hour...

L A T E R (5 points, depending on placement) ;)