You're all waaaay down here now

Thanks to Eddie and Megan's diligence, I am now hooked on the Buffalo Wings and Vodka blog, written by a 3L here at Texas. I know his name is Mike. And apparently he's the editor of Law Review. And now it is my mission to meet this guy. Sure, there are more admirable goals, like meeting an actual celebrity or graduating law school, but in the right now, I'm totally going to make this guy my friend.

Unfortunately for all you chumps out there who blog, Mike's blog has suddenly jumped to #1 on my super secret arbitrary ranking of blogs. Goat comes in a close second for mentioning me coming to visit as a Not Sucky thing about the next few weeks. Also, props to Eliz for finally making the Coke Bundt Cake. The rest of you better start getting real witty real fast or start sending me bribes.

Books and shit

Well, that last one backfired. And I look like a 12-year-old girl. In order to counteract that, I am going to talk about the books I've read so far this year. Make me look all smart and shit. I'm going to try and read more for fun, despite the mountains of reading I'm supposed to be doing for law school. I'm not going to lie, sometimes my fun reading gets precedent over my school reading. While I was in Houston over break, the bookstore in the mall was closing so every book was 50% off - I cashed in baby! So, here we go, my reviews for the books I've read so far. (Warning: the list is short. It's only been a month!)

• Dreams From My Father, by Barack Obama. A pretty good memoir about his childhood. I sort of expected more of his later years, heading towards the Senate, but his childhood story and discovering his past is pretty cool. He's a great writer (I mean, he was President of Harvard Law Review, so I guess that makes him a pretty good writer). For a story about race, it concentrates almost exclusively on African Americans in the south side of Chicago. Overall, though, I highly recommend it, and he may be winning me over politically (shhhh!)
• About a Boy, by Nick Hornby. His follow-up to High Fidelity. High Fidelity is one of my all-time favorite books, and About a Boy does a pretty good job as a follow up, but is pretty different in terms of the story. It is funny, though, and, as is usually the case, the book is better than the movie.
• Feel, by Chris Heath. What started out as an interview with Robbie Williams turned into a book. I am personally enjoying this because I'm a Robbie Williams fan and recognize a lot of the references, but I think it's overall a really transparent tell-all about the music industry and the effects of the paparazzi. Highly recommended.

Well, that's it for now. I told you, it's only been a month. And I bet you don't want to read any reviews of my casebooks. So see? I am smart!

Guilty pleasures

We all have those things that we adore, but don't really admit to anyone because, well, they're a little embarassing, and you know that as an educated person with a fine taste for entertainment, you really shouldn't. So, in an effort to be a little more open and get the dialogue moving, I am going to share a few of mine and ask (no - demand) that you share one with everyone else. Now, it doesn't have to be your secret addiction to transexual hookers, just something like, you really like to wear footie pajamas. Or something like that. My list includes:

• Dancing with the Stars - So hokey, and really not that much to it. Some washed-up celebrities learn how to ballroom dance! Who cares? Well, I do. I really do. I want Jerry Rice to win it all, because, he used to play football! And I enjoy Lisa Rinna flipping out like a little kid every time she doesn't get eliminated. Also, how is Master P still in the running?
  
• The new Beyonce single - I think she says some sort of variation of "Check up on it" about ten thousand times. It's so formulaic and repetitive. I love it!
• Mary Kate and Ashley lip gloss - Damn you, Emily, for turning me to the MK and A line of cosmetics. But you've gotta admit, they're cheap and pretty really okay looking.
• Reruns of Home Improvement - That show is so dated, I really should not be laughing at those jokes anymore. But, I still do. Tim Allen grunting like a gorilla is still pure comic genius, if you ask me.
• There and Back - Another TV show that, all things being equal, I should loathe. But Ashley something from O-Town actually doesn't seem like too much of a tool and the pregnancy drama is pretty interesting. Also, it's hilarious to see a former teen star live in a home that looks like it could easily be in my neighborhood.
• Oyez.org - Supreme Court news, famous cases, and podcasts of oral arguments. Wow, I am a nerd.
  

Now, just remember that despite all this, I do like some very sophisticated things. Yes... veeery sophisticated.

Issuespotting

Choose law. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a respectable law school. Choose an effing big laptop. Choose roller bags, highlighters, post-it notes, sticky flags and commercial outlines. Choose eight a.m. classes, stale bagels, and a frappuccino addiction. Choose student loan debt bigger than the GDP of Belgium. Choose the Subway diet. Choose puking on the hiring partner at a business-casual reception. Choose the billable hour and wonder why you're at work on a Sunday morning. Choose sitting in an office writing mind-numbing, spirit-crushing memos, stuffing leftover Chinese take-out in your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, drooling on yourself at the firm Christmas party, married to your eighty-year-old secretary, and realize that you're nothing more than an embarassment to the selfish, stuck-up, overpaid associates you have recruited to replace yourself.

Choose your future.

Choose Law.

*The following has been the tagline for last year's Assault and Flattery show, Issuespotting.
**Assasult and Flattery is the satirical law school musical/skit show put on every year at Texas. I'm the lighting designer this year! And this year's show is called The Big Dzienkowski.

When the hell did I get so pale

Who can say when the cycle of pasty whiteness began, but I suspect a lot of it had to do with when I moved to Indiana, where the sun disappears for at least half the year. But I am back in Texas, where the sun shines mostly all year, and I continue to get whiter and whiter. I think I'm spending too much time indoors, with books and things.

Anyway, tonight was my best friend Laurie's Congrats Happy Away party. Congrats on graduating college, Happy (early) Birthday, and Happy Going Away! Laurie is leaving for basic training on Thursday so we are celebrating all three things at once. And, who doesn't love an excuse for cookie cake?? Brian made fajitas, and it was a good, chill evening with lots of friends and loved ones celebrating the awesomeness that is Laurie. She and I have been friends since sixth grade - the only year we spent together in school! Basically, we crack each other up so much we couldn't stay away.

So... that's my weekend! I'm heading back to Austin tomorrow... yup, should be a fun drive through the rain.

Death by Constitution

Remember how they used to tell you when you were little that jumping into the pool all at once is better than trying to tiptoe in? I think that's what the law school professors were thinking when they decided how to schedule our classes. I'm used to having three, maybe four classes in one day (on a particularly rough day). Now, four is the standard, and I do have a day with five classes. Five law school classes. Each with its own assignment and homework to do. Not only that, but the reading assignments seem to have grown exponentially since last semester. Weee! No use in easing us in, just throw us in the pool!

To top off all that, my body decided to reject the idea of going back to school by getting sick just in time for the first day of class. So yes, I am that girl in class who is constantly blowing her nose and generally being disgusting and sick. My eyes hurt.

MILK day

Does anyone remember that time we went over to Eliz and Scolson's house like, right after they moved in, and they were showing off that bar and kegerator and somehow the subject of a milk keg came up, and then, the joke of Martin Luther King in a keg was born? Yeah, probably not. But it was funny! And I remembered it today, on MLK Day. So, milk kegs 4 lyfe.

Last night I went to the Texas national championship celebration. Seeing as I didn't go to any games this year, it was pretty interesting. I learned all sorts of new cheers, much dirtier cheers than I ever did at Notre Dame. So Dana and I went, and we showed up about an hour before the actual program began. Pretty much right when we got there, they started showing clips of the last national championship they won... against Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl. Gross. Oh, grad students - no loyalty to the schools they currently attend! Either way, it was pretty cool to see the band (even though I objected to the proclamation that the Longhorn Band is "the best band in the country") and they lit up the tower, which is pretty cool looking. You gotta admit, the tower being lit up trumps the #1 on top of Grace. Although, if ND wins another national championship (correction: WHEN ND wins another national championship), I'm sure they'll do something over-the-top and awesome.

Tomorrow we start classes again... boo. But for those of you who were wondering what happened to me over the Christmas break, I will assure you that I will be posting more, as I now have something to procrastinate for.

The PHANTOM

Behold! The car gods have finally smiled upon Lizett and given her a new automobile. She is no longer stranded in Austin, relying on public transportation or a generous friend. She also refuses to DD unless absolutely necessary. Joe Myers Toyota says that this '06 Corolla is "Phantom Grey", so, behold, The Phantom. Also, I'd like to point out that I'm wearing short sleeves. Booya, warm weather!