These Are A Few of My Favorite Things...

Parents flying across the country to take of me
Zip cars. Hooray for car sharing in the city
Finding out that the futon you needed is finally in stock at IKEA
The George Foreman Grill & Crockpot combo at Target
UCLA Football kicking off with a win
The beginning of football season in general
Energy saving lightbulbs for my lamp
My new Featherlight Dirt Devil Vaccuum that picks up everything
Eastern Standard Time and the U.S.'s bias towards it
Sunny skies after rainy days
Four Day Weekends!!

Raindrops are Falling on my Head

Hurricane Ernesto has ushered in my first hurricane season as an East Coaster. While the DC region certainly doesn't have it as bad as Gulf Coast states, this California Girl is not used to this kind of weather. I'm used to counting the number of rainy days on one hand. I'm used to seeing people skip class because it's drizzling. I'm used to still wearing flip flops even in the rain.

So when the National Weather Service says, "The Washington region could get anywhere from 3 to 6 inches over the next 24 hours along with powerful gusts with the potential to bring down tree limbs and power lines," I'm thinking, that's more rain than I'm used to getting in a whole season!

When my dad and I were at the hardware store yesterday, I bought a flashlight. I have no idea if the power ever goes out in my building but I heard that the law school gets shut down occassionally because of storm induced power outages. That could be possibly one of the only good byproducts of flooding and massive storms. I really wouldn't mind a rainy day cancellation since I have the feeling we're not going to have any days cancelled for snow like they did in Minnesota.

Finally, despite the fact that I hate getting the bottoms of my pants wet from sloshing through rain, I'm excited for my first rainfall here. I finally feel like I get to feel seasons. In the last day or two I started to feel the cool fall breeze and I can't wait to start wearing the fall clothes that my parents brought and my cute little rain trenchcoat.

Everyone's on Pins & Needles

Dear Project Runway,

You never seem to dissapoint. Thank you for providing me with entertainment every week. With all of my studying, I hardly have time to watch any tv but I will make time for you. This also appears to be the case with every other girl in law school because today during our break between CivPro and Contracts, that's all everyone could talk about. It's actually pretty incredible to think how broad your fan base is considering that you're a show about high fashion. I watched the show with my mom last night, my brother follows the show, and even my boyfriend watches it. Back in my old apartment, the only time all of the roommates would come together was to watch this show. The show is everyone's not so secrety pleasure.

So while I'm sorry you didn't win the Emmy on Sunday, I'm quite sure that you have a bigger cult following than the Amazing Race. Maybe one day when I have more time and a sewing machine, I'll put those sewing lessons I used to take into action. But for now, I look forward to see your adventures in Paris. How exciting.

Your Loyal Fan,

Kristina

PS. I'm really hoping the Michael wins. If he doesn't, I will take Laura or Uli. Just please not Vincent. That's all I really ask.

Being An Adult Test, Part Deux

I felt like the first part of my test towards adulthood was moving across the country all by myself. With newly purchased rugs for our apartment, I say my roommate and I are well on our way to getting settled in our abode. However, now approaches the next part of the test: parental approval.

My parents are in a shuttle from the airport as we speak. I'm their 4 day pit-stop before they fly to Puerto Rico and take a Carribean cruise for their 25th anniversary. Naturally I'm really excited to see them but I also have to admit that I'm a bit nervous. I've never housed my parents and today I was running around doing errands to make sure that their stay is comfortable. So after class today, I rushed over to Linens-n-Things to buy an airmattress (that's for me to sleep on while they sleep in my bed), extra guest towels, and some extra blankets. Sure I've had an apartment for 2 years before this and I've had guests all the time but there's a huge difference between letting your friend bum on the couch and letting your parents stay with you.

In the end, I know that they're just happy to see me and want to help me get settled in. My dad even said that if I wanted to keep my bed in the box he would assemble it when he got here. Well I managed to put my bed together and hopefully I've put my apartment together enough so that they're impressed. While we might make an IKEA run on one of these days, I'd rather have them enjoy the city than help me build furniture.

My Pocket Constitution

Five years ago, my AP government teacher gave every student a pocket size copy of the Constitution. While he was a very tough teacher (at least by high school standards), I absolutely loved his class and it inspired me to be a political science major. On the last day of AP Gov, we were supposed to turn in our Constitutions but he called me over and told me that I could keep mine because I've become quite the "constitutional scholar." It meant a lot coming from a teacher I respected so much.

I've kept that copy of the Constitution in my bag ever since. While American University handed out another copy for us, I stuck with my trusted little copy and now keep it in my backpack with my much heavier casebooks. I emailed that teacher the other day to tell him this story and he was so excited to hear I was in law school. He mentioned that he needed to order new pocket size Constitutions for this year's class and he'll attach my story as just the reason why they're important.

I have been known to pull random things out of my "mom bag," when people request it. And lo and behold, I was able to pull out a box of pocket Constitutions. No, it wasn't from my bag but rather they've been sitting in my house in Santa Clarita for the past two years. I got them when I was interning on the Hill because the office that I worked in had a surplus. I took them originally because I thought I might be able to use them for Bruin Democrats but going to a high school government class is a much better place for them.

My teacher emailed me back today thanking me for my donation to his class. I figured it was the least I could do for one of the people who helped me get to where I am today. And who knows, there might be another kid sitting there in class who falls absolutely in love with the Constitution, the government, and the law like I did.

Black, White, and Gray all Over

I never thought law school was going to be easy, but I thought things were going to be at least clear cut. Wow, was I wrong. I guess the reason why there are so many lawsuits is because the law can be interpreted so many ways. This was evidenced my lunchtime conversation. Being the dorky law school students that we are, a group of 6 of us debated issues of jurisdiction for a few cases. It just seemed like everything could be debated either way.

Sometimes the ambiguity or subjectivity of the law can be frustrating. There have been so many times in class when someone asks a question and the professor responds, "I don't know, what do you think?" But it's also the fun part. The hardest questions in class are the ones that could go either way so as long as you back up your answer, you're A-OK with the professor.

Finally, the great and equally bad thing about law is that it's everywhere. Everywhere you look, you see an issue related to something we've learned in class. You start thinking in your head, "that's negligence," "what's his intent," "there's no consideration in this deal," "that's a tort just waiting to happen," and more. And then you start formulating mini-arguments in your head about what the plaintiff and defendant would argue because you can see both sides. It's really bad.

So while I'll try to interject a non-law/lawschool related entry in here eventually, the reason why my blog is so law-dominated is because it's a reflection of my life. I see it everywhere. Although school work takes up the vast majority of my waking hours now (and even some of my dreams), it doesn't seem like I'll ever be able to escape the law.

Jet Lag

There are some people who are surprised how infrequently I go out in this town of a million bars. My roommate has been asked about this too and I swear that we're not flakes, recluses, or that our apartment is so amazing that we're hiding away in it and want to keep it all for ourselves.

In all honesty, we've been here for 2 weeks. And within those 2 weeks, my roommate and I have had to take our barren apartment and make it semi-functional to live in, without having a car. It's been a lot of IKEA building. We've also had orientation and a full week of classes with more dense reading than I've ever done. Needless to say that most days I'm exhausted and it doesn't help that my asthma has kicked in for the first time since elementary school.

I'm not saying that I'm the first person who's had to do this in a short period of time, nor am I trying to invoke any pity or superiority. This is just a little reasoning to myself, those who have been perplexed/concerned, and especially those who have given me grief as to my situation. I plan on enjoying the DC nightlife a little bit more once I get more settled in. Heck, even living here and visitng here a dozen times there are still touristy things I want to see. But when the time is right, I'll come out of hibernation (like I did for a UCLA alumni event, bar review, and my roommate's birthday). For now it's back to the books.