Only In DC

When Alex and I were in California, we had very "LA Dates." Eating at Asian Tapas places, watching celebrities perform at the Laugh Factory, taking walks on the beach to find hippie drum circles in Venice, winetasting, etc. So it was only fitting that when he came to visit in DC, that we had a quintessential DC Date.

We first had sunset dinner along the Potomac River and watched rowers and little speedboats. Then we went to the Kennedy Center, which looks absolutely beautiful at night, to see a musical called "A Ride with Bob." As we were walking up, there was an intense motorcade with guys sitting in the back of black suburbans armed with huge guns. I figured that some big dignitary was attending an event at the Saudi Arabian Embassy across from the Kennedy Center because we heard music and saw lots of cars pull up to that building.

So we proceeded to our performance at one of the halls in the Kennedy Center. I didn't know much about the performance other than it was a Texas Swing band with a bluegrass fiddle perfoming some kind of musical and it received high praise from the Washington Post. It was totally random but it seemed like a lot of fun and I had always wanted to go see something at the Kennedy Center. After we took our seats, some guy came onstage to thank everyone for coming. Then he announced we had a very special guest in the audience, First Lady Laura Bush.

While I'm not that big of a fan of her husband, I like Laura Bush. And it doesn't matter if I actually didn't get to see her, just knowing that she was sitting in the box seats right below my balcony seat was pretty cool. So is the fact that in DC, anywhere you go, you could bump into a politician, the DC equivalent of sitting next to a movie star in LA (like when I was at the next table from Steve Martin).

The performance was actually a lot of fun and I swear, for a few hours, I actually wanted to be a Texan. That inkling eventually passed while we were hanging out in Georgetown afterwards, but I still have "I'm from Texas too" stuck in my head.

Isn't it funny how sometimes you don't really appreciate your city until a visitor from somewhere else comes? I can't wait to see what our DC day lies in store for us today.

The McDreamys

Yesterday as I was watching Grey's Anatomy, the character in the show was confronted with the decision between picking McDreamy v. McVet. A man that she loves who has a wife or a man who she's getting to know better and treats her well. For me, the choice would have been clear.

I don't recall knowing any adulterers or tramautic stories relating to infidelity in my childhood that could have shaped my very strong view on this, but somehow I developed an extreme disgust for 1) people who cheated on his/her significant other and 1) people who the cheater cheated with. I know almost everyone says it's bad but I am really repulsed by it and I'm not sure why.

I remember watching "My Best Friend's Wedding" ages ago and hating Julia Robert's character for wanting to tell her best friend she was in love with him right before his wedding. I felt like she was just being very selfish, and that's generally my view on most people who cheat. I often feel like the odd one out while watching tv shows or movies because I'm never rooting for that couple to get together when there are other people attached to them. Frankly I don't care if they're destined to be, you just don't hurt other people like that.

Is it silly to think that if you love someone else, than you should just seperate from them instead of cheat on them? And why would you want to be with a cheater when you obviously know that the person has no qualms about being dishonest? I'm not compeltely naiive and I know that not all relationships work out perfectly to fairytale endings, but I really don't get it.

Maybe I just don't understand because I've never confronted the type of situation, and hopefully never will. But I just question people's notion that the path to true love can be paved in infidelity.

My Personal Jurisdiction

This week in class I learned that I am not considered a citizen of the District of Columbia. No student, for that fact, is considered a citizen of the state (or district!) where he attends school. This is, at least, in regards to determining jurisdiction in federal cases.

While I still am considered a California citizen, I do feel like I have made my home in DC. On the school front, I've gotten into the study swing of things and have a little group of friends I eat lunch with and talk to after class. Got the neighborhood thing down with a church routine and a grocery store routine.

And finally, the last little piece has been making my home actually feel like home. Instead of going out tonight, I watched Grey's Anatomy with my roommate and then I hammered. Took out the tool box and put little nails into the wall to hang up a clock, a photo display piece, a white/corkboard, and pictures on my wall. Amazing how a few things up on the walls can really change a room.

So while I don't get much time to home decorate, or even just lounge around and enjoy my spacious apartment, it is nice having such a great place to come home to. Because I do consider this home, even if I wanted to be a citizen in order to claim diversity of citizenship to move a case to federal court, and statutory provisions say no. Oh yes, I am a civpro nerd.

Little Sue Monkeys

True Story: The other day when my roommate was taking the bus to school, she and some other law students were waiting on the sidewalk. As they were waiting, a guy riding a bicycle across the street was hit by a person driving a minivan. The people who witnessed the event reported hearing a very loud thud and saw the bike rider land onto the van's hood. Fortunately, the guy wasn't badly hurt. While most normal people would make sure that the person is alright and help him up. My roommate said that all the law students around her yelled "Get Popper!" Popper is one of the first year Torts professor. Ah yes, this is what we law students do. Look at every accident and think of the 50 different ways we could sue someone like the minivan driver.

I guess when you're surrounded by cases every waking hour (and sometimes they infiltrate your dreams too), your natural reaction is to think of what laws apply to every situation. I almost feel like a machine that processes facts into lawsuits automatically now. It's a little scary. I'm hoping that when I'm actually a lawyer and grown up, I'll have other things to balance my life so I don't see everything around me as a lawsuit or a liability.

Speaking of being a real lawyer...today in my legal rhetoric class, we divided the class in half to represent two sides of this case that we're writing memos on. When the desks were put together like a long table, sat in swivley office chairs with our laptops infront of us and debated the statutes regarding child support payments, I felt like I was working at a law firm. It was a really cool feeling. It's these type of moments that make the rest of the workload feel bearable.

How I Love Thee, Let Me Count The Ways...

I used to be a non-believer, even dare I say it, an iPod hater. I was always annoyed when my friends were walking across campus and they couldn't hear me calling their name because they had those white little earbuds glued into their ears. I argued that iPods were making my generation even more anti-social. I just didn't understand why you needed to have so much music with you. I always knew that I wasn't really a huge music fan so I became complacent with the notion that I would never understand the iPod craze.

That all changed when my parents got me an video iPod for graduation. While I thought it was a very thoughtful gift, I thought it cost too much considering that I wouldn't make enough use out of it. They convinced me that it would be good for when I'm travelling across the country and on the DC public transportation. And as always, they were right.

Here are some of the reasons why I've become infatuated with my iPod:
-Considering DC buses are notorious for being late (I once waited over an hour!), it makes the wait at the bus stop just a little more bearable.
-Putting my iPod on shuffle and randomly hearing a song that brings back so many good memories brightens your day. Today it was Modest Mouse's "Float On"
-Podcasts are so amazing and so free. Bonus points for video podcasts.
-Upbeat music definitely helps me pick up the pace at the gym, or even when I'm walking somewhere.
-I can avoid crazies on the metro or bus by going into music-listening shutdown.
-Organizing music into little folders is completely satisfying to people with OCD tendicies like me.
-I feel a little less disconnected from the music/pop culture bubble.
-The little spinny wheel is just so much fun to play with and I love the little clicky noise it makes.
-So so pretty.

Full Speed Ahead

Today as I waited outside for my first class of the day, I saw more people with cups of coffee than I have ever seen here. We're entering week five, law school is picking up speed, and I heard it only gets faster. All we pretty much have to keep up is caffeine. (And I also heard a girl ask if it was too early in the week to need a cocktail, that's how we cope.)

The first draft of our first writing assignment is due this week. We had our first review session to prepare us for a final 10 weeks away. And the reading has doubled. I think we're all starting to feel the pressure but fortunately I'm not completely overwhelmed yet.

It helps that I've come to terms with the fact that I'm a study hermit Sunday afternoon- Thursday night, and sometimes even Fridays too. Sometimes I forget that I've completely adapted to a new style of living. It's almost a little scary how autopilot I run. I come home, start reading again immediately, cook dinner, eat, clean dishes, go back to reading, occassionally call my parents and/or Alex, blog, go to bed, wake up, review for class, go to class, and then repeat (and I guess I'm always checking email/facebook/craigslist/AIM). A simple but oddly pleasant life.

In case you don't hear from me for the next year or three, you'll know what I'll be doing.

When I Grow Up

So after my friend and I had my trip down memory lane, we wondered how many of these people from high school ended up where they thought they would be. While it is especially easy to look at the people who had unexpected kids and think "wow, I bet they never thought this is how their life was going to be like," everyone's had twists and turns, big and small, that may have dramatically altered where they got to today.

While it may seem to people like I've wanted to be a lawyer for my entire life, that's definitely not been the case. I've actually thought of the jobs that I wanted before. Here they are in a semi-chronological order:

-Teacher
-Meteorologist
-Doctor (as all kids want to do)
-NASA Mission Control person (8th grade field trip)
-Stock Broker (very very short lived)
-Criminal Psychologist (too many episodes of Law & Order)
-Lawyer (see above)
-Solitictor General
-Political Consultant
-Government teacher/Professor
-Head of a non-profit
-Political Party Planner
-Chief of Staff to some politician
-Counsel for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
...and there has never been a time in my life I didn't want to be a mom (which I consider a noble profession as well)

I honestly have no idea what I want to do now but it's fun to think about all the people and events that inspired all these changes in what I wanted to be. It's a lot like the small events that lead us to meet our best friend, roommate, or signifcant other. Once again reminding me that everything works out and that I shouldn't stress out too much now about what kind of law (or law-related field) I want because the other things in my life have seemed to work out pretty well...my profession probably won't be different.