If anyone cares to fill in the details, please let me know

Today I laughed out loud in Contracts, and not because I was IM'ing people, but because I looked around the room at one point and every single person had this look of utter confusion on their faces. I also nearly ate it about five times walking aound slick tile while wearing flip-flops. I mean, who puts slick tile outdoors?!


Anyway, some of you may have heard rumors or passing bits of this weekend, so here's the rundown.

Friday was Ex Parte, the annual law school Halloween party. Our section had a big "law enforcement" theme, so each of us tried to get a different aspect of the law enforcers. In case you can't tell from the picture, I went as a CSI. One guy from our section dressed up as an Orkin man. Not original, right? Wrong. He had a sprayer full of tequila and Sprite. Not the best combination, but quite hilarious to drink out of and tequila usually is always a good shot choice. Anyway, so we get to Ex Parte and there are a good amount of people there. There were some pretty creative costumes, but we definitely should have won best group - I think there were flaws in the nomination system. After a help-yourself beer bar and several shots of Orkin/tequila, I somehow made it home. I definitely was still drunk when I woke up the next day to get to my flight. I think I was just hungover by the time my dad and brother picked me up.

As a result of Ex Parte, I have some crazy injuries. Huge bruises on each of my thighs, some sort of giant cut on the back of my leg, and a bruise on my back. Also, my cash is totally gone (I'm assuming to pay the cab). The last half-hour or so and most of the way back to my place is a little fuzzy, so if anyone cares to fill me in, I'd appreciate it.

I did some sleeping and some studying at home, and then I went to dinner and - surprise! My cousins, aunt, and grandma were in town from Mexico. Now, I love this part of my family so I was really excited to see them. As usual we stayed up ridiculously late talking. The next day was the performance of Wicked - I've been looking forward to this for so long. It was definitely worth it. The acting was good but not great, and the special effects were amazing. The story is hilarious and I just had a great time.

I'm sure it would have been lots of fun to skip out on all that at the last minute so Mal could come in, but I would have been useless on Saturday. I still had a headache when I went to bed Saturday night.

Finally, tonight is Halloween - we bought a little bag of mini Snickers just in case some trick-or-treaters come, but really, we know there aren't any coming and will be eating them all within a few days.

Okay, I'll shut up about baseball now

Wow, I had no idea everyone else despised baseball so much. But the good news for all of you is that I will be shutting up about baseball now, at least until next season.

I had my audition yesterday for Assault and Flattery, the law school musical/skit show they put on every spring. Despite the lack of voice still from the USC game (yeah, it still isn't all there) it went pretty well. We'll hear about callbacks soon, but I figure either way they'll want to use me for my tech skills, which, surprisingly*, there is a major lack of in law school.

Tonight is the law school Halloween party, Ex Parte. This year's theme is Leave Your Briefs at Home. I initially wanted to go as a pirate to introduce that whole line of joking with my law school friends, but a bunch of people from my mentor group are doing a 'law enforcement' theme, so I decided to go with a CSI. I got a t-shirt and ironed on CSI on the front and the back and got a cop kit and a fake rubber heart and rubber gloves. Hopefully we'll get a best group prize or something. Anyway, should be good. Unlimited beer, wine, and margaritas. Mmmmmm.

World Series

Okay, here's my list of what is wrong with the World Series -

1) The announcers - Fox announcers are probably the worst in history and should probably die. Half the time they're trying to promote some 2-hour Prison Break event and the other half of the time they're commenting on some baby that fell asleep in the stands. Ha! Look at that baby! He's asleep! Oh no, it's ten minutes later and the baby's awake! Wow! Oh, and while we were talking about the baby, the team that was behind made the greatest play in the universe and won the game.

2) The Sox fans - Now, this is not necessarily aimed at those "true" White Sox fans out there. And trust me, I know who you are - you've made it quite clear in the past. I'm talking about the 95% of people at Comiskey during games 1 and 2 who are actually Cubs fans but are pretending to be Sox fans since they're in the World Series. Also, during game 2, some beligerent fan slapped Craig Biggio's wife and took off. Biggio's brother took him down and pinned him against the wall. Take that, guy who has no self-control!

3) The sports writers - Everbody was saying how the White Sox were going to beat the Astros with one hand tied behind their back and blindfolded. And granted, the Sox did win four straight games, but it's not like they won them easily. Each game was won by two points or less and one went into 14 innings. Doesn't sound too easy to me.

Anyway, that's my rant. For those of you who don't like baseball, I don't care. Baseball is a great game to have on in the background and I love it.

Game 3

So tonight I thought I was going to get to bed early. I just needed to watch the Astros game. The 9th inning came and went around 10:30. It's now 1:07 am and I'm still watching. I have many complaints about this World Series which I will go into more detail later when I'm not delerious from sleep deprivation.

God, I hate the Sox.

It's my birthday, I'm getting drunk

Thanks for all the birthday wishes on Sunday! The good thing about facebook is that it reminds everyone that it's your birthday so you get tons of birthday wishes without being all showy about it. It's only Tuesday and I'm already relieved because I feel the week is almost over. Really, four hours of class (including civ pro) is too much for one day.

So this weekend was pretty good. I went home Friday night, watched some Law and Order: CI with my mom. I say: major thumbs up for getting rid of Vincent D'Onofrio and that stupid girl. He really got on my nerves and she was always made to look like an idiot. Now they have Chris Noth back on L&O, which is cool and the girl is not a total pushover. Makes the show about ten times better.

Saturday I went shopping with my Mom (huge surprise there) and got some great shoes for cheap, and Sarah and Sonal came over to watch the Astros game. It was a lot of fun, we got a mountain of wings (mmmm, wings!) and just caught up. Sunday was my birthday, and I went to lunch with my parents and got some pretty good presents. The lineup:

• The new Sarah Jessica Parker perfume. I'm afraid to use it.
• Pearl earrings and necklace combo (such a parent present)
• Arrested Development Season 2 (booya!)
• Batman Begins (Double booya!)
• Kanye West's new album

I don't know about you guys, but 22 was so anticlimactic compared to 21. Granted, 21 was on a Saturday night at Notre Dame, not a Sunday in Houston. But then I went to see a Second City show at the PAC, went out Finnigan's/The Library (depending what year you graduated) and... whatever bar we went to after that since Jenna almost came to blows with some guy for saying she didn't go to Notre Dame or some other thing I can't remember... and the next night we went to Bruno's for dinner and Fiddler's Hearth for drinks. So really, you can't top that. Oh, and I got a call from Mr. Belding - yeah, any birthday after that one is just downhill.

So what's with all the crazy amount of posting in our little circle of blogs last week? I loved it. It's the epitome of what our blogs should be. And it gives me things to read in class while attempting to not laugh out loud.

Finally!

The Astros are in the World Series for the first time ever! My head is going to explode!

Sweet jism (and by that, I mean, CJ's pub burger-delicious belly-rubbing jism).

If we win the World Series, then Notre Dame is definitely going to win the national championship. I've been waiting for the Astros championship since I was about 5 years old, back when they played in the Astrodome and the mascot was the Astro, who had a very strong resemblance to the Capital City Goofball. The Notre Dame national championship, while fresher in my mind, is closer to my heart. But the team I've been backing all my life has to win at some point. God, I love baseball season.

And now, a haiku to Peter Hagerman:

Peter Hagerman
Your name is Fro, but you're bald
Super sweet beer time.

Fall TV preview

I enjoy TV way too much. Probably more than is healthy for any individual. And this year, with my no-band schedule and my own TV with basic cable I have... well, not copious amounts of time, but certainly the opportunity to keep up with all my favorite shows and even aquire some new faves. Here are my picks for a great fall season:

1. How I Met Your Mother (Mondays, CBS) - Started out kind of weak, but after a few episodes, I've really gotten into this show. I feel like it pretty much articulates what a lot of my friends and I are going through - this weird mid-twenties phase where you're not quite a grown-up but out of your parents' shadow. The characters are relatable, and my favorite is Barney, played by Neil Patrick Harris of Doogie Howser fame (or Harold and Kumar fame). One of my favorite lines is after he says something and then when the others look at him confused, he says "You really don't read my blog, do you?" Also, when they're in a club, Ted the main character starts screaming crazy stuff to see if his date can hear him, and during a lull in the songs screams out, "I'm peeing my pants!" If that doesn't describe what my friends and I say every single day (see, Goat's blog), then I don't know what does.
   
2. Nip/Tuck (Tuesdays, F/X) - Holy crap. One of the raciest and most addicting shows I have ever seen. The story lines are so intricate and crazy plot twists abound. For example, this Tuesday the cops thought that Christian was the Carver and arrested him, only to have the Carver strike while he was in jail. Every show ending is a complete poop-in-the-pants twist. I love it.
3. My Name is Earl (Tuesdays, NBC) - Jason Lee, of Kevin Smith movie fame, finally has his own show where he plays... a redneck? A little contrary to every cool character he's ever played, but still quite funny. Not much to it, but it's a definite laugh and it makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, like that time I ate insulation.
4. Arrested Development (Mondays, Fox) - Currently on hiatus until baseball season ends, Arrested Development is one of the most perfectly written shows ever. With Season 2 just recently released and Season 3 gearing up, it's sure to be a great season. If Fox doesn't keep threatening to cancel it.
5. Law and Order: SVU (Tuesdays, NBC) - Oh no, Elliot's rage problem is out of control. And Olivia feels even more for the victims of rape. Tune in to see Elliot flip out and Olivia cry even more.

Welp, that's it for now. If you watch any less than 8 hours of TV a day, this is a good start. I, however, pretty much have my TV on constantly. I really do have friends, I swear....

An open letter to Brad Lidge, closer for the Houston Astros

Dear Brad Lidge,

You did a fairly good job last night in your game against the Astros. You are widely considered one of the best closers in the National League. Your stats are impeccable. You were one out away from sending the Astros to the World Series for the first time ever. But suddently, there was a slight shift in the atmosphere of the game. Edmonds came up to bat, and instead of sending him home crying, you walked him. WALKED HIM. With who else but Albert Pujols up next. The Astros are up 4-2 at this point - the game which was supposedly in the bag is now eerily tense. And what happens? Pujols hits a home run to left field. Putting the Cardinals up 5-4. That's it. The game's over. What happened, Brad? You, of all people, could have put an amazing ending to a great game begun by Andy Pettite. But now you have to go back to St. Louis (the Astros have their own problems winning on the road) and try to win against their crowd. Why? Was one devestating loss by your alma mater on Saturday agasint a much-hated team not enough? Is winning big in a series just too easy for you? Why would you put your fans through the same thing you clearly felt on Saturday when Notre Dame lost at the last minute against the Trojans? For Houston's sake, for Notre Dame's sake, for the Notre Dame Houstonian's sakes, please win big on Wednesday. Two crushing losses are enough for one fan.

The picture says it all

And then I found out she was a guy

Best ending to an awkward story ever. None of this "I found $20" crap. Let me just begin by saying I'm a little dissapointed in the fact that of all those people's blogs that I compulsively check, very few have updated yet. Come on, some of us out here need entertainment.

I got back to my apartment around 11:30pm last night. I very nearly forgot to turn in a paper that I was supposed to write, but somehow remembered right before walking out my door at 7:30 that it was due at 8:00am. Holy crap. I nearly had an anyeurism. Speaking of anyeurisms, I said the phrase "I'm having an anyeurism" about 200 times during the football game on Saturday. Here it is, a wrapup of the weekend:

Friday night

After going to class in the morning, I head to the airport. First of all, I must say I am really surprised that Austin-Bergstrom Airport has a Saltlick Barbecue and Amy's Ice Creams. I think I may start scheduling flights out of Austin more often. Around 5:15, I board the plane and realize... it's a mini-jet with two seats on each side. People are forced to put some carry-on baggage under the plane. Normally, I wouldn't mind too much but the flight to Chicago is two and a half hours long, not some twenty minute flight. When we arrived at Chicago, I was excited because we were a little early, which in my mind = getting to Notre Dame faster. However, we proceeded to sit at the tarmac for 45 minutes because for some reason there was a plane at our gate. Uggggh. Thankfully, while I was waiting, I got to talk to the old Swedish man next to me who in the course of conversatoin asked me if I had any kids. I involuntarily laughed in his face, then tried to make it seem like I was not mocking him by keeping up the polite conversation. Once I finally got out of the airplane, I met up with Nips and had a pretty good drive into South Bend. After some driving moves of questionable legality, we finally made it onto the Skyway. An estimated 10:00 arrival time ended up being more around midnight after all the delays and actually grabbing dinner. Despite the exhaustion, we managed to go out to Legends with Miguel and Philip and rested up for the game the next day.

Saturday

Holy crap, not having to get up for band is so glorious. You just sleeeep and sleep. Granted, I actually did not sleep in that much, but you have the option! Mothball's tailgate was a good time, and I met up with tons of alums I hadn't seen in a while. When Mothball and Vnak were told by the cops protecting USC that they were going to jail if they messed with the band, I couldn't help but think, "Ah, the circle of life." We made it to Concert on the Steps and stepoff, something I was looking forward to immensely. At this point, my voice was still there but hurting for sure. In my drunken haze, I was not being very effective at communicating the hilarity of jokes and witticisms I had so carefully prepared. Thank goodness Vnak saved the day by shushing me and then yelling "Does anyone else think Lizett looks like Bill Cosby??" If I had been more lucid, I would have ripped into some Jell-o Pudding jokes.

Our tickets were in the end zone behind the band, right next to the entrance ramp and with easy access to the bathroom and concession stand. Couldn't ask for a better strategic location. I screamed my head off the whole game, which led to the lack-of-voice-ness. During the first part of the game, I jokingly did the Disney World Happy Dance for joy of being at the game, which later turned into the Anxiety Dance of Franticness. It got pretty bad in the last quarter or so where I was just rocking back and forth, holding my head in hopes it didn't explode. The outcome was... dissapointing. But for 10 euphric seconds, we had beat USC. It makes the defeat that much worse. I hate you Pete Carroll. I hope Regis Philbin burns down USC.

The post-game celebration was a little less lively as expected, but still a fairly good time despite the fact that we went to Bookmakers which smelled like an odd combination of an ashtray and feet and Oscars, which was actually much better than expected despite the presence of middle aged lesbians hitting on me. It was really great to just hang out with my friends again, falling back into the same dynamics as if we hadn't left.

Sunday

Almost as nice as Saturday. The luxury of a late flight meant I got to go to the bookstore, Nick's Patio for breakfast and hang out with my friends and walk around campus for quite a while. Walking around campus was great - it was a beautiful day, and the ND crazy-effective workers had returned campus to its pristine condition. The flight back to Austin was also in a tiny jet, and even better than the return trip because I sat further back and there was a crying baby in front of me. The mom kept trying to show her the Baby Irish DVD - for those of you who haven't heard of these, they make Baby Einstein-type DVDs for college teams now in order to indoctrinate kids even more than their ND parents do already. It didn't really seem to work for quieting a 2-year-old.

In conclusion, today was rough to get to class and stay awake all day. If any of you see Matt Leinart hanging out with Nick Lachey, be sure to kick both in the balls for me.

I'll put some pep in your rally

So, rumored to be at the pep rally (which I won't be going to) are:

Rudy Rutteiger
Bruce Springsteen
Bon Jovi
Joe Montana
Jesus Christ himself

The hype for this game is unbelievable. I should've known that Friday classes mean jack and just left Thursday night or early Friday. Oh well, it looks like it's shaping up to be a pretty exciting weekend anyway. Rock on.

Get Nasty

Holy crap, only 3 days until Notre Dame takes on USC and I will be there to witness the glory. Oh, the glory. For 72 glorious hours, I will forget all about law school and unleash the fury onto USC and my liver. Oh, you just wait.

Things have been going pretty well. Law school is actually starting to become pretty time-consuming seeing as our profs are going through more than one or two cases per day. Damn you. And we have to start our outlines soon. I, for one, have done zero outlining while some of my more "ambitious" or "uptight" classmates have been working on them since the second week of classes. Hmm. I'm sure it'll somehow magically work out for me. Why wouldn't it?

My mom came up to visit last weekend. It was a pretty good time, the highlight of it being outlet shopping in San Marcos. I ended up buying two suits... my first two ever. I'm officially a grown-up! Now all I need is a job. I'm assuming that the first interview I walk into, they'll be so blown away by the awesomeness of my power suit and they'll immediately bow at my feet (or perhaps at my awesome new shoes) and offer me a super-fantastic job. To a first year. That pays a lot. It could happen!! Okay, it probably won't, but my chic new suits will probably at least keep me off the streets, make me look presentable.

Anyway, most of this week is just getting ready for my big trip to Notre Dame. My head will explode if we win, and even if we don't, my liver sure will. I'm already getting some good law school jokes to yell at Philip in a drunken stupor. In any case, it will be a smart, tough, nasty wekeend. Oose. Go Irish.

October

October promises to be a big, important month. First of all, it marks one month into my law school career, which means I didn't die within the first few weeks. Hopefully this is a good signal for the rest of the year. Second, (sequentially, not in importance) is the Notre Dame-USC game. This will be my first home game not in the band which will only mean debauchery and hilarity in the best way. At this time, Miguel and all my young'un friends will be 21, so we can go out in style in South Bend the way no one else can. Also, it promises to be a very close and important game in the season. People probably say that every game, but with the combination of Notre Dame-ruining power and this-season-winning power we may just be unstoppable. (For those unfamiliar with the Notre Dame-ruining, see: Every Ranked Team Last Year). And thirdly, on the 23rd it is time for the big 2-2 (or "22" as some people call it). This is it. 21 is an exciting birthday, but what's 22? Nothing. The only thing I have to look forward to now is 30, and that's a bad thing. But for now, it's time to live it up like a 21-year-old.

Irishizzle

Gizoogle.com apparantly translates many things. Here for your amusement, courtesy of micvat, is the Notre Dame Fight Song:

R-A-Double-Lizzy sons of Notre Dame
Spendin' her glory, n sound her fame
Raise her Gold n Blue,
And rappa wit voices true,
Rah! Rah! For Notre Dame.

We will fight in every game
Strong of heart n tizzle ta her name.
We wiznill neer forget her
And wizzay pusha her eva,
Loyal ta Notre Dame.

Chorus:
Chea, drug deala fo` Old Notre Dame
Wakes up tha echoes ridin' her name,
Send tha volley poser on high,
Shakes D-to-tha-izzown tha thunda frizzay tha sky,
What though tha odds be bootylicious or small
Old Notre Dizzle W-to-tha-izzill win over all,
While her loyal sons is marching
Onward ta Victory . Holla!.

Pure genius. Memorize it, for I will be singing it every gameday from now until eternity.