1 Down...

2 finals and 1 paper to go (though that's 90% done).

I think Tax went well but only time will tell. Luckily I have a holiday party tonight with non-law school people to take my mind off of the studying.

Spoiled Rotten

I can see why law school leads to the end of many relationships. The line between self preservation and selfishness is often very thin. Particularly during finals, I think it is easy for many of us to cross that line, or for a significant other to mistakenly believe that we have.

I just feel so lucky that I have a boyfriend that not only gives me all the space I need for studying, but insists on driving my friends and I to our early Saturday morning final when we were going to just split a cab (the bus to school does not run on the weekend).

Sorry for the sappiness. I blame the holiday cheer.

Tax Time

Here are a few unsolicited and unofficial tips after a semester of learning and many hours studying Federal Personal Income Tax:

• Do not embezzle money. Not only will you have to pay back who you stole money from; you will have to pay taxes too. You may get a deduction, but that will not help you when you are in jail.
  
• Do not hire people who will embezzle from you. They may not have money to pay you back after the government taxes you.
  
• If you are not making a lot of money now, but plan on having a bigger income in the future, invest in a Roth IRA.
• Do not wrap up your wedding ring in toilet paper. If your husband throws it away, you will not be able to claim a deduction from your loss.
  
• You will get taxed when your work sends you to Vegas and pays for topless shows.
• Be general counsel at an airline, and you will not get taxed on open airline seats.
  
• Do not live by OJ Simpson, because even if your property value goes down because of the paparazzi, you will not be able to adjust the value of your home for tax purposes.
  
• Talk business over your dinner, get a 50% deduction on that meal.
  
• Do not get divorced; you cannot deduct the legal expenses, and there are a lot of other tax issues.
  
• Donate to charity, a lot. Unfortunately you will only get deductions for domestic, not international, charities.

Yay tax.

Let it Snow

When the weather outside is frightful...

You want to curl up in bed, watch a Project Runway marathon, and drink hot cocoa. You do not want to lug your books to the library and study tax.

I could definitely tell that I was not the only one who wanted to be snuggled up in bed. The lack of energy in the library today was palpable. Even the free coffee and massages at school were not enough re-energize us.

Only a few more days until tax will be done and 10 more days until I am done with all my finals. The sun is supposed to be back tomorrow so hopefully that will help push us all through this final stretch. Maybe when I am done I will actually appreciate this weather, midget-snowmen and all.

Criminal Minds

At mass on Sunday, the homily was about a cop who almost became corrupt because he was frustrated with the inadequacies of the system. Yestesrday, I read an article about Roy Lindley Devecchio, a former undercover FBI agent being investigated for selling secrets to the mob.

Why do the law enforcers turn into the law breakers? In addition to frustration, I bet it is also because they think they know the system so well that they can beat it.

When you study criminal procedure in your second year of law school, you learn your rights and how to protect those rights in ways that the average person does not. It's somewhat empowering, because you feel like less people can take advantage of you.

However, you can also learn all the ways to avoid getting caught and get out of crimes. The same is true when I learned tax law (my professor said that tax lawyers are often the biggest tax evaders, not surprisingly.)

Before I go to sleep before another day of studying, I leave you with a a few life lessons from criminal procedure*...

• Don't ride in cars with people who engage in criminal activity. Besides the obvious reasons, you also have no expectation of privacy so the police could try to pin you to any evidence in the car and you cannot contest it.
• Always ask for your lawyer. Clearly.
  
• Don't consent to searches. Never turns out good.
  
• You have more privacy from the police in the trunk of your car than in the passenger compartment.
  
• If you're hiding from police, you have more privacy in your own home than in your friend's home.
  
• Don't put incriminating things into the trash, and then put your trash on the sidewalk.
  
• Don't run from the police.
  

*This is not legal advice of course. And I of course would never condone or help you cover up any illegal activity. Bad for my political career.

Sports Therapy?

24-7: UCLA football losses to USC
63-61: UCLA basketball losses to Texas
27-24: Baltimore Ravens football losses to New England Patriots

Needless to say that it has been a bad sports weekend with back to back losses at my alma mater and my 2nd favorite NFL team losing (my high school qb is the Raven's qb).

But maybe my yelling at the tv and the rollercoaster of emotions is just a good way of releasing the stress and frustration from finals (mostly taxing Tax). I have always liked watching sports but I never realized how cathartic it could be until now. Better to be mad at the tv than snapping at friends, roommates, and significant others, as tends to happen with many people around this time of year.

Or if anything, it's a good mindless distraction for the short periods I allow myself to watch part or all of the game.

Baby It's Cold Outside

My mom called yesterday, and I think she was concerned when she heard that I had been cooped up all day studying. In addition to all the studying that I need to do, I have stayed inside because it is just cold. Gloomy, rainy, windy, cold. I found this in my inbox today:

The National Weather Service has issued a Wind Advisory for the District and surrounding jurisdictions which is in effect from 8 am Monday to 1 am Tuesday. A strong cold front will move through the region early Monday. Frequent wind gusts between 45 and 50 mph are expected throughout the day and will persist into the evening hours.

Fortunately, I did manage to leave the confines of my apartment today to get my brain blessed at church. The homily and the blessing made me feel better on this cold day, along with a few more things...

• Rides to and from school from my friends = no freezing at the bus stop and study buddies.
• Champagne Brunch at Indian Ocean, even sans the champagne since I needed to study. Mmm, good and apparently healthy Indian food.
  
• Curel Nourishing Lotion with honey, vanilla, and shea butter extracts. Smooths the skin from the dry winter weather and makes me smell like a sugar cookie.
• Wingos because they deliver delicious wings for game time.
• Moments of library ridiculousness, such as when my friend got her backpack strap stuck in the chair and 2 of us were pulling the chair while she was pulling her backpack.
• Listening to Jack Johnson while studying.
  
• Elf Yourself! So addicting: Alex and Me, My Family, and I made one of my friends and their profs. If you click the link, it will be the closest you will see me to dancing.