Liztastic

Cramazing news

2009-09-23T17:41:00.002-06:00

Stephen and I are settling in nicely to the new house. I don't let Swarley sleep in our room anymore because I'm a jerk, but oh how well do I sleep. Somehow, somewhere, on some sort of list sold to companies, our name is listed as "Schreibert". We keep getting mail, dentist solicitations, and "exciting coupons" for the Schreiberts. Those guys are missing out on savings.

In other news, OMG. Granted, I was a bit more of a Babysitter's Club fan, but either way, this is going to be amazing. Diablo Cody, you'd best not disappoint if you don't want the entire fury of my rage raining down upon you.

Awesome to the Oose

2009-09-05T19:42:00.005-06:00

Holy crap! The Irish pulled it out like pros! The team looked good, the crowd was fired up, and the band sounded decent. This has very good implications for the rest of the season, hopefully we can keep the momentum up.

Sweet ass sweet

So this Labor Day weekend, we decided to skip going to the game and finish moving to our new house. We are getting a moving truck tomorrow and moving it all, and we went out and bought a kitchen table, coffee table and desk today. Everything is happening fast, and it's pretty exciting. Hopefully all will be ready to go by the Michigan game so we can have an inaugural game watch at our house.

Finally, I am currently watching Law and Order and holy crap! A fellow Notre Dame FTT grad Tom Degnan was one of the suspects! I know someone who is now on TV (and according to IMDB is also on a soap). Between that and seeing a Public Defender I work with frequently in a Donato's commercial, I feel like I'm living the Hills lifestyle.

Boosh and/or Ka-kow

2009-06-25T19:19:00.002-06:00

First of all, boosh:

We're taking over, bitches.

Second, ka-kow. I got a job! I'm going to be working as a prosecutor for the misdemeanor side of crimes. I start July 13, and four years of college, 3 of law school, two months of studying for the bar and 36 hours of testing finally have paid off.

A few other things. Scolson got married! We took pictures, but... we are too lazy to upload them yet. Mal does not have the new iPhone as he is not eligible for the upgrade. We went to Houston and New Orleans... and that's pretty much all that's been going on.

2)

2009-03-15T08:05:00.002-06:00

So, basically from Christmas until February 26, I literally did nothing social. I didn't go out to eat with people, I didn't go to the movies. I did manage to keep an hour or two a night for TV (I care about the really important things in life), then on February 26, I felt like:

I think I've finally recovered, after many nights of sleeping in. Going to work and being yelled at by people with criminal records for prostitution and drug possession is a little refreshing.

Updates to the max

2009-03-15T07:43:00.005-06:00

So, you may have noticed my absence, or maybe you just thought I was being lazy, like normal. Actually, I was studying for, and taking, the bar exam, whose results I'll have in about 6 more weeks. Nothing like waiting! Anyway, I figured I'd start back from where we left off and try to hit all the major events.

1) Christmas. Stephen and I did go to Mexico, and he did manage to avoid diarrhea. Good work, Stephen. We also took lots o' pictures. Here are a few.

Here's Swarley, wishing YOU a Merry Christmas. Yeah, it's a little late, but how adorable is that little bastard?

Stephen enjoying his first churro, bought off the streets of Monterrey. Yes, he ate street food. AND, may I repeat, did not get diarrhea.

Finally, this insane lady was greeting people at the planetarium. What is she supposed to be? All I know is that she was very interested in getting next to everyone. VERY interested.

What?

2009-01-16T20:37:00.001-06:00

No.

Old and Married

2008-11-14T17:12:00.002-06:00

By the time you hit approximately my age, I think I've figured out that most people are either in the Old and Married category or the Young and Single category. You don't necessarily have to be married to be in that category, but it helps. For example, as an Old and Married, I'm spending my Friday night eating steak at home and watching movies. If I were Young and Single, I suspect it may go more like eating out and actually going somewhere. I think it's a continuum, where there are degrees of each, but essentially you're on one end or the other.

But I am certainly not complaining about being Old and Married. I get more sleep, I have extra money to spend on things I like instead of just booze, and part of my routine is comfortably predictable.

Part of being an Old and Married I suppose is getting full-time employment. I'm still in the technically part time category because I have yet to pass the bar, so I don't get benefits but do get to work almost as much as someone who does! On the plus side, I have a great schedule and don't have to worry about asking for vacation.

So now I'm looming around the corner from career-dom. I took the MPRE and soon it's time to start studying for the bar exam. I'll miss a few things about my job. The 50 cent soda machine named Clyde. The super duper hardly ever work past 4:30 schedule. The free candy we get every so often from the boss man. But boy, it'll be nice to have, you know, retirement. Old and Married, I will soon be one step closer to your category!

Obsessions

2008-10-21T18:31:00.003-06:00

Wow, Lizett, you hardly blog, ever. Not just lately, but seriously, ever. Well, my friends, let me tell you the reason why. No, it's not my job keeping me busy, or some noble volunteer work. Stephen and I currently spend $17 a month to get two DVDs at a time from Blockbuster and boy do we make use of our subscription.

Over the summer, and up to now, Stephen and I have watched entire seasons/series of Pushing Daisies, The Wire, Dexter, Heroes, Rome, Burn Notice, and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. With all this new TV on top of the other TV we're watching, I suspect we spend 26 hours a day in front of the TV. Even as I type this, we're watching tonight's episode of House, the wonder doctor. Let's hope we don't have a baby soon so we don't have to give up on all this TV.

Boush

2008-08-25T20:37:00.002-06:00

Welcome to the world of the gainfully employed. Today I enjoyed my first day of work at... wait for it... the HALL OF JUSTICE. That's right, my friends, I share office space with the Superfriends. Today was a fairly easy day... follow people around, walk around the building, and debate whether people actually are telling the truth or are mentally ill.

In hilarious coincidences, I work about a 10 minute walk from Stephen and a 5 minute walk from Dan, Stephen's brother so I'll be mooching rides when I can. I'm... being green?

Finally, we watched all of Season 1 of Frisky Dingo in the last two days, and will be using the references in everyday speech. Welcome to you're... "Doom!"

Things are happening

2008-08-16T10:52:00.003-06:00

If you're wondering why I haven't blogged, it's because my life has been incredibly boring as of late. But, finally, things seem to be picking up.

I got a job! A low-paying job with the local government, but a job nonetheless. I actually decided to wait until February for the bar, so I'll be doing my time in intake before I can become a baby prosecutor. That's the plan, anyway, hopefully I'll enjoy my time there so I can make an informed decision.

With my free time, I've taken up cooking. My two specialties at this point are chicken parmesan and jambalaya. And by specialties, I mean, I was able to follow the recipe from foodnetwork.com exactly. Score!

We found a dog park here with an adjoining lake not five minutes from Stephen's mom's house, so we've been taking old Swarlos there pretty much every weekend, and he loves it. Today was probably his greatest accomplishment yet. He got to play with a dog his own size, bully a much tinier dog, and, get this.... he swam in the lake! I feel like a mommy who actually taught her kid to do something, instead of just throwing a stick out into the lake until natural instinct took over, but considering Swarley was afraid of swimming the last two times we took him there, this is quite the accomplishment. Gold medal in doggie swimming and fetching for Swarley!

Speaking of gold medals, have you guys been watching the Olympics? Normally I follow the Olympics with little more than indifference, but these games have been pretty amazing. How about Michael Phelps winning the gold last night by one one-hundreth of a second? Booya. America... Fuck yeah!

And finally, see here for all the pretty little toys we have.

Out of my MIND

2008-06-26T13:48:00.002-06:00

Well, it appears that Stephen has given up blogging, so I guess I have to make up for his absence. Here's a witty joke about being super awesome and totally sweet! Actually, he can probably make those jokes. Stephen interviewed a bunch of places, and ended up being offered like five jobs. He's currently working at Franklin University in Columbus, which seems to be going well. We're finally settling here in Columbus, and I'm actually learning my way around without getting lost too much. Hooray!

As for me, I'm currently job searching and studying for the bar, hence the title of this post. It's... not fun. I'm at the point where I've realized there is absolutely no way for me to know everything that is going to be on the bar. It's also pretty tiring to get the "Let us know when you pass the bar" responses from employers. Pleeeease employ me!

Oy. Also, we went to North Carolina with the whole Schreiber family earlier in June. There was a lot of yelling from the children, and also every kid had a turn throwing up on their parent. I think that delayed our having-kids-plans a few years. I'll post a picture later, since apparently they're all in Stephen's super-sweet new Macbook. Super awesome McSweetSweet.

Holy Frijoles

2008-05-25T09:39:00.004-06:00

Wow, people. So much stuff has happened, that I don't even know where to begin. I think I'll go chronologically backwards.

Stephen and I are all moved to Columbus, Ohio! So long, Texas. Your winters were good to us. Now, the only problem is, what the hell do I call my blog? It started out as a law school blog, but I suppose it's now going to be about updates and family pictures of vacations and stuff, so... give me a name. I'll put it up, I swear.

Also -- we got Mario Kart on Wii. Which is pretty addicting. Rainbow Road is impossible.

I graduated! That's right, as of last Saturday, I am Lizett, J.D. Or perhaps Esquire. Or I think it's Goodwife for ladies. I don't really know. Do I have to pass the bar to be an Esquire? Hmmm...
On another graduation note, here's a totally super sweet professional headshot of me after graduation. You know you want to hire me
Oh yeah, I got a haircut! A major one. Like, seven inches? It's taking some time to get used to, but I rather like the feeling of short hair. I may keep it up, depending on how it decides to freak out in rainy weather.
Ummm... we got married? Yeah, that happened...

So there you go folks. I'm not making any promises about updating, but you should keep checking back. And also, name my blog.

Probably the saddest thing ever

2008-05-05T11:53:00.001-06:00

more cat pictures

Proof

2008-03-29T20:44:00.002-06:00

Honeymoon shots!

2008-03-19T21:27:00.001-06:00

We up and got married. More pictures of that to come soon, check it out on Goat's blog for now. But here are honeymoon pics! Or at least the ones I wanted to post. There's about 10 shots of sea turtles and 30 iguana shots, but we decided to spare all of you. Enjoy.

You're welcome

2008-02-01T18:45:00.001-06:00

Your life will never be the same again

Update to the max

2008-01-28T22:40:00.000-06:00

Wow, when I lose track of the blog, I really lose track. I just wanted to inform the public that wedding invites are out, and if you're deemed cool enough by us, you'll be getting one in the mail soon. Also, I'll post some pictures soon. BONG.

TURKEY

2007-11-27T16:18:00.000-06:00

The first Mexican Thanksgiving in Houston.

BAM!

2007-11-18T18:43:00.000-06:00

Me with my new second cousin, Melissa (3 days old).

Wurstfest

2007-11-12T22:14:00.001-06:00

It was the best of times, it was the... blurst of times?? You stupid monkey!

Mal and I went to Wurstfest yesterday, and the motto on the novelty cups says "The best of times are wurst times". Hence the Simpsons quote. Wurstfest was pretty fun. We got there after 3pm on the last day, so we got free admission, which was key since we spent so much cash on sausage and carnival games.

First, we had a sort of sausage-kebab which contained five different types of sausage. Sadly, the sausage went from most delicious to least delicious, so it was a disappointing ending. We also sampled a couple of beers, including Paulaner and... something that starts with a W. Dunkel version, which apparently just means dark. It was pretty tasty, but the Paulaner was just okay.

After the sausage overload, we decided to take a break and digest over some carnival games. Mal very nearly won me a giant useless stuffed animal on a shooting game, but the dude conned us. Never trust carnies, people. Thankfully, Mal did win me a slightly smaller useless stuffed animal by destroying the lives of about five six-year-olds and winning a sort of skee-ball type game where the further back your ball goes in, the further your guy goes. First to finish wins a Krusty doll. I chose a dog instead, and his name is Hervis. He destroys children's lives. Also, Swarley wants to eat him, but we don't let him.

After that, it was a little more beer, a lot more sausage and turkey legs, and a few German bands. There were lots of small children doing extremely cute and slightly uncoordinated dances in leiderhosen and... whatever the girls wear. Followed by a few beer anthems. There are only so many German songs, and apparently they're all about beer. I fell asleep on the way home. It was sooo worth it.

Today's game

2007-11-10T19:40:00.000-06:00

We got our asses handed to us by Air Force. This is the first season ND has ever lost 9 games. My pee pee hurts.

How many X's do you think are on CW's sweatshirt tag? Three? Five?

On a more cheerful note, Mal and I will be going to Wurstfest tomorrow, the ten-day salute to sausage. Mmm, sausage!

Picking up some slack

2007-11-05T12:58:00.000-06:00

I've gotten some comments from people about how much my blog sucks, and some revelations that more people read my blog than I once suspected. Never underestimate a bored law student, because they will find anything to read.

Things have been chugging along well recently. It's November - holy crap! Wedding planning is going fairly smoothly, but as always, there is still lots to do. No, Swarley will not be in the wedding. I don't know why everyone wants the dog to be a ring bearer or something, but I guarantee you that if Swarles is in any vicinity of people, he will just run around in circles, then roll on the ground, then probably poop on the priest.

We managed to find a Franciscan monk who will perform a Catholic ceremony outside. It sounds a little shady, but this dude is the real deal. He's even offered to wear his brown friar robe, complete with rope belt and hood. I told my mom, and she made a yuck face. Maybe we'll let him wear the more traditional clothes.

Stephen and I went to Houston last weekend to see my family, and we had a pretty good time. My cousin Mario and his wife Mayra are set to pop out a baby in about two weeks, so she has ridiculously fat belly for her tiny, tiny frame. Stephen and I went to the Museum of Natural Science and saw the remains of Lucy, a 3.2 million year old fossilized hominid of the species Australopithecus afarensis. Wow, we're nerds. We also saw a show about black holes in the planetarium! It really took me back to the days of elementary school, except now they charge like $20 an exhibit. Boo, museum, boo. Thank goodness for college discounts.

We lost to Navy. I'm so ashamed.

Get out the checkbook and pay Grandma for the rubdown

2007-10-03T11:46:00.000-06:00

Get your cowboy boots ready and mark your calendars for Wedding 2.0 Electric Boogaloo. It's going to be wild. March 8, 2008 marks the day we will cease to be living in sin.

I cannot wait

2007-10-02T15:42:00.000-06:00

Quality. Television.

Comedy Central late night viewings

2007-09-29T19:58:00.000-06:00

Did they call?

My computer died, but is now back from the dead

2007-08-20T17:11:00.000-06:00

Independence Day

2007-07-04T07:26:00.000-06:00

Hello, my friends. Today is the day our country celebrates its freedom. In honor of our nation, let me enlighten you on my own tale of living the American dream.

As some of you may know, I like food. Like, really like food. And of course, ice cream is one of the finer foods that I enjoy. Ben and Jerry's in particular has always been a particularly big draw to me. It started out with Chocolate Fudge Brownie (AMAZING) and took off from there. Many a conversation has been had about the glory and the wonder of B&J's flavors. There is Black and Tan, a flavor that frightens and confuses me; and of course, Half Baked, with combinations such as Neapolitan Dynamite and Brownie Batter. Truly, B&J's has forged the landscape of ice cream. But Nation, when I first heard of Stephen Colbert's Americone Dream, I knew I had to have it. Vanilla ice cream with fudge covered waffle cone pieces and a caramel swirl. Doesn't that sound glorious?

Alas, a quick search on benjerry.com revealed that Stephen Colbert's Americone Dream is only sold at 3 grocery stores in the greater Austin/Round Rock area, with the closest one at least a half hour drive away. My dream seemed further from reach. Then, one fateful Friday night at Super Target (that's right, I spend my Friday nights at Super Target), there it was! Glowing from the frozen food aisles was my dream. And it was every bit as delicious as I'd imagined. Tastes like America. And now, Nation, I can truly say that I am living the Americone Dream.

New desk + someone else taking out my trash

2007-06-27T21:19:00.000-06:00

Somehow in the process of moving, our old FutureDesk exploded. Now, I wasn't here when this supposed "explosion" happened, but I'm assuming it's just a story Stephen made up so he won't have to admit he couldn't lift the desk. Apparently, while carrying out the glass desk top, it simply "shattered". So, last weekend we made the hike out to Round Rock to Ikea to find a new desk. We ended up getting the stainless steel desk, so now we have the ULTIMATE FutureDesk. It's so clean and futuristic, I don't even want to put anything on it.

In other news, our apartment complex just began Valet Trash Service. Meaning I no longer have to go down a flight of stairs in order for the filth of our apartment to be gone forever. Which helps when it's rained for eight days straight, with no end in sight.

Special delivery

2007-06-15T13:31:00.000-06:00

So, it's officially been two weeks since I began working at the Travis County Attorney's Office, and the experience has been going rather well. I started off hired in the Transactions division, which, from what I could tell, would have involved sitting in a small room (which contains a small fan that actually takes about a half hour to start up) with three other law clerks and researching things on Lexis. On day 2 and a half, I was whisked down to the third floor to start working with the Family Violence division. Things there have been much more interesting, in that I've mostly been watching prosecutors strike deals with defense attorneys and sitting through most of a jury trial.

Today was a particularly exciting day in Court 4. Fridays are pre-trial days, in which the prosecutors either strike deals or give defense attorneys discovery on the cases. First, not one, but two male attorneys came in wearing seersucker suits. I guess it is officially summer in Texas! Second, and less exciting even, was that a woman in the lobby of the court room went into labor while waiting to... do something. Oh, it was quite the commotion. EMS was called, the sheriffs were attending to the lady in the bathroom, and one other prosecutor was set in charge of caring for the woman's 2 year old son. That's totally part of the job description. Anyway, this kid got a sticker in the shape of a sheriff's badge (AWESOME), and from what I am told, also got a balloon, a stuffed dalmatian and a ride on the fire engine, so I think he came out on top of the whole situation.

As far as my duties go, my main job has been to watch the prosecutors and nod my head every once in a while. Sometimes I look over the files and tell them "what I think", which I am sure they value greatly. Finally, I wrote up subpoenas for a couple of days, so I actually feel like I might be contributing something.

In other news, Crazy Mexicans from Upstairs are gone. The apartment manager ran into me and Stephen outside our apartment on Wednesday, and she sang "They're goooone" with great glee. Now, it's our turn to move to the other side of the apartment complex. It'll be a hassle, but our new place has a balcony that faces a field, as opposed to the parking lot. Apparently we're not supposed to grill on our balconies, but now that our apartment will face nothingness, they'll never know of our covert grilling practices! Mwahaha.

Ay, yi, yi! We're probably moving yet again!

2007-06-04T17:06:00.000-06:00

First and foremost, thanks everyone for the support and kind words re: previous post. Don't worry, things are going better and no, Philip, I am not suicidal.

My friends, I have previously been on the side of the law that dispenses justice (albeit in very short, uneventful spurts at summer jobs, etc). But now, I come to you on the victim end. That's right, we've had a break-in! As scary as Century was, with its homeless men living in the laundry room and reading porn advertisements, at least no one attempted to break in at any point. I'll break down the scene for you, as best I can.

Friday night, around 7:30 I was hanging out in the bedroom while Stephen was in the living room watching TV. Suddenly, Crazy Loud Mexican Neighbor who lives above us unlocks our door and walks into the apartment and starts heading down the hallway towards the bedroom. At this point, Stephen, in shock and awe, gets up and makes some sort of "What the hell is going on" noise, our neighbor turns around and says "Oh, sorry man", and walks out. At this point, of course, we are pretty much freaking out, call the apartment management and first things first, got our locks changed the next morning ASAP. Throughout the course of the past few days, we've talked to the cops, who first said "Well, there's not much to be done yet, but report it anyway", and apartment management who is pretty much evicting them, and giving us a new place. You know, so they can't stalk and kill us for kicking them out. Apparently this guy is saying that his key somehow worked in our lock. No, now he's saying that the door was unlocked. Now he's telling apartment management that Stephen tried to hit his 3 year old son. Whaaaaat?

It's quite an adventure being on this side of the law, but it seems like apartment management is being pretty helpful and our new place may actually be cheaper than this one. So now all we have to do is worry about our safety for about two weeks! BONG.

Blarg

2007-05-31T11:01:00.001-06:00

So, a lot of stuff has happened lately, and I've kind of dropped off the face of the earth, with no explanation. I know I owe it to all my friends for me to actually call them like I say I'm going to, but this seems like a more efficient method. Trust me, once I build up the cajones, I will actually call all of you individually and you can each give me your wag of the finger.

I suppose the main thing to talk about is that yes, Stephen and I are not only postponing the wedding, we are no longer engaged. Blarg. There's a lot of reasons behind that, but we both essentially decided we're not ready. I suppose the more accurate description is that I'm not ready. We're still living together, and working on things, so I guess we'll see how it goes, but I think the next couple of months are going to be pretty key.

Second, I've decided to stop drinking. Through law school, I sort of kept going with the college lifestyle, which got me into all sorts of problems, and the best thing to do is to completely stop drinking. This may make future social gatherings (tailgates, etc) a little awkward, but I know I make some horribly awful decisions when I'm drunk that I invariably regret, so the best course of action is prevention. So, there you have that.

Thirdly, I am not, in fact, working for the Big Firm I was supposed to be working for this summer. The job was in San Antonio, which was fine, but once Stephen moved, I decided to commute, and then, considering the above decision, I decided it probably wouldn't be wise to go to a job every day where there are scheduled happy hours, wine tasting events, etc. Blarg. So instead, I'm working for the county attorney's office and taking summer school. Law school summer school. At least this way, I'll get some hours out of the way, but also I won't be making fat cash and instead paying the school fat cash.

So that, in general, is what has been going on in my life lately. Blarg.

Whaaat's happening

2007-05-29T17:09:00.001-06:00

Hey guys! What's... up. I realize it's been oh... a couple of months? Anyway, Stephen and I have moved. The new place is much, much better, except for our upstairs neighbors. They tend to stomp around a lot, which we recently discovered is caused by their 3-year-old child. You know, discovered since we went up to confront the man at around 11:30 at night, and the 3 year old answered the door with him. For a while, we felt bad because hey, he's got a child, but stomping around late at night has only caused our distate to grow for the family upstairs. They'd better watch out, or we'll start blasting Roger Miller through the vents straight into their apartment. Speaking of vents, we also seem to think that their vents are somehow connected to ours. I recently got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, and was met by a most unpleasant odor. After confirming with Stephen that he had not, in fact, just been in the bathroom at 4:30 in the morning, the only conclusion is that their horrifying bathroom odors are somehow seeping into our apartment. It happened every once in a while over the weekend, and hasn't happened since, so maybe they had an incontinent grandpa from The Old Country over for a while or something.

Revelation

2007-04-25T13:07:00.000-06:00

Sometime late last night, I had an idea.

Somehow, Stephen and I noticed that my alarm clock was set a half hour ahead of what it usually is. Then I remembered that we had just seen that episode of Battlestar in Season 2 where the cylons insert a virus into Galactica's computers and mess with all the programs. COINCIDENCE?

Knut fever

2007-04-06T11:57:00.000-06:00

One more week of school, one week closer to finals. Yay! I had to drive to San Antonio on Wednesday to drop off the supporting documents for our immigration case, so that was a lovely jaunt down and back. I thought I was going to get a ticket because, you see, I made the mistake of going to the court house first (apparently you're supposed to drop it off with DHS first), so I had to make an extra trip and hope I made it to the court house in time. So, as I was speeding ever so slightly back to the court house, suddenly a cop turns his lights on behind me and speeds up so he's riding my ass. I was in the left lane of the freeway, so I just sort of panicked for a second, then turned on my blinker to go in the middle lane, and he waved me out of the way and sped by. Phew. As Laurie says, there are two types of people, those who always get speeding tickets and those who never get speeding tickets. I've been lucky enough to be the latter so far.

In other news, I've decided that getting a puppy would be good, but getting a Knut would be about ten times better. Knut is just about the cutest thing ever to exist. And to think that animal rights activists actually said that the Berlin Zoo should kill Knut because his mommy ignored him! More proof that animal rights people are just insane hippies that want to slaughter polar bears. I think Stephen Colbert had something to do with that campaign.

And finally, happy easter to everyone. For some reason, it got cold in TeXas again (happy now, Rocky?) so it doesn't quite feel like it, but most likely I'll be heading to Houston to see the folks and my cousins and finish up some wedding stuff.

House hunting

2007-03-31T10:29:00.000-06:00

As you all know, shortly after Stephen's life-threatening move to Tejas, he moved in with me. He even signed the lease and everything so now it's all official-like. Now, don't get me wrong, our current apartment is just fine. But that's it - fine. It's fairly cheap considering what the normal apartment rate is in Austin, not a huge dump, and ridiculously close to the law school and Stephen's work. There are a few problems though:

#1 - I think I'm about to go all warrant of habitability on their ass. My building is only about 20 apartments or so, and it's owned and managed by one very tall old lady and her husband. They're very nice, but they're not, shall we say, efficient. My shower has been leaking for quite some time now, and the guy actually came to check it out, about, oh, 6 weeks ago. It was fixed on Thursday. Also, there has been some sort of strange funky mold growing on the ceiling of the bathroom, so if Stephen and I die of mold poisoning, feel free to sue them for me.

#2 - And this is the MAJOR problem - no pets allowed! I was okay with this at first - if you'll recall my poor kitty died about a year and a half ago, so I was cool with not getting another animal for a while. However, I've got the puppy fever. I want a dog! And alas, our building does not allow them. So we must persevere and search for a halfway decent place to live!

Apparantly, that's much harder than it seems. Any place we've looked at so far has gotten fairly crap-tastic reviews about management on apartmentratings.com or has reports about crazy drunken rich kids running throughout the halls at night. And I will be damned if I'm living in a dorm again! And if a place looks too good to be true, well, it is. We found a really nice apartment complex out by where I used to live last year, and besides the distance, there's also - surprise! We're selling off our apartments as condos. So, possibly someone will kick you out of your place. Suckaaa!

I think I might just resort to Craigslist.

SBA elections

2007-03-27T11:49:00.000-06:00

Since I am still technically in law school, I am obliged to talk a little about SBA elections, mostly because people I actually like are running.

First, I'd like to recommend everyone to vote for Brad Domangue for SBA President. He's a cool guy, did a great job in SBA this year, and I'm sure he'll do a great job as Pres.

I actually don't know any of the people running for 2L or 3L rep... I guess I'm not as much of a social butterfly as I was in undergrad. Now I just sit at home eating cake and watching Lost (Mmm, Lost!).

Second, I want to encourage all you 3Ls to vote for Kellie Starr for one of those permanent class representatives or whatever the position is. I like her. She's funny, and super involved in everything she does (which is a lot), and I'm sure she'll actually do what she's supposed to.

There, that's the end of my PSA.

I guess I'm posting once a week now?

2007-03-23T09:38:00.000-06:00

Hey guys! Yup, still here. Blog... still sucks. I'll try and work on that. But I'm not making any promises.

First of all, everyone should send some "get well soon" vibes to Philip, as he had an emergency appendectomy earlier this week. Happy St. Patty's Day, Philip! You're going to the hospital. Actually, I think he's back at home, milking the surgery for all it's worth. Well played, Phil. I did much the same last summer.

My own St. Patty's Day almost led me to the hospital as well. Not from drinking, though. I went to the rodeo with Stephen in Houston and we gorged ourselves on carnival food. Sausage on a stick (delicious, and I don't care about the jokes, I love sausage!), funnel cake, bratwurst, and even my first taste of deep fried oreos. The oreos were just okay. I think I prefer the regular funnel cake. Anyway, I'm surprised I didn't have a heart attack mid-bite. I'm sure I'll be paying for it way down the line.

Other than that, the weekend was pretty good. This week has been getting back into the school groove. I had a dinner last night with the incoming board of TRESL. I think I found the perfect journal. I don't know if it's helped at all in finding a job and all that stuff, but it is something to put on the resume with minimal effort. To give you an idea, I've been on the journal for a full year now, and just met pretty much everyone at the dinner last night. Not exactly the most social of journals, but at least we don't have mandatory library meetings like some other journals *cough* Oil and Gas *cough*.

Now, if all my non-law friends haven't passed out from boredom already, I present you with something to occupy your time. Which reminds me: I'm still on the lookout for a good bilingual DJ for the wedding. Someone who can appeal to all genres of people who will be in attendance. I want Dan and Todd to grind with my grandma - that's how crazy things are going to get! Unfortunately, it seems bands are very cost-prohibitive, but if we were going to get a band, we would probably get these guys. Texas Party Band! Stephen and I are going to check them out tonight. Oh, it's happening!

Finally, since a blog post is never quite complete without a picture, I present to you Exhibit A, What My Hair Does When It Gets Sort Of Rainy Outside, But Kind Of Just Drizzling Sometimes (As It Has Been In Austin These Past Few Days):

The break of spring

2007-03-15T22:48:00.000-06:00

Hello! It's spring break at the University of Texas. I am currently in Houston, mainly doing wedding planning (which is tough - I think I'm working more now than I usually do in school).

I've been getting some comments lately:

"Have you abandoned your blog?"

"I thought you were dead."

"Your blog sucks."

And while the last one has always been true, I am here to remind you guys that yes, I am still alive, and yes, I still plan on posting in my blog. Things that have happened since the last post:

- Stephen and I made the drive down from Indiana to Tejas. Illinois was harrowing. Arkansas is boring and awful. Living together is pretty neat, and I like it a lot, except we're going out to eat like every day. Which is not good if I plan on, you know, fitting into all the clothes I currently own.

- As you may have read in Stephen's blog, I was insanely busy with Assault and Flattery, the law school musical/play. As always, it was a fun time and many inside jokes were made. If you'd like to hear a tale about a man named Tom Foetus, trust me, I've got plenty of material.

- Spring Break, wooooo! Actually, spring break has been fairly low-key with me running all over Houston looking at wedding stuff. It is most exciting to actually start the wedding preparations and all that. I even semi started a website.

- My cousin just told us (today) that he and his wife are having a kiddo! That makes for baby #2 in my cousins.

- I started watching Battlestar Galactica on DVD. So far, I think I'm enjoying it. Although, I did watch 4 hours of The Langoliers on The Sci-Fi Channel on Sunday, so my mind may be a little warped.

- Stephen and I had a $20 margarita. It was mildly delicious. I think I'll go for the cheap one next time.

That's What She Said

2007-02-15T00:25:00.000-06:00

I'm busy, which means I'm blogging. Sort of. I don't have much to write about, except for my perpetual happy dance until Friday, when I fly to South Bend and accompany Stephen all the way back to Texas. Suck it, long distance! Never again.

Instead, I'll just point you to the blog That's What She Said, which takes situations from The Office and attaches real-life litigation costs to every stupid thing Michael does. So, if any of you ever thought of kissing your gay employee to prove you're tolerant, you probably shouldn't. Surprisingly, it doesn't work in real life.

Censorship

2007-02-12T22:56:00.000-06:00

When did "douche" become an acceptable word on prime time TV? I've been wondering for a long time too, how come when they bleep out asshole, they bleep out the hole? And the God in goddammit. I don't get it.

Wacky things

2007-02-12T16:28:00.000-06:00

Hoo boy, it has been one full day. I won't say I have a case of the Mondays, cuz you could get your ass kicked saying something like that.

Last night, I went to Blockbuster and pulled the old switcheroo - the one benefit Blockbuster has over Netflix. I also ran over an armadillo on the way there. Man, those suckers are everywhere. You'd think for an animal with an exterior shell, they'd be a little more resilient.

Then today, I had to turn in a paper and pick up an assignment from one of my professor's assistants. I stopped by his office twice, and he was never there. I should have known as soon as I saw him - he was probably outside toking up with some high schoolers. This guy looks exactly like Chong on That 70's Show. I had to wait for this guy for like 20 minutes, so when I finally got what I wanted from him, I kicked him in the nards and ran off.

Finally, I almost got run over when I was crossing the street to get home, but I stopped the car by punching it 50 feet in the air.

Movie Review #2

2007-02-11T13:51:00.000-06:00

I think I may have to upgrade to the 2-DVDs-at-a-time plan for Blockbuster Online. The closest service center is in San Antonio, and it took like 4 days for my next DVD to come. Bastards.

Anyway, DVD #2 was The Da Vinci Code. You've already been warned by Goat that it sucked, and I have to say that it was meh. Not great, but not terrible either (see, Crank). It would've been a lot better if they didn't have a ton of annoying flashbacks. Anyway, I can't really write a full, comprehensive review of it because I was finishing up my journal cite check assignment.

I actually finished my Texas Review of Entertainment and Sports Law journal assignment a full 48 hours before it's due! I'm being... productive? What's next, I'll actually finish my ADR paper today, a full 24 hours before it's due? I don't even recognize myself anymore.

Finally, I will point everyone to Philip's personal fundraising website for Barack Obama. I already donated, and I'm a poor student, so take some time and donate for everyone's favorite (or at least the most likeable) candidate!

Or if you just want to send cash directy to me, I'll take it too. For my personal expenses.

Dahlia Lithwick is kind of my hero

2007-02-07T23:53:00.000-06:00

Being the huge nerd that I am, I actually enjoy reading Dahlia Lithwick's Supreme Court updates and reports. Seeing as I originally started this blog to talk about law school, I guess I should point you to this very interesting article about the female Justices speaking out, and about women in the workplace in general.

I think I'll be Ruth Bader Ginsburg for Halloween. How do I get those glasses?

My head asplode

2007-02-07T20:25:00.000-06:00

One of the lovely things I encountered in Austin is the prevalence of cedar. Apparently, I am allergic. I've never had seasonal allergies until I got to Austin, then all of a sudden, BAM. My head kind of exploded on the inside.

So the past couple of days have had ungodly amounts of cedar in the air, and I am out of the good non-drowsy allergy medicine, which means my fallback is the drowsy, make you want to pass out kind. Weeee!

Actually, I've spent most of the past two days asleep or on the couch. I guess I'll just suck it up and live with it, but it makes for a miserable existence. If you happen to hear of massive forest fires in central Texas, it wasn't me... and it was totally Nips' idea.

Be kind, return on time

2007-02-06T00:58:00.000-06:00

Does anyone else find that little phrase totally off after the years and years of "Be kind, rewind"? I for one, always rewound my movies. I'm just a good citizen.

As part of my "Enter the 21st century" blitz, I finally joined a mail-order DVD program. I thought long and hard, weighed my options, and passed through many sleepless nights before finally settling on Blockbuster Online. Basically, the only benefit is that you can switch out DVDs in the store, which I think is pretty spiffy.

My inaugural rental is Superman Returns. Seeing as I'm the only person on the planet that hasn't seen it yet, I thought it would be fitting to rent and watch all alone in my living room. I feel ya, Superman.

Overall, I really liked it. Makes me feel like hitting up the Houston Museum of Natural Science. I remember a lot of geodes from elementary school field trips. Lois Lane is kind of a bitch, but I suppose I would be too if my man knocked me up and left for five years. Also, the whole thing looks very CGI-y. Not just the special effects, though. Like, Superman's face. No one has skin that good. And if he does, what is he using, because I need to get me some of that. Also, when did Superman become Titanic?

Next up on my list is another one of those "Movies everyone else has seen but me", The Da Vinci Code. Don't worry, I just added The Science of Sleep to my queue, so I'll be sure to get to some less mainstream fare as well. I think I'll make the Movie of the (Indetermined Amount of Time) Club reviews a regular, so check back for more wisdom.

Sartorialist rule

2007-02-05T22:23:00.000-06:00

"Suits are full of joy. They're the sartorial equivalent of a baby's smile."

Big things are happening

2007-02-05T16:08:00.000-06:00

Extreme makeover, blog edition! I needed some room to breathe. And this gives it to me. Philip is copying the re-imaging. But that is only the beginning!

Stephen got a job at UT, which is pretty much the most ideal situation we were hoping for. He gets to keep working in education, and in what seems to be a really laid-back atmosphere. They actually told him in the interview that the last guy with the job was in it for a solid two months before they realized he had done absolutely no work. They also said he doesn't have to come in all the time, as long as he gets his work done. Booyashaka.

In another brilliant twist of fate, it turns out one of my friends from law school is looking to rent out a room in his house for cheap, so it looks like he'll have a good place to live for cheap, with someone that is not in fact a serial killer. If only I could be so lucky.

I also went home this weekend to visit my family. My cousin Mario, his wife Mayra, and his mom came to visit for the weekend. Mario is moving to Houston as soon as all his papers go through, so that will be exciting to have him close by.

Finally, in my actual life, things are going well, although a little hectic. I realized this weekend my journal cite check assignment is due on Monday, and I had completely blown it off until now. Whoops. Assault and Flattery is also gearing up, which is going well, but is keeping my nights busy. Thankfully that won't be going on for too much longer. I'm also head-first into a few cases for the immigration clinic, so I've got qutie a bit going on right now.

Sorry this was not entertaining at all, but hopefully something amusing will happen soon. Maybe I'll slip and fall on a banana peel. Now that's comedy!

PS - Crank did in fact suck. But you can only feel the magnitude of the suckitude by seeing it yourself. Remember in Blues Brothers how they drove the car through the mall? There was a similar scene, only not as entertaining.

Quit doing the right thing

2007-01-31T20:42:00.000-06:00

I kind of forgot that today was Wednesday. I still have yet to get into my law school routine. Maybe a month or so more in...

So, Stephen came in this weekend. It was a lovely long weekend, with a trip to Hula Hut, Scholz's Beer Garten for beer on the law school, and below-average steak at Houston's. AND, we totally did something this weekend! Stephen had two interviews, which seemed like they went really well, followed by a trip to Barton Creek mall. That's right, suited up for the mall! We also managed to get off the couch for long enough to go to Main Event for some bowling and glow in the dark putt-putt. I don't care how old you are, it's still awesome. I haven't been bowling in a couple of years, and let me tell you - I think this hiatus is exactly what I needed. I rolled the best game of bowling of my life - a cool 111, with a couple of strikes and a few spares. So I resolve to only bowl once every two years to keep up the streak.

We also rented Crank. You know, that movie with Jason Statham where he has to keep his adrenaline up or he'll die? Let me tell you brother, it was just as awesome, if not more so than in the commercials. If you can believe it. I'm sure you don't. But you should.

In another wacky plan, I bought a plane ticket for next weekend to South Bend out of San Antonio since it was ridiculously cheaper than flying out of Austin. It's so bold, it's like a zesty chimichanga filled with spicy Doritos and covered in taco sauce. What?

Freaking sweet

2007-01-22T22:31:00.000-06:00

Today launches the first real week of the spring semester. Turns out signing up for morning office hours in the immigration clinic isn't my best idea. I am not what you might call a morning person. Also, I have no freaking clue what I'm doing, but I don't think I ruined anyone's life. Yet. On the first day of the clinic, I got four cases to work on. I'm actually going to court next Tuesday, in front of a real live judge, so chances are high that I either a) vomit or b) pee my pants. Should be a fun time!

But, on the freaking sweet side, Stephen is coming for an extra-long weekend, all the way from Thursday night until Monday mid-day. AND, he's got two interviews! Well, an interview and a "visit". Austin is all over it, baby. Let the bidding wars begin! And speaking of... something, we have a priest to officiate now, too. I guess it's about time we started one of those websites with pictures of us all over the place that makes you want to projectile vomit into your computer screen. I can't wait!

We decided that we might try actually doing something this weekend, as opposed to sitting like blobs, eating large amounts of food, and watching various television shows and movies, per usual. I'm thinking we should go to Scholz's on Friday night for some society social thing. Free beer and appetizers! Anyone else going? Come on Bradford, suit up and I'll see you there.

I've made a huge mistake

2007-01-19T01:09:00.000-06:00

Regular Thursday night. Big TV night for me. Everything's going fine (thanks to DVR I can catch The Office and Ugly Betty, and Scrubs/30 Rock and Grey's Anatomy) and I decide to watch Grey's before I go to bed. I like to watch my comedies real time and save the dramedy for later. Big mistake. HUGE mistake. I am not one to get emotional during movies or TV shows for the most part. I was the only person in my family not weeping during The Notebook. But damn if tonight's Grey's didn't have me weeping like a little boy who just lost his dog. I guess it's a good thing I don't have class tomorrow or I might be screwed for the rest of the semester. I think I'm going to go punch myself in the gut, maybe that will toughen me up.

Rehab is the new baby

2007-01-18T19:07:00.000-06:00

Well, classes finally resumed today, which means it's time for me to begin procrastinating. As many of you know, I'm kind of a gossip hound, so it's pretty Big News that Lindsay Lohan checked into rehab. Good job, Lindsay. You're 20 years old and your mom thinks she's your BFF. You're totally well-adjusted. One quote from SuperMom- "She's fine. She's amazingly fine." Yup, that's why she's in rehab!

Sadly, Lindsay Lohan is only the latest in a long line of rehab-ers - Nicole Richie (sort of? anorexia rehab?), Pete Doherty, Keith Urban. Lately, it seems like rehab is the new baby.

Last year, it was baby mania - Angelina Jolie adopting the world, Bennifer II, Matt Damon, Gwen Stefani, Madonna. In Hollywood, mommyhood is out - rehab is in. What's next - Quickie weddings? Oh wait...

First dance?

2007-01-15T21:32:00.000-06:00

So one big thing Stephen and I have been thinking about is what song we're going to do our first dance to. I personally think we ought to do this:

Thoughts?

Good news, bad news

2007-01-15T18:58:00.000-06:00

Good news: Date has been set for August 18, 2007 at Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Houston.

Bad news: I have NO grades in yet. None. But on the plus side, school will probably be cancelled due to the "inclement weather".

Engagement reactions, Lizett style

2007-01-08T17:55:00.000-06:00

Since I am at home and on vacation and nothing is happening right now, I'll give you my version of the engagement reactions:

First, may I point out that while Megan commented on both mine and Stephen's blog, he stole her comment on mine to use on his. What a bastard.

Pretty much everyone: WHAT?? Congratulations!

Joe: Tell him to pick one thing about the wedding and disagree with you about it. That way it shows that he's interested.

Yesenia: Congratulations! Of course, my chismosa mother called me last night and told me. We are not even old enough! I feel like I should go over to your house and steal your Casper tape!

Greg: What did I tell you to say if anyone ever asked you that? "I'll think about it", followed by an awkward no via e-mail 2 weeks later.

Anglee: I will say to you what Samantha told Carrie when she got engaged: If you become one of those married assholes, I will kill you.

Philip: <-- Ring bearer. THINK ABOUT IT.

Anglee, part 2: I forgot to mention that if you need a wedding planner, I am ON IT. I have much wedding knowledge. Like for example, don't use an awkward sexual song for the father-daughter dance. Because seriously, so awkward.

Dana: Yes!! There is hope for aging Domers. (WTF does that mean, Dana?)

Vnak: Prewedding pub crawl. Do it!

Good news

2007-01-02T16:46:00.000-06:00

"Good news" is the way all the falto e-mails used to begin when someone was announcing that they were engaged. I think. Anyway, good news! I'm engaged! For those of you who haven't seen it already on Facebook! Sorry, we're engaged. We. Whatever, it's all about the bling, as Stephen's mother calls it.

I apologize for the method of communication, but you see, Stephen/AniMal (as many of you may know him) insisted on making the engagement official as soon as possible, and we all know nothing is official until it's on Facebook. I promise I'll call all of you, devoted readers... eventually. Hey, maybe on your birthday!

I just got back from nearly a week in Columbus last night. The engagement itself occurred on campus at Notre Dame, through deception and trickery, but I think that's a good solid foundation for a marriage. After that, it was cold out and I was starving, so we went to Hooters. Yes, Hooters. Buffalo shrimp is probably the greatest thing ever, so lay off, okay? Besides, we went out that evening to Club LaSalle which was cool and classy and served big martini-style drinks and had an old Kenny Loggins-esque man on open mic night, or so it seems. Needless to say, the ring is pretty and shiny, and details of anything we decide on (such as a date) will be forthcoming. We're already looking for a tranny to object to our union, so if you'd like to volunteer, let us know ASAP because I'm sure that position will be highly coveted. For a recap of the events leading up to it, please see the corresponding story on Mal's blog, which I am too lazy to recount myself. I will say this, his crying was less like a little bitch and more like a schoolgirl.

Merry Christmas!

2006-12-25T23:07:00.000-06:00

I hope everyone had a good holiday. I had a pretty good one myself, with a fairly cold Christmas here in Houston. And now I leave you with this:

Feliz navidad
Feliz navidad
Feliz navidad, prospero año y felicidad

I want to wish you a Merry Christmas
I want to wish you a Merry Christmas
I want to wish you a Merry Christmas
From the bottom of my heeeeart!

Inspiring words.

P.S. - Someone buy me that Santa.

Maybe I should read the news more

2006-12-23T18:36:00.000-06:00

While browsing on CNN, I came across this story. Turns out my criminal procedure final used this exact same story, right down to everyone's names, in our final. If only I read the news, I might have been more prepared. Either way, I think I made a fairly convincing argument that we need to go in and take the bullet from that mofo's head. I never stopped using mofo.

Happy Festivus

2006-12-23T11:53:00.000-06:00

Today is officially Festivus, and I would like to wish you all a Happy Festivus. May the aluminum pole gleam down on you as you perform your Feats of Strength and provide some support during the Airing of Grievances.

Remember, today is a Festivus for the rest of us!

EDIT: Elizabeth is right in saying that the date is flexible, so I will keep the comments open to airing grievances.

Frank Costanza: Many Christmases ago, I went to buy a doll for my son. I reached for the last one they had, but so did another man. As I rained blows upon him, I realized there had to be another way.
Cosmo Kramer: What happened to the doll?
Frank Costanza: It was destroyed. But out of that a new holiday was born: a Festivus for the rest of us!
Cosmo Kramer: That must've been some kind of doll.
Frank Costanza: She was.

OfficeSpace

2006-12-22T01:36:00.000-06:00

Yes, this is a post about MySpace. Why don't I just get it over with and blog about the new stalker Facebook, Ugg boots, and crotch flashing while I'm at it? Well, I've decided I'm going to be sort of semi-diligent in posting over Christmas (except for that week that I'm at Mal/Stephen's house, where I will undoubtedly be eating lots of cookies and fawning over babies).

The point of this post is not to talk about MySpace. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of it (I kind of like facebook better -- ah, dammit, I'm doing it! Okay fine. Facebook is creepy, Ugg boots make baby Jesus cry, and Britney Spears just killed her comeback. There, I got it out of my system.), and most of my "friends" on there, I haven't spoken to in years. Except I do get Laurie updates from Korea via MySpace, so I guess that's a plus. And, I sort of have a new obsession.

I was reading Dwight's blog on the NBC website a while ago, and I found a link to his myspace page. Which has been shut down, but then from there, I found that he had a whole bunch of people from the cast of The Office on his top friends. So, I now have friended Jenna Fischer (Pam), BJ Novak (Ryan), Angela, Creed, Kevin, Roy, Bob Vance, and Meredith. And I've gotta admit, some of their blogs are really freaking hilarious. Kevin has got to be the most underused resource on the show. And Pam/Jenna has some good holiday gift ideas on her blog. She actually updates while behind her desk on the show. So now, I am stalking half the cast of The Office. I even made extra room on my top friends so I could include them. Yes, my life is pathetic. I'm telling you, finals procrastination does this to you! And I've still got three more rounds of finals to go (plus that one big test you have to pass to be a lawyer... yeah, the bar). Even though finals time has passed and most of you are at home eating cookies and such, if you're ever bored, check out some of The Office of myspace. I won't tell.

I've got some time on my hands

2006-12-20T16:39:00.000-06:00

This is great. I've done literally nothing all day. I am always a big fan of Chuck Norris/Bill Brasky humor, and here is my latest acquisition.

Jeff Kent is a hero, a king among men. Each and every morning, after he's done chopping down mighty oak trees, he devours a breakfast of pizza, buffalo wings, smores, and a single banana. Jeff Kent negotiates world peace between games of doubleheaders. He has the moustache of a Greek god. Derek Lowe is Jeff Kent's son.

Sweet, sweet relief

2006-12-20T14:08:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was my last final. Hooray! To celebrate, some of the old 4D crew went to Trudy's, where we met up with Vivek, the traitor. I call him that because he transferred to Stanford. Seriously, Stanford? He did say our Halloween party is way better than theirs, so I take that as proof that Texas is a superior law school. I also continued celebrating today by sleeping until noon. Delicious, uninterrupted sleep. Since you haven't heard of any vicious murders in the news, it's safe to say that my neighbors have behaved since Saturday. I think they may be gone.

I am officially half way done with law school! The hardest part is over... or so I hear. So now, I have practically a month until I have to think at all again. If anyone has movies or book recommendations, I'm going to have a lot of free time on my hands.

Happy holidays

2006-12-18T13:24:00.000-06:00

Stumped about what to get me for Christmas? Well, here is one thing I don't want. I haven't really watched SNL in a long time, but I'm beginning to think I should. Proof that Andy Samberg is carrying the show... along with JT.

Is Wayne Brady gonna hafta choke a bitch?

2006-12-17T15:35:00.000-06:00

I consider myself a pretty good neighbor. I don't leave trash outside my door (unlike some people in my apartment complex), don't make noise, yadda yadda yadda. And I can pretty much deal with other people that do. Last year I had a neighbor who cooked curry almost every night, and the smell seeped its way into my apartment nearly every night. There was nothing I could do about it. The curry smell was too powerful for my meager "Oust" sprays and Yankee candles. But, I didn't complain, because I'm not big into confrontation, and I pretty much don't care.

But lately, things are starting to push me over the edge.

Not the people in my complex - my complex is fine, even though the walls/ceilings are so thin, when the person who lives above me gets up to pee in the middle of the night, it sounds like he's peeing into the bowl directly above my head. No, the problem I am having is with the people who live in this pseudo house-apartment right next door to me. They've had a couple of parties during the semester - fine, whatever, we live near a college campus, so that's expected. But don't start to mess with my sleep during finals. Monday night they had a gathering. Thursday night they had some sort of party/singalong on their porch (which is directly across from my door), and I didn't complain even though I had an 8:30 final the next day. But last night - last night, they had an all-out fiesta with music and loud debauchery until 4am. 4AM. I don't get angry about many things, but if you mess with my sleep, especially during finals, you will feel the consequences. And now, as I'm trying to study the Model Rules of Professional Responsibility, they're having another hippie-campfire singalong. Sure, maybe the undergrads are done with finals, but this is law school. I hate you, and if you have another party, I will call the cops on you. Yes, I realize this makes me officially old. Grab me a can of Ensure, I need my sleep.

Looking toward the future

2006-12-13T16:58:00.000-06:00

One down...

2006-12-13T13:41:00.000-06:00

So, I had my first final yesterday. It was a little more time-pressured than I expected, but I think I did okay. I aim for the middle of the curve, so I think I'll fit in quite nicely there with how I did. Of course, as we all know, grades are pretty much completely random and arbitrary, so I guess it'll just be a mystery until February or so. Overall, I really liked Dix's class. He doesn't call on anyone, which seems like a good thing, but then it just turns into Dix having a conversation with himself. It can be fairly entertaining though, when he peppers his conversation with the phrases "chicken shit" and "dumbass".

So, how did I prepare for this final? By having my boyfriend come into town, of course. I actually did get a little studying done while we enjoyed season 3 of Arrested Development. I'm a multi-tasker. We also made a trip to the Home Depot, which is just as exciting as it sounds (very). There we found a new smoke alarm for my apartment, as I have been living without one for the past four months. I live in a great place, right? That's got to be an argument for warrant of habitability. Anyway, we also got cables to hook up my DVD player to my brand new HDTV. That's right, ladies and gentlemen, I am slowly but surely moving into the 21st century. I love my new TV, mainly because it's big and shiny, but I will probably love it more once I get an HD antenna, after which all non-HDTV will be ruined forever. My old TV is now sitting in the corner of my room, along with my original Nintendo, as there is no room for it with my new TV. Out with the old, and in with the new.

Also, I apologize for the crappiness of the pictures. My camera is old and eats batteries like a leech, and I was too lazy to put in new ones so the flash would work. Deal with it.

BAM

2006-12-07T00:48:00.000-06:00

As a method of procrastination, I have for you: pictures of my... second cousin? My cousin's baby. Sophia. Unfortunately, there's only a few, but any more might make your head explode.

I think I was about to fall asleep, so I tried to look awake as possible. If you notice, she is wearing baby Uggs.

She was more awake than me.

And finally, dressed up for the wedding. Cuteness.

I think I can see the light

2006-12-06T16:40:00.000-06:00

Today was my last day of professional responsibility. I love DZ. Even though he rambles and is kind of all over the place in his lectures, he's a really nice guy and does try to explain things as clearly as possible. Plus, he sponsored our National Intramural Co-Ed Law School Softball Champions of the World team. I felt okay giving him the obligatory round of applause at the end of class today. He's earned it.

I'm currently in my 3-hour class. Through a fortuitous planning by the University, we're having Monday classes twice this week. Which means double 3-hour class this week. I don't know if you've noticed, but I sort of despise this class. I've made a vow never to sign up for any class, no matter how great it souds if it is 3 hours long. I was really looking forward to this beforehand, what a letdown. All I know is that I really don't want to clap at the end of today. But, I probably will, just like that guy who doesn't really want to get up during a standing ovation. Part of the ritual, I suppose.

In a move that is either genius or complete and total insanity, Mal is coming this weekend. On the plus side, I can get in my cramming this week and just relax before finals. On the bad side... I won't be getting a whole ton of studying done this weekend. I was thinking about it, and this semester is in sharp contrast to last year, first semester. Last year I had a study group that met once a week all year, and stepped it up to 3-4 times a week in the last month of class. We started doing practice exams a month before, shared answers, reserved rooms in the library, looked up different study aids and outlines. Now, I can't really be bothered. Study groups don't really exist second year. I've gotten some outlines, so I guess that's a step up. I didn't do much of any of that stuff last semeter, and my grades pretty much came out the same. Which proves the widely held theory that grades are basically arbitrary, and nothing you do will really make a huge difference. First year, they scare you to death, second year they work you to death... Let's try and avoid that. Strive for mediocrity! Only two more weeks to go!

Back In Action

2006-12-04T17:45:00.000-06:00

I didn't get any sleep this weekend. The wedding was good, and the reception went to 3:30 in the morning. I'm still tired. Pictures to come soon, but I am actually in class right now (amazing, I know, my first actual illicit in-class post. I feel dirty).

A few things of note:
- Mal's brother Eric just had a new baby boy and he's really freaking adorable.
- I managed to catch most of the USC - UCLA game this weekend. Tee hee hee. It makes my giblets tingle to think of USC losing.
- Is anyone going to the Sugar Bowl? It would be a stretch, but it would be possible for me to drive to New Orleans just in time.
- Please, Lord, make the bad man stop. International Commercial Arbitration turned out to be not the most scintillating thing ever. Who would've thought?

La peor idea en mi vida

2006-12-01T00:00:00.000-06:00

This is my farewell post. Farewell for the weekend, that is. I know what you're thinking. "Lizett, you've gone weeks on end without posting, why are you announcing that you're going to be gone for three days?" Shut up, that's why.

My cousin Mario is getting married to his fiance, Mayra, this weekend.

Here they are at my other cousin's wedding in March. My family looks gooood!

Anyway that means I'll be off in Mexico-land this weekend, and NOT here studying for my exams coming up in 12 DAYS. Why couldn't they make their schedule a little more convenient for me?

I will update with photos of the nuptials when I come back, because if there is one thing I need to do after not studying all weekend, that is procrastinate by updating my blog.

Swarley!

2006-11-28T22:37:00.000-06:00

Am I blatantly stealing this, with only slight modifications? ...Yes.

Dear Readers,

I have an important announcement to make: I'm changing my name to Swarley. I chose this legendary name because it's awe--wait for it--some.

S is for suits. Suit up!
W is for What Would Swarley Do?
A is for "Awesome," which is what my best friends Swarley 4WD and Swarley the future dog are.
R is what a pirate says. Happy, everybody in the world?
L is for "L Swarley," my Mexican counterpart. (I know I'm Mexican, but just go with it.)
E is for "Everybody call me Swarley from now on because that is my name."
Y is for "Y not check out SWARLEY.COM"

Swarley out!

Get ready

2006-11-28T20:07:00.000-06:00

I just realized that despite my sidebar, I never actually post in class. Usually it's because it's extremely difficult to come up with anything remotely interesting or creative in class. Not that a lack of a creative idea has ever stopped me from actually posting, but class is usually taken up by IMing and pretending to listen and/or take notes. Some of my colleagues can actually do it, and I applaud them. Meanwhile, I'm sticking to blogging as a method of procrastination when I should be studying.

Tonight, we had a reading of the Assault and Flattery show for this year. I just have to tell everyone that it's going to be pee-your-pants funny. I'll be stage managing, so you don't get to see me humiliate myself. I know, it's a shame, but you should go see the show anyway.

Question

2006-11-27T18:41:00.000-06:00

I just got my ticket application to the possible bowl games today. I doubt I'll be going, seeing as I have plans to be in Columbus until the 1st, but if you want me to put my application in for you, holla at ya girl.

Finally updating -- OR -- I'm sorry I judged you, Daniel Craig

2006-11-27T11:31:00.000-06:00

Hi! It's been a while, hasn't it? Yeah, I know. Things have been pretty crazy around here lately. Well, by crazy, I mean, there's been a lot of TV to watch.

So what's been happening?

First, I went to South Bend two weeks ago on a whim. It was a lovely weekend, including a visit from Mal's brother Dan. We went to the last tailgate of the year, I accidentally fell asleep for about two hours in the middle of the Ohio State - Michigan game, and we went to go see the new James Bond movie. Which was fantabulous. I'm sorry I judged you, Daniel Craig. You are clearly the sweetest Bond ever. I look forward to many more installments of your badassery.

So, after that, it was about a half week of realizing that I actually need to sstart studying for finals, so there was some of that. I drove back to Houston on Wednesday, did a low-key Thanksgiving with the fam on Thursday. Friday I actually braved the mobs and went to the mall with my mom, AND I managed not to get shot! And then... well, you all know what happened on Saturday. If I hear another commentator say "John David Booty", I'll strangle them. Why does everyone use his middle name? No one else uses their middle name, why are you so special?

Say hello to Mal's new wheels, Swarley. I am a huge fan of the car, but I think I like the name even more. I'll get to meet her after Christmas, as I'll be spending New Year's in Columbus. Should be crazy times with two babies, one of them brand new.

Things are gearing up, finals-wise. Most other schools start about a week earlier than UT, so Philip is starting to go through the crazy 1L freak-out phase. You know things are going bad when I got the following IM conversation:

Philip: http://www.rathergood.com/independent_woman/
Philip: WHY AM I LAUGHING?

To be honest, I'd been studying a bit that night, and even I found it funny.

Finally, this weekend is my cousin's wedding in Monterrey. So, that will be one more unproductive weekend. Looks like I'll actually have to start studying after class.

In keeping with all things wacky

2006-11-16T13:44:00.000-06:00

I actually didn't watch a single episode of Dancing With The Stars this year, despite the fact that both Joey Lawrence and A.C. Slater were on the show. I watched the last two seasons, but for some reason, I just wasn't drawn in this year. Anyway, because I recently read somewhere that a blog without pictures is not any fun, I decided to present to you last night's loser of DWTS, with a little PITNB twist. If you know what I'm talking about, I applaud you.

Things of note

2006-11-16T00:14:00.000-06:00

I've been hearing more complaining, or "bitching" about me updating my blog. Calling me a slacker isn't going to help - I know I'm a slacker.

Today, there were 30 mph winds gusting through Austin. I actually almost fell over on the way to class.

My bathroom was out of order for about a period of 18 hours. Thankfully, I literally live right across the street from the law school and maaaaybe went there to use the bathroom. Like a hobo.

In a crazy frenzy of wacky spontaneity, I am going to South Bend this weekend. Holy crap.

Knifewrench: For kids

2006-11-09T00:42:00.000-06:00

I told myself this weekend that I would sit down and be a Good Law Student this week. So far, the plan has failed miserably, even though Kat explicitly invited me to the library to study. I decided to go see The Prestige instead. I figured if I didn't see it this week, I would never see it. It was suspensful and satisfying. There's a lot of movies coming out soon I would like to see, but I think I'm going to have to wait until the holiday season for a movie-going extravaganza.

And while typing the tag to this post, I realized this is the first post with the tag "school". Oh my.

Updates on demand

2006-11-07T17:17:00.000-06:00

Some people have been complaining/bitching about me not updating. All I'm saying is if you don't comment, you can't complain. I run on affection.

Just a few things to update, most of which aren't relevant to me. This weekend I went to Notre Dame for my last home game visit of the year. I flew into Chicago, and Mal came all the way to O'Hare to pick me up. Awwwww. I wish I had some exciting, wacky stories from the weekend, but it was a lot of lounging and some unpleasant weather during the game. A victory is another victory. A lot of people were in town, but alas, my path did not cross with a lot of them. Some things to come out of this weekend: A delicious meal at Parisi's thanks to Andy's family, and a whole new Mothball catchphrase of "Ahh! My knees!" Yeah, I don't know where that came from either.

Back in Austin, today is election day. I voted a couple of weeks ago, so hopefully that will make a bit of a difference in today's outcomes. I'm going to be that annoying person and urge all of you to vote vote vote! I'm even wearing my Uncle Sam t-shirt today.

I am fairly convinced that Borat is already on that road to over-use. Prime example: Two attorneys substitute-taught my international commercial arbitration class. In eeeeevery single example of a bilateral investment treaty between two countries, one of the lawyers used Kazahkstan and the US. And so it begins.

And finally, in a glorious moment of live television, I present to you the Country Music Awards. Now, I am not a country music fan, but you must trust me, for I speak-a Spanish... this is a classic clip. Look at Faith Hill's reaction to Carrie Underwood winning... whatever that category was. Priceless!

McShepherd

2006-10-30T22:01:00.000-06:00

I've been watching a lot of Lost lately. One of the many lovely things I received for my birthday from Mal was Season 2. I just saw season 1 right before school started, and then I started watching season 3 when it started, so I'm a little all over the place. Anyway, multiple episodes of Lost, along with my love of Grey's Anatomy, has made me realize - both hotties on each show are called Dr. Shepherd. And they're both surgeons - Derek is a brain surgeon and Jack is a spinal surgeon. I don't think this a coincidence. Derek = McDreamy. So what should Jack be? Mc...Rugged? Although we all know the real rugged man-beast on Lost is Sawyer. Plus, the nicknames usually end with a Y. So who is your pick? Dr. McDreamy? Or Dr. Jack Shepherd?

Blatantly stolen

2006-10-26T23:08:00.000-06:00

I'm not much of a 24 fan, but it works just as well if you exchange "Chuck Norris" for "Jack Bauer". And yes, Chuck Norris jokes are still funny.

It is impossible to sue Jack Bauer for battery because whatever force he uses is always reasonable. Jack Bauer can recite ERISA from memory, word for word, but he never does it because ERISA is so boring. Congress once considered amending the Federal Rules of Evidence to make anything offered by Jack Bauer automatically admissible. Jack Bauer invented the common law. Jack Bauer does not need consideration to enforce his contracts. When the law of negligence first developed, liability turned on what Jack Bauer would do. The standard for conduct was later lowered to the “ordinary and reasonably prudent man.” Jack Bauer used to own Blackacre, but burnt it down for the insurance. Originally, the idea of separation of powers was a reference to the fact that Jack Bauer has two different fists. Jack Bauer has unlimited peremptory strikes, which he exercises by melting prospective jurors with his mind. Justice is blind because Jack Bauer roundhouse-kicked her in the face.

Better than a hard kick in the face

2006-10-25T16:45:00.000-06:00

I forgot about some important things in my last post. First and foremost, the crazy cracked-out guy at the bar we went to Saturday night. We ended up going to this place called Bronx Bar, which was a bar, but I think it was trying to be a club. It was a pretty small bar, everyone was just standing around, trying to talk, but there was a DJ in the corner and he kept playing club mixes of the pop-iest songs around (SexyBack, London Bridge, etc.). So we get there, get our drinks, suddenly my brother tells me to watch my back. This big guy with his shirt open was break dancing on the floor and apparently I was almost stepping on his head. Then he got up and grabbed this blonde girl behind him, picked her up, and started swinging her around and around. She nearly clocked some guy in the head. I'm pretty sure he was on some sort of ecstacy/heroin high.

Also, I'm currently in a blog feud with Mothball. You'll never win!

Yes, I'm awesome

2006-10-24T19:58:00.000-06:00

If you'll go over to Mal's website, you will see that my icon in the comments section is now Ollie the weatherman. I think that pretty much sums up my personality, right?

So, yesterday was my birthday. Thanks to all of you who left me a message on Facebook - maybe someday I'll get around to writing on your wall. Who am I kidding, I've got nothing better to do, I'll probably do it within a few days. But then again, I am lazy.

So, this weekend was pretty good. Mal came in on Friday night, and we went through the ghetto part of Austin to get to my apartment. He said, "What crazy route are you taking me? ... oh yeah, you moved." Genius.

Saturday we drove to Houston, Mal had his first taste of Whataburger, which was very well received, and we got into Houston right when the Irish were kicking off. The game was... oh my God. We nearly lost. Weeeeeep. I mean, thank God we won.

My dad grilled fajitas and then Mal, Jaime and Ana and I all went out to the Rice Village. Despite living in Houston all my life, I'd never been out to the Rice Village. It was a nice little collection of bars, but it didn't really compare to 6th Street. What does, really, other than Mardi Gras?

Sunday, we drove back to Austin. I won some tickets to a Lone Star Riverboat cruise at the TLF auction, so I decided to go ahead and go to a night bat watch. I know Mal has gone on and on about the bats, but you must trust me, for I speak-a Spanish: the bats coming out of the bridge. Was. AWESOME. You haven't truly lived until you've seen a colony of about 1.5 million bats drop from a bridge and fly off like a cloud of smoke. I really should actually explore the city more. And bring a camera. To top off the day before my birthday, we went to dinner at Hooters - I think buffalo anything is quickly becoming my favorite meal. Mal and I then bought a sampling of tasty beers from around the world and enjoyed them with cookies delivered to my door. BONG.

Your wake-up call

2006-10-19T09:58:00.000-06:00

Now that I live alone, I'm a little more paranoid about my safety. Not like the presence of another girl under 5'2" is going to help if someone actually tried to break in, but it's always a little more comforting when there's someone else in the apartment. So you can imagine my surprise when I heard some loud knocking at my door at 8:30 this morning. I checked the peephole, and it looked like a FedEx guy. I opened the door, and he asked me to sign his little computer, and handed over a package. From NBC Universal? Innnnteresting. I opened it up, only to find that it was from my good friend, Anglee, and contained the following:

It's finally here

2006-10-18T15:20:00.000-06:00

Tonight, my friends, is the Project Runway season finale! It's been an exciting season, and let me tell you, I think Tim Gunn is probably the greatest part of it now. Pretty much every time he saw one of Kayne's designs, he yelled out "Oh, Jesus!" Ahh, classic Tim.

I finally got my car windshield repaired today. The Phantom has taken some beatings lately. First, it got rear-ended coming out of a Target, then it had a few dents on the doors from idiots who park too close. Who wouldn't want to be close to true beauty, I know, but they could at least watch how they open the doors to their POS's. Finally, on my last trip to Houston, I got a rock right to driver's side of the windshield. So now my car is totally officially tainted. Oh well, it was good while it lasted.

Last Thursday, I went to the TLF auction, and actually ended up winning some stuff in the silent auction, including: An autographed copy of the book "The Warren Court" (yes, I'm a huge nerd), two tickets to a riverboat tour on Town Lake, and 8 yoga classes. I didn't really think I was going to win anything, but I guess there weren't that many people there this year. If anything, the yoga should be a way to finally get me to get off my ass and do something other than bowing in front of my DVR all afternoon.

I'm finally caught up with the rest of the country

2006-10-17T14:26:00.000-06:00

Last night I decided to go see Talladega Nights at the last minute. There were about ten people in the theater, which was about 7 more than I expected. I liked it and laughed significantly, but I don't know if it will survive multiple viewings like Anchorman. And here it is, post #2 of the week. Maybe one of these days I'll talk about law school again.

My week, aka, I'm sorry I'm not posting more

2006-10-16T14:32:00.000-06:00

I really have no excuse for not posting. It was a fairly interesting week. I'll try to keep up more often, mostly out of guilt from getting frustrated that other people's blogs aren't updated more. I guess I can't complain if I don't update my own, so I'm trying to do more about that.

The beginning of the week was fairly uneventful. Highlights of the end/weekend include:

- A Michael Jackson singalong at The Alamo Draft House. It was insane. There were at least three people dressed in various stages of MJ - one "Smooth Criminal" MJ, one "Billie Jean" MJ, and one psycho red drum major, one gloved MJ. They showed the full versions of all the great MJ videos, including the controversial Black Or White video (which has plenty of gratuitous slow-motion crotch grabs). It was a fun time, but I don't know if I'll be back to one of those anytime soon. Although, I hear they're doing something with Saved By the Bell in November, so I will probably have to check that one out.

- Saturday, Texas v. Baylor. There was no ND game this weekend, unfortunatley, but I made it to the game this weekend at UT. It was a pretty exciting first half, Baylor put up a good fight.

- Pretty much everyone else has commented on the ghetto party, so I won't. Especially since there may be some incriminating photos of me in undergrad floating around. I'm taking the CHLSA stance and keeping my mouth shut.

- I think I've realized the source of my lack of blogging. This year I decided to upgrade my cable to get a DVR, and brother, it has changed my life. I think my relationship with my TV may be bordering on unhealthy.

- Does anybody know where/when Ex Parte is going to be? Just curious.

- Friday, Mal comes into town and we're heading to Houston for my version of Meet the Parents. I guess it would be Meet the Fockers, which wasn't nearly as good as the original. That's probably how this one is going to turn out too, if only because it's only an overnight stay and instead of going to a beach house, we're going to my parent's house. At any rate, it should be a good weekend.

Yeah, so those last few aren't highlights at all. I resolve to post at least twice more before Friday. You can hold me to that one.

Weekend Wrapup: Alumni Band Reunion Edition

2006-10-09T23:31:00.000-06:00

'Twas a wonderful weekend for sure. Thursday included two delayed flights to South Bend, getting me in around 9:30 pm. Seeing as I hadn't eaten since noon central time, we tried to go to BK near Corby's only to see that... the restaurant area was open, but the cashiers were closed. I'm sorry, you can't get food unless you go through the drive-though. What? So instead we went to Pizza Bell and got a personal pizza. I was really hungry, but Mal ate the entire thing. So I had to go to Corby's on an empty stomach. I think it was his plan to get me drunk that night.

We did indeed hit up Corby's for the second time in one night (for him). Jism and LB were there, along with Rocky, Ball, and Jan's friend MaryCille. We made it home sometime... somehow. All I know is we slept until 1, which was way ahead of our 4pm prediction. We hit up some Chili's, some Legends action to meet everyone in the world, followed by practice and dinner... somewhere. Then back to Corby's! As you can see, the details of this weekend are crystal clear.

We planned on getting up early for tailgating, but somehow slept until later than usual. The tailgate was rather excellent, with pretty much everyone ever in attendance. Vnak showed off his new bling (but no babies). The game was smack-downtastic. I have a terrible face sunburn/tan that redefines raccoon eyes. Damon's is tasty. I'm bored with myself already. Sorry, people.

My TV's sound is fuzzy. I'm worried it may be on the way out.

It is time

2006-10-04T22:48:00.000-06:00

Well, my friends, tomorrow I depart to The Bend to see Stephen! I mean, Mal. Or something. Oh, and there's also some sort of band reunion going on. Not only will pretty much everyone I know be in attendance, it will also be a time to see extremely old men attempt to march and not give a damn what the new version of the fight song is, he's playing his version!

You crazy kids and your K-Dub version!

So, it should be an exciting weekend filled with fashion, fun, and frivolity. Elizabeth and I will discuss khaki on khaki and when that is appropriate, along with appropriate interview-wear. Nips will surely have some drunken tomfoolery of the likes we never saw in undergrad. Other shiznittery will occur. CJ's will be consumed. But most importantly, I'm going to spend some time with my boyfriend and go see another solid football game. That's right Austin people: I do in fact hate you.

What??

2006-10-01T16:30:00.000-06:00

I waited a full week to see if anyone had anything to say on the subject of zombies. I guess they don't.

My brother sent me this awesome meltdown by an MSU radio announcer. So what if I'm a week late.

I went to Wal-Mart today, which reminded me how much I hate people.

I guess there isn't much more to say except, I'll see all of you in the Bend this weekend.

Sometimes I forget I'm supposed to be talking about law school. So I'll try and give you a bit of an update of what's been going on. OCI is finally over, and I'm still waiting on the vast majority of places to hear if I get a callback or an outright rejection. I have my first callback interview tomorrow in San Antonio, and really, I don't know what to expect. I have nothing to tell these people that they don't know from my resume or my first interview. And I'm supposed to talk to various people for two hours? What am I going to be doing? At the very least, they're taking me to lunch afterward, which should be nice, but not nearly as awesome as attempting to drive back to get to class on time. It's going to be time to see what The Phantom can do on the open road!

I'm confused

2006-09-25T20:58:00.000-06:00

I can't tell if John Mayer is some sort of comedic genius. Before, I was just slightly annoyed by him. But after reading the following blog entry, I may have gotten him all wrong. He does have some good stuff to say about zombies.

I WAS THINKING ABOUT ZOMBIES

Are you frightened and exhilarated by the thought of the living dead, but you just don't know where to get your fix?

You should look into zombies. They're former human beings whom, at one point, walked the earth wearing flannel shirts and jeans, but as zombies they eat people's brains and love the mall. I hear they run slow, so unless your legs are pinned under a chandelier or you're just in shock, you should be able to get away okay without too much trouble. One time, they were conducting experiments on chimpanzees and the chimpanzees were infected with some crazy virus and then the chimpanzees got out and started biting people. This started the zombies. This was only in one movie, so I can't say it's all the time. What does seem to be all the time is that zombies love to eat people's flesh. You see, they're deteriorating, so they need all the fresh flesh they can get.

Here's what they do: they don't really rest or anything. All they do is wander around with their arms out and they walk all slow, and they seem to be completely unfazed by even the most jarring incidents, but once they see humans, man, lookout. They get real determined. Because, like I said before, they love flesh.

The thing too is, you can sometimes trick zombies into thinking that you're one of them. If you walk through a whole pack of zombies, and you're all like "bbbuuuurrrrgggghhhhh", like they are, there's a chance they won't notice you're even there. But as soon as you start talking, or showing basic cognitive reason, zombies are all over you.

I guess what I'm saying, is, zombies are dead and they don't have long before they deteriorate, so unless there's a whole lot of them, if you're being pursued by only a couple of zombies, you should be okay. I would say you should hide out somewhere a zombie can't get to, and, at the rate of mixing myths, you might want to cover your entire body in a thick layer of river mud like that time in Predator. It couldn't hurt. You should just wait it all out until the zombies deteriorate and can no longer move. The difficult thing is, zombies don't all become zombies at the same time, so maybe you should just pack a zombie emergency kit for your home and office.

POSTED BY JOHN MAYER AT 02:53 AM FROM PORTLAND, OR

AAAAH

2006-09-24T01:39:00.000-06:00

So, I am incredibly tired and should be going to bed right now, but I figured I should write this down before the motivation escapes me.

I don't know if any of you know this, but my mother is a bit of a prankster. Sure, if you know her, you probably know her as that nice lady that looks just like Lizett and shoves delicious Mexican food down your throat until you explode. But there is a much more sinister side to her. Now that we have an unlimited phone plan to Mexico, she frequently prank calls my grandmother, pretending to be all sorts of various characters (someone from the bank, a Japanese client of my cousin's, etc.).

So, I came home to Houston today to see the fam as I haven't visited them since law school started. Everything's cool, I have lunch, yadda yadda yadda. So after we eat, I pick up my backpack and go upstairs to drop my stuff off in my bedroom. The door to my bedroom is open, and just inside, I see a large cockroach by my desk. I immediately freeze and call to my brother downstairs "uhhh, there's a roach in my bedroom." He asks, "Is it moving?"

As it turns out, my mother had the genius idea of purchasing (yes, spending actual, real money!) plastic cockroaches and had strategically placed them in my room for maximum freak-outage. She was kind of dissapointed in my brother for tipping me off, but I am eternally grateful. Besides the one by my desk, there was another right next to my bed. So I pick up the plastic cockroaches, put them on my desk and forget about them. Until about five minutes ago, when I pulled back my bedspread and nearly yelled out loud because, you guessed it, there were two cockroaches strategically placed underneath.

Current location of roaches: one outside their bedroom door, one on the kitchen counter. They wake up before me, so I'm hoping for some element of surprise.

Oy

2006-09-22T20:37:00.000-06:00

That's in honor of Rosh Hashana. I don't get any days off, but hey, we got Contracts off last year.

So, to kick off an exciting Friday, I spent four hours in the Texas Review of Entertainment and Sports Law office this afternoon. Let me tell you, I was getting pretty pissed at whoever the hell wrote this article I had to cite check. Do you know English? Ever heard of the Blue Book? Yikes. Anyway... all part of the fun and games of second year. I can at least be thankful TRESL doesn't have any writing requirements, but cite checking for four hours can really numb your mind.

So what did I do afterwards? You guessed it: pancakes.

I may be getting a little ahead of myself

2006-09-20T14:51:00.000-06:00

I had an interview today with the Travis County Attorney's Office. It actually went really well and it seems like it would be interesting work. The guy practically offered me the job on the spot. The only problem? It's part-time work starting... oh, about now-ish. It seems like a pretty sweet deal - vacation and sick days, health care (yes, even for part-time), plus getting paid on a regular basis. I just don't think I could handle it all. He said they usually ask for 20 hours a week (or as close as possible - this is a government job and I know what they're about). That would mean working Mondays before class, and Tuesday-Friday after class. And then coming home and studying. While it all seems like a pretty sweet deal, I rather enjoy being a student and finishing my day at 1:30, even if it does mean I'm studying later that evening until the wee hours of the morning. At least then I get a choice of when to do my work, and I can watch Dr. Phil if I damn well please (that is, I will be able to as soon as the cable guy gets here... if that ever happens). I think all in all, I'll have to say no to what would otherwise be a great job opportunity.

In other news... you can totally spot who the 1Ls are. They travel in packs. And they still have that glint in their eyes... what is that, hope? Optimism? I never thought I'd say this, but to be a 1L again...

I may have to start following Mal's food lead

2006-09-18T17:30:00.000-06:00

Apparently, spinach has been spreading e.coli around the country. And here I just bought a bag of 50/50 Romaine and Spinach mix! That's it, nothing but meat and fried foods for me from now on. Because eating green can kill you.

New things are afoot

2006-09-15T23:53:00.000-06:00

Well, my friends, it's official. I thought I could hide under the radar from the UT blawggers, but now I'm linked at Hawk McGee, Ex.Coll.Blog, and Amicus Curiae, which is arguably the #1 UT Blawg now that Wings&Vodka is off the air. Weep. I cry just a little at the thought that there is no more W&V wit out there.

Last night, I had two receptions to go to. The first was for a certain BigLaw national firm at the very posh Shoreline Bar & Grill. The people were nice, but God, for such a nice restaurant, could they please turn on the a/c? Thankssss.

The second was for a San Antonio law firm at Stubb's Barbecue. That was pretty chill and fun, and it was pretty crowded outside because Thievery Corporation was playing later that night. Too bad I didn't stick around, because GyllenStrong was there for the show! I loves me some Jake Gyllenhal. I guess it's best that I sold my ACL tickets though, because as much as I'd like to think that I would run into Jake and Lance at ACL, I doubt that would actually happen. And now I get my money back and finally actually unpacked my apartment. I live here now, I'm not just moving in!

To do tomorrow: Go to the Austin Alumni Club game watch and see ND poop on Michigan, or catch up on Federal Income Tax?

I think we all know the answer to that.

Fun with Pills

2006-09-13T22:09:00.000-06:00

So my Houston doctor won't refill my allergy prescription, so I guess that means I need to find a new doctor. And I get to deal with my allergies with medicine that they should really sell on the black market since it appears to have no positive medicinal effects whatsoever and merely fucks. you. up.

So I guess after my hiatus from law school, I can honestly say I don't think I missed much. It's the beginning of the semester, so the profs are all taking it slow. I think the only class I'm really hurting in is tax, but only because I realized after you learn your whole new fun law school vocabulary, you also get to learn a fun new tax vocabulary. Yay!

As many of you can tell by seeing your suited classmates in the hallways, it's interview season at UT. I have had one so far, and I guess it went okay. The guy was an OSU fan, so he didn't really appreciate the fact that I went to Notre Dame (although the fact that I went to UT Law didn't bother him that much considering this Saturday's game). Not only do I hate having to prepare for interviews while also preparing for class (and sometimes missing class for said interviews), I really really hate wearing a suit to class. I feel like such a tool. And really that's only going to happen a couple of times, so the other days when I'm wearing jeans and a t-shirt and everyone else around me is wearing suits, I die a little inside. But only a little. I'm not supposed to let on that I'm actually "competitive" or "care".

Texas: Take a hint from Stanford. Give us vacation during interviews! Trust me, you'll be happy you did.

Finally, since I don't have any pictures from this actual vacation I took, and I've been in a picture-posting mood, here is a pic from this summer of me and Mal at some really crappy Mexican place in San Antonio (I know, you thought they didn't exist!)

Let me assure you, do not eat at Canyon Cafe or whatever the hell it's called in the Quarry. Their tortilla chips are barbecue-flavored. I guess the entree was okay, but with terrible chips and salsa, why bother?

Owmp

2006-09-11T18:35:00.000-06:00

That is the sound of Charlie Weis eating a submarine sandwich laced with heart medicine in one bite. You see, I have a theory that Charlie Weis, like the rest of the Notre Dame fans out there, gets extremely enraged when Notre Dame is doing poorly. So enraged that he requires his heart medication. Charlie Weis, however, also requires submarine sandwiches. Submarine sandwiches that must be eaten in one bite. Solution? Combine the two. During the Georgia Tech game, I am certain Charlie Weis had a heart-medicine-laced submarine sandwich during half time gave the team a good talking-to in the locker room with salami and lett-oose flying everywhere.

So, Mal has not sent me the few North Carolina pictures taken of baby nieces and no PSU game pictures either. This vacation was super sweet and fun and made me really really hate coming back to school. Mal's family was really nice. It was very odd at first, because around our friends, he's the one making fun of everyone, but at home - BAM - total opposite! You see, as the youngest, Mal is the brunt of his whole family's jokes and ridicule. I, by association, got a bit of it, but I took it as a good sign that they have no problems mocking me. Right ...?

So then after some super sweet driving across the country, we made it to Columbus for a brief, yet delicious stay. We hit up the Quaker Steak n' Lube, famous for wings (which were, in fact delicious) and Donato's for some tasty pizza, and both nearly died in an unfortunate bathtub incident.

After escaping near death, we actually made it to the Bend for some super sweet tailgating/seeing alums/football action. We definitely needed the blowout after the heart-laced sub sandwich inducing fear of the Georgia Tech game. See the rest of you suckers at Stanford!

So long, suckers

2006-09-01T10:18:00.000-06:00

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL?

Go Irish, Beat Yellow Jackets!

Caged Wisdom

2006-08-31T23:07:00.000-06:00

So my Federal Income Tax professor banned laptops in class. BANNED. I can't tell you the freak-out that occurred in that classroom. There was wailing and gnashing of teeth. People got kicked in the face. Someone may have lost a few limbs. After the initial shock, I tried to actually take notes by hand for the first time in a year. It was a little weird. I hope my note taking doesn't suffer, but I can imagine that my IM conversations will be replaced by little stick figures in the margins.

Tomorrow I leave right after class for North Carolina! I'm pretty pumped. I'm going to Meet The Family. I'm actually not really nervous... yet. No, I've been assured by Mal that as long as I call him Stephen in front of his family and keep wrecking him as usual, I'll be in. Plus, I'm bringing them chocolate. They HAVE to love me.

Weather.com says it's supposed to be raining all week, but hopefully it will be nice for a few days or so. After all, I'm skipping a full week of school, it'd better be worth my while!

Everybody Wong Sun Tonight!

2006-08-30T21:36:00.000-06:00

Today marked my first day as a second year law student. It was a pretty full day, and I immediately noticed a difference between last year and this year. Mostly in that this year, I don't really care. Well, I still care about doing well and learning, and all that crap -- I just don't care about all the stuff that comes with first year of law school. I don't care about being awkwardly polite with people I won't speak to within a month. I don't care whether the professor likes me or not, or whether he thinks I'm paying attention in class. I don't even care if I own the casebook to all my classes (which I don't, and I won't get PR because I hear that is The Thing To Do). I do still care about finding me some free food around the law school.

All in all, it turned out to be a pretty packed day. First up was Introduction to Intellectual Property, which I think will be useful but really dry. Second was my Constitutional Law of the European Union class, which I subsequently dropped while I was in my third class, Federal Income Tax. Eight people in one class? No room for slacking there. I picked up Criminal Procedure instead, so at least I get to hear Professor Dix say "chicken shit" about fifty times per day. Going back, FIT actually seems like it might be... not terrible. Okay, so I did the reading (I know, too much work for my 2L slacker ass) and the reading was pretty bad, but the professor seems to recognize that we hate numbers as much as he does and looks like he'll make the class tolerable. Finally, I had Professional Responsibility with The Big Dz, which is about as close to a blow-off class as you get in law school. Somehow I got myself BACK in a schedule that goes all day with no lunch breaks! WTF? I clearly hate myself.

I guess I shouldn't complain too much. Friday I leave for North Carolina to spend a good chunk of time with Mal and his family at a beach house they're renting in Wilmington. From there it's on to the Bender for the home opener against Penn State. Greatest week of my life? Quite possibly. The week after being the worst (in that I have interviews and have to catch up on missing a week of class)? Definitely.

Did anyone else watch Project Runway tonight? Who would've thought after that big blowup between Jeffrey and Angela that Jeffrey would win and Angela get booted off. I kind of feel bad for her because Jeffrey was such a jerk to her mom. Then again, Angela is crazy and Jeffrey did look like a rock star.

Okay, so this my return to the blogging world, now that I have something to procrastinate for. Anyone else going to PSU?

We've got SNAKES

2006-08-18T20:36:00.000-06:00

Yes, my friends, what you see is true. I have just returned from a viewing of the highly anticipated Snakes on a Plane. We got to the movie theater a half hour before show time, thinking it would be packed... alas, the only people in line to buy tickets was a family of four, and when we got inside, we saw no line to enter the theater. A pretty decent sized crowd ended up coming, but I would characterize them as the entire senior class of Westlake High. Westlake High football rules!

As for the movie itself, it is much as you would expect from a movie titled Snakes on a Plane. As promised, there was a little added sexuality and a lot of added violence. Lots of snakes biting lots of people in lots of very unfortunate places. Would I see it again? I don't know... although, that may be more due to my inherent fear of snakes and my lack of desire to see them all over again. So, maybe I told Mal that I'd go see it with him... whoops! I guess Beerfest will have to do, along with a home viewing of Spymate, the chimpanzee that works for the FBI.

I'm nearly moved into the new place. Living by campus has turned out to be extremely convenient already. Today I took a little jaunt to the Co-op in the 102-degree weather. Good lord, it was sweaty. I had to take a shower in the middle of the afternoon, I felt so disgusting. Also, I have a few friends living in the same complex or nearby so I get my privacy when needed, but I also can bug people for company whenever I wish.

For now, I'm using the UT internet which is fairly reliable. I can't seem to get a hold of Time Warner, those bastards have put me on hold three times, and I can never get through until I just give up, throw my phone against the wall and pull out a sizeable chunk of my hair. So it may be a while until I get cable TV and internet going. For now, I am heading back to Houston tomorrow to accompany Philip on some family poker night, get my semi-annual dentist visit on, and bring back all my clothes that didn't fit in my car the first time around.